Mail Delivery in Abu Dhabi

Since Abu Dhabi does not have street addresses, then obviously they do not deliver mail at your residence. If you want to receive mail here, you must register for a post office box at the main post office or apply for one in the district where you live. Most districts have small P. O. kiosks with about 100 to 200 boxes located somewhere near a center of activity, such as the local market.

Now to confuse things even more, your house has a number and name, but it is not used for mail delivery---only helping to determine location---which might be a bit difficult since only the main streets in the city have a number/name (many of them have a number and two names :) ) Therefore, I can tell someone I live at #3 Otaiba---this means I am the third villa in the Otaiba villas. Now, the street in front of my house does not have a name. I am lucky that 23 street, which is a main thoroughfare, runs right next to the other side of my house. What's even funnier is that the street in front of my house is actually 24th street or also known as Karamah Street, although a sign does not indicate it. Karamah Street runs all the way through the city but is broken up at various points due to those "medians" again so the street directly in front of my house does not have signage to indicate it is Karamah Street.

I have attached an ad that recently ran in the newspaper advertising mail boxes as "bundled services"---kind of like the bundles of cable, internet, and telephone that you find in the US. For one annual price, you can be a bronze ezimail member, or a silver, or a gold depending on how much you want to pay and your needs. As a bronze ezimail customer, for instance, you have an annual rental of a mail box, plus 1 free mail bag, plus 1 x a week mail pickup and delivery, 4 free domestic courier coupons, and 50% discount on domestic unaddressed mail up to 20K units. Now, I don't know about you but I am wondering how "unaddressed" mail will ever go anywhere. Beats me. Oh, and if you want mail picked up and delivered 6 x a week you must be a gold member and pay 12,000 dirhams a year which is 3,264 USD which amounts of $62.76 a week----FOR MAIL DELIVERY AND PICKUP!

Okay, 44 cents per stamp does not sound too bad. And we thought USPS was highway robbery. My goodness. Now, Emirates Post advertises their new bundling concept as innovative! A new service that offers a host of value-added services. They claim to "deliver absolute peace of mind." I don't know about you but this would DRIVE ME CRAZY! I am sure they are trying to appeal to businesses who have larger delivery needs but still----this is crazy. Oh and by the way, they are going techy----they will send you a free SMS to notify you of your mail service.

Sounds like the UAE skipped the Pony Express and the Stagecoach.

Street Addresses

One of the things I found most unusual upon arrival in Abu Dhabi was the lack of street addresses. No----they do not have street addresses. I cannot give a taxi driver an address....say of 223 15th Street. The conversation goes something like this:

"I need to go to Light Bright Fashions, a tailor near Hamdan Street," I say as I plunk down in the back seat of Emirates Taxi #8421. The number is posted on the window next to my face as well as on the large digital screen meter sitting square in the middle of the dashboard. This little box also sports a very bad photo of the driver and his name in big, bold letters MUHAMMAD AHMAD or VESTRIK DULIK or something along those lines.

"You need tailor on Hamdan?", questions the taxi driver. "I don't know. You know? You go?

"Yes, I know, " I respond. "I will tell you how to get there. It's near Sun and Surf on Hamdan Street---you know, 5th Street. Opposite Sun and Surf. One block from Salam Street, near K.M. Trading on 8th Street." I say opposite not across from because the drivers do not understand the word across.

On the return trip, it goes something like this:

"I need to go to 23 street, off Airport Road."

"23 street? Airport Road?, asks the taxi driver. "Okay, Muroor Road. 23 Street. I take you."

"No, No.", I exclaim. "Not 23 on Muroor Road. Go Airport Road. Take a right onto 23 street on Airport road. Near Kuwaiti Embassy. You know Kuwaiti Embassy?" Airport Road, a six lane highway, happens to have a median in the middle of the road. 23 street runs all the way across the city but is chopped up by the median on Airport Road. If you are traveling on Airport Road from the city, then 23 street is a right hand turn and heads in the direction of 30th Street, another six lane freeway. If you are traveling to the city on Airport Road, then 23 street is a right turn heading toward Muroor Road, an outer ring highway that runs parallel with Airport Road. Then, the direction I need to travel is a left hand turn to get to 23 street, which cannot be down because of the median if you are traveling toward the city. Very confusing I know.

"Yes, yes, I know Kuwaiti Embassy." he responds. "I take you."

And so it goes. Heaven forbid if you do not know your way around Abu Dhabi. The first month or two I was here, getting around was a challenge. I would most often call ahead and get these landmark directions before I embarked on my journey. Life was just easier that way. And then heaven forbid again should I get a NEW taxi driver who speaks very little English AND does not know ANYTHING about the city.

Life is an adventure every single day---especially when I get into a taxi.