rubberduck | ExpatWoman.com
 

rubberduck

rubberduck
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Latest post on 05 August 2011 - 00:46
Buy it in the UK. I understand that FaceTime is not pre-loaded if bought in UAE and you should also consider downloading other sites which may not be accessible here eg Skype iplayers etc. There is no real cost difference between Uk and UAE, but the accessories are definitely more over here eg if you want the photo converter, audio av adapters etc
rubberduck
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Latest post on 03 August 2011 - 18:54
Thanks Suzy, but planning a cruise with RCI. Just a bit nervous about handing over money to travel agent in case they go bust- just happened to a major cruise agency in UK. I don't know what safety net is in place here?
rubberduck
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Latest post on 29 July 2011 - 18:48
This is interesting. The doesn't appear to be an upper age limit either, but I wonder how much vet history they need. It would be intereting to hear of your experience if you have taken insurance ESP. Existing conditions, which I guess won't be covered?
rubberduck
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Latest post on 28 July 2011 - 14:36
Channel 4 fine no problems, itv sometime okay, but BBC Iplayer has been unusable for last few days. At least it's not just my computer playing up.
rubberduck
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Latest post on 25 July 2011 - 10:02
Hmm, when I contacted MOH for permission some 3 months ago to bring in prescribed Migraleve, the advice I received was that migraleve would not be allowed in the country...... Perhaps I should have persisted as I took this advice as correct. :(
rubberduck
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Latest post on 24 July 2011 - 20:59
You cannot bring in migraleve, even with prescription. I wouldn't advise you even try, as migraleve contain codeine and it is absolutely a banned substance. Yes you might get lucky and bring it in undetected, but if it is found on you,customs could take a hardline and jail you. Worth the risk, personally I wouldn't try it.
rubberduck
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Latest post on 20 July 2011 - 22:10
Welcome to palmera! We've been here just a month and love it so far. Hope you and your family settle in quickly and enjoy it as much as we do:)
rubberduck
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Latest post on 14 July 2011 - 19:10
I think we need a new gardener. They laid the lawn about a year ago I believe and have been responsible for it since then, but I'm not convinced they're much good. And it's just sand dumped on the grass, nothing else :(
rubberduck
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Latest post on 14 July 2011 - 16:39
Can also recommend the city wall walk in Dubrovnik, fascinating view down on to the town. In Venice try wandering away from the st marks square and in to the less popular side streets. You will find interesting little shops and the food and ice cream will be much cheaper than in the main tourist traps. Dubrovnik is one of my favourite places, it's stunning.
rubberduck
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Latest post on 14 July 2011 - 01:17
To cure my blackened lawn the gardener has just poured 5 barrow loads of sand on top of it ....just in case there isn't enough underneath it I guess? Any know how that's going to help?
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 23:11
The countries from which citizens can transfer their driving licenses are given below: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. (Please call RTA on 8009090 for any changes to this list) Please note: Driving license holders of some countries in the above list will require translations or consulate letters. These countries include: Canada: A letter from the Canadian Consulate in Dubai to verify that the license is genuine is required, before transferring your license. Driving license holders from Greece, Canada, Cyprus, Poland, Turkey, Japan & South Korea will require a translation of their driving license from their respective consulates. Fees & Documents Required: Passport for residents (original & copy) residence permit copy, current driving license (original & copy), translation of driving license (for some countries), consulate letter (for Canadians), 1 passport photo, eye test certificate & AED 360 for transfer fee and opening a driving file. Also required is a no-objection letter from your sponsor.
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 18:26
Err the container will land either at jebel Ali or Dubai. Sadly not at your door. Customs clearance will take anything up to two weeks, although our was 8 days. Just so you are prepared. Ours was inspected and some boxes were opened and furniture unwrapped.
rubberduck
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Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 18:23
One more thing. Your original documentation will travel with your animal so make sure you have photocopied everything and especially the vaccination card with the rabies shot info.
rubberduck
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Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 18:19
We travelled with emirates on same flight. So heres what we did. With luggage and dog crate you need to think how you will get from airport to where you are going. We booked a drivers through DH employer and made sure he had large car for us. Ok collect your luggage, then go to duty free and pick up alcohol! Proceed outside to your transport. They need to take you to the cargo village and find the emirates sky cargo building, it's easy to see. Then ask them to wait whilst you process your animal. Go in to Sky cargo and tell them you are collecting live animal. They will direct you upstairs where you will pay your£130 and wait to obtain customs clearance. This took 45 minutes. Then you will take paperwork to vet who will ask you for 400dhs. This should be paid by e card, but we paid cash dhs. He will check that all vaccinations are in order and send you on to another guy who needs a small payment 20dhs I think. Okay so now you will be sent to customs where there is more paperwork and finally you should get your dog. You must also make sure that you have gate pass issued. From landing to seeing dogs took us 3 hours, but I think you could do it quicker depending on queues etc. One other thing, the health check required by defra for your export licence. Defra state it has to be done within 7days of travel, but Emirates required the check to be carried out no more than 2 days before travel. This is an airline reqt and may not apply with other airlines. It nearly caught us out. Any other questions then shout!
rubberduck
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Latest post on 13 July 2011 - 10:09
I also checked this very recently. On a visit visa, you are allowed to drive any vehicle, rented or privately owned, provided that the vehicle belongs to a close relative, ie spouse brother etc, and that your licence was issued by one of the countries on the driving licence exchange list ie a transferable licence.This applies only to Dubai, other emirates will have their own regulations. There is a lot of out of date info floating around on this topic, but I believe that this is the current situation and it has also been confirmed by our vehicle insurer as correct. So if your visitors are not close relatives, they cannot drive a privately owned vehicle.
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 12 July 2011 - 22:19
Look on eBay for sky crate and you will find plenty. You must make sure that it meets the IATA regulations, especially with regard to door locks and air vents. We actually took our dogs and crate to airport a couple of weeks before and got travel approval . But this was because we had two dogs crated together and I couldn't find any info on space reqt for two animals. I just didn't want any problems on the day! Animals have to enter Dubai as cargo, no excess baggage or cabin travel is allowed.
rubberduck
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Latest post on 12 July 2011 - 22:15
Hi betti, Yes you will need a special crate which is airline IATA approved see the link below for details http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/live_animals/pages/pets.aspx The total cost of transporting your pet consists of the following elements. Vets fees for rabies inoculation and blood tests. These will obviously vary, but ours were around £150 per dog. Travel crate. These retail at £80 to £150 depending on size. Export certificate. Sent directly to your vet from defra. A charge made by vet to complete. Import fees. We paid 400dhs per pet at Dubai customs, this is a fixed charge. Plus£130 for import paperwork and another 30dhs for a stamp of some kind. Pet passport application fee £20 Airline cost. This is calculated by weight and volume. We had a large sky kennel plus two dogs in the same crate. The dogs weighed in total 15kg. We paid £9.22 per kg and the air fare was £723. Moew is the Dubai dept responsible for import certificate, see link below http://moew.gov.ae/En/onlineservice/AnimalWealth/permits/Pages/Animal-Permits27.aspx
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 July 2011 - 22:14
Hi betti, Yes you will need a special crate which is airline IATA approved see the link below for details http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/live_animals/pages/pets.aspx The total cost of transporting your pet consists of the following elements. Microchip if not already done Vets fees for rabies inoculation and blood tests. These will obviously vary, but ours were around £150 per dog. Travel crate. These retail at £80 to £150 depending on size. Export certificate. Sent directly to your vet from defra. A charge made by vet to complete. Import fees. We paid 400dhs per pet at Dubai customs, this is a fixed charge. Plus£130 for import paperwork and another 30dhs for a stamp of some kind. Pet passport application fee £20 Airline cost. This is calculated by weight and volume. We had a large sky kennel plus two dogs in the same crate. The dogs weighed in total 15kg. We paid £9.22 per kg and the air fare was £723. Moew is the Dubai dept responsible for import certificate, see link below http://moew.gov.ae/En/onlineservice/AnimalWealth/permits/Pages/Animal-Permits27.aspx
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 10 July 2011 - 10:20
Sadly there is no pm facility on here, you can only post your e mail address and let people make a note of it - not very satisfactory really, but that's how it is!
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 July 2011 - 10:16
I am with Du and have an unlocked UK handset. I can receive calls ok and text messages from people within UAE. However text messages from the UK are either not getting through or they take ages-the last one took a week. Is this normal service and if not, any idea what the problem might be?. Anyone from Uk who can comment on their experiences please. Thanks.
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 09 July 2011 - 21:07
Much will depend on whether you use an agency or do it yourself. If you want all the hassle and paperwork taken off your shoulders then you can ask for a quote from any of the uk based pet transport companies. We have just arrived in Dubai and we did all our own paperwork. The saving was around £500 for our dogs and it wasn't that difficult. You kitten needs to mor than 4 months old to travel You need to obtain rabies vaccination well in advance to allow for blood results and antibodies to be present. Then an export permit from defra which is how you obtain your health certificate- your vet completes this paperwork Finally you need an import permit from Dubai end MOEW is the dept dealing with this and can completed online from uk. Finally you should get a pet passport, again via your vet, which allows you to bring your cat back in to UK at the end of your stay without quarantine. Then notify your chosen airline about 1 month in advance, turn up at the airport on the day when cost will be calculated based on volume of crate and weight. Our airfare was£729 for 2 dogs travelling in same crate. It sounds complicated but isn't really you just need to get your head around the process and the timings. In total our 2 dogs cost around £1300 <em>edited by rubberduck on 09/07/2011</em>
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 July 2011 - 15:11
That's what in thought. Am seriously considering getting rid of gardener and doing it myself as common sense doesn't seem to be an asset used much by the gardening company
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 07 July 2011 - 15:07
Only boring souls left in Dubai now............ We could start our own naughty thread, it is Thurs after all!
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 07 July 2011 - 15:05
If you are on the same flight, it's really easy to collect your pet yourself, if you have room with suitcase etc. If not, you need to contact Dubai kennels and cattery dkc, as they have a collection service including completion of paperwork. We came out with our dogs last month and collected them from sky cargo -from landing to getting dogs was 3 hours.
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 18:02
Cup of tea anyone?
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 18:02
Cup of tea anyone?
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 July 2011 - 06:41
Thank you both for your replies, will do the Hatta run. Sandy dogg, on the question of driving if non resident, DH has been told by the insurance company that, providing I have an international driving licence and valid UK licence, then I can drive any vehicle in UAE, including the car which we own. He rang them last week to check so maybe the situation has changed recently?
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 03 July 2011 - 21:01
Which is quicker? Rak or Hatta? On the RAK run, once over the border , then what, do you have to find a visa office? I have this pleasure to look forward to shortly as still not sure whether to take residency or not. Thanks
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 July 2011 - 20:47
Pilates will concentrate on strengthening the core of muscles which run around your middle. Exercises are slow and precise. As far as I know there is only one method of teaching. Yoga on the other hand has several varieties and varies from instructor to instructor. For your needs I would recommend you try and find an instructor of iyenger yoga, which in my view is a more dynamic yoga and the best for stretching and toning muscles. Neither yoga or pilates will make you bulk out, my preference is for yoga as I personally find pilates boring.
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 July 2011 - 23:42
Until I left for Dubai, I worked on an oncology ward. If the GP suspects cancer, then a patient is referred under the two week wait rule, which means you must be seen by a consultant within this timeframe. However of course, not all referrals result in a cancer diagnosis. The process can be overwhelming and one thing that does help is for the patient to have someone attend any appts with them, as there is always a lot of info to be absorbed. I hope all goes well for your visit home x
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 June 2011 - 14:20
The rabies jabs and bloods were around £300 for 2 dogs. Pet passport was £20 each. Completion of health certificate was around £30 per dog. Emirates Birmingham to Dubai cost £723 for both dogs ( this is calculated at the airport based on weight and volume, we had one large skykennel with 2 dogs together- dogs weighed 14kg total and kennel 11kg). You may be able to use a smaller kennel - the sizes can be found on IATA pages) Import charges for both was £132 and the vet clearance cost 400 dirhams each dog. I bought my sky kennel on Gumtree for £40, new they are around £120. So for two dogs the total bill was around £1400. If you need more details then I am happy to e mail you
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 June 2011 - 14:10
We have just arrived and we used GB liners. They packed everything to death and we only had one little bowl that didn't make it intact. They were negotiable on price and depending where you are in the UK, they may also be able to offer competitively priced storage if you need it.
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 June 2011 - 14:08
Just on carrying cash to and from Dubai. Make sure you have bank statement or some means of proving that you are not money laundering, otherwise you could be in for some detailed questioning if the sniffer dogs detect a large amount of cash. I know because it happened to us and it was pretty awkward..
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 June 2011 - 11:34
Hi again. I did the importation of the dogs myself as it didn't seem all that difficult. Basically you need to arrange 3 items: A pet passport via your vet, so that you can get your dog back to the UK without quarantine. An export permit from DEFRA, which is basically the health certificate, which again your vet has to complete. An import permit from MOEW in Dubai, which I applied for online and was dead easy. Then we flew on flight with the dogs and collected them ourselves from Skycargo, which took about 3 hours from landing to seeing the dogs again. Good Luck!
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 29 June 2011 - 13:28
Hi there. We have just moved in to AR and the lawn that was lovely in May is now rapidly turning black, not brown, but black, with no grass at all in some areas. There is an irrigation system in place, which waters for about 2 minutes, 3 x daily. In addition the gardener is using the hose on every visit to drown the lawn for 10 or so minutes. He has twice given it "medicine" in the form of orangey small round pellets, which seem to sit on the grass. - any idea what they are? Should they be watered in and are they harmful to dogs? I have no idea if the lawn is rotting from over watering, or burning from the sun or maybe fertiliser? If you have a wonderful lawn at the moment, could you please share your lawncare tips, as I don't know whether the watering is too much, too little or just at the wrong time of day. Thanks
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 29 June 2011 - 13:14
yep I can also confirm candles do not travel well, still scraping mine off the other items that were packed in same box lol:)
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 29 June 2011 - 10:47
Just noticed you are moving to AR with your dog. We arrived from UK recently, also with elderly dog and can reassure you that she survived just fine. Let me know of you want any specific UK to AR info, have only been here short time, but will help if I can.
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 29 June 2011 - 10:44
Don't bother packing food in your container, as the temps inside the container get extremely high. The only foodstuffs we brought was dried food for our dog. Use the space for personal effects because they are what will help you settle in and make your place feel like your own. There is no shortage of food out here and pretty much everything in the UK is availabel here. Good luck!
rubberduck
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Latest post on 15 June 2011 - 11:06
I guess there has to be a vet available 24/7 to deal with animals arriving and leaving? We arrive in dubai at just after midnight next week with our dogs and have been told that vet will be there to clear them. Out of interest, does the vet at cargo village have to be the one to issue health certificate, or can any approved vet do it?
rubberduck
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Latest post on 13 June 2011 - 22:55
I have read on this forum that the iPads available in Dubai do not have FaceTime on them. That might be a consideration for you?
rubberduck
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Latest post on 12 June 2011 - 19:05
I talk alot and sometime DH listens !
rubberduck
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Latest post on 12 June 2011 - 00:29
Don't all go will you otherwise when we arrive next week the place will be empty. I hope it wasn't something I said "gulp"
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 11 June 2011 - 23:53
Much depends on the area of the UK, but outside London and the south east, up to 10% is not unusual.
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 11 June 2011 - 00:02
Goodnight cushion. ......this thread could run and run .....
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 10 June 2011 - 23:41
Goodnight abc . . .
rubberduck
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Latest post on 10 June 2011 - 23:25
It certainly is and especially these days when we are all supposed to perfect parents with Walton like children-I wish!
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 10 June 2011 - 23:21
Clearly your husband has never observed a yoga class taken by a young and rather gorgeous male and a group of menopausal women!
rubberduck
96
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Latest post on 10 June 2011 - 23:16
We have 2 sons, one sailed through his teenage years and the other was everything you say about your son and worse. He also excelled at sport and was horrendously competitive and we struggled with his behaviour.In your situation I would not have sent my son away, however you try selling it to him, he will feel that he is being punished and sent away, it's teenage logic. Looking back I think our son's behaviour was designed to test our love for him. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish that we had asked for outside help, as we were all so emotionally involved that it was almost impossible to see the situation calmly. I do think that boarding schools can offer a fulfilling and enriching experience, but the child has to want to embrace it and your son may find that difficult at present. No real answers for you but don't despair - he will grow up in time and be a son to be proud of. In the meantime, if there is a member of staff at school that your son respects who may be willing to act as a facilitator?
rubberduck
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Latest post on 09 June 2011 - 23:43
Apparently so according to an earlier thread. I can't wait, have added a tube of anti venom for red back spider bites and sorpions stings to my shoppping list for Boots tomorrow and a giant mousetrap from B&Q, then I'll be sorted.
rubberduck
96
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 June 2011 - 22:52
get the giant spiders to chase them away ?
 
 
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