mentalist

Being stuck at home over Eid because it's simply too hot and oppressively humid to do anything outdoors, it occurs to me that Dubai with all its riches could do with alot more indoor recreational facilities, including:
1/ Massive indoor swimming pool with wave machine for the kids
2/ Indoor driving range for lazy golfers like myself
3/ A proper zoo with air-conditioned animal enclosures
4/ An art gallery exhibiting world class masterpieces
5/ An indoor amusement park, something like Ferrari World
Any other bright ideas?

Kix

A soul? A conscience?

Boomhauer

Would be rather impossibly to have a proper indoor zoo, assuming the animals actually get lots of free space to roam around, i.e. recreating their natural enviroment. You would have to build a massive glass dome to contain the cooled air; even Dubai couldn't afford that.

I was always surprised that Dubai never built a wave pool.I believe the largest wave pool is in Japan.

The world largest swimming pool is in Chile, and what a monster it is!
http://tinyurl.com/93hu6fp

Suggestion #
Indoor dive pool, replete with marine life .

Boomhauer

Lets keep the suggestions realistic and in the realm of possible; humans would be living on Mars before the oil rich Arabs develop either of the 2 attributes you mentioned.

Miss Anne Thrope

[QUOTE=Boomhauer;10236044]Would be rather impossibly to have a proper indoor zoo, assuming the animals actually get lots of free space to roam around, i.e. recreating their natural enviroment. You would have to build a massive glass dome to contain the cooled air; even Dubai couldn't afford that.

[QUOTE]

Um, if you're prepared to venture just a little bit further (I know Sharjah is terra incognito for many residents of the Dubai bubble) then the best "zoo" I have ever visited is awaiting your attention:

http://sharjahtourism.fi-demo.com/en...ah-desert-park

They have cleverly solved the air conditioning problem (you are indoors looking at the outdoors enclosures) and have lots of brilliantly designed and imaginative habitat exhibits. I know I've gone on about this in many other threads but I am amazed that people still don't know about it. It's also directly pertinent to this region as it focuses on the fauna of the Arabian peninsula (and that includes some very impressive large animals).

At least one other of Sharjah's museums is worth travelling to visit also: the archaeological museum - a real eye-opener about the pre-Islamic settlement of the area with real artefacts presented in well-explained context, a million miles from the corny mannequin display montages that pass for museums in Dubai.

Boomhauer

I went to Al Ain zoo back in the late 80s, don't know if the Sharjah zoo existed back then. Al Ain zoo was depressing and unbearable ; the animals looked weak, especially the crocs and hippos. The heat and humidity made the whole expreince unbearable.

Is it even possible to have diverse fauna and flora in vast open ranges in the UAE ? Isn't it just too bloody hot for that style of zoo ? Omani climate always appeared quite a bit milder than the UAE but don't really know if it's still too hot for the aforementioned type of zoo.

OriginalSunshine

Hotter in Oman than UAE (at least in the North / Muscat region). Sensibly there are no zoos in Oman.

Until folks can throw their rubbish into public dustbins in public parks rather than leaving them where they lunched or picnic'd or at the side of bins, or amongst the climbing frames, I hate to think what any public pool facilities would look like. Besides, doesn't Dubai have Atlantis and Wild Wadi?

mentalist

You are evidently missing my point. They are both outdoor venues, As for the massive glass dome idea, why ever not? They built a ruddy ski slope after all.

OriginalSunshine

but you can still "do" them even in this weather?
or are you asking for allllllll to be indoors?

Boomhauer

A proper Zoo to me is where certain species have dozens of acres to roam and it does not feel like they are in an enclosure. Where the climate and fauna and flora are recreated for diverse animals.

The Bronx Zoo is 265 acres , the San Deigo zoo is 100 acres and the Toronto Zoo is 700 acres, all 3 on the list of World's best Zoos. It would be a challenge anywhere to build a dome to encompass that many acres. Since you said "proper zoos" I threw these 3 in

Boomhauer

A very good point. I can't remember last time I got into a public pool. Am too germphobic to get into any pool that has a lot of people relative to size of pool.

Miss Anne Thrope

Just go and visit the Sharjah park - it's Dhs15 so not exactly a major commitment and easy to find also just a few km past the airport on the main Dhaid road. Just prepare to have your assumptions challenged. Yes the animals have large outdoor enclosures, very well designed ones at that which are part of the landscape (the smaller more specialised creatures are in indoor enclosures which replicate their natural habitats). They only have animals which are endemic to the Arabian peninsula so likely to be able to cope with the climate! It is also a major breeding centre for endangered species, particularly the Arabian leopard (a truly magnificent animal), so playing a significant role in wildlife preservation and very worthy of support.

The public view the outdoor enclosures from the main building in air-conditioned comfort and no different from the way you would view the animals in an outdoor zoo.

mentalist

Many of us have visited the Sharjah Wildlife Sanctuary, my point being that not every wild animal wants to live in temperatures of 45degC and 80% humidity. May be fine for indigenous wildlife but what about 99% of wildlife from elsewhere.

Sandboy

they'll be in Barasti

DesertOcean

Sue lives close to one of the worlds largest zoos and the director-Dr David Jones is british.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Zoo

Interesting person that Dr Jones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo-br33s6Nw