Joy ride
A ride in the public transport bus to the DSF Global Village offers more than a slice of fun: It opens a whole new dimension of life around you in the city. Rajeev Nair has the details
On a Saturday evening, inside the 105 from Al Satwa Bus Station to Global Village, the excitement is palpable. First, is a sense of déjà vu. Years down memory lane, there is a bus that had a singing group of children out on an annual school excursion. Probably, you were one in the crowd.
Today, the bus is nearly full. It is a working day; it is family day at Global Village, and the bus has mostly families. Three generations together on a fun mission. An infant gazing out at the lights, tiny tots singing to themselves, winning parental assurances of dreamy buys, teenagers in animated chatter, grandparents in graceful silence…
On Thursday, the bus was jam-packed, the driver signaling a ‘no space’ to waiting passengers at the bus stops on the way. Today, two stops later, the bus would be full.
The Dubai Municipality buses that ply between Global Village and five nodal centres in the emirate offer a picture of comfort. Well-lit, offering enough leg space between seats, many of these buses were earlier on a high-profile mission: Serving the delegates of the Dubai 2003 Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Then, they were employed to transport the Fifa World Youth Football Championship teams and its officials.
For Dhs2, the bus offers the comfort of being dropped off bang in front of the Global Village main gate and does not tax you with the challenges of finding a parking space for your vehicle.
But more significantly, a joy ride in the bus also offers glimpses into every day life — from a vantage point. You are above the traffic-flow, figuratively, and you can take in the lights, the movement, and the impatience of those behind the wheels as they crawl through a vehicle-jam.
From Al Qusais Industrial Area, the farthest point a Dubai bus plies towards the Sharjah side, there is a direct bus to the Global Village. There are other city buses too that offer convenient locations to disembark to continue on the trip to the Global Village.
One such bus, No 33, today, picks the first lot of commuters in its new trip. It’s evening and the crowd is mostly a bunch of weary workers, hurrying to reach home to rest for the day.
Every bus route has a unique character — the collective profile of its users. A No 5 that plies the Ghubaiba – Gold Souk route via Karama takes in the ubiquitous collection of office-goers — executives in their ties and overalls; a No 13 to Sonapur will have a large group of the manual workforce.
Cutting through industrial lanes, the bus gets into the busy street, and DSF, suddenly, presents itself in its multiple splendour. Lexus vehicles mounted on raffle counters, the banners that flutter in the wind, and the sale tags that decorate participating outlets…
Lights do the rest of the talking. Every road is laced with a veritable necklace of lights.
It is surprising how the big vehicle easily manoeuvres through the traffic. The drivers always seem to find a way out.
On the way, hotels welcoming guests, shopping malls celebrating the final days of the festival, and in the heart of the city, every street having its own tale to tell, which are announced on the signboards by the wayside.
From the Al Quoz Industrial Area to the city, on a No 21, you can catch other facets to everyday living. People running out of their living quarters to catch the bus; disappointment writ large on the face of those who miss one. Large groups of friends strolling by the streets — it is another village out here functioning to the rhythm of the office and factory routine.
Inside Bus No. 105, on this Saturday evening, a passenger has fished out his digital camera. Every one seems to own a gadget — a fancy mobile, a sleek digital camera, a handy camcorder…festival purchases perhaps. Later, the breathtaking images of the “shoppertainment” event would replay in the comfort of living rooms.
Story ideas seem to flourish out of this bus. How about one on the different headgears — the colourful caps, the veils, the scarves, the shawls? And that crystal-shiny baldness? How about walking down the aisles of the bus and asking each visitor what he or she thinks of DSF? Probably, on the return you could quiz them on their purchases, and also coax them into singing “their favourite song” as the resourceful television channel DJs do successfully.
The bus cuts through Deira City Centre, and takes the Airport Road. What would be the first impression of a first-time visitor about the city that celebrates DSF? What would register in their mind first? All the colourful strings of lights? Or the sheer speed of the city?
The bus takes the Rashidiya Road passing through the advertisement section of Dubai Municipality.
The Global Village, which seemed like a buzz of colours from the Maktoum Bridge presents itself first in its giant Ferris wheel. Then you take in the long stretches of cars lining into the festival area, and finally, the people who throng the streets.
Whoever said ‘All Roads Lead to Dubai’ must have had a brainwave at this busy intersection, where policemen regulate traffic lights to let the milling crowds flow into the Global Village.
A huge board announces the timings and special days, and the bus is eased into the specially cut mud track inside the Global Village. The ride becomes a little bumpy and slow as the bus trails a row of cars ahead. The Global Village comes closer, the individual pavilions rising into your vision.
A detour and the bus comes to a halt in front of the festival arena. Every bus has its designated stop delineated by ropes and marked by signboards. From 101 to 105, every bus stop is already lined with people waiting for the return trip.
There is a rush to step out of the bus, and eyes turn eagerly at the Global Village scanning the crowd — is it milling today?
The walk to the main entrance of the Global Village is hardly a five-minute affair even at a leisurely pace. There are more buses here — the ones that drop visitors from their parking lots to the festival arena, and there are the cycle rikshaws.
On a family day, entrance to the Global Village is restricted to families. Some “bachelors” still try. Probably giving the “One Family” slogan an all-encompassing meaning. The security is not buying it.
Inside is the world of colours, fun and bargains that welcomes millions of visitors. With all its well-structured facilities — from a civil defense station to food administration committees — the Global Village is a world of its own that demands committed involvement from every one’s part. There is a bonding among them all — the volunteers, the participants, the shoppers, the fun-crowd.
Weary visitors are resting their bags as they stand in queue waiting for the bus that will take them home. Children cling on to their toys; women study their best-buys; parents look nonchalant. A volunteer picks the place off the paper-tickets.
Inside the bus, the picnic mood is subdued.
The Filipinos three, who were chattering away at the venue, stifle a contagious yawn. The infant is fast asleep.
Sleep on. Tomorrow, wake up to a new day in Dubai.
– Feb, 2004
