Tag: Atlantis

Mike Rutzen at Atlantis – education on Great White Sharks

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With Mike Rutzen & the beautiful Rima at The Lost Chambers, Atlantis

After driving on race tracks, bashing dunes, sky diving and generally doing anything that raises the blood pressure, my next big adrenaline driven adventure will be diving with sharks…..inspired by none other than Michael Rutzen, who is known as one of the few people in the world who free-dives with Great White Sharks and campaigns for their preservation around the world.

Mike is so passionate describing his unique adventures as he travels extensively around the world to create an understanding and respect for this great predator, sharing his knowledge and involving as many people as possible in his conservation battle.  I met Mike at Atlantis, The Lost Chambers as he was with the Atlantis Marine Team who are keen to go to Fiji to experience the awesome dive sites there. (I reckon I have convinced marine conservationist, the beautiful  Rima Jabado to hang out in my flat in Nadi while doing day trips diving near untouched islands – since we have over 330 beautiful islands, it’s a diver’s dream paradise)

Mike Rutzen is sweet, down to earth and if you love the marine world as much as I do being an Island girl, watch Mike’s travels and activities which are extensively documented on TV programmes including ‘Beyond Fear’ with National Geographic, ‘Sharkman’ and ‘Shark Night’ on Discovery Channel, ‘60 Minutes special’  with Anderson Cooper, ‘The Great White Shark’ on CNN and ‘A Living Legend’ on BBC Natural World. Mike has been face to face with one of the greatest predators in the world, with no protection and no fear!

I hope someday I also get to spend some time with Steve Kaiser of the Marine Sciences and Engineering team at Atlantis –  I believe he works hard to provide education to the masses about sharks through a number of activities including the thrilling Shark Dive in the Shark Lagoon at Atlantis. It would also be great to talk more about Rima and her work on marine conservation and I reckon that will be a whole new blog on its own…watch this space.

Guests to the next Lost Chambers ‘Family Fun Day’ will be able to meet Michael Rutzen and hear him speak about Shark Conservation. Other Atlantis activities include special educational sessions with marine animal specialists, interaction with the Atlantis scuba divers, touch and feel marine exhibits, face painting, treasure hunts etc.

You can also meet ‘Shark Man’ Mike face to face as he will describe tales of his adventures diving and protecting sharks around the globe on Saturday. In his talk “The Great White Shark Carcharodon Carcharias – Behaviour and Conservation,” He will tell stories about diving with sharks; his free-diving and behavioural observations; eco-tourism as a winning solution and his research and future projects.

I warn you though…Mike is so passionate about his work, the enthusiasm rubs off on you and like me, you will find yourself navigating the high seas in no time! Thanks to the awesome team at Atlantis who always have interesting activities lined up at The Lost Chambers for kids like little diva @NJD2000, we as adults also end up learning about environment, conservation in a beautiful setting like Atlantis.

I am starting diving courses with Al Boom next month when my traumatised left arm is back in action so I can do the shark dive at Atlantis – super excited. (And no…the arm was not traumatised flipping the car on a race track as all my near and dear ones seem to think). 

Corvette UAE Club (CUC) Pre summer drive

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My drive today was in a red Corvette (Fahad's)- part of the CUC entourage

Today was an awesome day for NJD and me. After a leisurely breakfast with sweet Sakina and my weekend grocery shopping, I joined other Board members, Corvette drivers/owners at the Ibn Battuta Mall for our quarterly leisure drives that usually ends with a dinner at the Yas Island or Courtyard Mariott.

In the past we have done mostly Abu Dhabi drives in conjunction with Road safety campaigns, no phones while driving campaign etc but today was a low key event which made it nice and cosy. NJD joined Osama in his new black Corvette with red motifs while I joined Fahad in beautiful red one – I have to say we missed Hamad this time as I am usually his co-driver/passenger as well as our past race track driver Al Falasi, his wife Shamma and little Khalifa.

Of all the leisure/networking groups I am a member of, I find CUC the most tight knit as a family…all the members watch out for each other and I’ve always felt super protected and respected with the same level of comfort I would have with my close family members. In that way it stands out hence the reason I make extra effort to be part of the Club’s events. Today we skipped having police escorts we normally arrange so the route was a lot more flexible. We had fun at Atlantis as the entourage became the hottest attraction amongst the throng of weekend visitors and tourists who became camera happy as the cars passed by.

We toured to Madinat after Atlantis and then to Dubai Marine International Club where a photoshoot of the cars/members took place against the backdrop of yachts and the clear blue waters of Dubai. At DIMC, a London chick started jumping up and down as I got out of the car to pick NJD and she started screaming she had never seen so many nice cars all at once and almost mobbed me. It was a hilarious sight and it took me a while to realise she was probably a newbie in Dubai who in a Barasti influenced mellow state got a bit overwhelmed seeing so many Corvettes in one place and wanted to be  friends + go for a ‘drink’. (I can be ‘duh’ at times). Naturally I didn’t have the heart to tell her she didn’t remotely come close to the quality of friends I would choose to be associated with and I certainly didn’t wanna hang out with her at Barasti with my child – first impressions do count!

Anyway, thanks to Christian, a superb chef and one of our members since we first began, the drive finished at Courtyard Marriott with a dinner that was organised by Christian’s team. I skipped dinner for another event that in true diva style I overlooked in favour of Russell Peters & Once upon a time. (I am becoming a TV series addict in my old age).

I’m sure I’ll go to bed smiling today as I had an awesome time with Sakina, NJD, old friends from the Corvette family and packing in loads of laughs from Russell Peters with a bit of fairy tale drama. And it feels awesome to be part of a club that started out as a CSR initiative to educate super car owners on safe driving, be part of events for children with special needs and in the process has become part of a family where members look out for each other. CUC is yet another reason why I love being in the UAE so much.

Corvette Line-up at DIMC

BIG BOYS TOYS – BETTER THAN BEFORE

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With His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum - chatting about cars, travels etc

I have to say that apart from meeting and catching up with His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum (Admire him for his great work with the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre), my biggest fascination at the Big Boys Toys exhibition has to be the multi-million dirham luxury mobile home. Big Boys Toys is the region’s premier lifestyle event and features exclusive products and services for the man who ‘wants it all’. From limited edition super cars to personal aircrafts and luxury products never before seen, the show had essentially all desired items in one ideal location at Atlantis.

Going back to the multi-million dirham ultra-luxurious mobile home, the ‘eleMMent’ Palazzo. The eleMMent Palazzo, by Marchi Mobile, is a mobile palace for the elite. The expandable pop-up flybridge lounge is fitted with multiple bars overlooking two floors that contain a master bedroom with an integrated bathroom and a couch that can be converted into bar furniture at the push of a button.

A programmed central control provides all important information at a glance, with set-up and dismantling being executed by a touch screen panel. An added security feature allows for remote video access, via an additional control unit, of the exterior and interior, and also permits to pre-set the lighting and temperature.

Naturally diva cant go to a show like this and not talk about cars. Middle East’s own exclusive Nissan GT-R VVIP, with a 0-100kmph in 3.6 seconds dazzled with 24-carat gold-plated aspect panels, grill, and the exclusive VVIP badges, while exuding awesome power in look and aspect.

Another debut, the ‘Hulme CanAm Spyder’ named in honour of Denny Hulme, New Zealand’s only Formula One World Champion and double CanAm Champion, is not for the faint hearted. It is a unique car for those with a desire for performance, F1-type exhilaration and style. It is a true driver’s car powered by a hand-built, supercharged, 7000cc, Chevy V8 engine, providing amazing torque and tractability.

A definite favourite among the extreme sports enthusiasts and recreational riders is the Dual Tracked Vehicle (DTV) Shredder manufactured by BPG Werks. The DTV Shredder is the first true crossover vehicle for action and power sports. A combination of tank, skateboard and motocross bike, it is the first year round, all-terrain vehicle and it fits in the trunk of a car. With the DTV Shredder, the outdoors becomes the personal playground.

Last year I met with an interesting inventor during a visit to the Palace of Sheikh Hamad in Abu Dhabi who had the most amazing helicopter for personal use. I must write about this guy at some stage as I remember him giving me a CD with his company information. This year I reckon the guys at Artaaj did an awesome job as always. Well done Raha and heaps of thanks to Tareq and His Highness for making the visit even more interesting.

 

COPD and how careful we need to be

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Atlantis...venue for the COPD symposium

Earlier this week after dinner I got coaxed into meeting with a couple of specialist doctors on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) initiated by Virtue guys who felt that since I didn’t have time to volunteer at the Down’s Syndrome centre these days, I should become an ambassador on health and write about medical issues that affect people in the UAE.

OK. Enough with the smirks now. I know I generally write about flimsy light stuff but once in a while I can get serious enough if I feel like doing a bit of CSR bit in terms of creating awareness about a problem that anyone can be a victim of. Anyway, Rajah (Bless her gentle soul) decided that she would drive me to Atlantis (We Fijians are always ready to help people for good causes) so we could dine afterwards at one of the funky Atlantis food places.

Basically I got a quick update on proceedings of a medical symposium co-organised by the Emirates Allergy and Respiratory Society, in collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceuticals FZCO. Their objective is to warn people that while most chronic diseases in the UAE are being controlled, the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is rapidly increasing, with 4 per cent of the Abu Dhabi population affected by it, according to recent study done by Dr. Ashraf H. Alzaabi, Head of Respiratory Division, Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dr. Mirza Ali Al Sayegh, President, Emirates Allergy and Respiratory Society said a new study on COPD is being conducted by the Society to cover the whole GCC region and its details would be announced soon.

Dr. Bassam Mahboub, Consultant Pulmonary Medicine, Asst. Prof. University of Sharjah, Head of Allergy and Respiratory Department, Dubai Hospital and Vice Chair Emirates Allergy and Respiratory Society Dubai, UAE said: “COPS is currently the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. The prevalence of smoking in the UAE is around 23 percent. The 4 percent figure of the COPD prevalence will rise as the smokers’ group in the UAE grows older.”

I briefly met with Professor Leonardo Fabbri, an expert from the University of Modena in Italy, Reggio Emilia who said “The WHO estimates 80 million people have moderate to severe COPD worldwide. Three million people died from COPD, which corresponded to five percent of all deaths globally. Every hour COPD is estimated to kill more than 250 people worldwide, which means that COPD kills someone every 15 seconds.’

Dr. Al Sayegh alerted participants that COPD is an under-diagnosed, life-threatening lung disease. COPD is used to describe chronic lung diseases in which breathing is severely restricted because of lung damage and inflammation. He emphasized that the disease is preventable and can be managed but it is progressive.

Dr. Osama Al-Nawasany, Medical Affairs Director, Takeda Pharmaceuticals FZCO, Dubai mentioned that one of the most promising new treatments for COPD is Roflumilast, a first-in-class phosphodiesterase (PDE4) inhibitor that is the only licensed oral therapy that targets COPD-specific inflammation.

The symposium highlighted that many people with COPD continue to suffer from frequent exacerbations and an increased risk of a more rapid disease progression. Smoking cigarettes is the major cause of COPD in 80 per cent of cases. Other causes include: pollution generated by a number of domestic heaters and air pollution. Besides smoking cessation, there are several treatments, which should be closely monitored by qualified physicians. Self-medication is not an option for this disease.