I am an Skilled Scuba Diver With Over 130 Dives Logged — and Diving Indoors within the World’s Deepest Pool Was Surprisingly Enjoyable

As I descended from the floor with my information, I felt as if I had entered one other world — nearly as if I used to be in a dream. I used to be scuba diving in a man-made pool and with every passing second, my preconceptions about what this expertise could be like have been swiftly debunked.

As a seasoned scuba diver with an Superior Open Water Diver certification and over 130 dives logged — all of which have been out in open water — I used to be skeptical about diving in an indoor pool. In spite of everything, there are alternatives to see sea turtles, seahorses, sharks, eels, manta rays, and tropical fish within the wild. What might a pool supply?

However one go to to Deep Dive Dubai — the world’s deepest pool, in response to the Guinness Guide of World Information — taught this uncertain diver that scuba diving in a pool can truly be enjoyable.

The outside of Deep Dive Dubai resembles an enormous oyster — a nod to the United Arab Emirates’ pearl diving heritage. With a depth of 197 toes (roughly the peak of a 20-story constructing), this pool is full of 3.7 million gallons of sanitized freshwater.

Deep Dive is a vacationer attraction and, often, a singular particular occasion house — however it’s additionally a state-of-the-art coaching and leisure facility without cost diving and scuba diving. (In truth, if I have been to return, I might need to learn to free dive right here.) The venue affords divers of all ability ranges, from seasoned veterans to entry-level novices, a climate-controlled house to hone their abilities in a comparatively tranquil surroundings — it is an expertise that is not at all times potential within the close by Persian Gulf.

“Visibility within the Gulf is regularly compromised attributable to currents and sediment, leading to unpredictable circumstances influenced by tides, boat visitors, and fluctuating water temperatures,” Jesper Kjøller, Deep Dive Dubai’s senior advertising and marketing supervisor, advised Journey + Leisure. “In distinction, Deep Dive Dubai affords a completely managed and predictable diving expertise.”

If I needed to describe the expertise in a single phrase, it will undoubtedly be “managed.” The pool’s crystal-clear water is filtered via NASA-developed volcanic rock filters, sanitized by way of UV radiation, after which totally recirculated each six hours. The temperature is at all times a snug 86 levels Fahrenheit, and 27 underwater audio system and 164 dimmable lights assist set a relaxed, soothing ambiance.

And inside these gin-clear waters, guests will discover a “sunken metropolis” — a submerged playground of props, units, and totally furnished rooms that make for good underwater picture and video alternatives. The expertise jogged my memory of these often-viral “Instagram museums” discovered in lots of cities, which characteristic interactive reveals designed purely for selfies and social media posts.

The primary prop I got here throughout was arduous to overlook: the trunks and roots of an imitation banyan tree that draped over a number of ranges of the pool. However that was simply the beginning — I had a full-scale photoshoot in scuba regalia with all of the props and units. I learn {a magazine} on a park bench; slept in a mattress; rode a motorbike; performed pinball, chess, pool, and foosball; and carried out “Chopsticks” on a submerged child grand piano. I even acquired to bask in my basketball fantasies and soared as much as a hoop in sluggish movement à la Michael Jordan for a dunk … solely to overlook, seize the rebound, and shortly slam it down the basket.

Gimmicky? Sure. However might I expertise one thing like this wherever else exterior of Dubai? No.

There is a voyeuristic ingredient to the expertise, too. The subterranean cafe and important convention room have giant remark home windows — consider an aquarium with people swimming round as a substitute of sea life. The pool additionally has underwater cameras that showcase the motion to spectators who aren’t diving. (The cameras additionally perform as a security precaution. I used to be much less nervous diving right here since I knew the cameras have been in every single place, the surroundings was managed, and I had a information.)

Regardless of all of the cameras, window shows, and extremely regulated surroundings, the diving expertise nonetheless manages to really feel adventurous, as many of the props are solely accessible for those who bodily enter the rooms of every underwater degree. And although there have been no sightings of underwater life — apart from the free-diving homo sapiens holding their breath — I ultimately totally embraced the Deep Dive Dubai. (My favourite factor I acquired to do was play foosball as a result of whereas it was in a synthetic setting, it wasn’t faux: my information and I have been legitimately enjoying to win.)

As my scuba diving experiences proceed to increase and evolve, I’m sure none of them will ship a “slam dunk” fairly like Deep Dive Dubai did.