Dubai Day 2: Burj Khalifa

Another segment of RTW2023 is now behind us … adding 5,498 NM of cruising under our belt on the now-ended 21-day Safaris & Global Gems segment.

Our plan today — the first day of the Far East Legends segment … and our second day in Dubai — was to hop on the port shuttle to the Dubai Mall.

It wasn’t shopping that was on our mind, however. No, we had tickets for the “At the Top” experience at Burj Khalifa … which, at 2,722 feet from base to tip, is the tallest building in the world. From the snippets on the screens on the 124th floor, I later learned that it took a year to lay down the groundwork. Then, it took only 1,093 days to complete the first 100 floors of the Burj. From excavation to opening in 2010, it took 6 years to complete the construction.

Passing the mall aquarium, with its huge exterior glass wall giving us a glimpse into one of the many tanks, we made our way to the fountain area. We’d stopped here for a quick photo op in 2017, so we knew it would be the best spot from which to photograph the Burj Khalifa … which is also billed as the tallest free-standing structure in the world. Yes … there are a lot of superlatives associated with Burj Khalifa. With Dubai in general actually.

Our timed entry tickets for “At the Top” were for 11:00a. But when we presented our tickets before 10:00a, the guard simply ushered us into the queue … where not a single soul was waiting.

Tickets scanned, we joined the elevator queue. The line was fairly long but moved along at a steady pace. So much so that we had no time to digest the information being “broadcast” on the walls about some of the daring-do feats associated with the Burj … such as the story of how Google Earth images were taken of the building … or how it was used in a “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” movie stunt sequence by Tom Cruise.

Shortly, we were taking our first photo from the lookout terrace on the 124th floor. The terrace was glassed in for safety, but it was open to the fresh air. Despite the sun, it felt cooler on the terrace. I later read that there is a 6° differential between the ambient temperature on the ground floor and the top of the tower.

The scenery was hazy with a light veil of the desert sand/marine layer/ smog that seems to blanket Dubai much of the time. There was quite a bit of a glare from the glass wall that made taking photos difficult. As well, the angle at which I had to place the camera against the glass, skewed the buildings below us … a pet peeve of mine. But it is what it is.

As we made our way around the 124th floor, we spied a staircase up to the 125th floor. The views were the same, of course, but we went up to check it out before wrapping up our “At the Top” experience. (By the way, for those interested, there were several fee-based photo op stations on the 125th floor.)

On our way to the elevator when we first arrived, photos had been taken for a souvenir photo package. We had checked out the photos in the package at one of the stations at the top … opting out at that point. As we were leaving the building, a guy at the photo counter near the exit made us an offer … a digital photo package on a USB stick (a souvenir keychain). Again, we said no. But then he really dropped the price, so we caved and got the package. Lesson of the day … wait to purchase your souvenir photos as you are leaving! After all, at that point, they have nothing to lose by offering discounted options.

Leaving the Burj Khalifa, we set out to explore the mall and get a bite to eat.Baca lagi