SHARJAH // Residents and visitors to Khor Fakkan are pleading with local authorities to provide more entertainment facilities.
"This is my first visit to Khor Fakkan. I tried to come before but I couldn't find a hotel booking as there's only one hotel covering the whole area," said Syrian Eman Ghannam, 28.
"It is a very nice place with a fantastic beach, but you can't stay more than two, maximum three, days here because of the limited entertainment options."
Emirati Obaid Rashed, 22, lamented there was nothing to do in Khor Fakkan.
"If I want to spend some quality time with my friends we either go to Fujairah to bowl or play billiards or we drive all the way to Dubai during weekends. I wish that they would open a shopping mall with entertainment facilities like the one in Fujairah or Dubai."
Jordanian Ahmad Hayan, 31, said that he was first attracted to live in Khor Fakkan because of its scenery but noted a nice backdrop alone was not enough.
"It is a very unique and simple city but, to be honest with you, after spending three months here I started to get bored. "I used to watch a movie twice a month at the cinema, it is one of my favourite habits, but I couldn't find any movie theatres here so I have to drive all the way to Fujairah to watch a movie. With only one day off it's quite impossible." Emirati Shaikha Fahid said she had issues with the lack of a proper indoor play area for children.
"Finding a high-quality indoor kids' playing area is impossible here," she said. "We only have two choices, either the beach area or the open park. I can't take my kids there during the day because of the burning sun.
"I do most of my shopping in Fujairah and sometimes Dubai, there I can find all the brands that I like. While I shop the kids can play at the playing areas, but it would be much better and more convenient if we had a big shopping mall here that includes shopping brands, restaurants and indoor playing areas. This would be a dream comes true."
Emirati Sultan Al Ahmad, who studies at the University of Sharjah's Khor Fakkan's campus, enjoys spending his spare time playing cards with his college mates but complained about the lack of variety when it came to restaurants.
"After school I meet up with my friends at a café near the beach," he said. "We play cards, but when we feel hungry and crave some good-quality food from a well-known brand at that point we feel like it's the end of the world. The number of good restaurants are very limited here and it lacks variety."
Khor Fakkan has two big public parks and a well-maintained Corniche area that includes a play ground, shaded seats and showers.
The area also has a public library, community clubs, small shopping centres and an expo centre that hosts seasonal shopping festivals such as a back-to-school festival, which is currently running through September 6.
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