My first and previously only visit to Dubai was six years ago with my wife at the tail end of our honeymoon. By that stage it had been the end of a five week stint through Europe, and Dubai was our last stop-over before heading home.
Needless to say we turned up completely exhausted, but nevertheless I was determined to check out as much of the place as possible (yeah, in a single day, right). Chris's was perhaps not as keen as myself, and by this stage she was only interested in the spa treatments. Fair enough. I on the other hand was keen for a cruise along the creek, a quick look at the souks of Deira, but really all I wanted was a drink with my missus at the Burj al Arab - pretty much my primary reason for wanting the Dubai stop-over. I'm happy to say we did get that drink at the most insane Hotel in the world, and it was almost worth the $70 a head it cost us. Ah, 2006!!
My main memory of Dubai, however, was two things - the preponderance of billboards basically spreading the concept of living the dream, either buying property here or shopping like a bastard. Every second billboard seemed to have a picture of a smiling Burka clad woman holding a shopping bag - because we ALL know that shopping is the only thing women are interested in don't we? (That's irony in case you didn't pick it up)
The second main impression was a skyline littered with crane's on top of highrises in the making, designs that beggar the imagination. It seemed like the city was in a perpetual state of design and construction. Don't get me wrong, the place was by no means a wreck, but the sheer swarm of sky bound cranes that seemed to dominate the horizon seemed to hint at "the dream" of Dubai as the 21st century metropolis it was in the continual process of becoming.
And become it did. Six years later, the bus from Abu Dhabi pulled into the terminal, and I hopped off, grabbed a taxi, and headed to the Riviera Hotel in Deira, right on the creek, in the surrounds of my previous expedition six years prior. My room overlooks the creek, and the ships line the shore continually loading and offloading watever cargo they have. Deira's great - its one of the grittier areas of Dubai, close enough to the business district but far enough from the glitzier side of the city - which suits me fine. Below is the view from my hotel balcony.
Still, my first port of call was to the heart of the glitz - I was hanging to check out the Burj Khalifa, now the tallest building in the world, completed and openned in 2010 and at the centre of what they now call Downtown Dubai, but this downtown is anything but down. It's now the centrepiece of what the dream is that the billboards were promising six years ago.
Having watched a documentary on the making of the Burj Dubai (as it was known then) last year, I was determined to make it up the thing see just what the fuss was all about. The great news is the fact that Dubai has an exceptionally effecient Metro system now (launched in 2009 I believe), and its not only efficient but super clean. My local metro was a mere five minutes away. But the design of the metro stations is something to behold. This is the Burj Khalfa metro station, taken from up the Burj Khalifa itself.
And this is it at street level...
And wow, the Burj Khalifa - the fuss certainly lived up to expectations. A "mere" 125 Dirhams takes you up in what has to be the fastest elevator in the world. Up 127 stories, but I swear the journey too barely sixty seconds.
I'm not going to describe the view. Here's a couple of pics that gives you the idea, like the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, they also won't do it any justice. But its certainly the best way to get a glimpse of the expanse of this crazy desert metropolis. Here below is the immediate surrounds, what's known as Downtown Dubai. Note the high-rise below, simply called "The Address"
The Burj is also connected to Dubai Mall, I suspect probably the largest shopping centre in the world. Now of course I'm not a fan of malls at the best of times, but kids, if you're in Dubai, its worth checking out just for the overblowness of the place. You don't have to buy anything. And the energy they must use to keep the whole place air conditioned defies imagination I'm sure.
Of course here's the obligatory shot with me in it
And a smug self portrait
The observation deck where said self portrait was taken...
aaaaaand the view when you look up from said observation deck...
and in case you were wondering how they cleaned the thing
and a bit of a closer look
Where's Tom Cruise when you need him!!
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