Religious Travelers - Dubai questions

Hi

I have a swiss passport and have a few questions regarding my upcoming trip to Dubai

I am flying Zrh-Dxb-Mle with EK in business, on the return Mle-Dxb-Vie-zrh with EK/OS in business. I will make a 2 day stopover to visit dubai on the return.

1) My passport has a lot of IL stamps, even a student visa, should I get a new one. I know I dont have to

2) I booked KSML on EK flights, is that a mistake

3) Does EK still serve stogels "Food" ?

4) Will OS from Dubai bring along food from Vie?

5) Any problems taking Tefilin or kosher food into Dubai?


Regarding MLE, I know that they are very strict on not letting pork meat into the country. If I bring kosher meat, will it be enough, that I explain them, thats its not pork, as we cant eat it or does every pack have to say beef or chicken in writing on it? Anybody with some experience?

Thanks for your help

It would probably be a good idea to search the thread first as there are answers to several of your questions. Nevertheless, I will give you a recap:

1) No need to, but you can if you wish. I've never heard of anyone having issues

2)No, I've done it and gotten a laugh from the crew but no animosity. Truth is that on EK, the Arab flight crew are few and far between

3)No, the other Belgian caterer. Still not very tasty. Probably best to go with a fruit platter

4)They will probably provide the long like meal

5)NO

6) You are officially not allowed to bring any meat at all and all bags are scanned, but we had no issue in MLE at all. A friend of mine had his grape juice taken away even after he showed them that it was not alcoholic

Hope that helps...

Re OS - I flex MLE-VIE on OS (in C) and received an exellent kosher meal from VIE. Seems the flight was double-catered in VIE. Not sure if they do this in DXB also. It was probably one of the best KSML's I have had, including first class flights.

Re Male - no problem with bringing meat in. We also brought in grape juice, told the guys at customs it was non-alcoholic and they waved us through. The hotel (Conrad) made a HUGE effort to cater for us - really hats off to them. This included brining in themseleves (without me asking!) both fresh kosher meat (chicken and steak) and excellent plated meals from Melbourne (Australia). They learned the laws of kashrut and double-wrapped meat/chicken on the grill, and/or heated up the ready meals from Melbourne . They even brought a new frying pan and plates/cutlery to use for our eggs every morning, and showed me the hecsher on the bottle of oil and then cooked in front of me. All the milk was from Australia and so I could rely on Chalav Stam (used to live there, so am familiar with the hechshers). The chef could not have been more helpful. They did not overcharge for the kosher food either - regular meal prices, around US$30. I am sure they made a loss!

Thanks for your reply. I read your report about OS from MLE, didnt know if they do this everywere or only MLE.

Did you contact Conrad in advance and ask about kosher food? I am not staying there, just would like to know how you got the hotel to do that, it sounds amazing what they did. I would love to get my hotel to do the same. I was planning on taking hermolis along and ask them to warm it up for me. The meals are quite good. I am not sure if its best to ask in advance or just show up with the food and explain. If email them in advance, they might just say, sorry we dont heat up outside food and then I have a problem. I could also take a small toaster oven along and use that to heat up my meals in the room and also grill some meat.
Anybody else have some experience with kosher food in a maldives resort?

We basically resorted to double-foiled baked fish, supplemented by double-foil baked jacket potatoes, and lots of fruits. We did bring in cheese, challah rolls (which hotel let us keep in their freezer) plus a few things like instant soup, cereal boxes. No problem with bringing in grape juice in our experience.

Also no problem bringing in siddur/tefilin/talit to DXB.

Thanks for your reply. I read your report about OS from MLE, didnt know if they do this everywere or only MLE.

Did you contact Conrad in advance and ask about kosher food? I am not staying there, just would like to know how you got the hotel to do that, it sounds amazing what they did. I would love to get my hotel to do the same. I was planning on taking hermolis along and ask them to warm it up for me. The meals are quite good. I am not sure if its best to ask in advance or just show up with the food and explain. If email them in advance, they might just say, sorry we dont heat up outside food and then I have a problem. I could also take a small toaster oven along and use that to heat up my meals in the room and also grill some meat.
Anybody else have some experience with kosher food in a maldives resort?

I contacted the hotel in advance to ask if they would be able to store/heat up meals that I bring with - and they said not to worry, they will deal with all the requirements. They have clearly had similar customers in the past...