Haj Committee - Shopping

1. Most shops in the areas near the two Mosques do not accept credit cards. Do not arrive in The Sacred Land in the hope that you can survive with your credit cards. About the only places where credit cards can be used are five-star hotels and some jewellery shops. Visa and MasterCard stickers can be seen in these places. Diners and Amex are not popular here

2. To cash travellers cheques, you must produce your purchase receipt of these cheques and your pilgrims identification tag. Remember to bring along the purchase receipt.

 3. Generally, expect customer 'unfriendly' service. One can cite several reasons (big crowd, language problem, etc) but at the end of the day it presents a bad image of the country. The Saudi authorities should look into both structural and attitudinal factors, and take corrective action.

 4. Price haggling is the norm. Pilgrims from countries where this is NOT the norm are clearly at a disadvantage.

 5. Goods with price stickers/tags are a rare sight. This makes shopping very difficult. The Saudi authorities should look into this problem. In the long run, price stickers will help to increase sales.

 6. Food products: 'expiry dates' are printed mostly in Arabic numerals. Familiarize yourself with Arabic numerals so that you don't end up buying 'expired' products.

 7. Coins are never used, although Saudi currency coins exist. If you pay SR 3 for SR 2.50 product, you'll be given one or two tiny packets of chewing gum as "change". Of course, it works one way only - the shops won't accept SR 2 and chewing gum from you for a SR 2.50 purchase! The Saudi authorities should act against this practice of not using the coins.

 8. Pirated products, particularly pirated watches, are widely sold by street vendors and others. It is vital that Saudi authorities move quickly against the import and sale of such products to protect the shoppers and to maintain the image of The Holy Land as a place for honest commerce.

9. The Saudi authorities should encourage the setting up of hypermarkets (similar to Carrefour) in Mecca and Medina so that shoppers can buy a good part of their needs under one roof and without price haggling.

10. Beware of pickpockets. Despite the tough laws, the crowded environment of The Hajj provides easy opportunities for these criminals.

11. You have to know Arabic, Urdu, Hindi or Malay to do your shopping in The Sacred Land. Use of English is very rare.

12. Some shops have bilingual signboards (Arabic and English). In 8 out of 10 signboards, the English words are wrongly spelt. I hope the local authorities in The Sacred Land take appropriate measures.

13. If you wish to buy snacks, groceries, etc in a posh setting, there are several supermarkets near The Sacred Mosques.