Obtaining an Abu Dhabi Driving License (Converting from a UK one)

Right then, there's a lot of information on the internet about how to get an Abu Dhabi Driving License, but here is the definitive guide on how to transfer your UK license to an Abu Dhabi one!

DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO TRANSFER YOUR UK LICENSE TO A UAE ONE.

1. Get your UK driving license translated into Arabic at a local translation office. These are found on pretty much every corner. It costs around 50 AED.

2. Get your employer to write you an Arabic letter of no objection. This will only take a day or two.

3. Ensure you have your passport, some photos, your Emirates ID and your passport visa page and copies of them all. I m not sure the driver licensing agency looks at all of them, but it's best to have them all to hand.

4. Take all the documents to the Emirates Driving license agency on Muroor road in Abu Dhabi. This isn't too far, but my advice is go early! It's much quieter then. I imagine the queues can be horrendous at certain times of day.

5. When you enter the building, you need to go to the desk in the middle to get a ticket in order to see someone. This isn't advertised anywhere, but they will give you a ticket if you ask for it.

6. Then you wait until you are called to the counter and they will sort the documents out. They then call you back a few times to pay and to collect your license. That's it basically. The people seem to be reasonably efficient in getting things done. I was in and out in about 30 minutes.

The next step is to actually get out on the roads of the UAE.

Good luck!

LA to Asia

Life in Russia - Part 1

Hi All,

I thought I would continue the blog this year with a bit of a re-cap. I m going to write a bit about my travels in Russia. I started in Russia back in 2005, and I still remember arriving. I flew into Sheremetyevo Airport. (Международный Аэропорт Шереметьево), and was picked up by a lovely chap called Artyom. He was driving the 'Language Link' Citroen 2CV. I should mention that Language Link was the company I would be working for, and secondly I had no idea that 2CVs were even made anymore. Anyways, with a screech of gears off we went into the snow!

The snow was some of the heaviest I have ever seen. The UK has some snow every now and then, but this was something else. The streets were mostly clear, thanks to some massive snowploughs, but the snow drifts were everywhere, and they were massive. After about an hour we arrived at my apartment. It was like something out of the 1970s or 80s. Everything was cheap plywood and the kitchen even had a diner style seat! I didn't know they were still made either! The stove was electric, and my bed was effectively a sofa bed, my room even had a piano in it. I don't play the piano, but I thought it was a nice touch.

It doesn't sound very appealing, I admit, but you know, I loved it! It was my first big adventure outside the UK, and I couldn't wait to get started. I had no idea what the job would be like, what the people would be like, or even if I would be able to navigate around, but it was really exciting, I couldn't wait to meet my flatmate either, but first I thought I would just have a quick nap.....

Some pictures of the apartment, the lift, and the local area (in the snow) are below:

Life in Russia - Part 2 will follow when I get time to update it.