shamat | ExpatWoman.com
 

shamat

shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 04 October 2011 - 10:03
Oh my goodness! That's in the same vein as the person who reported on here that she'd seen someone smoking a shisha when driving!!! It would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 03 October 2011 - 17:06
OK, I've got to ask . . . . who is he?!!!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 03 October 2011 - 16:23
Check out www.inshapeme.com. Its a small ladies only gym on Beach Road. The gym isn't too special (its a bit on the small side), but their classes are great, and you can do them on a pay as you go basis.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 22:21
I've also just found this link on the internet through doing a websearch, good luck! http://www.dubaipetinfo.com/#/lostfound/4541824951
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 22:14
On the pets section in this website there is a sub heading about what to do if you've lost a cat. Within that is an email address for people to contact to see if their cat has been found. Maybe its worth emailing to say you've found one? It might also be worth giving feline friends and also some of your nearby vets a call to see if anyone has reported a cat missing that fits the description of the one you have found. I'm not very familiar with your part of town, but I'm sure there will be vets round there. Also Al Barsha Vets isn't that far from you and their details are on this website too. With regards to feeding the cat, if it really is malnourished, I'd suggest feeding little and often. You don't want to end up overfeeding and causing him/her to be sick.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 15:58
Hi, I'm trying to find a 4 or 5 drawer plastic storage unit that can be wheeled around (to keep makeup, jewlrey, hair stuff and be able to move it from bedroom mirror back to bathroom easily). Try Union Co-op opposite Safa Park. They have a huge range of this sort of thing on their upstairs floor.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 15:52
No problem ashc! I can't take credit for finding this website, it was recommended by another EW poster a few months ago, but its a UAE based company - just select UAE dirhams as your currency. Delivery within the UAE is free! http://www.wildwarehouse.com/index.php
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 14:52
Hi, I did reply to this post when you posted this question a few days before this one. If you want the details of the UAE website I referred to, I have now found it, so let me know if you would like it.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 12:10
Thanks so much!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 10:07
Thanks snowflake!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 02 October 2011 - 10:05
Thanks very much abby_n_cristina. I had wondered about dragonmart but we've had a few bad experiences there over the years (not with curtains though!) and we've vowed never to go back. tdale - my email address is . All information you can give me would be much appreciated to save me an expensive mistake!! Let me know when you have my email address then I'll remove it. Thanks so much! <em>edited by shamat on 02/10/2011</em>
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 01 October 2011 - 18:43
Hi Ryas, your best route in here is through school nurses or councillors - I know that school nurses have their own support group here and I have a feeling they will be very receptive to any support you can give on mental health issues! Why don't you contact some schools you are interested in working in and get the names/email addresses of the relevant member of staff? I don't recommend going to headteachers in the first instance as you may not get the most helpful reception. PS. Every school here has to have a school nurse on the premises full time - its not like the UK in this regard.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 01 October 2011 - 18:20
Thanks for your reply tdale, its really helpful! If you have a curtain making horror story to tell, hence your use of Ikea next time round, I'd love to hear! Very happy to post my email address if you'd rather keep it off a public forum! Forewarned is forearmed and I already venture on the nervous about the whole thing as it is!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 01 October 2011 - 16:44
These are often advertised on the website Dubizzle in the classified furniture section.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 01 October 2011 - 16:13
I'm buying curtains for my house in England here in Dubai because I think the quality and choice is better. I've used the search engine on here to find some potential suppliers, but I'm a bit anxious about the whole thing tbh! So - a few questions from those who have been through the process before! 1) Is it acceptable to get quotes from a few different suppliers? I can't see how I'm going to know if prices are fair or not otherwise 2) Do you haggle with prices or do you accept the price you are given? 3) If I go down the route of getting quotes, does that mean I have to choose fabrics before they can give me a price (could take hours as I have 7 rooms to do!) or will they be able to give me an indicator eg. if you go for x sort of fabric that will cost you y amount 4)Do you pay a deposit then pay the balance when the job is completed to your satisfaction, or do you have to pay up front? If you pay up front, how can you ensure you get the right quality? 5) What sort of timescale is reasonable to expect 7 sets of curtains to be made in? Its not a rush job, but I have about a month before I want to go back to the UK to fit them. Is it do-able? 6) Most curtains I've seen out here are the sort with eyelets and poles, however, I will want/need curtain tapes to go with tracks in the UK. I assume this is available out here? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 01 October 2011 - 12:21
My local gym does it twice a week, and you can pay sessionally (50aed a session) but the location is wrong for you as its beach road. http://www.inshapeme.com/
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 01 October 2011 - 11:51
Sorry to hijack the thread but snowflake, I'd just like to ask you a question about Golden Scissors. Do they have an actual showroom or do they only do a service which comes to your home. When Mr Jamal came to your home, did he come with lots of fabric books for you to choose from? I'm currently buying curtains for a house in England at the moment so I have all the measurements and don't particularly need a home service, hence why I am asking.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 30 September 2011 - 19:19
Hi, I'm not sure about inexpensive here in Dubai (!) but there is a shop in Town Centre Mall (the Mall that is next door to Mercato) on the first floor called something like Papercraft that sells a good range of things. You will see it on the left hand side as soon as you go up the escalator. I've not found any paper goods in Satwa before, but of course that doesn't mean there aren't any! There is also a website that has been recommended on here before for all sorts of craft stuff that is UAE based. I'll try and remember the name of the website and get back to you if no-one else comes up with it.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 30 September 2011 - 19:15
There was all grades and thicknesses and they were well explained on the labels so I am sure you will find what you need.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 30 September 2011 - 18:01
We got ours in Carrefour - they usually have a really good range.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 30 September 2011 - 15:24
I've always found Magrudys to be very good for board games - try the Festival City branch or the one in Jumeira. Also I have seen some nice games in Virgin in Mercato.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 30 September 2011 - 14:20
Have you also considered Lebanon? Beautiful country, tons of history, particularly Roman, lovely people! We have done a couple of holidays there, the last one was in July and we love it.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 30 September 2011 - 14:07
I've just tried emailing the address given but it has come back saying the email address isn't found!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 20:50
We got ours for a holiday in Kenya in Grand Stores in MOE (its on the ground floor, very near to Carrefour). They had a good range and were happy for us to fiddle around with them until we found a pair that suited us.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 20:40
Puffinlunde, thanks for posting the great recipe links. I can't wait to get baking!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 12:12
There is a bar at Dreamland during the day but presumably that shuts when the park shuts?
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 10:52
Have you considered Epsom? Geographically its not too far from Guildford, and there is a number of businesses there that often bring in staff on short contracts so there may just be a market for short term let properties. Try giving Oaks Property a call. They may be able to give you an idea about whether what you are looking for actually exists - http://www.oaksproperty.co.uk/
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 10:06
I'm not sure about the children bits as I don't have any, but one thing that is popular here is take out Christmas dinners which are a godsend! We did this a few years ago - we ordered ours from the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and it was absolutely lovely. You go down and collect it yourselves and it arrives in heat proof containers. If you want a family Christmas at home but without the stress of trying to assemble a Christmas Dinner yourself when you'd rather be spending your time with your family, then this is the way to go!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 09:49
We've done quite a bit of diving in the UAE and although its always enjoyable, it is never spectacular (unless you see a whale shark!!) Our favourites are - driving up to Khasab in the Musendam peninsular and staying over at the accomodation provided by Extra Divers (not on the beach, but perfectly adequate b & b facilities and a fixed bbq so you can cook for yourselves in the evening) then doing 1 or 2 days diving with Extra Divers (they are based next door to the Golden Tulip in Khasab) or we stay in JAL Fujeirah and dive with their in house dive team who we have always found to be excellent. If you are hiring equipment their stuff is really good. My friend swears by the dhow liveaboard cruises that now depart from the Miramar, but I've never done one of these myself. The only place I know of with huts on the beach is the Oman Dive Centre just outside of Muscat, but IMHO that's a bit too far for a normal length weekend. Edited to add: I've just realised that you are planning your trip for Eid. That would rule out Khasab as the border gets horrifically busy - we've queued for hours there just to get through. <em>edited by shamat on 27/09/2011</em>
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 09:36
I made enquiries about this earlier on in the year and found them very helpful by email amazingly enough. I think someone on here gave me the email address which was [email protected]. They sent me a pack including photos and pricelists of the accomodation offers. I'd be interested to know how you got on. The only reason we didn't go was we were a group of 3 adults and the accomodation didn't really suit that configuration.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 12:17
You won't be able to get it repaired without a police report unfortunately. Even if you do something stupid here, like reverse into a pillar in your own garage (don't ask!), no repair shop will touch the car without a police report.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 12:13
Interesting article, thanks for posting! I can see some logic in it, although when it came to answering the true or false questions at the end, I scored evenly across all the categories, but not enough to register with any of them! Does that mean I'm without hope and crave absolutely everything for no reason at all?!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 18 August 2011 - 16:50
Our experience was better than pinks and we stayed last Autumn. Its a good, basic hotel with clean rooms, but I agree with Wild Mint, the food was uninspiring.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 18 August 2011 - 16:45
Another very happy Jumeira resident here! With regard to your question about living on a compound or not, I think it depends on whether you have children or not. We don't and we like living in an independent villa but you have to be pretty self sufficient - we don't know our neighbours as all the houses are surrounded by high walls so there are no opportunities even to exchange pleasantries. If you have children, I think compounds work really well as there are plenty of other families around and from what I've seen, the facilities on some compounds are really good too. Personally, the compounds I've seen wouldn't really suit us as they are very open and seem to lack privacy.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 17 August 2011 - 18:09
Bumping this for the evening crowd. I've just been out to get the stuff to put in my boxes, and I have to say, I do think its quite an odd list of items. The talcum powder was very difficult to get and more geared towards women (implying that maybe it isn't widely used any more) and it seems odd that items such as deodrant and shower gel are not included, whereas aftershave is? Still, as Lakshmi says, they must know what is needed as the appeal has been running for a few years now. BTW, caps were easily available at Union Co-op Safa Park. Happy shopping everyone!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 17 August 2011 - 10:49
When we went, we also stayed in the Al Khaimah villas and our pool couldn't be overlooked at all, unless someone was trying really hard and peering over the wall or walking through the desert! However I guess every villa has a slightly different aspect, so it may be best to check this out on arrival and change rooms if you aren't happy. We had a great time there, I hope you do too.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 17 August 2011 - 08:54
Hi Lakshmi Thanks for starting this thread and bringing it to our attention. We'll definitely be joining in. Thanks for your offer of boxes but its easier for me to get my own because of my location. PS. The official website does state that each item is required for the box http://gulfnews.com/radio2/the-box-appeal-1.851770
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 12 August 2011 - 18:06
The worst for me has to be the Union Co op (new one in Al Barsha) It sounds like they need to learn from the Safa Park branch, particularly if you go early in the morning. I get all my fruit and veg there because I find it the best place to go. That said, I don't tend to buy the pre-packed stuff there because strangely enough there doesn't ever seem to be much of it.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 12 August 2011 - 17:50
Hi, good luck with your move! When we moved out to Dubai from the UK, we were moved by Ocean Air International (NB. there is an Ocean Air here in Dubai, but they are not part of the same company). The other company that my husband's employer uses is K2. In fact, they are the company responsible for moving us back to the UK in a few months time! We were pleased with Ocean Air International, and some of our colleagues who used K2 were also pleased with the service. <em>edited by shamat on 12/08/2011</em>
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 16:05
What fantastic simple recipes you have all come up with! Just printing them out now and its not even my thread!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 15:44
I second Talise spa at al Qasr. You get free use of a small but pleasant swimming pool too and you can order a lunch to eat while sitting beside it. The lunch menu is vegetarian only, and very tasty. (Obviously being Ramadan you'd need to check that this is still an option!)
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 12:21
Congratulations on your anniversary...Gosh...18 years:\: Thanks!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 12:05
Thanks very much PF!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 11:45
Out tonight with a colleague of my husband's (sorry, just read that back and it sounds a bit odd! Obviously my husband will be there too!), going to Iftar with friends on Friday night and then on Saturday we are heading off to Qasr al Sarab to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 11:15
... came with two small cups in it as well! :) That sounds like the one I've got, although mine came from the UK. Mine is a Russell Hobbs and it has lasted for years!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 11 August 2011 - 11:04
Thanks Jac, much appreciated, and thanks for the extra info about food. I'll pack a few extra rations!
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 10 August 2011 - 13:30
Cherrypip, on another note, if you bought an electric oven, and they sent a gas one, and now won't rectify their mistake, I'd say that's another case for the consumer line that's been promoted on here before.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 10 August 2011 - 13:20
Don't be fooled - many of the HP cartridges are actually available here but for some reason they are given different numbers. This is certainly the case with ours. Your best bet, if you haven't done so already, is to take your cartridge with you into one of the office supplies specialist stores. They usually have a book showing all the different cartridges and their (local) numbers so that you can compare yours with their lists. Hope you find what you are looking for.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 10 August 2011 - 13:17
Will you have to take the school fees out of the 60k as well, or are those being covered by the company separately? It depends on the age of the children, but if you have teenagers, I think 60k won't be enough if you are paying for school fees.
shamat
624
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 10 August 2011 - 13:15
Spaghetti bolognese (I know this is pasta but it never seems like pasta to me!) or chilli con carne and rice, served with a green salad and french bread.
 
 
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