Are you planning to live in Dublin? Here are a few tips from me. ;)

It has been more than 2 years I've lived in Dublin. My first impression about this city was COLD, not the people, but the weather. I wasn't that prepared for such a cold temperature, and the wind, strong and cold, lovely! :/ However, Irish people are VERY friendly. :) That makes Ireland, after 2 years living here, feels like a second home for me. It's not weather, food, or entertainment that makes me like a country, but the people. I heard that Irish are the most hospitable people in Europe. I couldn't agree more. :)

Based on my description above, it seems like Ireland is a welcoming country, isn't it? That's about the people here, what about other things like transportation, accommodation, shopping, etc? Below is a few tips I could share to whoever plans to stay in Ireland or just visit.

1. The weather in Ireland is quite unpredictable. For example, this winter I expected to see snow, but where is it? It's raining instead, and the rain here is not like the one in tropical countries (e.g. Indonesia), which typically lasts for 1-3 hours, heavy rain with thunder and lightning. Here, raining could last all day long, but not heavy, with strong wind as its companion. >.< So, first tip from me: it's better to use a raincoat instead of an umbrella. Why? Irish wind is so powerful to destroy your umbrella. OK, I exaggerated it. But true! My first three umbrellas were broken at their first or second usage. Now, I've learned my lesson not to use umbrella while the wind is blowing so hard. Why did I have to wait until my three umbrellas were broken? No reason, just to make sure. :P
    
2. The public transportation here is comfortable, but quite expensive. There are three options: bus (http://www.dublinbus.ie/), tram/luas (http://www.luas.ie/), and train/dart (http://www.irishrail.ie). If you take a bus, there are two payment options. Firstly, pay with coins only, and better to pay in fix fare. Why? because the payment machine in the bus (if that's called a payment machine.. lol) only accepts coins and don't give you change. Well, it will give you "change" but not in the form of money (i.e. coins), but a tiny piece of paper with the change value on it. (Picture 1). >_< This paper can be turned into cash if you hand it to the Dublin bus office in city centre. Such a waste of time and energy! So, always have coins in your pocket, and have them in various values. :)
    



   



Picture 1

   

Picture 2

3. Continuing from the previous tip, there is a more efficient way if you travel by bus frequently. Buy a rambler ticket! (Picture 2) There are 3 types of tickets depending on their valid durations: 1-day, 5-day, and 30-day ticket. You should know that 5 and 30 days here are not consecutive. That means you can use the ticket on any day as many as the duration written on your ticket. And this is the best part.. each day you can get on the bus as many as you want, unlimited. If you want to get on and off like 100 times between North and South or West and East Dublin until you feel like you wanna throw up, that's permissible! :P The fare is still the same! Isn't that great? Even greater for students! Students get discounted price. ;) All you have to do is to sign up for a student travel card (for more information, please click here) and show it when you buy the ticket. The point is that using rambler ticket is much cheaper! ^_^
    
4. Still about public transportation.. If you take a tram, or here commonly named as "luas", the ticket can be bought from the machines at every luas stop. Unlike bus tickets where you have to pay in coins, the luas ticket machine accepts either coins or notes. One thing I found strange on luas is that there's no one who checks your ticket, well at least most of the time. Sometimes, there is staff doing so, but that's quite infrequent. Even though there's no one checking your ticket, you still have to buy one though. If you're found with no ticket by the staff, you'll be fined around 50 Euro. Compared to the ticket fare, which is around 2-5 Euro, 50 Euro fine sounds very expensive, well it is actually! Besides, it's not good to use public transportation by cheating, that's dishonesty! *Even kids know that* XD So, another tip from me: always buy a ticket everytime you're using public transportation even though it's rarely checked by the staff. :P
    
5. When you go shopping, don't forget to bring your own plastic bag. In Ireland, plastic bags are not free. You have to pay 22 cents per bag to get one. It's actually a good effort to reduce plastic waste, which needs a long time to decompose naturally. The point is to reuse your plastic bags for the sake of our environmental sustainability. :)
    
6. Regarding choosing an accommodation or a place to stay, choose a house/flat/apartment that is less than 30 years old of age. New buildings usually have walls with better quality, which can preserve the heat inside and block the coldness coming from outside. The most important aspect in choosing a house/flat/apartment is to choose the one whose windows have double glass. It's for the same purpose, which is to keep the warmth inside. I had lived in a house with single-glass windows, and it's always cold, despite how long you turn the heater on. Trust me!
    
7. Don't walk alone at O'Connol Street area (city centre) above 11 pm! People say that it's dangerous, especially for women. There are drunk and stoned people there. *Is "stoned" the correct word?
    
8. For muslims, there are 2 big mosques in Dubin: Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI) on 163 South Circular Road, Dublin 8 and The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) on 19 Roebuck Road, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14. If you want to know more about these two mosques, please click here.
    
9. Still for muslims, you can get halal meats at the following shops:
   • A shop at ICCI. ICCI also has a restaurant and a salon.
   • Asia Food & Co on Henry Street, city centre
   • Medina on Parnell Street, city centre
     
   
    
10. For muslim women who wear hijab, keep wearing it, don't take it off. Even though Ireland is a Catholic country, most people here are open minded. As I've said earlier, Irish people are well known for their hospitality. So, don't worry, ladies! ;) Actually, even though the people of a country you're going to are very discriminatory, just take it easy, don't take it personally. We should maintain our principle and always be strong! If you experience any form of discrimination, just smile and say nothing. Allah is always by your side. :)
     
11. If you're driving, bear in mind that some roads in Dublin are divided into two: road for buses only and  that for any types of vehicles. Moreover, sometimes ways are diverted to others to tackle traffic jam or if there's an event. So, always beware of the traffic signs while you're driving!
     
12. This last tip is special for those who live in a country where the traffic is on the right side. In Ireland, the traffic is on the left side. So, don't forget to look at your right first, and then your left everytime you're crossing the road! hahaha.. *no, seriously!

Those are several tips from me, hopefully useful for you. Welcome to Dublin! :)

Posted in: stories from Dublin,tips