The Aquarium and Underwater Zoo at Dubai Mall with #AnimalTales and #HDYGG

The kids keep promising they'll come with me when they are over in Dubai for their holidays, but then we never seem to get round to going so I decided to go to the aquarium on my own.

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo is located in Dubai Mall, the world's largest mall, so there is no surprise then to discover that the aquarium holds many records also.

The most fascinating one being that the view below contains the world's largest single piece of acrylic panel which weighs 45,000kgs and measure 32.8 m x 8.3 m and is 750 mm thick.

It is also the world's biggest indoor aquarium. The tank is 51m x 20m x 11m and contains 10 million litres of water and has 33,000 aquatic animals from over 200 species.

You can view the aquarium from the outside from 3 floors. 

And from the back on the 3rd floor

I opted for the Researcher ticket at AED 100, which gave me access to the tunnel, behind the scenes and the underwater zoo. I also got to see King Croc and the feeding of the penguins. There is an additional charge to feed the fish, watch King Croc being fed, take a glass bottom tour and many other things.

You could watch the penguin feeding for free

I felt incredibly sea sick when I walked through the tunnel and surprised at how short the tunnel was as it seems much bigger from the outside. On exiting the tunnel, I had to leave the area and go up the escalators next to the rain forest cafe and discovered I could see the other side of the tank for free on the floor, which will be a nice thing to show future visitors who may not want to actually visit inside.

I was disappointed with the 'behind the scenes' area, there was little information available and we were ushered through each area, as we were passed from guide to guide.

The underwater zoo though was lovely and I was free to take my time and wander around, there are coffee and gift shops inside, loads of information of the fish, but not actually as many fish as I thought I would see compared to other aquariums I've visited around the world.

I loved the glass walk ways and especially loved watching the other visitors actually walk around them rather than on them, I did the same up the CN tower earlier this year, I'm more than happy to walk on the glass as you can see.

I was impressed with the decoration of the Underwater Zoo, despite the plants and flowers being artificial it was rather life like and made me feel like I was actually in a real environment, especially with the rope bridges in the jungle area which led to the bat and insect caves.

 Of course the underwater plants were real 

My Sunday Photo - Week 51

I've really enjoyed taking part every week of 2015, it was a bit hit and miss prior to that. Sunday is no longer a day of rest, it's the first day of the working week in the UAE and after the holidays are over I'll be back in the world of work as a full time FS1 teacher.

I've also been taking part every week in Project 365 and writing a weekly blog post of my week. I've included a One Daily Positive into my photos and I've been combining two photo prompts each day. One from Britmums, Snaphappbritmums and the other from FMSPhotoADay.

I'm going to continue with Project 365 but not use the photo prompts as a weekly reflection, but as Sunday is the start of the week I'm going to use this post to tell you about my plans for the week ahead. 

This week I'm looking forward to seeing Star Wars, visiting the Madinat, spending time on the beach, walking Bob in the desert, eating junk food on Cheistmas day and going out for a meal on Boxing Day as a family. The teen has blood tests, I have an MRI, I need to hire a car, do a food shop, wash and iron also and watch as many Christmas movies as possible.

Getting back to the aim of this post. I give you today's Christmas Tree at the Oasis Centre off Sheikh Zayed Road as yes, they do celebrate Christmas here in Dubai. 

                    

Week 26 - My Sunday Photo

Here I am, another coffee, in yet another mall, in yet another country.

All this travel is getting tiring and somewhat boring. Going new places and meeting new people isn't boring in itself, but the actual flights and journeys are tedious and when you arrive in a new country, everything is all too familiar these days.

As a family we've travelled all over Europe and into Scandinavia, explored the West Coast of America, visited Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and finally ended up living abroad, first in South Africa and now Dubai. We've travelled just the two of us, with a combination of up to all 5 of our children and we've travelled separately, either to visit family, experience new places or with work.

I'm currently visiting Canada on my own, the kids are in the UK, hubby is back in Dubai. Everything looks familiar. I have no idea these days as to what companies originated in what country.

There are coffee shops, stores and fast food restaurants that I've shopped at, in the UK, South Africa, Dubai and now here in Canada. I'm tired of living my life indoors, in malls. In South Africa one shops in the malls due to safety, in Dubai it's because of the heat.

I've visited a few little towns during my stay in Canada. The City of Hamilton itself is lovely to walk around, old buildings, churches and museums with open spaces, parks and a gorgeous walk down James Street filled with individual shops, selling fruit and veg, clothing and antiques as well as quirky art pieces and non chain coffee shops.

I had lunch and the edge of Lake Erie, explored a small part of Lake Ontario and next weekend I'm off camping in Algonquin, a 4 hour drive north east of Hamilton. I'm looking forward to being in the middle of nowhere, away from Tim Hortons and exploring a part of Canada that not a lot of foreign tourists will get to experience.

A week's holiday in Dubai

Well my first impressions of Dubai wasn't great, but the place has grown on me as the week has gone on.

We're staying at a hotel on the beach front, the Sheraton Jumeriah, with breakfast included and full use of the pool and sun loungers. There are a couple of public free beaches, where you bring your own towels and chairs or for 5 AED per visit you can use the hotels towels and sun loungers.

 The Metro is easy to use and for 16 AED per day you can travel the full length of the city including to and from the airport and all the buses from the station to the beach or inland, be prepared to stand for most of the journey during peak times. You can pick up a bus and metro route map from the terminals, which also names the attractions and hotels so you know where to get on and off. Standing in the rear carriage gives you excellent views of the City.

The Emirates Mall and Dubai Mall can be reached directly from the Metro, although be prepared for a bit of a walk. There is free wifi in Dubai Mall, although the wifi in Emirates Mall requires you have a cell number to have a message sent to, to receive your password.

There are plenty of tours available. The best value is a boat taxi across the river in Old Dubai at 1 AED each way. For a longer trip or a trip round Palm Island out in the Gulf prices start from 150 AED.

The only tour I took part in was the visit to 'at the top' at the Burj Khalifa, The World's tallest tower. I was however disappointed to discover that visitors only travel to 452ms of the 828m height on floor 124 of 160, still the views of Dubai were pretty amazing. It cost 150 AED if you book a time slot in advance or 400 AED if you turn up without a booking and there is space.

Prices appear to be in general cheaper than the UK, but the cost of eating and drinking is far more expensive than South Africa and alcohol is restricted mainly to hotels, there are non alcoholic beers/champagne/cocktails on the menu.

I particularly enjoyed a visit to the old part of Dubai, reached by the Metro and a short walk and a river trip. I felt very comfortable in the Souq, I managed to get out without buying a Pashmina or any real 'fake' goods as they described the phones and handbags they had for sale.

I also spent a lot of time on foot, walking around Dubai Marina. For me living in South Africa I loved the freedom to be out and about, find free wifi and use public transport. I did however get the feeling that I was indoors all the time, I was reminded of Las Vegas and the 'falseness' of the malls and hotels there. The outdoors, indoors.