There’s Something Fishy At The Dubai Mall
Hand in hand, Masood and I walk past the shops in the Dubai Mall, taking our sweet time to take things slow and enjoy the moment together. We have taken half day leave from work and went out for a date. We particularly avoided visiting this place during the weekend, after hearing people complain about traffic, crowd and overall chaos.
(Left) That’s the Dubai Aquarium, which holds the record for the world’s largest viewing panel, containing about 10 million liters of saltwater You can view that for free. There’s a certain music playing in the background, a kind of sound that gives you a feeling of being underwater. I find it eerie though.
(Right) Entrance to the tunnel, which is part of the Dubai Discovery Center. Entrance fee to the Tunnel alone is Dh 25, while fees for the Tunnel plus the Discovery Center costs Dh 50.
A 270-degree acrylic glass walkthrough tunnel, featuring the world’s single largest school of sharks including 45 sand tiger sharks, 45 grey reef sharks and up to 30 spotted eagle rays.
(Left) The tunnel is filled with sharks, and the only thing between us and them is the thick glass! It is an amazing feeling to view these fierce creatures up close. I’m surprised that little girl isn’t a bit scared.
(Right) Sea lions playing around in the water. These are smart animals and know when they are watched, because when they realize that they have an audience, they show off their swimming skills!
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7379764575969732005&hl=en]
Some crustaceans up close.
Penguins! Funny creatures. When one of the them decides to swim, the entire gang follows. Then one of them decides to come out of the water and stand on the rocks, the rest of them do the same. Oh, and they swim around like ducks.
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-528681919477828720&hl=en]
We are lucky enough to be there right when the divers are feeding the fishes! These guys are swimming around the sharks and, if you’re an adventurous type, you too can take a dive to feed these fishes – after paying a certain fee, of course.
(Left) Masood and I stand over a glass floor to watch the fish swim beneath us. We are also allowed to touch and feel star fish and sea cucumbers.
(Right) Beautiful blue blubber jelly.
That is Dubai Mall’s runway, where they intend to organize international fashion shows.
The Ice Skating Rink
The gorgeous chandeliers hanging above the country’s largest Gold Souk.
All animal licences and permits conform to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international agreement between governments aimed at ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
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We had a great time over there and spend our anniversary day with sharks, what a wild way to celebrate:)
Jaan,
I had a fabulous time, thank you for taking me out 🙂
We have so many plans ahead of us, InshaAllah, and I’m so excited!
Yes, the sharks were really cool!
ma shaa Allah, that is so coooooool i wanna come back :(((
Umm Travis,
Plan for a visit. You deserve a break 🙂
Nice photojournalism!
Good videos too.
The picture of the silver colored fish came out really good.
As a Canadian, I’m glad of the ice rink they managed to build.
Abid,
Thank you for the compliments 🙂 I’m still learning to take decent photos.
wow…that is fantastic. Such a spectacle. Then with the opening of the Palms Resort, Dubai is like Disney World of the ME.
Amir,
We will also have our own version of the Disney World soon – only much bigger, of course (it has become an obsession). It’s called Dubai Wonderland or something and is still under construction. I’m looking excitedly forward to the roller coaster rides!
This is pretty huge! We went on something like this similar, in Malaysia, and then also in Chicago, but this seems quite big, and much more variety.
You say it’s a mall? Was anyone doing much shopping? Is this on the Palm too?
Haleem,
Yes, it is intended to be a mall 😀 Not much shopping going on since half the shops are still closed. And it’s impossible to see the entire mall in one trip – your aching feet won’t let you. Dubai Mall is located very close to the Burj Dubai, along Shaikh Zayed Road.
What a fantastic post this is! The heading is very clever 🙂
Lovely pictures! Penguins are the best part of it and I’m amazed at their group attitude.
Aadil,
Thank you so much 🙂
Wowww Fabulous Pictures & thanks for your wonderful guide 🙂
Niyaz,
Thank you so much 🙂
Awww that was so interesting, enjoyed reading and all pics sis, Thanx for sharing 🙂
Bholi Bhali,
Thank you for stopping by. Looking forward to read your latest posts. You’ve been away for so long; you owe us several posts 🙂
Wow – Very very good pictures. Also very well written post!
Asma,
Welcome to my blog! I’m glad you liked the pictures, thank you 🙂
I loved the pictures and the narrative that went with them…you’re getting to be very professional with photo journalism! 🙂
The place looks wonderful. I’m kind of surprised at the chandeliers: very classy. I thought Arabs went for all-gold loud and expensive stuff like they do in Saudi. 🙂
Misspecs,
Professional in photojournalism, me? *blushes* Aww, thank you. I love the compliments I get on here though. Makes me want to take more pictures, hehe.
I believe the locals are toning it down just a bit 🙂 So yes, the chandeliers do look very classy.
That is so cute! Thank you for showing us the video. Have a great day!
Serene,
Thank you so stopping by 🙂
lol i LOVE penguins!!! always reminds me of madagascar :p
aww look how they swim!
and this dubai aquarium is now talk of the town..i get to read about it in blogs, then have conversation on it with my brother,..then get a couple of mails with tremendous, awed pics of it!!!!! WOW…i love fishes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
did u ice skate???:D 😀 😀
Mubi,
Yes, except that the Madagascar penguins thought they were, er .. smart 😉
I love fishes too. Actually, I love animals. It’s nice to get to see them up close.
No, I didn’t ice skate. Next time, perhaps 🙂
I recently visited Dubai Mall, but I have a different experience and thought to share ,when I reached at the aquarium section, I felt terrible and depressed at the sight of the hundreds of big and small fishes, sharks,sting rays, small fishes etc together in a narrow and small water tank. I felt like I was hearing lots of distressful cries and misfortunes of the fishes there. Its extremely cruel that just for the entertainment of human eyes, such cruelty to the animals is being carried out.
Its just like that I bring lions, tigers, elephants, zebra, deer, cats, rats, dogs,cheetas etc all together under one roof of my 22 feet long and 11 feet wide living room. And feed them best of the world’s food. But still it is against the nature. Money in excess is a good thing to have but it should be utilised in a positive and a constructive way. This terrible cruelty to the innocent creatures should be noticed and stopped, of which they cannot even speak of their sufferings. This small tank (even if made of gold) is not their true abode. Their world is the sea where they live in their own water terrirtories. If they die there, still they would have lived a free and a natural life. It should be closed and the species should be freed into the water again.