Sharjah is like the twin city of Dubai. Hardly 30 kms from the glamorous city of Dubai is this silent city, which is a heaven if you want peace and modern facilities in the same plate.
Sharjah is a bit crowded, sometimes you get stuck in traffic jams in the peak evening hours, but it only makes you feel at home ( if you are from any of the metros in India.)
Food
You get almost every cuisine here - from phillipino to the kerala to authentic chinese ( not the one that I used to eat in india, the real chinese), japanese, etc.. and most intersting fact is that, it is not priced at a permium, unlike in other countries, where u need to pay a permium for foreign cuisines. And if you like barbecued chicken, this is the best place to taste it. The also have something called ’Shorma’ ( not sure if the spelling is correct), which is sliced barbecued chicken filled in the arabian roti with some vegetables. To compare, it is close to calcutta rolls, but this tastes better. If you have two of these, and a coke, and there you finish your dinner. It is cheap (3 Dirhams) and very tasty.
PS: if you are a alcohol lover - please get your own alcohol to Sharjah. It is a dry state and hence none of the restaurants will sell alcohol here. But the other states like Ajman and Dubai are not dry states and they are very close. Infact Ajman is the closest to Sharjah, and you can go there to have liquor.
Stay
You get very decent hotels at very good rates. The rates are almost equivalent to the ones in india. A fourstar would cost you on paper 4000Rs per day, but then if you travel through an agent, you get opto 40% discounts.
Travel
Taxi is the only mode of transport. No need to negotiate. Almost all the taxis are Toyotas, with AC and electronic meter. The min charge during the day is 2.50 dirhams and after 10 pm it is 3.50 dhs. The taxis at the airports are expensive, but these are government fixed rates and hence you cannot negotiate.
You can also find some old unmetered taxis which is on shared basis. But I would suggest you travel in the metered ones.
There are very few signals in this country and every cross road has a roundabout. It is wonderful to see how the traffic flows smoothly without any signals. The traffic sense is amazing.
Shopping
You have mega mall and city center here which are the biggest shopping malls. You also find many small ones. The prices are almost equivalent to Dubai ones, but the customer service is much better in Sharjah. Electronics are a good bargain here ( not as cheap as you would get in singapore or US, but when compared to India, they are cheap ) if you are choosy, you can get the models you want with bill and international warranty. If the items are distributed by ’JUMBO’ then you get intenational warranty. All the other distributors give only UAE and Eurpe warranty.
Cars
If you are a car lover, then come and spend few hours in the busiest roads of Sharjah, you can see every model of every manufacturer ( ofcourse, left hand drives only) here.
People
The people are very respectuful and homely. They are very hospitable. Approach any of them, and they will be willing to help you. They are really proud of their country and will help you out of the way. You can find maximum malayalam speaking people here next to kerala.
Most of the taxi drivers and restaurant people are pakistanis. If you speak to them for some time, you realise that they are also normal people like us, and all the issues about kashmir and LOC are all at the political and military level only.
Language
You need to know English/Malayalam/Hindi, and you can communicate with anyone here without any problem.
Currency
They use Dirhams. 1 dirham is equivalent to approx 12.5 Indian Rupees. There are lots of ATMs here and hence you dont need to carry excess cash. All shops accept euros and UDS also.
Places to watch
muesums, beach ( sharjah and ajman), one day trip to dubai and you can see all the beautiful buildings (preferably, go to dubai in the night to see the buildings all coloured up with lights).
You should not miss desert safari - they take you to the desert , drive through the sand dunes, have camel ride, watch the infamous belly dance ( the irony is that the dancers are from russia and not localites), and have good dinner. Beleive me, you will remember it for ever.
Temperature:
Avoid the summer months ( the temperature can go upto 49 c easily during the day)