Monday, November 10, 2008

Post#6 Dubai Aquarium vs. Atlantis

The newest, highly awaited shopping mall in the U.A.E was at last relinquished open for the public. Dubai Mall is one of the largest and spectacular malls in the world that offers outstanding dining, leisure, shopping experience and superb entertainment. I was quite alarmed by the note that in such less period of time, another pride of this Arab country stood nearby the perimeter of Burj Dubai (which is acknowledged as the tallest skyscraper of the world). It was amazing how people from different races packed the place because of its world-class attractions particularly the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Center. Well, having been in Dubai Atlantis last month, I thought the aquatic experience remained right there, but here was equally fun. A vast fibered-glass replica of the ocean world displayed impeccably over 33.000 marine creatures including sharks, stingrays and schools of fish. And judging by close encounters, there were many kind of things I never thought they as-a-matter-of-fact existed. Below are some pictures we have captured with a professional camera. All salutations for Sir Julius by nailing such a hell of a job! A sea of people helplessly enjoyed the view in the 10 million liter tank before them while a couple of scuba divers swam around entertainingly.An incredibly large fish that looked like hamur fish made my eyes grew wide as it swam up front. It's 5-feet size bigger than a kitchen frying pan. Although there was quite a long queue, we waited patiently to walk through the 48-meter underwater tunnel. And that oh-my-God, gray-skinned shark flashed its sharp jaw against the glass wall that made my hair stood on its end.Our farther exploration would have never been complete without visiting the Discovery Center that holds a showroom of several species from water-resident mammals to schools of oversized scaly fish. Below are some more images which is a lot entertaining to look at. Long-stringed(tentacles),transparent jellyfishes danced around in a bluish-lit aquarium like umbrellas and some angel fish waved its voluminous fins as it hovered around the reefs.In each glass cage, penguins, water-rats (which Im not really sure its name) and seals looked more prettier than on Discovery Channel. And that great capture of a seal swam right in front was the best shot ever.

The humongous sight of a massive crustaceans freaked the heck out of me. I have never seen like it before having six long legs the size of 12-inch ruler. A zoomed capture of its exotic face expressed threat and stillness. Right at the top that looked like kite fishes to me rushed around the aquarium in a close group. It's amusing to see how fast they were, creating a kaleidoscope impression.
Last but not the least, this some kind of shellfish tightly stuffed back in its patterned shell with its eyes a bit popped out, reminded me of one of the alien ships in the Independence Day movie. This kind of underwater entity normally stays in one place in a period of time. (And i am glad i was never born to be like it...boredom is never my thing)
Anyway, as much as I want to go on and tell some more, I guess, I gotta cut this down and just drop down to the bottom of my blog. Dubai Aquarium, I gotta say, is an equally amazing haven as the Dubai Atlantis that either of them offers a world-class extraordinary experience. And I felt lucky enough to have been in places where best things are roomed for everyone. So, see ya at the next...