Spontaneous Sharjah

I just bought a car. Second hand car, wait, its actually third hand. But it is still in a good condition and could bring us around. Which is pertinent to our road trip activity by the way. While we are at it, we believe it is cool to go to each Emirate in the UAE if we have the time.

This time it is the Emirate of Sharjah.

Abu Dhabi is the biggest Emirate which accounts for 87% of the whole UAE. So while driving to another Emirate, one actually spent most of the time getting out of Abu Dhabi. From Abu Dhabi to Sharjah it took about 2 hours 15 minutes. We use the outside road and avoid going through Dubai city. Eventhough on the map it took longer, but believe me with the traffic, it is a better option.

Actually it was rather spontaneous. Woke up Friday morning and thought that why don't we go out of Abu Dhabi. Not to Dubai coz we have been to Dubai. Next to Dubai is Sharjah. Wifey said ok then immediately we just pack some clothing and started to drive from Abu Dhabi at noon and arrived in Sharjah around mid afternoon. The first stop was straight to the Corniche area near the Heritage area. Parked the car near the Heritage area (on Fridays, 1 hour of free parking, otherwise it is AED5 per hour), then started to walk. This is actually one of the must-do in Sharjah, to enjoy the Souks. There are few Souks within the heart of Sharjah area. The dedicated website for it is indeed useful to navigate your way around. (www.heartofsharjah.ae).

We also visited the Sharjah Museum, Sharjah Gallery and walked along the Sharjah Creek. Then move on to another must-see in Sharjah, the Central Souq. I love the building that housed Central Souq. While wifey was not too crazy about it coz almost the whole stretch of the ground floor was only jewelry and gold shops. The upper floor however was more to my liking. It featured some fabulous carpets and house deco. I am all into it since we bought a house but still under construction back in Malaysia. Cannot wait to start decorating the house once its ready by 2018. For the time being, it is the time for me to survey the prices and think of what concept we want to apply to our home. I have to say that nowadays i fell in love with the lights and lamps in the middle east world. Not to mention also the porcelain and carpets. Beautiful stuffs at a fraction of the price sold in Malaysia.

We did not planned to spend the night, but it was late and we immediately decided to spend the night in Sharjah. Stay at the hotel around Khalid Lagoon. It boasted fantastic view of the lagoon at night and also in the morning. We were given a room on the 12th floor, of course we were rewarded with amazing view.

The next morning after check out, we went to the Al-Noor Mosque which just next to the hotel. Beautiful mosque overlooking the lagoon. We should have spent the nite in the waterfront but decide against it as it was too crowded. One of the main attraction is the water show. Rayyan Eusoff would have love it. But maybe next time then. We went back to the city centre and wifey bought some stuffs in the Souk.

Overall it was great weekend getaway. It is nice to see and experience another Emirate other than Abu Dhabi. But like i said, Abu Dhabi is the largest Emirate and there are so many things that could be done in Abu Dhabi alone. We will do that as the time goes. Sharjah however gave you the more old-fashioned feel of an arab city. It is like wifey said, it felt like going to Malacca. But of course it is way different that Malacca. Rayyan Eusoff enjoyed every moment that we spent in Sharjah even under the scorching hot sun. Cannot wait for our next adventure to another Emirate. I have already set my mind to go to Ajman next. Will write an entry about our Ajman experience in the next entry. This time it was all about Spontaneous Sharjah.

T.Y.S.