It's time for fun in the sun

The sun slowly sets behind the tall towers around the Khalid Lagoon and casts a reddish hue on the joggers getting their daily exercise fix.

Nearby, a mother picks up a child's bicycle from the back of an SUV and places it on the pavement and opens the back door to let out her child.

The park on the lagoon resounds to the screams of happy, scampering children.

Elsewhere, a trio of Emiratis is seen engrossed in their conversation at a coffee shop, but this coffee shop does not offer you the ubiquitous, smelly shisha.

"Shishas are not allowed here," says Mohammad Ali Al Mansouri, who was strolling on the Corniche, munching peanuts from a paper cone. He comes here occasionally for his walk from the far-away suburb of Al Nouf, where he lives, south of the lagoon.

But he is not a regular walker, he says. That is apparent as he is dressed in a golden yellow kandoura and open-toed slippers.

But for Mohammad Kashif and his brother Hashim, walking on the Corniche is serious business. The two young and slim Pakistanis do the whole round of the Corniche.

The lagoon extends over five kilometres. Sometimes they also walk on the beach side near Ajman.

Across Sharjah's busy Corniche Street, the counter salesman at an ice cream shop says he gets a good crowd of customers for his caramel and almond fudge ice cream. But he points out that the pizza place next door does even better business over the weekends.

Happening place

The Corniche Street is a "happening" place for most of the residents of Sharjah. Fatima, who was sitting on a bench with her friends, says she just "loves coming over here". One of her friends had come visiting her from Dubai.

The lagoon abuts the huge and densely populated Al Majaz district. This district of Sharjah stretches from the Marbella Resort, with its white-painted Spanish-architecture inspired villas, goes around the Lagoon and ends at Al Arouba Street. In the middle of the stretch of water sits the massive Al Jazeera Park.

The district is divided into three since it is so huge: Al Majaz 1 (between Corniche Street and King Faisal Street), Al Majaz 2 (between Corniche and Jamal Abdul Nasser Street and Al Majaz 3 (between Corniche, Al Khan and Al Arouba Streets).

Rents are sky-high for apartments overlooking the Corniche. Faraaz, who was out with his friends on the Corniche, says his three-bedroom apartment just across the street is renting for Dh100,000. Despite the slowdown in the real estate sector, construction workers were seen busily manoeuvring a huge crane at a new tower being built near the Corniche. Elsewhere across the lagoon, silhouettes of more cranes were seen on the roof of new towers, shadowed by the disappearing Sun. Construction work is still going on here, though at a slower pace.

Roadworks

Like in Dubai, roadworks here also hamper traffic which moves at a snail's pace specially during the weekends and the peak hours when people return from work. Earlier this year, Al Majaz Waterfront road was finally opened to traffic.

The chief of the Sharah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Marwan Jasem Al Sarkal had pointed out that this is one of the most important roads in the emirate as it is the central road connecting many of Sharjah's districts.

But many residents are critical of the way Al Majaz Park construction was handled. They feel that the Park area is much smaller now.

For many people Sharjah is basically a "bedroom society", where residents work in the neighbouring emirate at the end Al Ittihad Road, and come back here to sleep. It is still far cheaper to live in Sharjah than in Dubai.

Recreation

On the other hand, for many residents Dubai is the place to go for recreation. "There's not much to do here," complains Nabila, a Syrian expatriate who was walking briskly at the Lagoon with Nada, her companion from Palestine.

"Most of the time I am in Dubai if I need to relax or have a good time," she says.

The expatriate has been living in Sharjah for the past 30 years. "It would be nice if this place had more coffee shops where you can sit out and enjoy," she says. "This [Lagoon] area needs to be developed."

But for Iman-ur-Rahman, a Pakistani, who works at Sharjah Airport, Sharjah is a nice place to live. This is his third stint in the emirate. He was walking along the Corniche with his daughters, who were born and raised here.

They had come from Pakistan to visit their dad and come here to the Corniche as it brings back "memories", said Nadia, one of the girls who now has a child of her own. The family had taken a dhow ride across the Lagoon.

The ride cost them Dh60 and they seemed to have enjoyed it.

"Sharjah needs more recreational areas," said Nadia. Another girl nearby, said it would be nice if there was an open-air theatre.

AL BUHAIRA CORNICHE

Al Buhaira Corniche on the Khalid Lagoon in Sharjah is a quiet retreat from the traffic and hubbub of daily life in this third-largest emirate. This is the place to enjoy a brisk walk or to ruminate or just chill out and watch the sun slowly set over the horizon. The street abutting this lagoon is not that quiet and bustles with life, especially during the weekends when everyone heads here to take time out.

QUICK GUIDE: STREET SMART

1. Mosques Al Noor Mosque is the largest on the Buhaira Corniche. Sharjah has hundreds of impressive mosques with multiple domes, showing a strong influence of Turkish architecture.
2. Groceries and supermarkets There are tiny, corner groceries to huge malls, all within a few kilometres from here. Sharjah City Centre is 1.5km from the Corniche. Lal's and Union Cooperative and Al Fardan are at walking distance.
3. Blue Souq The Central Market is called the Blue Souq because of the lovely blue tiles on the walls outside. With 600 shops the atmosphere inside is of a real bazaar and is huge tourist draw. The Souq is shaped like a train.
4. Schools International School of Choeifat, Al Sadr Islamic English School, Emirates Driving School are nearby. Ajman University is about 9km from the Corniche.
5. Hotels Millennium Hotel, Hotel Holiday International, Holiday Inn International and Embassy Suites Hotel cater to various budgets.
6. Eateries There's everything here from Pizza Hut, Burger King, Krispy Kreme to Al Samadi sweets, and restaurants offering various international cuisines.

Have your say

Do you live in the Buhaira Corniche area and have a story to tell us? What is your opinion of the changes that took place in your area? Do you live in another neighbourhood and would like to tell us about it?