Carrefour

I wanted to write a whole entry on my experience going to the markets in the United Arab Emirates. They are totally and utterly amazing! If you thought Walmart and Publix was great you would be in pure heaven going to Carrefour. The Carrefour that I went to was inside of  Al Jimi Mall, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The mall itself is immaculate, it's filled with high end stores for crazy affordable prices. To put the icing on the cake the country is doing so well they don't tax their citizens and expats. The country has no sales tax or income tax! They do tax people on Alcohol and Cigarettes because it's not really allowed there but is offered for expats in secret stores and at the hotels.

As you can see with the picture on the right the supermarket is already in the mall. It's always clean with not a drop of dust or garbage anywhere. They have anything you could possibly need just like Walmart. I had an issue with my electrical cord and was able to find a converter to use. In the United Arab Emirates they use the European system so their outlets look the picture here. They have three holes instead of two like we have in the United States.

To get back to talking about this market, they have a variety of beans and vegetables that look freshly picked and smell so good. The only bad thing is since everything is so fresh.... the meat section is very pungent. They also have a deli/cooked food section that I went to a lot for their shawarmas. They are to die for! It comes with a drink and the sandwich consisted of chicken, tomatoes, lettuce a mayonnaise yogurt spread and hummus. My mouth is dripping just remembering about it.

I want to stray for a moment to tell you all a funny yet embarrassing thing that happened at the Carrefour in Abu Dhabi. This store was a mega Carrefour and consisted of two floors.

The embarrassing event didn't happen to me but to an Emirate woman. As you readers should know by now the Emirate women wear the grim reaper outfits (no offense) formally called Abayas. So, as I was entering the store, I saw this lady get the tail of her dress got caught in the vertical flat escalator (The picture below shows their escalators).  I was petrified for her. Her male companion (could have been her husband, brother etc) was tugging so hard at the dress I was waiting to see it rip off! Other spectators called security to shut the escalator off so whatever was left of her dignity could be salvaged. I didn't stay to see what happened but I felt so bad for her. In my opinion, the Abayas are way too long. The women sweat bullets in them and they can only wear them in black. What an experience just to go food shopping.












Overall, the grocery shopping in the United Arab Emirates is great, healthy and enjoyable. I was ready and happy to go shipping on the regular. Their produce and products are way better than the United States.