UAE Dubai. Buying a fur coat 2015, shopping, excursions. Practical advice.
A trip to Dubai, especially if it is your first in your life, is definitely an event that will leave a strong mark on your memory. This story, I am more than sure, will help even experienced travelers, and even more so for those who decide to visit the UAE for the first time. The sea, shopping, excursions, currency exchange, restaurants, interesting places, transport, hotels, customs and of course the fur coat topic, which many of our compatriots are interested in. This is not my first story about the UAE. It's no secret that Dubai is the second fur capital of the world after Kastoria and my previous stories were mainly devoted to this topic.
http://www.turpravda.ua/ae/blog-44807.html
http://www.turpravda.ua/ae/dubay/blog-78866.html
Here I will try to give you more different information, but for those who are only interested in fur coats, I recommend immediately trying below in the text to find a place where we are talking about furs, be patient and try to study the material in more detail. Trust me, it will come in handy. There is also a large photo gallery at the end of the story.
The tour was selected and paid for by the Biblio-Globus tour operator via the Internet. During registration, copies of passports and photos were transferred to their page. All documents for the trip, including visas, were simply downloaded from the personal account on the company's website three days later. I didn't have to go anywhere or even call. Very comfortably. The price of the tour from January 11 was ridiculous - 38.000 rubles. with visas for two in a week.
The Transaero Boeing 747-400, designed for 522 passengers, took off on schedule, carrying eighty people in its womb at most. The crisis, the dollar exchange rate and the end of the winter holidays have done their job.
Whatever tour operator you fly to the UAE with, your host company will most likely be Voyage Tour. We were greeted politely, given booklets with information, put into minibuses and quickly taken to the CityMax Bur Dubai hotel.
You can read my detailed review of this hotel here.
http://www.turpravda.com/ae/dubay/Citymax_Bur_Dubai-h30347-r107131.html
Here's the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=-StWJyI4ABs
Hotels in Dubai. If you are interested in a budget option, and the purpose of the trip is excursions, shopping and fur coat fishing combined with morning trips to the beach, then you can take any of the three rubles offered by our tour operators. The list of these hotels is the same for all. The level of service, accommodation and food is also similar. My recommendations: Lords, Landmark, Zein, Comfort inn, Coral Oriental, Flora, Jonrad, Ambassador, CityMax. All of them will provide a sufficient level of cleanliness, quality of food and comfort for not very picky travelers. Basically, these hotels are located in the old area of the city called Deira.
It's not very clean, it can be noisy, there are no Arabs and many of our former compatriots, mainly from the CIS countries, who will constantly pester you on the street, offering to visit various establishments, from fur coats to brothels.
Do you need vodka, an iPhone 6, fake bags, glasses? Yes, whatever. Everything can be bought here. On the other hand, this is an ideal place for walking around small shops and shopping centers. Here is the heart of the city's fur trade, the gold market, the spice market and much more.
You can stay in more expensive hotels, in Jumeirah or the golden mean of Bur Dubai. Here everyone decides according to means and ends. I prefer budget options on such trips, when you only come to the hotel to spend the night and drop your things.
Currency Exchange. In Dubai, exchange offices are on every corner.
The dirham is pegged to the dollar and there is no big difference where to change the currency. The normal rate is 3.65-3.66 dirhams per dollar. Try not to exchange money at Western Union and Global Money cash desks. They take a commission on every trade. I recommend changing a small amount of money immediately at the airport, because in hotels, when checking in, they take a tourist tax, recently introduced by the government of the country. For a three-ruble note it is 10 dirhams per room per night. You will have to pay immediately for the entire term.
Transport in Dubai is mainly taxi and metro. Taxi is cheap. The streets are dark. Never more than a couple of minutes did not stand to catch a free one. If you go somewhere with three or four, then a taxi ride will definitely not be more expensive than by subway. The minimum cost of the trip is 12 dirhams.
The metro in the city is convenient, there are many stations. Almost anywhere you need, you can get on it. Buy tickets at the box office. Name the final destination of the trip, only if you need round-trip tickets do not forget to say so. You can use the machine by specifying the travel zone. These zones can be viewed on the metro map. Tickets are of two types. Red - paper, disposable and a silver plastic card on which you can put money. Red ones are a little more expensive, and you don’t need to pay for the card itself. You can buy yourself a ticket in the Gold class. This is such a car with soft seats for those who are richer.
There is a small problem that many tourists face. Watched this picture constantly. Try not to make a mistake with the choice of zones in the machines and make sure that the cards do not run out of funds and there is enough money for the trip. The thing is that they will let you inside, but at the arrival station, by attaching a card at the exit to the turnstile to write off money, you can find that they were not enough or the ticket was bought in the wrong zone. A fine and a showdown with the police are guaranteed. Once we got this way the year before last with these cards. It is difficult to calculate how much a trip costs, it makes no sense to keep a large amount on the card in order to take it home on it. Since then, we prefer simple and understandable red, one-time tickets.
Now about the two main goals of visiting the UAE by our tourists. Acquaintance with the culture, traditions and history of this amazing country often fades into the background after shopping and the sea.
With the seain Dubai, everything is simple. In 90% of cases, Mamzar Beach awaits you.
A free bus from your hotel or a taxi will take you there. The cost of a trip from the Deira area is 20-25 dirhams. Entrance fee - 5 dirhams. The park by the beach is wonderful. There is sometimes entertainment, but mostly in the evening. There are four beaches. We always, for many years, go to the farthest. There are fewer people there. The entrance to the water is smooth, suitable for kids well. Just be aware there are no sunbeds or umbrellas. The water in January in the morning was 17-18 degrees, by noon it warmed up to 20-22. Swimming is cold. Everyone was basically on fire. Keep in mind that men are not allowed on this beach on Mondays and Wednesdays. There is also a public beach on Jumeirah, but it was closed for renovation. They differ only in the view of the coast. The sea is the same. This all of course applies only to tourists who will live in city hotels. Can you shell out for a beach hotel like Atlantis? Then, of course, you will not be disturbed by such problems as: getting on a hotel bus, how much to pay, queues for a ticket, how to choose a palm tree with a shadow, where to buy a cocktail, etc. etc.
Shopping in Dubai is a separate topic. The main categories that interest our tourists are primarily fur coats, electronics, gold, copies of branded items, perfumes and clothing.
Everything in order, but I'll start with fur coats. I am well versed in this topic and have already written many stories with advice on how to buy and choose the right fluffy beauty in Greece and the UAE.
Dubai is the capital of furs. Absolutely fair saying. There are two main places in the world where our tourists can buy a fluffy beauty. This is the town of Kastoria in Greece and Dubai in the UAE. Everything else branches: large and small. How are these two places different? And where is the best place to make such a purchase? Where better to go for a fur coat. This question has been asked to me about two hundred times. I'll try shorter.
Prices in Dubai and Kastoria are about the same. No difference. The range is about the same throughout the year. In Greece, it is worse in March and April, in the UAE in the summer. In the summer, many salons close in Dubai due to the lack of tourists. The main difference is in the environment. Of course, if the purchase is planned in the summer, then it is more pleasant to combine it with a trip to Greece, if in the winter it is better than the UAE, but here it must be taken into account that a tour to the Emirates will cost decently more.
In Greece, you fall under the phenomenon of organized shopping tours and everything related to them. I have already written a lot about shopping tours for fur coats in Greece. This is an interesting topic, but I will not repeat myself. Anyone who wants to can read here.
http://www.turpravda.ua/gr/kastorija/blog-81945.html
http://www.turpravda.ua/gr/blog-99935.html
In the UAE, there is such a thing as barkers (kamaks). All major fur centers and shops are located in the Deira area in Dubai. Believe me, you will never be able to calmly go out for a walk around the city, so that young people with an anxious look will not bother you with an offer to buy a fur coat or leather goods from them in the store. Some will back off after a polite request, some will start offering anything if you don't need a fur coat, and some will literally follow you. They don't sell anything themselves. They work on kickbacks that the owner of the store will pay them, where they can drag you. The kickback can vary from 100-200 dollars for simply helping customers find their way to the salon where they were going anyway (you need to inform the owner of the salon about this) to 15-25% of the cost of a fur coat. All this will be included in the cost of the product by the owners of fur salons when they call you the price. Do not listen to fairy tales about the pennies they receive. They are only interested in one thing, so that you buy a fur coat quickly and at a higher price. What quality will be there and whether it corresponds to the price they are absolutely not interested. There are, of course, individuals who are trying to at least partially earn their bread, but they are few. The old guard is slowly being replaced by newcomers from Central Asia, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. The best way to get rid of them is to repeat several times that there is no money and in general, you are flying away tomorrow, you have already bought everything you need. I will return to this topic later, but now in more detail about fur coats and shops.
I and my wife every year in winter I fly to Dubai on shopping, including sometimes behind the fur coats. I make purchases of fur products for orders and for my wife. Sometimes I help my friends. But this time we definitely didn’t intend to buy anything from fur for ourselves, but I promised a couple of my wife’s acquaintances to help with this issue and bring fur coats to order, and another girl Katya from Kazakhstan, whom I met on the Internet and who bombarded me, sat on the tail letters - what is there and how is it with fur coats in Dubai. As a result, when I found out that she was flying at the same time as us, I offered to help her too for the company. Well, such a fact as a whole series of stories about fur coats also obliged her to continue, if I was there again.
Since we arrived in Dubai quite early and settled in instantly, it was decided, without even laying out our things, to go to the center of the old year and visit old friends from the MOSINO fur salon, the Greek family MOUSIOS factory, which is located in Kastoria. I have already written a lot about this salon in stories about Dubai and Kastoria. I have already shopped there many times for the family and to order, sent friends and acquaintances there. If you have read the publications on the links above, then I think nothing needs to be explained. I will write all the same seditious thing))) If you are really interested in buying a fur coat in Dubai or Greece, I still strongly recommend spending half an hour and reading them. You will not lose anything, and avoiding mistakes in such an expensive business is worth a lot.
Finding a salon is very easy. It is enough to go to the exit from the Benyas metro station and look around to find the right building, as in the photo.
Go inside and go up to the second floor. There are also several fur salons and a wholesale clothing store. Wholesale prices, but also retail. A large assortment of summer clothes in stock, as they say))). The store is located right next to the Mosino salon. Or just make your way in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jBsnBTcl7CQ
Even if you don't choose a fur coat, it's worth a look at the second floor of the building. There is also a famous Chinese barbershop. Watching the masters at work is an extraordinary pleasure. Here they will make it very inexpensive, compared to Moscow prices, any hairstyle from a picture or from words. Professionals of the highest class!!!
We were met, of course, in Mosino, like old friends. Everything is in place. And the sellers are the same and of course Nicholas is one of the owners of the family fur business.
Even that evening, it didn’t come to fur coats for a serious reason. Leisurely fitting, when there was a pause at the sellers, a conversation to the accompaniment of Johnny Walker. Nicholas is a very friendly host. This is how he meets everyone who deigns to exchange a few words and linger a little in the cabin. Many have already bought a fur coat, and some who are just still in search come here several times, again and again just to chat, take a break from the heat and drink some water and more. All the same, everyone revolves around this Beniyas Square, in one of the skyscrapers where the MOSINO salon is located. There are not thousands of fur coats in the store, but all that is there is fresh tailoring. The factory works without residues. There are no collections for the last ten years, if something is sewn according to old patterns, then only classic, running models that do not have time. The strong point of the factory is, of course, products from the famous North American blackglam mink. Fur coats from this fur in the cabin are about seventy percent.
There are beautiful fur coats from the expensive Barguzinsky and more democratic Canadian sable in the salon. Products from the Canadian and Russian lynx. There are a lot of light fur coats, the Pearl color (pearl) is also fashionable now. Lots of graphite coats.
There are few classic brown coats. There are only unusual shades of classics.
The assortment of colors is constantly changing, only the fact that the main emphasis is on blackglam fur coats does not change. There are both large and small sizes. Nicholas buys these furs only at American company auctions. There are also mink coats in non-standard colors made from furs from our own mink farms in Greece. Animals are looked after very responsibly. The farm has recently opened and all equipment and technologies are the latest. I have been there and even filmed a short story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2nnEx4fe04Q
But the most important thing is the consistently highest quality of tailoring, raw materials and skilled labor, on which many, even eminent brands, have been mercilessly saving in recent years. The crisis forces everyone to save. If you think that you are in a trade crisis, then you need to look at what is happening with the fur trade this year at the Greek fur manufacturers. Then you will realize that you are not so bad yet. Closed or stopped tailoring every second factory, every second store. Ninety percent of the rest switched to the production and trade of fur coats from cheap Chinese raw materials, and many even preferred to buy finished products from China and sell them under their Greek brands. Nicholas tirelessly repeats to me, like a mantra - let us lose money now and even work for some time in the red, but we will never, under any circumstances, start doing such things. We will pay wages to our workers who have been working in the factory for decades to keep the old masters. The crisis comes and goes, but we will not let the face of the family, the fur factory named after the family, be dropped. He rightly says that now many will drop the quality, which will not go unnoticed in the age of the Internet, and many will simply close. And the market will be wider for those who stay afloat without losing face.
I wrote my first story about buying fur coats five years ago. Since then, I have received hundreds, maybe thousands of letters to the mail that I always indicate in the stories. I receive them almost every day. Someone addresses with questions or requests, and about half with thanks for useful information. And never, never has a word of reproach come to me yet.
There were attempts to sling mud in the comments to the stories and on the forums. Competitors don't sleep. But I have carte blanche from Nicolas for just such an occasion. He gives his word that any fur coat made of low-quality fur, a fake, and even simply not suitable in size, etc. will be exchanged for money or another coat on demand without any expertise, disputes, etc. There simply aren't any. Factory tailoring defects are minimal, I myself have seen how finished products and production are controlled. There is almost no chance for him. Each fur coat has a nominal number and is located in the company's database with a purchase history, etc. I always gave the same answer to all the dirt on the Internet. Fur coat number, check to the studio and I personally guarantee a refund. I guarantee my reputation. Everyone. . . Silence. . . No one has ever taken advantage of this offer. No one has yet been able to objectively accuse me of lying. I have written dozens of stories and always write only what I have seen and what I can answer for. You don't have to take my word for it. You can check in person. There is nothing in the story that it would be impossible to visit, see, touch, try. I carefully avoid talking about models, color recommendations, etc. It is only about the quality of furs, tailoring and their origin, prices and assortment. I do not impose my opinion and taste on anyone.
I would especially like to draw your attention to such a fact that sellers and owners of salons in Dubai are hushing up!! ! According to the law of trade in the UAE, you have every right to a full refund for the purchased fur coat on demand, if it does not show signs of being worn, has retained all labels and has a receipt on hand. No explanation required. It’s enough that you just don’t like her and you change your mind. I have seen the picture many times in Mosino, when it came to tears, those unlucky tourists who allowed themselves to be persuaded to buy some kind of junk at exorbitant prices, and then when they came to Nicholas’s salon, they saw really high-quality products, and even cheaper....And you understand the difference trust me. You will understand immediately, even just by throwing a general glance at the rows of fur coats.
On this evening, two grandmothers, God's dandelions, really cried that they were persuaded to go to the presentation of fur products for free. There they were sold this...... I have never felt so sorry for the buyers. Although they are not beggars, this money was not at all superfluous for them. Saved for five years. I could not stand it, I explained everything to them. In every fur shop in Dubai, there should be a notice of the rights of the buyer in a prominent place.
Everyone was obliged to do this, so that there would be no conversations, disputes, and so on. Look at the photo. In many cases, it often came to the attention of the police, especially when deceived buyers discovered that they had bought ordinary black, dyed mink instead of blackglam, or in general a rabbit product instead of the claimed mink. The most catastrophic situation with fake furs, except for blackglam, is the beaver and chinchilla. Consider at least one simple thing. The beaver, if stroked against the wool, tingles the hand, the rabbit is soft. A chinchilla is always cold to the touch, unlike a rabbit that feels warm, if you touch the fur with your palm. There are few fur coats entirely from it, but collars, cuffs, etc. enough. There are many differences, especially in chinchilla, but here you need to look at the size of the skins, the location of the light and dark parts. In general, the subtleties that are unknown to the average buyer. Use at least the two that I described.
Well, don't be afraid to exercise your rights. Promise negligent sellers to call the police, even if not today. Tomorrow. Get help from guides. They are required to help you make a call. The law is on your side Having understood the seriousness of your intentions, no one will ever argue with you. Nobody needs the police in the cabin and reviews on the Internet about it. The penalty for the lack of a memo about the rights of the buyer is large. Repeated violation is punishable up to the closure of the store. It makes no sense, especially since the law is on the side of the buyer. If you find a fur coat cheaper and better, feel free to return the old one to where you bought it. This is your right and it is up to you to decide whether to use it. The law is on your side.
Well, it seems I got carried away. The evening slowly came to an end and Nicholas, after the closing of the salon, kindly invited us to the restaurant of the Radisson Hotel, which I will write about below in the section on where to eat in Dubai. So the first day in the city ended with delicious food.
The first Alessandro Bosso. This is the third salon of this brand that I had a chance to visit. The first two were in Greece. One thing unites them. Interesting models, a very small range of what is in demand, a kilogram of certificates for each coat, lack of sizes and a rather overpriced price. Ambition clearly does not correspond to the real state of affairs. It seems that fur coats hang, but it’s quite difficult to choose something. And if you like something, then usually there are no sizes. The factory is in a very bad financial position. I recommend to go in, but do not take anything right away, be sure to compare prices for similar products from other manufacturers. The quality of tailoring is quite decent, the production is Greek.
Then we looked into the shop TEO. He left mixed feelings. The seller, a pleased pleasant Greek woman, very convincingly told that the fur coats were made in Greece and, as proof, she cited the presence of pieces of paper with Greek text on which the number of skins was indicated, etc.
I have been to Kastoria many times and have never even heard of such a factory there. An internet search turned up nothing either. Maybe it's somewhere, maybe on paper, I don't know. The assortment is mixed, that is, a decent part of fur coats made from Chinese raw materials or directly from China, some of them look good, but the overall feeling is average. We managed to dig up a couple of interesting models there.
I recommend it. only if you are well versed in fur and can make the right choice.
Then there was a joint Chinese-Greek venture FILIMEGAS FURS or Zagkontinos Trading L. L. С.
Why joint? Yes, because the owner is like a Greek - Vasilis, or rather the son of the owner, but it was he who was in the cabin, and not the father, and almost everything else has Chinese roots. There are a lot of fur coats, but for the most part they have been hanging there for several years probably. In this salon, they don’t know what some types of fur, blaglam, nafa, etc. look like. Because under their guise they offered us anything. The apotheosis was the Canadian sable. If I didn’t know in advance, I might not have paid attention to how uncertainly the seller lied. How her voice trembled when I asked leading questions. She told a fairy tale that there is a Russian sable, and there is exactly the same, only he lives in Canada, showing us ugly fur coats from Fisher.
Fischer is a North American, very large marten. Its fur is wearable and warm, but it is not even close to a noble sable, both in terms of price and all other indicators. At the same time, Vasilis stood and nodded his head, although it was clear that he was extremely uncomfortable with this lie. Even if he does not know Russian, he knows the words sable, blaglama, mink perfectly. Ugly.
If you want to listen to fairy tales, be sure to visit this store. assortment as in the Chinese shop. Neither style nor quality. Prices are moderate.
Then there was the salon SCANDINAVIA FURS.
Here, at least they didn’t sell us blaglam and nafu made in China. The bulk of fur coats was positioned in direct connection with the name of the store. I'll say the obvious. If the same blaglama can be somehow identified because of its non-standard characteristics, degrees of protection, etc. , then under the guise of a Scandinavian mink you can buy anything you like up to rabbits. I don't want to repeat myself. Everything about the degrees of protection of furs with videos and photos is in my latest stories about Kastoria and Dubai. There are links above. This is all irrelevant, it is to this salon. So for information. The bulk of fur coats were from China or raw materials from China. There was indeed a Scandinavian mink. The sales people are professional and polite. The prices are acceptable. Stop by if you know fur and can make the right choice.
Then the elevator and the 6th floor, as 4-5 had leather and something else. Salon MILANO (LAZOS FURS).
I’ll write right away that I liked this salon the most in Abrazh, here the fur coats were at least sewn more or less qualitatively. I always see how things are with this inside under the lining. Of course, I could not inspect all the fur coats, but I looked at a couple very meticulously. Here I could not identify 100% Chinese sewing. Sewing is most likely Greek, but the raw materials are very different. There are a lot of good brown, classic fur coats in this salon. If that's what you need, check it out. Most likely you will pick up something.
Further, the higher, the brighter and more representative the festival of Chinese furs. Salons CPL (Centropel), Janis.
There are a lot of fur coats, of course, all Greek and all from American and Scandinavian furs. If there are, they are very, very few. Office in Germany, factory no where.
In general, if you need a not very expensive Chinese fur coat for a couple of seasons, especially in light colors, then you are right there on the 8th floor.
Such a product will also find its buyer. Many people get bored with a fur coat during this time. It is difficult to sell, but they bought inexpensively. It’s not a pity to throw it away or give it to your grandmother.
It caught my eye that there are a lot of closed fur salons in the shopping center. The signs are still hanging, and the shops have moved out. This also fully reflects the situation with fur sales in Dubai.
Next, we looked at the shopping center Alaska. It is located 150 meters from the Abrazh Center, you just need to walk them towards the bay.
As soon as we got outside, we turned left and forward. For reference in the building where Alaska is located, on the first floor there is an Iranian bank, clearly visible from afar - BANK SADERAT IRAN.
All this territory is occupied by kamaks. I noticed that it is in this area that they offer the cheapest fur coats. Even for 500 dollars and 300))). Barkers make an emphasis on the price, offering to buy furs inexpensively. The situation is exactly opposite from the eastern end of Beniyas Square and adjacent streets. There, kamaks focus on quality, not cheap prices, naming this factor as the main one in the first place. In Alaska, the picture is about the same as in the Abrazh Center. Lots of empty stores, no customers. And this is in the midst of the season.
There is more Greek spirit here. There are even a couple of salons where the majority of Greek coats are on hangers, but in general there are ten percent of such coats from the total number in this shopping center. There are several previously good Greek brands that have switched to selling Chinese consumer goods under their own brand. And some just work on the principle - mix everything, maybe the buyer will buy cheap stuff hanging among a pair of normal fur coats. I don't want to write titles, although I could. Everyone has a chance to improve.
It is clear that the situation is difficult and that you have to compete with cheap fur coats from China, which the neighbors shamelessly bring and broadcast their Greek tags on them. Here you either accept the rules of the game or close. For the unprepared buyer
