On the Road Again with Carl Hanson

Sub Sea Systems Director of Water Operations and Safety, Carl Hanson racks up more frequent flyer miles in a month than most people collect in years! His most recent trip took him across the planet to Dubai. Carl shares his unique adventure with us below.

Q Why did you go to Dubai?

C: I went to visit Our Sea TREK Operator at Atlantis the Palm, Dubai. Atlantis the Palm’s Sea TREK helmet diving is done at its Ambassador Lagoon, part of its incredible Lost Chambers Aquarium, which houses over 65,000 marine animals!

Q: How long were you away?

C: I flew out on March 20th, and I returned on March 26th 

Q: What kind of work did you do during your visit?

C: This trip was primarily for site inspection, however, the facility also has a new Training Coordinator, Abdulla. He and I worked together quite a bit during my trip. I also shared some new training techniques for their backpack system.

Q: What was your travel route?

I left Sacramento on the 20th around noon, flew to Dallas. From Dallas, I flew to London, where I scored an upgrade! I was surprised that my upgraded seat was actually a bed. I got to take a shower at the London airport, then traveled on to Dubai. The trip in miles looks like this: 

Sacramento to Dallas- 1431

Dallas to Heathrow- 4740

Heathrow-Dubai 3410

Total travel time to get to Dubai, a mere 26 hours 

On the way back, I had a stopover in L.A., which added a few extra miles to the return trip.

Q: What surprised you about Dubai?

This was my second trip to Dubai, so I didn’t experience quite as dramatic a culture shock this time around. But what surprised me the most is how accepting the culture is to other cultures. The people of Dubai are perceived as closed off, but they are actually very open to tourists of different cultures.

Also, Dubai is home to some of the largest buildings in the world. It’s also incredibly dusty! When I arrived the visibility was tough. Dubai is set up in a series of villages, and each is like its own small city. For example, Sports City is where the vast majority of the sports bars are. Each city is similar in design but quite different in function.

Q: What is unique about this particular Sea TREK adventure?

C: Aqua Trek at Ambassador Lagoon has so many animals, including Bowmouth guitarfish, eagle rays, zebra sharks, cow nose rays, and thousands of schooling fishes! Sea TREK is done from a ledge that is about 2-3 meters deep. Guests walk out on the ledge and TREK while overlooking the rest of the 30-feet-deep tank. One of the things that we tested was the possibility of bringing people to the bottom. So in the future, TREKs may include a drop to the bottom of the tank!

Q: What did you do in your free time?

C: I met up with a friend from high school, Donte! Donte is in the U.S. Army and happened to be in Dubai on deployment while I was there. I had not seen him in at least 10 years, so it was fun to catch up. We connected on social media, and we met up at Kite Beach. 

I also got the chance to visit the Dubai Mall, which happens to house one of the largest suspended aquariums in the world! The tank is 10 million liters and is home to over 140 species including 300 sharks and rays. Who knows, it could someday be home to another Sea TREK operation!

Check out Carl's amazing Atlantis video compilation!