Dear Ali: I'm not new to the UAE, but something has made me curious. Last weekend, I went to Global Village in Dubai and bought some food. I picked the first burger shop on my way, but unfortunately it took me one hour to get my order because of the crowd, which I noticed was mostly Emiratis. Later, 10 metres farther along, I saw a couple of shops selling almost exactly the same kind of food, but it was empty. Why do they all prefer to buy from the same place? SY, Dubai
Dear SY: It's not only Global Village, but Dubai as well which is rich in flavour, and where so many new shops, restaurants and cafes are opened daily. We want to be able to taste food from all of them, though something in our culture makes us all choose the same.
Our lifestyle is based on a communal culture. It means that we enjoy sharing our ideas, tastes and places we go. This is where the power of word of mouth comes into play. That’s why in public places, such as malls, parks and Global Village, you often will see people wearing national dress who usually walk in groups. Either it will be a whole family or friends. They will often visit new places that are recommended to them.
Once we decide to go somewhere, we like to ask the advice of our friends and relatives who have been there before. We often trust people’s taste and follow it, especially now that our communication has been enriched by social media. We can see opinions and reviews, people‘s recommendations and suggestions of the places they have visited. And Instagram – wow. Have you noticed how young Emiratis are addicted to this app? And that’s not to mention how important it is for new businesses, as many people and companies can sell their services and products via posting it on this app.
New options of photo-sharing and location-setting make it easy for us to find places and decide whether they deserve visiting. In addition, almost everyone now owns a smartphone, so news spreads faster than before. Taking mouthwatering pictures of food only adds enthusiasm for people to go and try it.
Dear Ali: Is it prohibited to import hormonal supplements to Abu Dhabi and in the Gulf region generally? SV, Poland
Dear SV: Not all medications are accepted in the UAE or the Gulf region.
As per the list of forbidden medicines to import, hormonal supplements have certain regulations as well. To acquire official information, check with the Ministry of Health’s Drug Control Department in Abu Dhabi on 800 111 11, or search online for a controlled-substance list, which includes details for about 400 restricted medications.
If you still need to fly in with one of those medications, to avoid any inconvenience when entering the country, please make sure that you have prescriptions issued by a licensed physician, notarised and legally translated into English. You should not have more than three months’ supply of prescription medicine for your personal use.
For residents, before importing restricted medicines, they need to acquire approval from the Ministry of Health, which will study each case separately. To do that, you will be asked for a prescription and medical report from the appropriate hospital.
Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question.