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| Beyond Dubai: 6 exotic escapes Posted: 29 Oct 2013 11:00 PM PDT Retreats suitable for Bond villains, classic oases and ... fjords? These are the best short trips in the UAE Dubai might be Arabia's headline vacation destination, but it also puts you within reach of the region's best and most surprising short trips. Mountain retreats suitable for a Bond villain, diving off an island called Snoopy and discovering the UAE's very own fjords are some of the choices. Mountain retreatsJust short of the summit of Jebel Hafeet (a 1,249-meter peak in Abu Dhabi emirate) sits the Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet (+971 3783 8888; from $120 per room per night). The Mercure's location would work for a Bond villain seeking suitable lair premises -- reached by a snaking mountain road, with switchbacks and sheer drops, the property sits precariously on a plateau, with views out over the hazy plains. Around 100 kilometers to the north but located among the same rugged Hajar range as the Mercure, the Hatta Fort Hotel Hotel (+971 4809 9333; from $180 per room per night) lies in a small mountain town en route to the Omani border. Hatta has historical interest, in the form of a Heritage Village and two 18th-century watchtowers, as well as wadis (a dry watercourse) and trails to explore. Mainly, though, people come to cool down by the four-star hotel's pool or hit a few shots on the nine-hole golf course. More on CNN: Eight top Dubai souvenirs
Diving and more off the rugged east coastOn the other side of the Hajar mountains, a two-hour drive from Dubai, you'll find the east coast emirate of Fujairah. These shores offer a different experience from the city-dominated west coast of the UAE: more rugged, less developed and, on the Gulf of Oman, particularly good diving. Snoopy Island (so called because it supposedly looks like a silhouette of the canine star of "Peanuts" lying on his back) is a popular snorkeling spot, where you can see black-tipped reef sharks, turtles and moray eels. You can swim out to the island from the beach of the basic-but-quirky Sandy Beach Hotel & Resort (+971 9 2445 555; from $160 per room per night). For an even greater sense of escape, you can drop in (literally) at Six Senses Zighy Bay (+968 2673 5555; from $1,060 per villa per night) -- a luxury resort just across the border in the Omani exclave of Musandam. Such is its seclusion that one option for arriving at the property is by paraglider from the surrounding mountains. Dates in the oasisEvery good desert needs an oasis. The UAE has six of them, which together form a Unesco World Heritage Site in Abu Dhabi emirate's second city, Al Ain. Known as the Garden City, it's a significant inland settlement 120 kilometers from Dubai, a verdant patch at the foot of Jebel Hafeet. Traditional falaj irrigation systems channel the oases' waters into expansive, jungle-like date plantations, which are open to the public to wander through and, in season, try freshly picked produce. This is a cultural and wildlife oasis, too. Looking like something out of an Aladdin movie, Al Jahili Fort hosts open-air classical music performances (Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Evgeni Bozhanov have played here). Al Ain Zoo (+971 3 799 2000; $5 adults, $1.40 children) houses nearly 200 species and has been working with San Diego Zoo to become a leading conservation center. More on CNN: The UAE's most outrageous hotel suites
Dune staysStumbling across a couple sipping cocktails in a hot tub amid sandy dunes you might think you're experiencing another desert standby -- a mirage. Unlikely. Luxury resort operators are increasingly colonizing the UAE's desert landscape to create high-end hideouts in the sand. To the north of Dubai is the Arabian Nights-styled Banyan Tree Al Wadi Hotel (+971 7 206 7777; from $463 per room per night) in Ras Al Khaimah. Less than an hour's drive inland from Dubai is the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa (+971 4 832 9900; $1,225 per room per night, meals inclusive), which features detached Bedouin-styled suites, each with private plunge pool. It's regularly visited by free-roaming oryx (it's located in a conservation reserve). Around 300 kilometers to the south of Dubai, in Abu Dhabi emirate, lies Liwa, a remote collection of villages on the edge of the Rub Al Khali, the world's largest continuous sand desert -- it's the last significant permanent settlement for hundreds of kilometers. The most upmarket of the three hotels among the dunes here is Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara (+971 2 886 2088; from around $380 per room per night), resembling an outpost desert fort -- albeit one with a luxury spa, pool villas and three restaurants on site. Arabian fjords cruiseHow exactly does a remote region of Arabia become known as "the Norway of the Middle East"? The area in question is Musandam, the Omani enclave 200 kilometers north of Dubai on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The reason for its nickname is the network of fjord-like sunken valleys penetrating the mountainous terrain. The fjords might lack Scandinavia's forests but exploratory trips aboard wooden dhows are memorable, cruising past isolated fishing villages accessible only from the water, spotting dolphins and mooring up for snorkeling. The town of Khasab is the gateway to fjord exploration, with a stay at the Golden Tulip (+968 267 30777; from $360 per room per night) the most common option for short breaks. Equally dramatic is the coastal drive there from Dubai; once into Musandam, the highway hugs the cliffs, winding, rising and falling for 50 kilometers. All very spectacular -- just don't expect snow. More on CNN: Insider Guide: Best of Dubai
Abu DhabiDubai isn't the only place in the Emirates building big-ticket tourist attractions. Its southerly neighbor and UAE capital Abu Dhabi may be generally regarded as the less brash of these two Arabian hotspots, but its Yas Island development has nevertheless been transformed into a flagship leisure destination. The Yas Marina F1 Grand Prix circuit and Ferrari World theme park (home to the world's fastest roller coaster) make it a particularly popular escape with motor racing fans. There's also a typically immaculate golf course, a 43-ride waterpark (Yas Waterworld), and several five-star hotels. The most striking of the latter is the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi (+971 2 656 0000; from $170 per room per night), eye-catchingly covered by a curved, color-changing glass shell and located tight in the middle of the grand prix track.      |
| House of Dancing Water: Secrets behind the world's biggest water show Posted: 29 Oct 2013 03:00 PM PDT Macau's $250 million "House of Dancing Water" is famous for magical special effects. But the underwater action you don't see is even more astounding For Gary Bower, technical director at Macau's acclaimed "The House of Dancing Water" show, it's the spectacle that takes place below decks that's the real knockout performance.
Not only the most expensive show in Macau, "The House of Dancing Water" is the biggest and most spectacular water-based show in the world. Produced under the direction of veteran Las Vegas wondrous show-maker Franco Dragone (he directed Cirque du Soleil's most prestigious shows in the 1990s), it combines water stunts, acrobatics, aerial arts and theater. Thirty professional divers are the unsung stars of the show and, like much of the water wizardry that keeps the show afloat, the audience never gets a glimpse of them. The behind-the-scenes team is double in size of the cast, with 160 technicians, production staff and divers working to make the daring leaps and magic moments possible. It's Bower's job to make sure the twice nightly stunt-packed show at the City of Dreams entertainment complex runs smoothly and safely. More than 2 million spectators have watched "The House of Dancing Water" since it opened three years ago. Learn more about the show: 'The House of Dancing Water': Behind the scenes at the $2 billion show
From sea to dry land in a minuteThe 85-minute spectacle opens with a tranquil scene -- a fisherman paddling his little wooden boat. Within minutes the sea is churned up, he's pulled underwater and a huge pirate ship rises from the deep. Scores of pirates throw themselves off the 10-meter-tall mast and plunge into the water. There's a serious amount of water sloshing about, but within a minute of the 26-ton pirate ship submerging the stage is transformed into a flat, dry surface. Magic. More on CNN: Macau's best casinos: Where to gamble, where to let loose It took five years to build the 2,000-seat theater, at a cost of $250 million. Although it's a 15-level space, it feels intimate. The first few rows are so close to the action that the audience gets drenched several times (towels are provided). The 10 floors above the stage are for lighting, rigging and a high-tech control room. The five floors below it house hydraulic pumps, stage lifts, special effects and a massive water filtration system and holding tank. There's enough water -- about 3.7 million gallons -- to fill five Olympic-sized swimming pools. The beating heart of the stage magic is the 11 automated stage lifts that fit neatly together and can be raised a meter above the stage or dropped seven meters below it, creating a pool deep enough for a diver to leap from a 24-meter-high platform. "Our lifts can hold 26 tons -- nobody else comes close to that, they're the biggest in the world," says Bower. More on CNN: 10 things to know before visiting Macau How it works: The most spectacular scene
One of the show's knockout moments is the "dancing water" scene when water blasts out of the ground in time to the music. This is accomplished with 258 water jets embedded in the lift lids and illuminated with LED lights. It's no mean feat -- water and electricity aren't the best of friends and it takes a huge amount of power to blast water 15 meters into the air. "We worked with a couple of companies to develop a submersible pump, which is high voltage and insulated to be super safe," says Bower. "Each pump is 400 volts and offers us the power to push that amount of water through the fountains." The audience sees a pool only 21 meters in diameter, but it's actually 51 meters wide -- the rest of the pool is located beneath the seating, where the artists enter (the aqua coulisse), and used for storing underwater props. The biggest danger for artists is getting disorientated underwater. Due to this, the pool is carefully thought out -- there are hookah (scuba breathing apparatus) for air and a network of handrails and color-coded rope lights to mark the four exits. More on CNN: Into the deep: World's 50 best dive sites Gigantic hidden pool and 30 diversThe 30 divers in the pool, there to help orientate the artists and hand them underwater respirators, are all PADI-certified dive masters, instructors or commercial divers. They wear full face masks that allow them to speak to the artists underwater. The water is clean for the sake of the artists' health, but that also means that the audience can see seven meters down to the bottom of the pool.
To keep the mystery, masking bubbles are created by pushing compressed air through air effect pods in the floor of the pool. When the power is ramped up, the bubbles come up so fast it creates the effect of boiling water. "The masking bubbles mean you never see the cast come out of the water or the boat leave, the audience is surprised because that's something they won't see on the mainland," says Bower. "Most shows in China have a stock stage, but the spectacle you have here, with people flying in and fountains going off, you won't see that anywhere else." Bower says Dragone, the brainchild behind the ambitious show, had a bet with casino king Steve Wynn when the team was in the middle of creating the "dancing water" scene. Wynn allegedly bet Dragone that he wouldn't be able to beat him with an indoor fountain show. "[Dragone] watched that scene and said, 'Wow, you know what, I think I won my bet'," says Bower. More on CNN: Top-notch hotel under $100: Macau's best boutique stay The House of Dancing Water, City of Dreams, Estrada do Istmo, Cotai, Macau; +853 8868 6688; tickets from HK$580 CNN Travel's series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Read the policy.    |
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