Kayaking in the Abu Dhabi Mangroves

By SANA KAMAL

As long as I can remember, I have been an avid dreamer of the great outdoors activities. But never been part of any. Not due to lack of trying, mind you, however quite the contrary. I have always “chickened-out” whenever an opportunity presented itself. Truth be told, the outdoors are more appealing in dreams than in real life. So it was with great hesitance and trepidation that I willingly set out to Abu Dhabi’s Eastern Mangroves for kayaking. 

Secured into a lifejacket and sitting in a two-people kayak, because let’s face it sitting in a one-person for my first time would be pushing it, we drifted away from the swampy shores following our Mangroves’ guide. As I paddled farther into the channel, my confidence grew. The soft breeze of the early Spring season and the quiet hush of the faraway traffic played in the background as I guided my oars toward the mangroves.

My one disappointment was not being able to row fast enough to reach our guide, Adrian, and hear him talk about the mangroves’ history and about the origins of the man-made channels. Though some background knowledge would have been much appreciated, rowing the kayak slowly was more fun. For me, letting go of the oars and floating in the calm waters while dipping my feet into the cool waters was a much better option.

As we went farther into the mangroves we were greeted by various different species of wild birds that stood perched on the high rocks. Around our kayaks, dozens of crabs floated bathing themselves under the sunlight or stayed stuck to the bushes and fought off others. Though that sight was a must see, I could not have steered my kayak away fast enough from the crawlers.

I soon realized that kayaking requires a lot of upper arm strength to go long distances and for long hours, therefore being on a two-person kayak was a blessing. As we paddled through the dense mangroves towards a wide channel opening, we stopped on a beach to rest our hands and dip ourselves in the cool waters for a much needed swim as the sun’s rays peaked through the clouds.

Exploring the Mangroves is a must for anyone that is tired of the city life of UAE and just needs a relaxing day out under the sun with Mother Nature as their best companion. Being part of the kayaking experience only highlights the importance of embracing nature amidst construction and tall buildings.

Website: http://noukhada.ae/

Telephone +971 (0)2 558 1889

Email: info@noukhada.ae

Price: 150 AED per person

Fact of the Week

By: Sara Daher

Fact: In 1979, the Dubai World Trade Centre was the only skyscraper until 1991. Today, Dubai, alone, has more than 400 skyscrapers, and owns one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, which is Burj Khalifa.
 





                                                    Photo by: medubai.com
   







Photo by: Sara Daher 

Pokémon’s Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire: The Gaming Gems of 2014

By: Karim 

2014 is generally considered to be one of the worst years in gaming history, filled to the brim with AAA titles that did not live up to expectations and glitch-filled launches that are “rectified” with huge patches, as well as the corporate greed of most major developers and their utter negligence towards consumers. In fact, many of last year's best games are updated versions of existing titles ported to current generation consoles. While most of these tend to add nothing more than a slightly increased resolution and packaged downloadable content (DLC) that most owners of the last generation version probably already bought, a couple of titles stand out as going above and beyond standard remakes. They not only give the look of the games a complete overhaul and introduce movement in eight directions as opposed to the top down perspective of the old, but they also make various refinements to the gameplay making it equally enjoyable by beginners and series veterans alike.

            The basic story of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire follows that of their original versions, which in turn follow the same standard plot as every Pokemon title. Once players decide on the name and gender of their character, they will find themselves in a small town where after a twist of events, the players will receive a starter Pokémon of either the Fire, Water, or Grass elemental types from the town's resident professor. Once the player chooses his or her starter, he or she must go on a journey to catch more of the titular creatures until a team of six Pokémon is formed. The gamer must then collect a total of eight badges by battling Gym Leaders before challenging the Elite Four, all the while stopping a villainous team from taking over the world with the help of a legendary Pokémon.

            In terms of graphics, the fully 3D Pokémon models are very life-like, showing off the capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS. This is in stark contrast to the downright ancient, static 2D sprites of old. Even the character models for the human trainers are a vast improvement in comparison to the classics, with every character having clear, varying facial expressions. One thing I enjoyed in particular is the amount of characterization that was given to the two opposing antagonistic factions, Team Aqua and Team Magma. The former's obsessive desire is to turn the world into one big ocean, while the latter's is to dry up all water on earth leaving only land. While Team Aqua and Team Magma were mere pallet swaps in the originals, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire gave them wildly different designs and personalities; Team Magma is a highly disciplined and scientific group led by their strict yet highly intelligent leader Maxie, while Team Aqua is a group of rebellious and rowdy pirates led by their muscular and rough leader Archie. It’s the attention to detail that was put into these remakes that differentiate them from the originals.

            The gameplay has been equally improved, with there being various tweaks to the battle system including introducing numerous new ways to catch Pokémon. Pokémon from Ruby and Sapphire have new “mega evolutions” that make them far more viable than before. For instance, Beedrill, typically considered to be one of the weakest creatures in the game, becomes an offensive powerhouse with nearly unmatched speed and attack once it mega evolves. Also, there are special tutors for Pokémon that the player can access once he or she reaches the Battle Resort area. These special Non-Player Characters (NPCs) teach Pokémon distinctive moves that they cannot learn on their own. With a combination of brand-new “mega evolutions” and move tutors, the amount of strategic combinations of monsters that gamers can come up with have drastically changed. The other major addition to gameplay involves sneaking up on wild Pokémon with the “DexNav,” a device that lures them out of hiding. The advantage to this method over encountering Pokémon normally is that first of all, you are guaranteed to find a particular species instead of depending on luck and secondly, the player has the chance to find a creature with special moves and hidden passive abilities. For example, Ralts, normally found at level three, can be found using this method at level 13 with the hidden ability of “telepathy” as well as the special move “shadow sneak”.

            These are just a few reasons why Pokémon’s Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are my favorite games of last year. These titles deliver the same unique and addicting monster-collecting gameplay the series is known for while also proving that a remade version of a game can be far more than a simple graphical update with some previously purchasable add-ons. Anyone with Nintendo's latest portable system owes it to him or herself to enjoy these gaming masterpieces regardless of whether they played the original Ruby and Sapphire or not.

Review: Savage Beauty pays tribute to the late Alexander McQueen in London

By: Randa Khair 

The Savage Beauty Exhibition visited London last week at the Victoria & Albert Museum and will continue to celebrate the amazing work of the late Alexander McQueen until August 2.

The creative fashion genius, who passed away in 2010, had his works initially debuted in New York at the Metropolitan Museum in 2011. The original version of the exhibition was widely praised by critics of the fashion industry, but something about this exhibition in London has made his works even more visually alluring and heart capturing than ever before. Perhaps it has something to do with McQueen’s own words: “London’s where I was brought up. It’s where my heart is and where I get my inspiration.”

McQueen’s works are known for their uniqueness and the ambiance of the London exhibition matched just that. Whether it is the dramatic lighting, mirrored ballrooms, intense music or the exquisite designs around the venue, it is truly a sensory fashion experience that is braver than any other.

Towards the end of the exhibition is the largest room displaying the one and only famous spray paint dress which was created right on the catwalk many years back. Another focus in the exhibition is death, and what screams death louder than dying roses, skulls, and bones?

The London version of Savage Beauty pays the utmost tribute and respect to the astounding and mesmerizing works of one of the most celebrated fashion designers in history.

PSG Knocks out Chelsea of Champions League

By AKRAM KHOJA

It took a header goal from Paris Saint Germaine’s defender, Thiago Silva, to knock Chelsea out of the Champions League on March 12 on Chelsea ground, Stamford Bridge, through a draw score of 2, six minutes before the end of the second extra time.

According to hereisthecity.com, the defeat sparked anger through Chelsea’s fans on social media calling their performance “poor” and “terrible”.

A heated game between the two teams started with Chelsea having difficulty scoring a goal due to the expertise of PSG defense and goal keeping. Luck was on Chelsea’s side, however when Eden Hazard broke the ceiling by scoring a penalty for the team in the first extra time.  

Chelsea’s manger, Jose Mourinho, told The Telegraph that he was disappointed in the team’s performance. “Our performance was not good enough, they were stronger than us. They coped better than us with the pressure of the game.”

The game got intense when a fight started between the player Zlatan Ibrahimović and Chelsea’s players after he treated Chelsea’s Oscar dos Santos, goal keeper, badly and Ibrahimović was given the red card and dismissed from the rest of the game.

However, that did not stop PSG from scoring another goal and taking the victory. 

Mark Fletcher, PSG manger, spoke to The Telegraph about his team’s victory, “I would like to toast PSG on their determination and moreover the plastic cockneys who gave me so much stick over City losing against Barca at home and losing to Liverpool. The word I think is called karma.”

Chelsea fans are hoping that the team will perform stronger and have a better strategy in place for their upcoming game for the English Premier League.