Dubai Layover

Once I cleared immigration, I navigated my way to Dubai's Metro and purchased a ticket to the Burj Khalifa for AED8.50. The driver-less Metro was quick and efficient and I found myself at the Burj Khalifa stop in no time at all.

It was a 10 minute walk in 120F heat to get to the Dubai Mall next to the Burj, and the entrance to the mall from the station was not obvious due to construction work. Now, I normally hate malls with a passion but this time the aircon was a welcome relief from the heat!

First impressions: another glitzy mall, not unlike the high end ones in Singapore. I wasn't excited. I was tickled, though, by the number of American food outlets such as Potbelly Sandwich. More than anything else, I wanted a cold drink to quench my thirst, but it was Ramadan and food outlets were not open until sundown. Out of respect for local customs, I refrained from drinking from my water bottle. Mercifully, sundown was not far off and the food outlets started opening. I gratefully chugged down several cold drinks at the food court as soon as it opened.

Exploring the mall, I found an aquarium but decided not to spend money on the admission fees since I could see quite a lot from the public viewing area. I looked into going to the Burj Khalifa's viewing deck but the next available slot was 9.30pm which would not have given me enough time to get back to the airport for my midnight flight. So, I ended up watching the water fountain display and then wandering aimlessly around the mall, stopping to eat a heavenly hazelnut gelato.

At around 8.30pm, I decided to call it a day as I was tired and cranky from lack of sleep. I walked back to the Metro (temperatures had gone down to about 100F!) and went back to the airport. At the airport, I got my boarding pass for my United flight and then joined the long queue for immigration.Read more