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Dubai doesn’t do small. That the city is studded with superlatives is well known: Here, you’ll find a man-made island built in the shape of a palm tree, with even bigger ones to come; some of the world’s biggest shopping malls, complete with indoor zoos and ski slopes, and plenty of world firsts such as the Armani hotel, naturally located in the world’s tallest tower, the dazzling Burj Dubai.
At the moment, the city resembles a giant construction site - the Burj Dubai, for one, won’t be completed until September - but this is easily forgotten once you drive out to the city’s Atlantis-themed resort on Palm Jumeirah island.
Atlantis found
With the opening of the Atlantis, the Palm, last November, Dubai steps up its grandeur to mythological proportions.
Named after the fabled lost city, which, according to legend, sank into the ocean in an earthquake, Atlantis, the Palm, sits on the sand like a gate to Poseidon’s realm, its towers resembling spikes of coral from a distance.
The water theme is continued inside, providing jaw-dropping diversions for the young and old. A towering sculpture of blue, green and flame-coloured swirls by glass artist Dale Chihuly greets you in the main lobby
If the wave-like, curlicues of glass don’t stop you in your tracks, the 11 million-litre Ambassador Lagoon in the resort’s East Tower probably would. There’s enough water to fill four and half Olympic-size swimming pools and super-size fish.
The lagoon is part of the resort’s Lost Chambers, a maze of floor-to-ceiling aquariums that makes for a relaxing and fascinating way to while away the afternoon. Here, you can see the likes of manta rays, whale sharks and man-sized Goliath groupers swim majestically by.
Guests with money to spare can sleep to the same view. The resort’s luxurious Lost Chamber suites share a glass wall with the underwater world of the aquarium.
Outside, the Aquaventure waterpark offers a more visceral experience. Entry is free for guests, non-guests pay S$112, S$86 for children.
The main attraction is the Ziggurat, an elaborate complex of exhilarating water slides. The central tower is designed like a Mesopotamian temple but the ride is anything but serene.
In fact, it’s a near vertical slide that might as well be a nine-storey free-fall. Fittingly, it’s called The Leap of Faith - and you’d need it, plunging from the mouth of temple, body hardly making contact with the slide, down to a transparent tunnel and through a shark-filled lagoon.
Another slide, Shark Attack, takes you on a twisty journey made more exciting by steep plunges in pitch darkness. You emerge into a clear tunnel and leisurely drift through a pool full of sharks and rays.
The two rides are closed to youngsters below 1.2 metres but they will be well-entertained at Splashers, a water playground that has its own tube slides. The resort makes an extra effort to accommodate children, with clubs and bars for teens and kids.
But there are grown-up pleasures too. Dining choices include Japanese fusion restaurant Nobu, French brasserie Rostang and Italian eatery Ronda Locatelli - all helmed by Michelin-star chefs and their only outposts in the Middle East.
The food at Rostang was superb - the crispy, flavourful fries of the steak frites alone made the dish - and the restaurant, with its high ceilings, Art Nouveau-style lamps, smoky mirrors, leather banquettes and mosaic floor brought a bit of Paris to Atlantis.
Shop and ski
Dubai is perfect for those who like their shopping with bells and whistles. Fancy extras that come with entrance fees include an indoor ski slope at Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates, the city’s reigning megamall until The Dubai Mall came along last year.
The crisp snow underfoot is made fresh daily and there are five runs with the longest being 400m.
The biggest shopping mall in the world with over 1,400 shopping outlets, Dubai Mall also has one of the largest aquariums in the world holding 10 million litres of water with a walk-through tunnel.
There’s also an underground zoo with re-creations of the rainforest and a rocky shoreline with a penguin colony.
The mall might be size of 200 football fields, but its cluster layout ensures that you don’t quite feel the distance walking around.
For a different side of Dubai, look to the Dubai Creek area.
Markets such as the Gold Souk is popular with Indian tourists shopping for extravagant dowry - ornate gold necklaces resembling breastplates and the like.
The area is an interesting contrast to other skyscraper-filled districts, particularly along the creek where traditional dhows unload all manner of goods from fish to 60-inch plasma televisions.
And finally, the desert
In Dubai, visitors can start their day in an indoor ski slope, and end it watching the sun set in the desert.
Dune-bashing in the desert is a popular activity, though certainly not for those with motion sickness.
In between careening over steep dunes, you can stop to snap photos of the desolately beautiful landscape of the scorching sun beating down on the reddish sand.
Despite the crowds, it’s possible to gaze into the ridged horizon with the hot wind whistling in your ears, and feel like you’re on Mars. The thrills of a mythological city are not too far away either.
This trip was made possible by UOB Travel Planners and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
- TODAY/yb
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