I’ve written previously about my trip to the UAE in February and March of this year. I got to see a lot of neato stuff in the UAE – which is a country that (to me) seems obsessed with having the biggest, brightest, coolest, and fastest of everything out there. During my few weeks in the country, I saw the world’s tallest building, world’s largest pane of acrylic glass, and the world’s fastest roller coaster. That was all in two towns – in a country less than half the size of the State of Iowa – which is home to the world’s largest garden gnome and fairly large cow statue made from butter.
During the last couple of weeks of my stay in the UAE, I rented car and headed to Dubai for a quick overnight trip. In a country that has more super cars per capita than I have ever seen – my rental was…well…underwhelming. It was very tiny and very under-powered. The three mice on the treadmill under the hood really had to work to get me up to speed on the freeway. In addition – it was a manual transmission car. I haven’t driven a manual transmission car since high school – so that was a bit of an experience. But – I made the hour drive from Abu Dhabi to Dubai without too much trouble and started my 24 hour journey.
After arriving at my hotel – I took the Dubai metro to the Dubai Mall to see the worlds tallest building – the Burj Khalifa. The Burj is a huge silver spike of a building that you can see for almost 20 miles outside of Dubai (on a clear day). The tower is surrounded by the Dubai Mall – which a gigantic shopping center. If you can think of the store – they probably have an outlet here. It is monstrous – and all air-conditioned! Shopping malls are a big thing in a country where the summer average is over 100 degrees.
At the top of the Burj is an observation tower, on the 124th floor, that offers a super view of the city. It is recommended that you buy tickets for the observation deck before you arrive at the mall – so if you make it over to Dubai – you can do that here. I had purchased tickets the day before – but the only time available was at 1130p. But when I walked up to the counter – they had walk up tickets available! So I purchased the walk up tickets (they are more expensive than the pre-purchased tickets) – and decided that I would go to the top of the Burj twice – once during the day and again that night.
The walk to the elevators led me past all sorts of informative displays about the building of the tower and the other businesses it contains (there is also an Armani Hotel) – all interesting stuff. They didn’t mention the fact that they don’t have any system to deal with the sewer from the building…they seemed to leave that out.
Following these displays, a short security check, and we were in the elevator headed for the top. The elevator moves pretty briskly, fast enough that my ears popped several times on the way to the top. When you arrive, you step out into a glass room with 360 degree views of the city and the surrounding area.
The views, on both trips, were spectacular. But I will say that the night trip was a bit more stunning, it was a bit jaw dropping to see the entire expanse of the city lit up like a golden jewel. From the observation deck you can see the World Islands, the Palms, the Burj Al Arab, and the other wacky skyscrapers that Dubai has to offer. It’s seriously a must see in Dubai. I am glad I went.
Following my first trip up the Burj Khalifa, I headed over to the Mall of the Emirates to see the indoor ski hill and have a burger at Shake Shack. I love the Shake Shacks in NYC and this one didn’t disappoint either. I munched on my burger and watched skiers sail down a slope of artificial snow while it was over 90 degrees outside. It was kind of surreal.
After this, I headed back to my hotel and got ready for dinner. I had made reservations a few days earlier at the Al Mahara restaurant in the Burj Al Arab. The Al Arab is the worlds only seven star hotel – not really – but it’s pretty damned nice. Every thing is opulent and gold, from the fleet of Rolls Royce that are parked out front (for guest use) to the stairs – it is all over the top. The rooms cost a couple thousand a night, so I guess if you are paying that kind of money, you expect a lot from a hotel.
After arrival at the hotel, over a private bridge because the hotel sits on its own island, I made my way up to the restaurant. It was a little awkward going to a fancy-shmancy place all by myself (Reservation for 1, please) – but after I was seated, the place was amazing. The food was great (I had blue lobster in an orange sauce) and the atmosphere was even better. The view was great, looking out over the sea and seeing all of Dubai. The lighting was a little stark and clinical, but overall it was a great place and I was well taken care of – but I should have been at that price. If you are looking for a budget meal in Dubai, this is not it, but if you are looking to experience what new Dubai is all about – it’s a must.
After dinner, I made my way back to my hotel after another stop at the Burj for my night trip and settled in for a couple of beers at the Belgian beer bar on the first floor of my hotel. One thing that i found very interesting about the UAE was that a lot of the entertainment scene was based around hotels. Hotels are the only place where alcohol is allowed to be served – so a lot of nicer restaurants, live music, dance clubs, etc are in hotels, which was weird for me. In the US – if you are going out for a nice dinner, very rarely to do you say “let’s go to the Holiday Inn!” but it is pretty commonplace in the UAE. Especially if you’d like to have a glass of wine with dinner – because you will only get that in a hotel.
Overall, I really enjoyed my 24 hours in Dubai. It was an amazing city with a lot of over the top buildings and attractions for the wandering tourist to get lost in. It was an outlandish city in a county of contrasts, if you find yourself in the middle east, I would highly recommend stopping by Dubai and giving it a try.
Next stop for me? Vietnam!!!
Up and Adam 