• When in Dubai, check out the lost city of Atlantis

    INT12International/Diaspora/Tourism/EntertainmentWhen in Dubai, check out the lost city of AtlantisBy Aroonim BhuyanDubai, Sep 28 IANS Is a 30-metre water slide through shark-filled waters your idea of a relaxing holiday Or would you rather take a look at the ruins of the legendary island city of Atlantis by strolling through an underwater maze of tunnelsOr perhaps you are the jet-setting type and would instead prefer a jetlag recovery massage.A new entertainment resort in Dubai offers all these and more.Atlantis, The Palm, the flagship resort of Palm Jumeirah, one of the three palm-shaped artificial islands off the coast of Dubai, opened its doors to guests and day visitors last week.Dubbed the first integrated entertainment resort in this metropolis on the Gulf coast, it is offering a whole range of entertainment and leisure activities themed around marine life apart from regular hotel facilities."Guests who visit Atlantis will not be going to stay in their room; they are going for a multi-dimensional experience that is completely unique to the region," Alan Leibman, the president and managing director of the resort, said in an interview published ahead of its opening.A creation of South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner and Kerzner International, it is the second such resort in the world after the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas.The focal point of Atlantis, The Palm, is the Ambassador Lagoon, an open-air marine habitat, claimed to be the first such in the Middle East.The habitat, created with 11 million litres of salt water, is home to thousands of marine creatures representing several hundred species.Then of course there is the replica of the ruins of Atlantis, which Plato mentioned in his dialogues 'Timaeus' and 'Critias'.The boulevards and ruins of the legendary lost city have been recreated on the seabed in the Ambassador Lagoon and visitors can view these from an underwater maze of tunnels called 'The Lost Chambers'.Another facility, Dolphin Bay, offers visitors the chance to meet and interact with dolphins.One of the major highlights of the resort is Aquaventure, a water playground spread over 17 hectares.Created with 18 million litres of water, Aquaventure comprises water slides from a 30-metre high Mesopotamian-styled Ziggurat temple, a 700-metre private beach and thrilling rides through cascades, tidal waves and rapids along a 2.3-km artificially created river called The Rapids."Ultimately, there was also a desire to create an action river that offers guests a different experience from other water parks and lazy rivers," Peter Doyle, senior vice-president for marine and water park at the resort, was quoted as saying."The result is a 2.3-km river adventure using 15 million litres of fresh water to propel inner-tube riders through high-intensity rapids, wave surges and waterfalls," he said.As for the ziggurat, it features "seven heart-pumping water slides, two of which catapult riders through shark-filled lagoons".For children, there is the Splashers, a water playground which allows young visitors to participate in a variety of water games and challenge each other to cross rope bridges interconnecting the 10 water slides.If you are hungry and tired after all these activities, you can head straight to The Avenues, a marketplace featuring top global brands and 17 restaurants, bars and lounges.This includes four restaurants run by Michelin-starred chefs - well-known Japanese chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, London's Giorgio Locatelli, Frenchman Michel Rostang and avant-garde Spanish chef Santi Santamaria.If you are planning to stay over at the resort, well ... be prepared to shell out a pretty penny.The 1,539 guest rooms and suites in the Royal Towers featuring private balconies and views over the Arabian Gulf or The Palm Jumeirah come at a price.Rates start from 2,900 dirhams $789 a night for a guest room at the Royal Towers and go up to 92,000 dirhams $25,056 if you want to stay in one of three-bedroom Bridge Suites.As a hotel guest, you can also make use of the Spa & Fitness Centre, a two-storey affair covering 1,900 square metres.Therapies on offer across the 27 treatment rooms at the centre range from desert hot stone therapy to sports massage to jetlag massage.Though the resort has opened its doors, the people behind it are organising a grand opening ceremony in November which will feature, among others, a Kylie Minogue concert and fireworks display by the Grucci Family, who did the pyrotechnics in the Beijing Olympics.So, next time you visit Dubai, you know you have yet one more indulgence option.You just have to take a drive through a six-lane underwater vehicle tunnel to reach the resort.--Indo-Asian News Serviceab/jg823 Words**28091045
    2008-09-28 01:00:05

  • Zayed shooting for Bollywood's first underwater song

    ENT1Entertainment/Showbiz/CinemaZayed shooting for Bollywood's first underwater songBy Subhash K. JhaMumbai, Sep 28 IANS At the moment Zayed Khan has reason to be happy and unhappy. He's happy because he'll soon be shooting the first underwater song sequence ever in Hindi cinema. But inclement weather in Bangkok has held up shooting and the producers are losing a ton of money.Zayed, who has been stationed in Bangkok and Phuket for the past month, says: "It's never been done before. On the concept level itself it sounds too, too outrageous. The entire cast singing in the deep sea. That's unique, man!"Hate to burst Zayed's bubble. But decades ago in "Anmol Moti" claiming to be India's first underwater film Jeetendra and Babita sang 'under water', which was actually a swimming pool.So, yes, "Blue" is the first Bollywood film that will have the entire cast of Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara, Katrina and Zayed doing a song sequence in the deep sea.A baffling concept for sure.Laughs Zayed, "Yes. But you've to see how we're going to do it. The director got the concept from an ad. We all jumped at it. It's not often that you get to do something so unique."But with the excitement comes the damper. Inclement weather in Bangkok is playing havoc with the "Blue" schedules.Says the anxious and depressed Zayed, "We knew it was going to rain in Bangkok and Phuket. But not like this! Apparently this area has never had so much rains. Every day we're losing precious time. Today again we're stuck indoors while it pours outside. The producers are losing Rs.2.5 million per day. And moreover we can't extend the shooting because we - Sanju Sir, Akshay and I - can't give combined dates for a long time," said Zayed Saturday.A good excuse for the unit to bond "Not really. I'd rather be back home with my wife MalliMalaika and son Zidaan. I miss them, specially my son. I want to watch him grow, not be away for long periods from home and miss this phase in my son's life."Zidaan can't travel with Papa all the time. "He came with my wife to the Bahamas when we were shooting there. But he can't keep travelling all over. He has to develop an immunity system. I do miss my son. But my wife emails me his pictures every day."--Indo-Asian News Serviceskj/ak/vt449 Words**28090746
    2008-09-28 00:00:00

  • Killer Ike hits Cuba after lashing Bahamas, Haiti

    Hurricane Ike roared into Cuba on Sunday after destroying houses and crops on low-lying islands, and worsening floods in Haiti that have already killed more than 300 people. ...
    2008-09-14 03:00:00

  • Crude ends modestly higher as Hurricane Ike loses strength but still appears headed for Gulf

    CRUDE oil prices finished modestly higher yesterday, but only after seesawing wildly as nervous traders watched Hurricane Ike approach the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas facilities. Ike, after scou...
    2008-09-00 00:00:00

  • Video: Raw Video: Hurricane Ike Slams Into Caribbean

    Hurricane Ike damaged most of the homes on Grand Turk island as it roared onto the Bahamas, raked Haiti's flooded cities with rain and threatened the Florida Keys on its way to Cuba as a ferocious...
    2008-09-08 17:04:09

  • Killer Ike hits Cuba after lashing Bahamas, Haiti

    Hurricane Ike roared into Cuba on Sunday after destroying houses and crops on low-lying islands, and worsening floods in Haiti that have already killed more than 300 people. ...
    2008-09-08 08:38:13

  • Hurricane Ike lashes Cuba on way to Gulf of Mexico Reuters

    Reuters - High winds and heavy rains whipped eastern Cuba on Sunday as Hurricane Ike closed in after adding to the misery and deaths in Haiti and ripping through the southern Bahamas on a path to the ...
    2008-09-07 19:37:06

  • Killer Ike blasts Bahamas, floods Haiti, hits Cuba AP

    AP - Hurricane Ike bore down on Cuba after roaring across low-lying islands Sunday, tearing apart houses, wiping out crops and worsening floods in Haiti that have already killed more than 300 people....
    2008-09-07 19:10:07

  • Hurricane Ike Blasts Bahamas

    Hurricane Ike has roared across the Bahamas and is heading towards Cuba as a ferocious Category 3 storm....
    2008-09-07 16:48:07

  • Hurricane Ike heads for Cuba, Gulf of Mexico Reuters

    Reuters - Hurricane Ike killed at least 37 people in Haiti and ripped off rooftops in the southern Bahamas on Sunday as Cuba scrambled to get hundreds of thousands out of the path of a storm headed to...
    2008-09-07 16:39:09
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