We landed at 7AM, but had delay in rounding up ski bags and connecting with our hotel pickup driver. After checking in, we got a cab for our 10AM reservation at Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. The Burj Khalifa is not approachable by vehicle. You need to walk through the 13 million square foot Dubai Mall, which had 105 million visitors in 2023. It has 1,000 shops.
And an impressive aquarium:
That is a variety of ray we have never seen scuba diving.
The Burj Khalifa has its main viewing platforms on floors 124 and 125. We paid a little extra for coffee and snacks on the 148th floor. We learned from advance research that if you don’t select this option you can wait hours to get up to 124 and 125. They gave us stickers so we bypassed the longer lines. In the waiting area are exhibits describing construction and stats.
The elevator up to 124 takes about a minute. During the ride the walls become full video screens as viewed from the outside. This one shows the Burj Khalifa partially constructed.
Near the end the screen view is from outer space.
We take a second elevator up to 148 and get our coffee.
View down to Dubai Mall we walked through.
Islands have been dredged and constructed in the Persian Gulf to build resorts.
Here the close in crescent island is connected via a causeway.
The distant islands are the World Islands, the concept being that they are shaped like countries or states. There’s a California Island out there somewhere. Timing was derailed by the 2008-09 financial crisis and most islands remain undeveloped sand, aside from Lebanon and a handful of European Islands.
Palm Jumeira, which we visited in the afternoon, is in the background here.
In the foreground is the sail-shaped 5 star hotel Burj Arab.
There are numerous skyscrapers viewed from far above.
In the last picture are some unfinished buildings at upper left.
Port area:
Lagoon and residences directly below Burj Khalifa:
On 124 and 125 are some entertaining exhibits. One of them has a video screen in the floor which simulates walking on an overhanging glass floor.
Then you hear a loud noise while the video simulates the floor cracking.
We lingered in the mall a bit with a gelato snack, then took one cab to our hotel and regrouped for another cob out to the end of Palm Jumeira, whose islands look like palm branches viewed from above.
The Atlantis hotel there resembles the one in the Bahamas.
Attached to it is Aquaventure, touted as the world’s finest waterpark. Near the entrance is a surf simulator.
We passed as I get plenty of the real thing at home.
This tower has one section of water slides.
The visible one coming down the front is a cross-your-arms and ankles steep drop like some of the towers in US parks. Liz and I also rode a double inner tube slide which ends floating through a tube surrounded by a shark tank.
We did not get out there until 3PM and at the end of February Liz was getting chilled after those two slides. At 4PM there was a dolphin show.
I had to check out the other sections of slides, which for obvious reasons do not include pictures. The one touted as “tallest in the Middle East” was a conventional curving slide but ended with a steep drop. The most unusual was one where you stand in a canister tilted about 70 degrees where they close the clear door, then the floor drops out from under you. There are two canisters, one of them reserved for lighter weight people who must also wear a provided back brace.
High temp was 80F, so in winter you want to be here midday. The water seemed mid-70’s so I wonder whether it was heated.
Unlike US water parks all of the climbing stairs were enclosed in stone buildings. I’m sure this is necessary if you visit in hotter months.
We had dinner in Atlantis’ Mexican restaurant with over the top décor.
That included presentation of this ceviche.
The cocktail in that red heart shaped glass at right was served flaming.
And an impressive aquarium:
That is a variety of ray we have never seen scuba diving.
The Burj Khalifa has its main viewing platforms on floors 124 and 125. We paid a little extra for coffee and snacks on the 148th floor. We learned from advance research that if you don’t select this option you can wait hours to get up to 124 and 125. They gave us stickers so we bypassed the longer lines. In the waiting area are exhibits describing construction and stats.
The elevator up to 124 takes about a minute. During the ride the walls become full video screens as viewed from the outside. This one shows the Burj Khalifa partially constructed.
Near the end the screen view is from outer space.
We take a second elevator up to 148 and get our coffee.
View down to Dubai Mall we walked through.
Islands have been dredged and constructed in the Persian Gulf to build resorts.
Here the close in crescent island is connected via a causeway.
The distant islands are the World Islands, the concept being that they are shaped like countries or states. There’s a California Island out there somewhere. Timing was derailed by the 2008-09 financial crisis and most islands remain undeveloped sand, aside from Lebanon and a handful of European Islands.
Palm Jumeira, which we visited in the afternoon, is in the background here.
In the foreground is the sail-shaped 5 star hotel Burj Arab.
There are numerous skyscrapers viewed from far above.
In the last picture are some unfinished buildings at upper left.
Port area:
Lagoon and residences directly below Burj Khalifa:
On 124 and 125 are some entertaining exhibits. One of them has a video screen in the floor which simulates walking on an overhanging glass floor.
Then you hear a loud noise while the video simulates the floor cracking.
We lingered in the mall a bit with a gelato snack, then took one cab to our hotel and regrouped for another cob out to the end of Palm Jumeira, whose islands look like palm branches viewed from above.
The Atlantis hotel there resembles the one in the Bahamas.
Attached to it is Aquaventure, touted as the world’s finest waterpark. Near the entrance is a surf simulator.
We passed as I get plenty of the real thing at home.
This tower has one section of water slides.
The visible one coming down the front is a cross-your-arms and ankles steep drop like some of the towers in US parks. Liz and I also rode a double inner tube slide which ends floating through a tube surrounded by a shark tank.
We did not get out there until 3PM and at the end of February Liz was getting chilled after those two slides. At 4PM there was a dolphin show.
I had to check out the other sections of slides, which for obvious reasons do not include pictures. The one touted as “tallest in the Middle East” was a conventional curving slide but ended with a steep drop. The most unusual was one where you stand in a canister tilted about 70 degrees where they close the clear door, then the floor drops out from under you. There are two canisters, one of them reserved for lighter weight people who must also wear a provided back brace.
High temp was 80F, so in winter you want to be here midday. The water seemed mid-70’s so I wonder whether it was heated.
Unlike US water parks all of the climbing stairs were enclosed in stone buildings. I’m sure this is necessary if you visit in hotter months.
We had dinner in Atlantis’ Mexican restaurant with over the top décor.
That included presentation of this ceviche.
The cocktail in that red heart shaped glass at right was served flaming.
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