Phoenix Reflections

Roll down your car window and notice drivers crib (of course …along with you) about the sudden closure of roads and essential highways in Sharjah. Transport Authorities consider their job well done by placing minuscule signs diverting the traffic to pipe width lanes (if you could call them that). While one commuter flings his hands frantically in the air, another tries to make a beeline entry into the already reduced lane space. One tries to juggle his options on weather it’s the left …or maybe the right that’s moving faster, the other makes sure you never enter his territory. And then, there are people like me… what’s different you may ask? Oh! I crib! I crib a lot. And I assure you, you don’t want to be my passenger when I do.

However, I’ve learnt to channel this frustration in a way that has benefited my appetite for exploration as well as saved others from my road rash. Being a driver for the last two years, I yet have to discover the nooks and corners of Sharjah which conceal quite a few picturesque treats. The recent closure of a flyover (without early intimation by the way) that links Sharjah with the highway sidetracked me to a part of the city that, despite being in the UAE for the last 20 years have witnessed for the first time. Lined with some good restaurants and an architectural delight called the Sea View was just picture perfect (if only I could maneuver the car and camera simultaneously.)

I would suggest this to people but the only catch: your fellow passengers may slay you for all those pleasure stops.