All roads head to Burj Khalifa

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.

@Jassim: Headed to the burj khalifa then avoid the @TheDubaiMall parking, try parking next to rotana or behind the porsche dealership on szr

@fowzi75: Braved the Metro to come to Dubai Mall. Good decision as traffic was backed up to Sheikh Zayed Road. Never seen Dubai Mall so busy

@Dubai: Looks like the police have just closed off the exit from SZR northbound into TheDubaiMall, I am going back, not worth it!

Another tweet said: Braved the Metro to come to Dubai Mall. Good decision as traffic was backed up to Sheikh Zayed Road. Never seen Dubai Mall so busy.

However, as the hours got closer to twelve even the metro wasn’t going to help.

@isadeq92: Just my luck. The metro won’t let us stop at Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station!

@viodge: Dubai metro jam packed!! All roads heading to Burj Khalifa Fireworks.

Despite all the pain in getting there, the atmosphere showed it was worth it. It was once in a lifetime situation, it was history. 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.

@hadoola149: Dubai mall is packed...got off at the metro station and I felt as if it was at hajj...people are like ants here. lol

Another tweet put the scene aptly. @Alyo2: “Dubai Mall is a scene to behold, it seems the world has turned up here.”

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