By Shafaat Ahmed www.khaleejtimes.com
Cyberspace was abuzz on Friday with live updates from all over Dubai about people caught up in traffic in their attempt to reach Downtown Dubai, the destination of the world’s largest New Year spectacle.
It seemed the entire country was flowing towards the Burj to make the piece of history their own. Unfortunately all weren’t lucky.
Thousands managed to reach, most of whom were those who were able to sneak in before 6pm, while thousands of others remained stranded in a sea of cars as all entries leading to downtown were closed around 9pm.
The smartest ones were those who hopped onto Metro and zipped their way in, while those who even managed to get their cars in The Dubai Mall couldn’t find any space to park their cars after 6pm.
The Dubai Mall’s massive multi-storey parking lot was a scene of mess and chaos as were the roads in the vicinity of Downtown.
The cyber-savvy, mainly the Twitter users, provided live updates of the situation throughout the day and well into the night, starting from the tailbacks on Al Khail and Sheikh Zayed Roads to the clogged parking lots of Dubai Mall and adjoining facilities. The minute-by-minute update also captured the mood and colours inside the Mall, which resembled a scene of mega carnival. So much so that the place seemed to have sucked in the entire population of the country.
However, a lot of people followed the Twitter and either kept their cars behind or took the metro. “I decided to take the metro for the New Year celebrations at Burj Khalifa because twitter users informed of the heavy traffic surrounding the area,” said Hileri Bilakhia (@ireliH)
Live updates from the venue provided up-to-date information for visitors as tweeps constantly posted short messages on the micro-blogging site, helping people take alternatives or drop their plan of visiting downtown.
