Taken on 26 February 2010 at The Waterfalls, Dubai Mall

The waterfalls traverse the entire height of the mall, which is four levels. It is coupled by art sculpture of human divers which are made of fiberglass. I think that the presence of the divers made a big difference. It visually enhanced the rhythmic flow of water.

And did you just notice that the divers are all naked (with the right amount of abs there!)? And we thought that UAE is sort of strict in this aspect.  ;)

I am in UAE for quite a time now but it was only this year I checked the (Annual) Dubai Shopping Festival. With tired feet and hungry monster tummies, there was no better way to culminate last Friday night than visiting the Rainforest Cafe. We have passed by here when we checked the Dubai Aquarium last time but I never thought that this cafe offers more than the usual.

I think that this cafe is well-conceptualized in the sense that this is currently one of a kind in the UAE. For the naturally greenery scarce Gulf, an artificial rainforest environment will be appreciated by many. There is a reptile at the entrance, and as you take more steps to the dining hall, you will be greeted by a serpent. Then the rest of the tigers, gorillas and butterflies are strategically situated. Although these creatures are available in their artificial form, it is hugely entertaining because approximately at every 10 minutes , they would air some sounds of animals and synched with their movements. The banging of the thunderstorm signals that these creatures will become alive.

Looking at the ceiling is the most fascinating part for me. There’s this lighting effect that does not only make the stars twinkle, but like they also travel slowly from one portion to the other.

In that way, it was like dining under a star-starry night. Although the simulated rainforest feel is the highlight of the visit, the food is also good. We had grilled salmon, pesto and mixed seafood grill. The food’s name from menu is catchy like Rainforest Rascal with Safari Fries and Gorilla Grilled Cheese Delight.

Since the Rainforest Cafe is just behind the Dubai Aquarium (one of the biggest aquariums in the world), there’s one stretch of dining tables directly facing it. How refreshing is that.

There are stoned sculptures of ancient type and waterfalls that give an added feel of the jungle. The tables and chairs are made up of bamboo and the table (top) has drawings of fish and other animals.

I have not taken a photo of the path to the restroom, but the gender reference says like “Queen of the Jungle” and “King of the Jungle”. There’s also a souvenir shop which sells kooky forms of animals, shirts, mugs and other items. We would probably check and get one the next time. Yes, this cafe is worth visiting again.

See how the animals become “alive” in this video:

Rainforest Cafe is in Dubai Mall, near the Dubai Aquarium. Landline: +971 4 330 8515

Edit: Video uploaded on 7 March 2010.

One of the stores in Dubai Mall that would probably catch one’s attention is Desigual (the multichannel concept came from Barcelona). It’s obviously unorthodox, just as you can see the hanging of clothes. Parang sinampay lang sa bakuran.

For a time, I am fond of statement (and non-traditional) tees. In the Philippines, the kookiest and most strange things are normal.  But in UAE, you can get arrested for (unintentionally) wearing an unacceptable tee. Last year, a set of t-shirts displaying stick drawings of naked man and woman were removed from this Spanish shop. The same year, Harvey Nichols, a British department store in the Mall of the Emirates, was forced to close for a few hours to remove t-shirts considered obscene after a customer complained to a local radio station. The t-shirts had the image of a British bulldog standing on top of a UAE flag. The store quickly apologised. In another incident, an expatriate was jailed for a month before being deported after he was arrested for wearing a Marc Jacob t-shirt depicting a naked Victoria Beckham with the slogan “protect the skin you’re in” as part of a cancer-awareness campaign. The man was charged with offending public decency.

This serves as a gentle reminder when you’re traveling in this part of the globe, whether you’re a tourist or not.

Siguro naman hindi nila ako huhulihin, pag suot ko ang menu shirt ko.