Over 900,000 visitors enjoys the Global

Till the first day of Eid, 900,000 visitors have been recorded at the Global Village and many more are expected over the Eid holidays.

The unexpected showers and fall in temperatures did nothing to dampen the spirits of visitors, many of whom had come prepared with umbrellas and smart woollens. Stall owners too were happy at the brisk business. "We have had thousands of visitors since the Village opened; but the Eid weekend is the best time for sales at the Global Village and we were extremely worried when we saw the weather forecasts. But we are thrilled to see that Dubai residents and DSF visitors have not been deterred from enjoying the Eid holiday and the DSF," said Zhou Liang, a stall owner in the Chinese Pavilion.

With crowds in every part of the huge Global Village, it was difficult to determine which were the most popular areas. Long queues in the games areas indicated that a large number of families with children were among the visitors. While the giant wheel seemed to be popular with the younger kids, the older ones were excited about Diggerland. "This area is really cool. They have put all the bulldozers and forklifts that they used for constructing the Village and we actually got to drive a bulldozer and lift some sand with it," said 10-year-old Ankit Sinha.

While all the 46 pavilions had many visitors, the countries that are participating for the first time seemed to draw the maximum crowds. Visitors marvelled at the architecture of the beautiful Japanese pavilion; they were enthralled by the artisans carving masks at the Kenyan pavilion and they relished the hot momos being served at the Nepalese pavilion.

The many entertainment shows were also crowd pullers. People swayed to the lively music played by the folk band outside the Moroccan pavilion and renowned comedian Umer Sharif had the huge audience in splits of laughter outside the Pakistan pavilion. The huge seating area in the Indian pavilion was packed to capacity as folk singers and dancers and Bollywood artistes performed on stage. The Aga Boom show being staged at its special tent, was also sold out on the opening day on Thursday.

Eid revellers also enjoyed the many cuisines on offer at the 54 restaurants set around the lake. Despite the gentle showers, thousands of families were seen biting into hot Shawarmas, Chinese dumplings, stuffed parathas, Turkish kebabs and other delicacies in the open air restaurants.

All the visitors appreciated the excellent arrangements. "We were in two minds about coming on the first day of Eid, because we expected traffic jams but everything went smooth and the distance of say about 30kms passed off quickly. But thanks to the six entrances located all around the site, it was so easy to get here and to find parking. We are glad we came today during this festive atmosphere and enjoyed this special Eid outing," said Abdul Rahman, who had come with his extended family of two sisters, three brothers and 11 nieces and nephews.

Shoppers also appreciated the handcart arrangements in the Village. "We loved the carved furniture on sale in the Indian pavilion, but were reluctant to buy it because it was too large to carry. But the stall owners told us about the porters with hand carts, who delivered it to our car," said Astrid Jensen, a Dubai resident from Denmark. For Vimla Tawakley, a 70-year-old visitor from India, this was her third visit to the Global Village this year and not her last. "I come every year for the DSF and the Global Village is my favourite. I was here on opening day and enjoyed the carnival. I have seen only 17 of the pavilions so far and intend to see all 46 in the next two weeks," she said.