The Oud Metha Road cuts diagonally through this part of Dubai and is bordered by the Dubai Creek to the north, Umm Hurair and Za'abeel roads to the west and Al Quta'eyat Road to the south.
Within this well known residential area, you'll find recreational, social and educational facilities, as well as the Lamcy Plaza, which offers great shopping and is also home to Loulou Al Dugong's, a fabulous play area for children.
Just off Oud Metha Road is a string of social clubs from diverse countries and two of Dubai's churches. Close by are the Rashid Hospital, the American Hospital and Al Nasr Leisureland. This leisure complex offers a variety of recreational facilities, including a bowling alley and an indoor ice rink.
Close to the Al-Maktoum Bridge are the Dubai Courts and Creekside Park. The parks manicured lawns run for around 2.5 km alongside the Creek to the Al Garhoud Bridge. A minimal entrance fee is charged and facilities include an amphitheatre, mini `falaj' (traditional irrigation system), children's play area, and to top that off you can roller blade or hire two seater bicycles to tour the magnanimous park. For an aerial view of your surroundings, one can float high above the Creek in one of the cable cars. A popular attraction at Creekside Park is Children's City, the world's fifth largest `infotainment' facility comprising 77,000 square metres of exhibits, which target children between the ages of five and 15 and are not only educational but entertaining as well. Another fun and cultivating attraction is the planetarium.
The Wonderland theme and Waterpark at Garhoud Bridge end of Creekside Park is a popular amusement park offering various rides, such as bumping cars and a hot air balloon; there's even a rollercoaster and a log flume ride. Between WonderLand and the park is Paintball, an entertaining (and painful!!) way to decompress and `eliminate your enemies' with powerful paintball sub-machine guns.
Near Al Garhoud Bridge is the Al Boom Tourist Village, which is popular with local couples who hire the hall for wedding functions. Tourists also visit to sample the local cuisine and to enjoy an evening cruising the Creek on one of the beautifully illuminated dhows.
Opposite Al Boom Tourist Village is a patch of land where, if you are lucky, you can observe a traditional wooden dhow being built. Mainly used for trade, these distinctive high bowed vessels take months to construct, but their lifespan is boasted at over a century.
Wafi City consists of several complexes, including a shopping mall, lots of popular restaurants, a nightclub, a health club and luxury health spa with an ancient Egyptian theme. The health club and mall exteriors are impressive, with huge mock Egyptian statues and a row of crouching sphinxes guarding the entrances. Wafi Mall specialises in upmarket quality items from international brand names. This site is also home to Planet Hollywood (hard to miss, as it can be remarked by a giant blue globe).
Near Wafi City are the Grand Cineplex, an m screen cinema, and the impressive Grand Hyatt Hotel with its opulent lobby resembling a beautiful, lush tropical garden. Also in this area construction has started on Phase One of Dubai Healthcare City, a state of the art medical facility being developed in partnership with world leaders in medicine including Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic. Phase One is due for completion in 2005, with final completion scheduled for 2010.
The Oud Metha Neighbourhood Park covering an area of 1.34 hectares is still in the planning stages, but when complete will offer volleyball and basketball facilities, a jogging track, children's playgrounds, a small lake, shaded areas, and a cafeteria to meet the recreational needs of residents in this area. |
