The Expat Life: How To Get A Driving License In Ajman

A long-time dream of mine came true recently – finally managed to get my UAE driving license! I’m pretty thrilled about it and I’m definitely looking forward to drive regularly from now on. I did have an Indian driving license as well, which I had obtained about 10 years back, but honestly I didn’t really know to drive till a few weeks back. Although I still need to practise a bit in our own car, I can see myself becoming an independent and confident driver a few months down the line. It doesn't seem like an impossible dream anymore!

How To Get A Driving License In Ajman: Getting Started

As most people in this region are well aware, getting a driving license over here is not an easy task. I thought of sharing my experience so that it might be useful to anyone who is thinking about getting a driving license in Ajman. The first thing that you would need to do is to go to the Traffic & Licensing department, commonly known as Muroor, and open your license file. Ladies are eligible to apply for a license to drive automatic light vehicles. You will need to make an initial payment of 1350 AED for this, which includes the cost for a lecture and the theory test.

The lecture will be held within a week or so and it lasts for approximately a couple of hours. Topics such as signals, road rules, best practices while driving, safety tips etc will be covered and you will be provided with a guide book as well. Once done with the lecture, you will be required to take an online signal test within a couple of weeks. If you’ve paid attention during the lecture and read through the guide book it is quite easy to clear the online test.

Prepping For The Parking Test

Once you pass the online test, next comes the eye test followed by the parking test. An initial payment of 170 AED needs to be done for this and then you will need to contact a driving school or a driving instructor for classes. Classes cost 50 AED for an hour and you will be taken to a practise area where a mock test area is setup. Please note that you need to pay 10 AED entry fee to practise in this area. The Parking test involves 3 tests in all: garage parking, parallel parking as well as bridge/slope.

It takes about a week’s time to get familiar with the parking techniques and once you feel confident you can pay 250 AED and take up the parking test. There is no need to book an appointment in advance for the parking test. On whichever day you intend to take the test, show up at Muroor, pay the fees and proceed to take the test. You will need to pass all three parts of this test; if you fail any section, then you will again need to pay 250 AED and redo the failed parts till you clear all three.

Almost There! Road Test

So you have successfully cleared the parking test. Congrats! Next up is of course the road test. Again, you will need to take up driving classes and your instructor will teach you the nuts and bolts of driving in Ajman. The number of classes that you will need to take will depend on how quickly you grasp the concepts of driving! Usually, you will be advised to give the first test a couple of weeks later. It helps to go for regular driving classes so that you don’t lose touch, especially if you are new to driving. The first few days can be pretty confusing and frustrating; you might even wonder if you will ever learn to drive. Don’t worry and hang in there! You will get there, trust me!

Generally it takes a few attempts before you will clear the road test. I took 6 attempts. Each attempt will cost 200 AED. You will need to make an appointment in advance and they typically allow you to choose any week day which falls one week after your last test. You will be expected to show up at Muroor between 8 AM – 11 AM on your test date and submit your papers and your learner’s license to the lady police inspector over there. She will sort out all the candidates and will allocate you to a traffic policeman along with 3 other lady candidates. All 4 will be taken in a single trip and each will be given about 5 minutes to test your driving skills. 

Most people, including me, tend to get nervous before the test. Take a few deep breaths, stay calm, concentrate on driving and follow the traffic inspector’s instructions. There is no need to be afraid of the inspectors – the majority of them are polite and will help you out while driving in case you are unable to control the car. You will be assessed on a variety of things such as how good is your steering control, brake and accelerator control, overtaking, changing lanes, at roundabouts and at signals, respecting other road users, following traffic rules and regulations etc. Even if you do fail a few times, do not get discouraged. View it as an opportunity to improve your driving skills.

At last, the day which you thought might never come will arrive and ta da! You will pass! Yayyy! Now you will need to pay another 200 AED and submit your photo along with your learner’s license and voila! Your brand new driving  license will be ready in a few minutes! All the best!

P.S: Keep in mind that in Ajman only lady instructors can teach ladies and only male instructors can teach men. In case you need to contact a good lady driving instructor, do drop me a word and I can pass on the details of the woman who taught me to drive. She is friendly, punctual and really good J

The Expat Life: Food Club Master Class At Kempinski, Ajman

BBC Good Food Me's Editor Sudeshna Ghosh

As a member of BBC Good Food Middle-East’s Food Club, I was invited to a cooking masterclass at Kempinski hotel in Ajman last evening. Usually, most interesting events like this tend to happen in Dubai and I end up not going all the way. When I heard that this one was closer to home, I jumped at the chance! 

Welcome Drink: Mango Lassi

The event was held at Bukhara, Kempinski’s Indian restaurant which serves up delicious north-west frontier fare. Sipping on our chilled glasses of mango lassi, we got to learn 3 recipes from Chef Manoj Aswal.

Chef Manoj Aswal of Bukhara, Kempinski, Ajman

He started off with a very innovative Dahi Ke Kebab with raw mango and onion chutney. When I heard the name of this dish, I assumed that the chef would be marinating pieces of meat with yoghurt (dahi) before grilling them into kebabs. However, he totally surprised me by making kebabs out of yoghurt itself! One would imagine that the yoghurt would disintegrate and fall apart, but he added a secret ingredient to avoid this - roast and ground lotus seeds! Really different!

Veg Starter: Dahi ke Kebab

This was followed by the ubiquitous Chicken Tikka, which was served with raw papaya relish. The chicken was tender and juicy. Scrumptious! Chef Manoj explained how we can incorporate the trademark smoky flavour of tandoori cooking at home, where most of us don't own tandoors. Want to know how? Simply ignite a piece of charcoal, add a dash of ghee (clarified butter) to it, place it in a heatproof ramekin and place the ramekin into the bowl of marinated meat. Cover and let it sit for about 30 minutes to allow the meat to marinate and the flavours to infuse, before proceeding with the cooking process. Voila! 

Non-veg Starter: Chicken Tikka

The demo was wound up on a sweet note with a tasty and crispy Saeb Ki Jalebi. We were given samplings of the 3 dishes – my favourite was the dessert, but the other two were pretty good too.Chef Manoj Aswal was very helpful in addressing our queries and shared several tips and tricks for cooking Indian food. The dishes demonstrated were simple with the perfect balance of traditional and contemporary flavours.

Cooking away!

All participants were given goodie bags which contained a copy of BBC’s Good Food Middle East magazine, a jar of raw papaya relish, printed recipes of the 3 dishes and a bright red coffee mug, which proudly proclaims, "I'm a foodie!". I am definitely going to try out the dishes at home and I am indeed looking forward to more such great events! If you are around the Ajman area, do consider dropping by Bukhara for a mouthwatering Indian feast. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Goodies!

The Expat Life: Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa

I just got back from a lovely trip to the Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa. It had been a few months since my husband and I had taken a trip and we were looking forward to a nice break. Bab Al Shams means “gateway to the sun” in Arabic and the resort is about 2 hours away from Ajman. We’ve never been to a desert resort before and Bab Al Shams was offering some good deals for the Summer, so we thought of trying this one out. We set off on a rather hot Tuesday afternoon and we kept going… and going…. and going!

This resort is located off Exit 37 near the Dubai Outlet Mall. Apparently, we missed this exit and kept driving. After several frustrating calls to the resort concierge we finally figured out the mistake and somehow managed to get to the resort – after spending nearly double the time than was necessary on the road. After the sweltering drive, the complimentary mint lemonade and the fresh cold towels that they offered was indeed quite soothing.

The resort is designed like an old Arabian dwelling and has a traditional Arabic feel to it. The rustic décor and earthen colours were a welcome change to the swanky hotels that one is so used to these days. It really felt like being in an oasis with sparrows chirping away and the sound of water flowing enveloping us. There are several sit-out spots scattered around the resort – with comfortable swings and cushions strewn around. However as we went in the peak of Summer, the idea of lounging around in the blazing heat was far from appealing.

The Bathtub

Wall Art

A Painting

Wall hangers

Wall decor

We retreated to the cool confines of our room. Our room was spacious and was well equipped with all basic amenities. We were greeted with fresh fruit, chilled water and a box of gourmet dates to munch on.

My favourite part was the bathroom – which gave off an earthy aroma when wet due to the earthenware accessories and fittings! Later, once the sun had set, we took a leisurely stroll around the resort. It was beautifully lit up with Arabic style lights and lamps, which gave a golden glow to the surroundings.


We started the next day with a satisfying buffet breakfast at the Al Forsan restaurant. With the sun beating down mercilessly, where else could we head to other than the swimming pool? Bab Al Shams has 3 pools – however the Infinity pool is the largest and also the only one open since the other pools were closed for maintenance.

The infinity pool looks out into the sand dunes of the desert and is again done up in an Arabic style – with large vases and rough walls. The entire pool is not too deep, for which I am thankful for since I do not know to swim. At the end of two hours of splashing around in the pool, I was blessed with slightly chafed knees and elbows – thanks to the rough floors & a lack of swimming skills – as well as a terrible tan – thanks to forgetting to slather on the sun block!

A giant jug

Once again, the mighty sun forced us to head to our rooms and we decided to order room service. The Butter Chicken arrived promptly, accompanied by steamed rice, roast pappad, raitha and chutney. It was lip-smacking and I had to stop myself from licking my plate clean!

After a short siesta, we headed out to the lawns where I tried my hand at golf and table tennis. There was also a falcon show and a complimentary camel ride. I wasn’t too keen on the camel ride and the falcon show was a little too cruel to watch for entertainment – as it involved the falcon hunting and killing a pigeon; so we gave both a miss and instead settled down into the sands to watch the sun set gracefully over the desert.

Beautiful lamps

That night, we decided to check out Bab Al Sham’s Italian Restaurant – Le Dune. We were served some complimentary bread sticks and garlic bread along with a sun-dried tomato dip and a black olive dip. The bread sticks were fresh and the bread was soft. We were waiting for our food when a lady who was also dining at the restaurant walked up to us and gave us an extra coupon that she had – which entitled us to a free main course! Thanks kind lady – that was really sweet of you! We ordered Caesar salad, Spinach and ricotta tortellini and Spaghetti with shrimp. The portions were generous and everything was yummy. 

Bab Al Shams also has an Indian restaurant called Masala and a rooftop lounge called Al Sarab. Plus it also has a couple of bars. In addition, Al Hadeerah which is located a little outside the resort offers Arabic style entertainment and food. Since we’ve had more than our share of desert safaris and belly dancing, we decided to opt out of it.

On the whole, I completely enjoyed our short break away from our daily grind. I would definitely recommend Bab Al Shams to anyone looking for a relaxing stay.

Negatives:

  - The concierge staff really need to be able to guide guests to the resort better. We wasted a lot of time, energy and money in finding our way to the place.

 - The resort was hardly full and yet we were told that a late checkout was not possible. This was a disappointment.

  -  In my opinion, the activities at the resort should ideally be free of charge for the guests. While golf, table tennis and snooker was free, other activities such as archery, yoga and rental bikes were not.

 -  The lighting in the room could be better. Also there is no wi-fi in the rooms – which is surprising in this day and age!

Positives:

  - The staff were courteous and pleasant.

 -  Clean, neat and well maintained.

  -  The Arabic style design and hospitality lends a unique character to the resort. 

A Desert Sunset

The Expat Life: Ajman Museum

Museum Entrance

I finally managed to haul my lazy self to the Ajman Museum. I've been meaning to visit it for couple of years now, but somehow kept delaying the trip. The museum is situated in a central place very near to the Ajman bus stop. It isn't a particularly large one - you can probably complete the museum tour in an hour. But it is quite well maintained and gives us a peek into the history of Ajman. There were only a handful of people apart from me so I could really have a look around at leisure and take lots of photos without worrying about crowds. Entry fee: 5 AED per adult. Timings: Daily - 9 - 1 & 4 - 7. Closed on Fridays.

Narrow staircases

One complaint I had was that there didn't seem to be any museum guide to explain things to visitors. Of course, there were boards that explained stuff in both Arabic & English - but it would have been good to have a knowledgeable person who could answer a few questions that I had. Also, the museum is not very accessible to differently-abled people. There were many narrow steps that would have made it difficult for people with disabilities.

The museum is actually an old fortress. It consists of several rooms housing old photographs, official documents, weapons, musical instruments and also several tableaux representing scenes from everyday life of yore. One can learn a lot about the various traditions and trades of the Arabs through these lifelike scenes. Here are some pictures that I clicked in the museum. 

A tableau depicting a village scene

The evolution of weaponry: from bows & arrows to spears to daggers to guns

A domestic scene

The Arabic spice souq

An old-fashioned cafe replete with hookah et al!

A doctor of traditional medicine. Am I glad for advances in  the medical  field!

Arabic crockery & jewelry

Old official documents: Driving License & Passport. (Notice that it says Rs.5? Not sure why!)

Various traditional trades: Upholstery | Pearling | Rope Making & Basket Weaving

Various traditional trades: Blacksmith | Baker | Barber

The Bedouins in the desert

                                                           Arabic coffee anyone?

                                                         Musical instruments

                                                                          A Wooden Door with Carvings

A quaint Arabic tradition:

When a person is sick, a religious leader is requested to write verses from the Koran onto a plate using a  mixture of saffron & rose water. Then the plate is washed with rose water and the solution is given to the person who is ill to drink or is applied on affected body parts.

The Expat Life: 5 Things I Like About Living In Ajman

I often find myself cribbing about how where I live in the UAE – Ajman: how hot it is, how boring it is, how dusty it is or how nothing ever happens here. But then I paused and thought, surely it can’t be all bad? There must be some advantages of living in Ajman; afterall every place has its own positives and negatives. Also, I get a lot of enquiries from people around the world asking me how life in Ajman is. So, today I decided to try to be an optimist and look at the bright side for a change. Here are 5 things I like about living in Ajman:

1. Home delivery of groceries: makes it to the top of my list by a huge margin! As any home cook – or atleast a sloppy one like me - will tell you, running out of that one vital ingredient when making a meal is a frustrating experience. Usually, this means that first I have to change out of my curry-stained-and-faded-pyjamas, brush my straggly hair, and run to the grocery – thus interrupting my hurried cooking process and disrupting my routine. But the great thing about living in Ajman is that you can simply call your neighbourhood grocery and even if it what you need costs just a couple of dirhams they will bring it to your doorstep in no time!

2. Living near the beach: I’m a Piscean and I’m from Chennai – how can I not like the beach huh? The majority of my life has been spent in a city near the beach and I never tire of it! I have many fond childhood memories of the beach and I’m really happy that Ajman has a nice beach. It is the perfect place to spend a pleasant evening with the wind ruffling your hair and feet sinking into the soft sand.

3. Small & compact: Ajman is rather small. This means that it takes only a short time to get from one place to another in Ajman. In fact, most of the time, my husband comes home from work for lunch – he gets a fresh and healthy home cooked meal and we get to spend our respective lunch hour together. Since we need to cover only short distances there is hardly any irritating traffic jams either to delay you.

4. Affordable rents & uninterrupted utilities: When most people back home complain about suffering in the sweltering heat due to frequent power cuts, I am so thankful that we have uninterrupted power over here. Touchwood! Further, I have lived through several of Chennai’s severe water shortages where we had to constantly worry about running out of water, remembering to fill every available container when the water comes only during stipulated time slots and running like mad to get to the Metro water tanker when it comes around sloshing half its contents on the road. So trust me, it is truly a relief that we also have uninterrupted water supply – which is kind of a big deal since Ajman is a desert, albeit a developed one. Plus, the rents are far more affordable than in the neighbouring emirates of Sharjah or Dubai – which is why a lot of people who work in Dubai prefer to live in Ajman.

5. Feels a bit like India: Ajman doesn’t feel “foreign”. It doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of New York or the sterile orderliness of Singapore – it does not even have the quaintness of an English suburb. What it does have is, kids playing gully cricket, men lounging around in tiny tea stalls, Hindi or Malayalam conversations carried by the wind, restaurants around every corner serving fish curry or chicken tikka and loads of people from the Indian sub-continent – now surely, an Indian wouldn’t feel out of place in Ajman would he?

So, there we go! 5 things that make Ajman a – well, I still won’t say great – but yeah, nice enough place to stay! What do you like about where you live?

The Expat Life: Ladies’ Park, Ajman

A date palm tree with young dates

It has been more than 2 years since I’ve moved to the United Arab Emirates. But I realized that I’ve hardly blogged anything about life in the UAE as such. In all these months, there are places I’ve discovered, restaurants I’ve tried, people I’ve met and various experiences I’ve had. So I’ve decided to set up a tag, Expat Life and write something regularly about the place where I first set up a ‘home’ after getting married.

So first of all, I know that a lot of people don’t really know the different Middle-Eastern countries from one another. Most people only know that there are a bunch of ‘Gulf’ countries out there – I was one among them too, before I decided to move here. And while I am still somewhat geographically challenged, atleast I can tell you that the United Arab Emirates is a collection of 7 emirates: the capital Abu Dhabi, the most popular Dubai, Ras al-Kaimah, Umm al-Qwain, Fujairah, Sharjah and finally - the one I stay in – Ajman. An emirate is like a state by itself, and each emirate has its own ruler and set of rules. And no – Saudi is not part of the UAE, Bahrain is also not UAE, nor is Qatar.

Coming to Ajman, to be brutally honest, it is a rather sleepy, dusty and boring little emirate. Read a dry-Texan-cowboy-small-town with the searing heat kicking up swirls of dust. It is relatively small, with many people treating it as the suburbs of Dubai, since the cost of living is much lesser when compared to its glamorous neighbour. So while there is a surplus of housing options – half of which lie vacant – when it comes to entertainment, there are a handful of fine dining places, a decent beach, a few shopping malls and  a couple of parks. That’s about it. Most people head out to Dubai on Thursdays (which marks the beginning of the weekend over here) for fun; and I don’t blame them as there really isn’t anything much ‘to do’ in Ajman. Yet one tries to make the best of what is provided – is there really a choice?

For quite some time now, I’ve been meaning to head to a park named ‘Ladies Park’ in Al Rashidiya area, Ajman. As the name suggests, this park is meant only for ladies – and children, regardless of the gender.  Someone I knew, once remarked, “Why is this park only for ladies? Why would I want to go to a park without my husband?” Well, maybe just to get some "me" time? Or maybe when you have one of those unavoidable domestic tiffs? Or maybe when the husband is too busy and you find yourself sitting all alone at home one evening, with absolutely nothing to do and craving for some fresh air? Although I do find myself in the former situation plenty of times, I happened to be in the latter one evening last week, when I was left to fend for myself. Pondering over the possibilities, I decided to go for a leisurely stroll. And while walking around pretty much aimlessly, I found myself in the vicinity of the Ladies Park – not surprising really, since I live rather close to it.

I decided to go ahead and check it out. Previously I had often googled for information about this park, but unfortunately couldn’t find many details. So here is a short review in case anyone is interested in knowing about this little green pocket. The entry fee is 2 AED – not a large amount at all, IMO. The park is quite well-lit and big enough to accommodate a moderate crowd. It is pretty and well maintained, with lush green lawns, clumps of palm trees, tiny hillocks, comfortable benches and long, winding paths. I visited the park on a weekend and so it was quite crowded with women gossiping away, while children ran around gleefully screeching and giggling. It looked like many had packed little picnic baskets and were happily enjoying themselves. There is also a designated play area filled with children’s play equipment to keep the kids occupied. Also there were some stalls set up, selling snacks and short-eats along with some knickknacks and trinkets.

I took a long walk and then settled down on a hillock to the smell of freshly crushed grass – which btw never fails to remind me of Marina beach, back home...

I wish I had taken a book or a notepad and pen or even my laptop. It is really a refreshing setting to read or write, along with something to munch on. Next time I intend to. I didn't take my camera either - so couldn't take any photos, will do the next time and put them up here. This time, I just looked around peacefully, observing people and smiling at the kids’ games and antics. It is quite a nice place to check out if you live somewhere nearby. Kids will surely love it and if you happen to have a bunch of gal-pals, bring them along too, for some uninterrupted bonding time!