By the time we arrived in February this year, we had missed the Global Village.
Friends were singing praises of how big it was, how fun it was, how they nabbed bargains for products brought in by vendors from all over the world. We were so psyched up that we weren't going to miss it for the world when the Global Village opened again a week ago. This year, the participating pavilions are:
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Yemen.
The Global Village is located on the Emirates Road (E311), between the Arabian Ranches/Autodrome Roundabout and the Nad Al Sheba interchange on Emirates Road.
Directions: If you're coming from Dubai, you're well advised to take Sheikh Zayed Road, turn off to Al Barsha at the exit to the Mall of the Emirates, head towards the Dubai Autodrome, passing the first roundabout which leads to Al Khail Road, turning left on the second roundabout which leads to Emirates Road. And you will hit the Global Village in less than 30 minutes, traffic conditions permitting. Of course, you can also take Emirates Road coming from Sharjah, but then you will be stuck in traffic from the Nad Al Sheba interchange for a good 40 minutes with the rest of the visitors to the Global Village coming from the Northern Emirates. So, take your pick.
The Global Village opens at 4p.m. everyday and close at 12 midnight, from now till 9 February 2007. Closing hours are extended on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to 1a.m. Parking is plentiful, but get there early if you don't want to park too far away from the entrance to the Global Village grounds. When we went, P1 was closed. P2 was paid parking (AED35 per entry), as it was the closest to the main entrance. P3 onwards was free parking.
We got there at 3:45p.m. A small crowd had built up at the entrance.
Entrance fee is AED5 per person, maps are available for AED1. If you get lost, you could rely on one of these huge maps placed on billboards within the Village.
First pavilion past the main entrance is Iran, with a replica of the Ishtar Gate.
Nothing much in the Iraqi pavilion, just some paintings for sale. Vietnam, which was next to it, had better traffic, but more than half the booths were occupied not by Vietnamese, but vendors from mainland China peddling "Made in China" products.
Sri Lanka, which came after Vietnam, had some interesting products.
We saw this chair made from buffalo hide for AED350.
Greece was next to Sri Lanka, nothing much in there. It looks as bare as its facade.
Opposite Greece was Japan. Sorry, no Panasonic, Sony, Canon or any of your famous Japanese brands. Just Daiso (of Lamcy Plaza fame) with their "Everything for AED5". And more of the same mainland Chinese vendors who were masquerading as Vietnamese in the Vietnam pavilion selling their "Made in China" wares.
Alongside Japan, you will find Jordan
and Tanzania.
and Kuwait, which has a lot of perfume and oudh booths. Your olfactory senses jump into hype drive in here.
At the intersection, you have Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian pavilion had a photowall showing black and white photos of HH Sheikh Zayed. There were some interesting items here in the Egyptian pavilion - Egyptian antiquities, Arabic cravings and signs made from wood or leather.
I did not venture into the fortress of Iran, but my wife did and returned with a cup of the nicest pomegranate juice I've ever tasted.
Saudi Arabia has lots of vendors selling dates (packed with honey, or dried), perfumes and oudh.
Moving along to the next intersection, there were a few colourful pavilions here.
Philippines, which was again filled with mainland Chinese vendors, had this colourful mask for the entrance to their pavilion.
Afghanistan had carpet vendors with very nice and soft carpets with intricate designs much like the colourful entrance to its pavilion.
Bangladesh was probably the "Spice Pavilion" in the Village. It was filled with vendors selling spices, yet another one that will send your olfactory senses into over drive.
Thailand was not going to be outdone as well, with this grand looking entrance in royal yellow.
There were Thai vendors selling orchids and "Made in Thailand" food products. The missus bought this green packaged "Coconut biscuit with pineapple jam". Absolutely delicious. There was also a booth for traditional Thai massage - AED100 for 1 hour, or AED60 for 30 minutes. Wife had the 30 minute head/shoulder/body package, while I had the 30 minute foot reflexology. It had been awhile since we had this, and we enjoyed the relief from tension tremendously.
If you are looking for shawls, scarfs, either Pashmina or wool, then go to India.
Lots of bargains to choose from, but as always, bargain, and let the buyer beware. Everyone can make the claim that their pashiminas are the genuine stuff, but unless you're an expert and have an eye for detail, it is almost always impossible to tell the cheap stuff (which are being sold at high prices) and the genuine stuff (which are being sold at even higher prices).
It was getting close to the evening. The Dubai Balloon Festival was held on nearby grounds. Hot air balloons were going up, beautiful sight with the sunset in the background.
As the night came, the pagoda at the Chinese pavilion lit up.
There was a stage at the entrance for kungfu shows and Chinese cultural dances. A few other pavilions (India and Pakistan) had stages for performances as well.
While the women will go shopping from pavilion to pavilion, the kids can enjoy the many rides and the game booths.
They have a huge Ferris wheel, where you could probably see the whole Village when you're at the top. AED3 per person.
There were also other rides, like the Viking, the Slingshot, Vertical Lift, mini-roller coaster and other less heart pounding rides for the kids. There was also a kids only bumper car compound, which was quite a different bumper car experience if you ask me. Kids had no idea how to steer or manage their bumper cars, and when they finally do, they started avoiding each like instead of bumping into each other, and by the time they figured out everything, the ride was over. Maybe the driving schools should include a bumper car module in their curriculum. Any learner driver found bumping into other cars will automatically be disqualified for a driving licence.
For dinner, we had this really good shwarma (good according to my wife. I, on the other hand, have an alligator's tongue, so I could not tell the difference) from this stall
Look at the size of the packed meat, and you'll know they sell a lot of shwarmas, and the reason why they probably do is because it is good.
There is also a huge variety of food stalls - Al Safadi and Beirut for Lebanese, Ravi's for Indian curries, Chinese food, L'Auberge, Beirut and the usual KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardees. And of course, booths for snacks (candy floss, pop corn), fruits and drinks (bottled water, soft drinks, chai) along the way, like this Thai Fruits booth which can be found in various locations.
And if you're short of cash, there are ATMs from Emirates Bank.
There were fireworks displays almost every hour from 8p.m onwards.
And if you like parades, they have it too.
All in all, good fun for the family, young and old. So, if this isn't the world's largest pasar malam (which means night market or night bazaar in where I come from), I won't know what is.
More pictures at
Labels: Dubai, global village, Photos
