TBK at Global Village, Dubai
Question - ( as my dear former colleague Hazel would say)
Where can you eat food from around the world at one location?
Answer- Global Village , Dubai
Now the boring Wikipedia bit , sorry Phil but this is a Travel Vlog and some of my readers will not have heard of Global Village!
"Global Village in Dubai is located on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road E 311 road (United Arab Emirates) Dubai. It combines cultures of 90 countries across the world at one place. It claims to be the world's largest tourism, leisure, shopping and entertainment project. It is the region's first cultural, entertainment, family and shopping destination. Every year, it has over 5 million visitors over an area of 17,200,000 sq ft (1,600,000 m²). The current admission fee is AED 15."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Village_(Dubai) ( accessed 20.12.21)
The thing about Dubai is it is constantly reinventing itself. Global village is no longer the world's largest tourism, leisure, shopping and entertainment project. That title now goes to EXPO 2020 which TBK will be visiting on Christmas day to see Lea Salonga play live. And the current admission fee is now 20 dirhams ( 2 bd , 4 GBP , 271.68 Philippine Peso) . BUT do the math. 5 million x 20 = 100,000,000 AED ( 1,358,400,000 Philippine Peso or 20,580,000 Pound Sterling) a year in gate money alone. These Emiratis are smart! Add to that the fact that Global Village, open from 5 pm to Midnight, 7 days a week throughout the winter months is just one of a number of Major Tourism attractions in Dubai, and you will see why Tourism in Dubai is booming.
Ibis Al Barsha. Dubai, the current home of The British Kabayan
Whilst I have my mathematical head on the IBIS where I am staying ( 3 star , out of town, nothing special) is full every night, There are 491 rooms, 700 guests a night, average room rate around 300 AED that's 147,000 AED a night . Then there are maybe 500 breakfasts at 39 AED that's 19,750 AED. You want the headline figure- its about 58 million AED ( 12 million GBP, 6 million Bahraini dinar, or, wait for it 787,814,000 Philippine Peso) a year generated by one hotel in Dubai! ( Please note these are my estimates based on several wild assumptions). Back to Global Village....
Here are some facts and figure for you:
"The Global Village Silver Jubilee Edition has received 4.5 million visitors and has witnessed the Global Village breaking 25 Guinness World Records. In season 25, the park showcased 78 cultures in 26 pavilions in 190 days, while last year it opened more than 300 restaurants and 3,500 retail stores."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Village_(Dubai) ( accessed 20.12.21)
First impressions are always very important , as I tell my delegates ! Everyone knew of Global Village and recommended it. Its well covered ion Instagram ( Thang sent me the Instagram post below a few weeks ago suggesting we go there when I arrive) and the social media . There were as many Emiratis as Expats and Tourists there, always a good sign. I asked the RTA guy at Mashreq metro how to get there while I was waiting for Thang to arrive. " Metro to MOE then Bus to GV" . All great signs.
I bought Thang a bottle of Bourbon for Christmas, we had a nap, and woke up late ( 6 pm ) so not wanting to waste more time we got a taxi there. However there was an accident and the road was blocked so it took an hour and cost 45 AED ( 5 bd , 10 GBP) . There were 20 ticket booths open , 2 people in our queue, she asked how old I was ( sadly only over 65 and kids are free) but she recovered with " You don't look it sir" when I told her I was 62!
Thang's hand and our tickets
The place was mobbed, and by then ( 730 pm) I was starving! So we headed for the Indian area and had an amazing meal of Chicken Biryani, Raita, Garlic Nan , Butter Chicken and washed it down with Lemon Mint and Pepsi ( for Thang before the haters start on me!)
Thang's Chicken Biryani- I stopped eating rice in Oman and Garlic Nan
This Blog is going all over the place like a Ronnie Corbett Christmas special joke!
( only the Brits will get that) .
So India is a very diverse huge country and each area has its own language, religion and dietary habits . The population also look different in each area. I am now fortunate to have many Indian friends who are good illustration of this. Carl Max is from Kerala, is light brown and eats fruity non spicy curries ( not beef) , speaks Hindu ( but cannot wrote it) and Malayan.
Thang, our TBK Cameraman at Global Village
Thang is from the far North (Mizoram) near Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet , and Myanmar. The people from this area are small and have light colour skin and are often mistaken for Phillipino's. Our waiter was from Assam and although bigger than Thang he had similar light skin.
Pranesh, Wine Executive - Retail and Distribution / Marketing at BMMI in Bahrain
Finally in this group is my dear friend Pranesh, Wine Executive - Retail and Distribution / Marketing at BMMI in Bahrain, who is from Darjeeling in West Bengal ( near to Nepal and Tibet) who I mistook for a Phillipino when I first met him 12 years ago .
Alpesh's 2021 Facebook Photo- Happy Birthday!
My ex neighbours , Alpesh , Mittal and their kids are from Gujarat and are vegetarian. So just as there is no one "Middle Eastern, Brit or Pinoy , so the Indians are very diverse and one must not stereotype ! "
To quote Anias Nin :
" We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
Source : https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7190.Ana_s_Nin ( accessed 20.12.21)
" Where is this going , Mr. P?"
Some of the many countries represented at the Global Village this year
Global Village is a 26 year old celebration of Diversity , Tolerance, and Inclusivity, which the UAE is famed for. You can meet people from Different nationalities, experience their cultures, try their foods, learn about their countries, and buy their goods. Yahey , we finally got there!
Honey from Yemen
Now over to Thangs brilliant pictures which litter this blog. He also took 10 videos which give you a better feel for Global Village and some of the things on offer there. Chester, in Marikana , Philippines has also edited Thangs videos into a vlog which you can see on The British Kabayan You Tube Channel by clicking in the link below. As usual thanks to Thang , our waiter from Assam and our Mango sticky rice maker at Global village! Finally thanks to Chester for editing the vlog for us.
and the Queen of the vlogs and marketing, Chester Delos Santos- Porter, my Business partner on TBK based in Marikana , Philippines... at his recent birthday
That's all from me, the CR is beckoning after 5 hours putting this blog together in the Chill Café at IBIS Al Barsha. Next on the agenda is some mundane clothes shopping ( it's colder than I thought here ( 18 at night and 27 in the day) . As you will see from the above figures ( and my brother will support this) my math's is not good ( double counting and currency exchange !) . So when I counted how much underwear I needed for 2 months in Dubai with Jeboy having a weeks washing at a time for a week I got it wildly wrong! Corleen has two thirds of my underwear in Bahrain ( which he washed after I left) , Jeboy has one third, and , well I will let you do the math!
Thanks for reading, don't forget to check the vlog later in the week, and of course, like and subscribe!
 |  |
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment