In response to invitation from friends, we have tried the dinner buffet in Saffron, Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. While I’ve taken a lot of food photos, I find these (contained in this post) the most appealing at this hour because of the hallucination it brought me.

If only not for the pending reports that I still have to finish before I go on leave, I am hugely ready to hit the Christmas Island already. (On random encounters with other expats, I always wanted to say that I am from the Christmas Island. Seriously, I think that the Philippines is, for the obvious reasons that it does the longest celebration and the spirit and air are embracing us big time effortlessly.) Incidentally, my eyes are now seeing beyond the surface: the lotus rice looked like a bibingka to me, the chocolate fountain as tsokolate batirol, and cakes and tarts as puto bumbong and other Pinoy kakanins.

To my old and new readers, did you know that I am now on my third year of random babbling? It feels like just yesterday. It started with irregular rants and raves on food (though I am no expert, I seriously thought that was all I should talk about)… and then, a little of MANY things I wrote as well. Although there are advantages and disadvantages of not having a particular niche, writing about my varied interests is how I roll. And I wish to thank all of you who sustain the fuel of our camaraderie in the blogosphere.

Since this is also my most favorite month, the next words are going to tell you why, I am holding a blog anniversary and birthday giveaway. I have this in my head since that day I went up to the tallest tower in the earth when I saw these pretty things from the souvenir shop.

(A postcard set containing 16 beautiful shots of the tallest tower and a CD holder with the same sweater/jacket design.)

This giveaway is for everyone and anyone and is going to be easy. Just leave a comment on this post to let me know (hey, not really fishing for compliments; but just to read your thoughts while on the same page):

(1) How we met virtually and/or in person (I think the second one’s rare)
(2) Why you read this blog
(3) A link to your most favorite post from this site (and why)
(4) Topics that you want me to write about/proposed changes to this blog
(5) “A suntok sa buwan possibility”, the first thing/question you are going to ask me if we ever get to meet in person.

(The several views of the tallest tower on the postcards.)

We are going to have three (3) winners, whom I am sending a personal note to answer their respective queries on # 5:
(1) You! If you happen to be the third to leave a comment. [A jacket notebook's for you.]
(2) The one whose comment is going to be the most valuable based on my panel of judges decision. Haha. Winner # 1 excluded from the selection. [Jacket notebook + jacket CD holder + 1 set of postcards + a personal stuff from me are going to be yours.]
(3) The one selected based on manual raffle. Winners 1 & 2 excluded from the raffle population. [One of the jacket notebooks flying from UAE to you.]

(On the postcards: Always grand wherever you view it. Of course, I also like my own snapshot taken from a restaurant in Dusit Thani Hotel.)

Comments are not going to be published/visible until 17th of July. Yes, that is my birthday!

What not to miss while attending an annual conference in Dusit Thani Hotel?

To take photos of Burj Khalifa. From the hotel, it has a nice view of the tallest tower.

I was planning to visit the observation deck (124th of the at least 160 floors) after its inauguration in January of this year. But as I was trying to shoo my fear of heights, as it was an exciting but a little chickening experience for me when I visited the Macau Tower observation deck (on the 58th floor), not too long, it was temporarily closed for maintenance and upgrade. Sigh. Next time, I will not pay much attention to my phobia anymore. It’s just that we sometimes tend to take for granted those spots that are very accessible to us. While most of the tourists actually flew miles away for these.

Did you know that the architecture of this over 800 meters tower (base of three legs) was in a way inspired by the regional desert flower, Hymenocallis?

Since the observation deck is still closed, we would probably pay a visit to the lower levels. The (57) elevators as reported can travel at 10 meters per second. We will see if that’s true.

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.

See how the closed circuit cameras helped the Dubai Police to name the suspects in 24 hours after the discovery of the victim’s death. A natural death as it seemed was not the real case.

The suspects include six British nationals, one French, one German and three Irish nationals, including one woman. The list was officially publicized yesterday. How quick they are to solve this case, eh?

Until today, it was confirmed that the suspects travelled to Dubai on fake passports. And Israel’s in the dock over fake passports.

What a strategy. How smart. I hope knowledge has been used only in good faith.

How do you solve a puzzle like this?

Update: 25 February 2010 – There are now 26 suspects. Click here to see how they are connected.

Find me if you can. No, I didn't see it live.

Talk about five years in the making, Burj Khalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai), the tallest tower in the world was officially inaugurated last night. The first time I saw this up and personal was few months ago when we checked the fireworks in the dancing fountain in Dubai Mall. It is really, really gigantic that it felt like looking up to eternity from that point. I did not get to see the launching face to face though. I hoped that they would do it during a weekend that I probably might have considered going there to be one of the many spectators, with eyes bewildered, as you can see in one of the photos. (I photographed these from the pages of one of the leading broadsheets in UAE.)

The fireworks display begun from one level to the other culminating on the over 160th floor/level (just imagine the speed of the elevators). Due to amazing pyrotechnics, the tower looked like it was going to explode. Until the inauguration, its final height (of 828 meters) was not disclosed by the developers.

Burj Khalifa

The fact that this tower in Dubai is now part of the history of tallest towers in the world is no surprise to me. Dubai has been known for making the impossible possible. What shocked me is that after all the promotion and marketing worldwide of its supposedly legal name “Burj Dubai”, on its inauguration it was introduced as “Burj Khalifa”. Burj is an Arabic term for tower or building. But why Khalifa? I was checking the related news on the launch and consistently the reason I got was  because Burj Khalifa name was one that reflected greatness. I partly might agree.  But we must remember that Dubai is known for branding almost anything with its name in it. There must be a big reason for dropping its name.

It might have been destined, but my couple of years stay in the UAE, brought me to some political orientation and issues even without necessarily seeking it. This is not a political blog, hence, I tried not writing about the rulers’ issues especially during the height of Dubai’s financial crisis. But to make the long story short, the rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi used to have (a past tense is safer) a tribal war (this you will not probably find in the worldwideweb). Their management style differs a lot: with Abu Dhabi as being the level headed one as against Dubai’s aggressiveness (hence, termed rebellious brother). Despite this silent competition, Abu Dhabi’s government generously supplied US$ 10 billion to Dubai’s government to meet the debt obligations of Dubai World.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed is one of the rulers of Abu Dhabi (and is the current president of UAE). That explains the change in name. Whether he demanded the tower to be named after him or not is another question. As a resident of Abu Dhabi, I do not think he would do that. He is one of the leaders whom I think is not hungry for recognition. Incidentally, he did not attend the inauguration of Burj Khalifa. Last year, its government rejected a proposal to build a tower taller than the (then) Burj Dubai. Had it pushed through, it will be called “Al Imlaq” or “The Giant”. Although much equipped by resources, they considered more the impact it will have on the air traffic in Abu Dhabi. Talk about social and environmental responsibilities. And guess what? The builders will not stop. They will redirect the proposal to Saudi Arabia. Do not be surprised if a taller tower would be launched in the next five years. And you know where.

Taken in June 2009. Dune bashing as part of Desert Safari is one invigorating experience that you should not miss when you’re visiting Dubai.

You’d be literally bashed on the curves of the desert.

More photos and stories here.

(More photohunters)

(Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. Taken in June 2009)

I’m on the fourth of my 10-day weekend and it’s going well, so far. The past days were spent outdoors and today I had the chance to work on the often neglected proper archiving of different sorts of files, that included sorting some photos. I’m sharing these snaps that I took when we visited the Atlantis Hotel (formally known as Atlantis The Palm Dubai) last June, few hours before we were challenged by the Desert Safari.

(You will notice that the posts have shells designed on them.)

There are two atlantis-type establishments that exist to date. The other one can be found in the Bahamas. Both were inspired by the legendary island mentioned in Plato’s dialogues Timaeus and Critias. When I was kid, I got engrossed with a Tagalog cartoon series tackling the secret world of Atlantis. There are ancient writers who believed that this actually existed.

(On the ceiling)

The interiors in Atlantis Dubai will definitely give you a feeling that you’re in “another world”. Aside from the shell-y engraving on the posts, everything else that your eyes will catch has a marine touch. The king’s chair and the floating dolphins near the lights will definitely get your attention.

And yes, the lamps are so Atlantis.

The center of the hallway boasts a giant aquarium which any hotel guest/daytime visitor may view for free.

I didn’t find this school of fish too appealing, though. Like they are too heavy on the eyes. Maybe, that’s just me.

The rest are very calming to look at, especially when the group swims in synchrony and approaches the glass/wall as if they were going to touch the guests’ face. I remember being startled a few times.

I actually wished I can trade places with the caretakers for an hour just to experience how it feels to interact with them so closely.

Atlantis The Palm, Dubai
Website: http://www.atlantisthepalm.com
Email: info@atlantisthepalm.com
Landline: +971 4 426 0000

(Dubai Dolphinarium, 6 November 2009)

First, thank you for sharing your guess about the previous post/photo showing different raw human reactions. That was taken in Hong Kong Ocean Park while watching the Dolphins and Sea Lions Show in December of last year.

On the other hand, UAE launched its own dolphinarium this year and we had a chance to check it the other weekend. Unlike in Hong Kong Ocean Park wherein the show happens in an open area, you will find inside the Dubai Creek Park a marine-themed building wherein dolphins and sea lions are showcased daily. The voice over and sounds system are generally of surround quality, with laser and spotlights to enhance the viewing pleasure. There are at least 1,200 cinema quality seats. I advise you to take the fourth row backwards as the water splashes frequently reaching up to third row. The pool is 19 meters long and 11 meters wide.

The one-hour show featured three Black Sea Bottlenose dolphins: Senya, Ksyusha and Marfa and four Northern Fur Seals: Ghosha, Max, Fila and Siennia. They danced to Russian and other foreign tunes, made synchronized wacky sounds (as if singing), impressed me with hulahoop, ball catching and other playful activities including the dolphins’ lifting of the trainors/swimmers. I think the dolphins and sea lions in this dolphinarium were more trained. But I consider the show in Hong Kong as more playful as there is more unexpected interaction with the viewers (e.g. sea lions randomly kissing some guests, etc.). Maybe, UAE culture is one of the main considerations for the program’s limitations.

However, I was starstruck when three dolphins were asked to paint. And they really painted! They were able to produce a seemingly abstract illustration. It was offered to the audience for bidding. The highest bidder got it at AED 300 (almost PhP4000).

There are also separate sessions dedicated to those who would like to swim (group swimming or private, which is more expensive) with the dolphins.

Note: I’ll try to update this post once I’ve already uploaded the (several) videos that I took.

Dubai Dolphinarium
Tel : +971 (4) 336-9773, Fax : +971 (4) 336-9774
Email : info@dubaidolphinarium.ae
Webiste: http://www.dubaidolphinarium.ae

How to get there
Show timing and ticket prices
Dolphinarium rules/restrictions

(Last weekend. One side of Dubai Creek at 5pm)

While eating double chocolate ice cream on cone, we seated near the shore to appreciate one side of the creek. It was fun watching the children going there and there, as if they were going around in circles. The truth is when you’re childlike there’s no limit as to what you can appreciate as long as you’re having fun.

Will you share with me the memories of the last time your feet kissed the shore?