Atlantis

Eid al Fitr came a day earlier, and hence Ramadan finished a day earlier, than expected thanks to the keen eyes of the Moon Spotting Committee. The children have been on holiday all week and I took time off too. I did try to book a trip away but pretty much every hotel room in the Emirates was booked. Not to worry - this week we've been tourists in our own city.


The latest Dubai 'Mega-Project' to be completed is the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah. Coined 'The Eighth Chunder of the World' by The Sun, this hotel is enormous - 1,539 rooms and over 1.5km long. It opened on the 24th September as planned in spite of a last minute fire on the roof of the reception. Some people we know who were staying there complained bitterly about the noise the construction workers were making throughout the night trying to put it right.


Anyway, we had a great day out there. It wasn't busy and they were obviously geared up for several times more tourists. The rides were good although we didn't try the 'leap of faith' - the near vertical drop into a tube through a shark filled tank. The rides probably were no better than Wild Wadi, although there is a much better sense of space as it is six times bigger. Still, it's not a cheap day out. For 5 people, with a fast food lunch, it costs over £200.