Agnes's Secret

Monday, December 29, 2008

A trip to Global Village, Dubai

We made a trip to Global Village Dubai that take
place every winter with my parents on Christmas day.

From experience, we know to take warm clothing along,
to prepare us for a few hours in this desert
wonderland that can get quite chilly in the evening

On the evening we went to the Global Village,
there were many people there - mostly families
but we didn't find the crowds overwhelming.

'Global Village' is one of the major attraction started along side with the Dubai Shopping Festival and it is the primary place where people visit during the whole festival. This village started with a concept of gathering all the world's heritage and merchandise in one place.

Many different countries can participate in this event and setup the own country pavilions. Each pavilion is uniquely designed to represent the heritage of the respective country. Inside the pavilions one will find all the merchandise and food items related to the country.

At the end of the festival, there is also an award given to the country with the best pavilion. The global village earlier was only part of the festival and was erected only on a temporary basis, but later it was given a permanent place along side Emirates Road, where year long exhibitions are held. Only during the festivals all the activities really pick up the pace attracting many visitors.

main entrance

Another view of the various countries' pavilions.
Many line the canal but others are found off the canal,
closer to the food/dining area.

There are a nice variety of amusement-park rides
and games,but they don't dominate the Global Village.
In the background there was a steady stream of Arabic music.

India pavilion is the biggest and it's probably
the best presented. It still has the jumble of
stalls inside so it retains some of the souk-like
atmosphere missing almost everywhere else.

India Pavilion