The Palm/ Atlantis/ The Walk/ Jumeirah Beach

#traveltuesday

Just to avoid confusion...

The Palm Jumeirah is a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree. Houses, apartment buildings and hotels are situated on the trunk and the 16 fronds of the tree. I was told that the properties were mostly owned by Hollywood celebrities. How true? :P Since it is impossible to get an actual aerial picture, here's a frame by the monorail. Lol!

Atlantis the Palm is a luxurious hotel located at the apex of Palm Jumeirah. It was the first resort built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis (the fictional island from Plato's work). To get there from the city, you have to take the Palm monorail.

The Palm Monorail is a good vantage point to see the Palm Jumeirah. It is often used by tourists staying at the Atlantis hotel to get a good view of the island and it also takes you from the far end of the island to the main part of Dubai where it links in with Al Sufouh Road (and eventually the metro and tram).

Further more about Atlantis,

The 46 ha (110 acres) five-star resort includes attractions for children and adults. The main attraction is Aquaventure, a 17 ha (42 acres) water park with twelve water slides and a 2.3-kilometre (1.4 mi) river ride with cascades, tidal waves and rapids. There are two Mesopotamian-styled ziggurat temples reaching over 30 m (98 ft) into the sky and featuring water slides two of which catapult riders in clear tubes through a shark filled lagoon. The Lost Chambers Aquarium is an aquarium exhibit with 65,000 fish and sea creatures including the Ambassador Lagoon, which is an 11,500,000-litre (3,000,000 US gal) marine habitat. The lagoon can be viewed at the base of the East Tower through a ten metre long, seventy centimetre thick viewing panel which looks into a representation of the ruins of Atlantis.

Across the Aquaventure water park is Dolphin Bay, a 4.5 ha (11 acres) dolphinarium.

The resort has a stretch of beach facing the Dubai skyline. The beach has over 700 sun beds.

So I actually went there to take a picture of Aquaventure and have coffee at Starbucks. Lol! The more I read about this hotel, the more I dream of staying there one day. Like diving in the Ambassador Lagoon (with about 65,000 marine animals!) and viewing the sunset/ Dubai skyline from one of their suites. Aaah, one day!

After checking out Atlantis, I asked the taxi to drop me off to The Walk (Jumeirah Beach Residence). The Walk is a bustling waterfront promenade in the heart of Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR). It boasts beautiful hotels and restaurants and is by far the most well-known and most recently developed area in Dubai. It is popular, mixing Arabic and western style entertainment where young and old, locals and western tourists like to take a stroll. 

A wide variety of restaurants can be found along The Walk, from big international chains to local restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Restaurants or bars here do not serve alcohol, you can find one in your hotel lounge.

It is also a good place for shopping. I checked one mall but I didn't recognize any familiar brand so I went out quickly. Haha! Besides, my feet are really tired from walking.

When I found an exit to Jumeirah public beach through Hilton, I took off my maxi to soak up some Middle East sun! Hehe! I came prepared though with my scarf and swimwear but didn't really swim at all. Of course no one would look after my belongings (lol!) unless I talk to some staring guys thinking what the heck is this girl doing in this beach alone? Lol!

But I had a great time just people watching and resting for a bit. Just enough to give me energy to stroll my next destination. It's another one helluva big mall - Ibn Battuta mall! Up next! :)