Dubai Adventure - Day Two

If you've ever traveled eastbound from the US to Europe, or really any place with a significant time difference in that direction, getting over jet lag is like having a hangover for days if you don't plan it right. I went to bed last night at 9pm local and woke up at 3:45am ready to go. Instead of getting up and reading or getting on my laptop, I stayed in bed. After an hour my body said, "Oh, this is when we're supposed to go to sleep!" I passed out for another glorious five hours, but even after 13 hours of sleep I still felt like I had swallowed half a bottle of Nyquil when I got out of bed. Fortunately, after some caffeine, a good breakfast, and a shower made possible only with Rebecca's help (they live in a "normal" non-accessible apartment), I felt as close to normal as possible after my long journey yesterday.

The view from my friends' apartment

While some people would prefer to get going on the sightseeing right away, I'm actually grateful to have time each day to relax, read, watch movies, or get some work done before we head out. The apartment has a ton of windows with nice views and lots of natural light, so this beats a hotel room any day of the week for vacation relaxation.

The loooong walk/roll to the Dubal Mall

After my friends got home from work, it was time for us to head out to the tallest building in the world! To get there, we decided to take the metro, which has been hailed as the most handicap accessible place in Dubai. Whoever said that wasn't kidding. There are even small metal ovals and circles on the ground that lead directly to elevators, kiosks, and train doors for blind people using walking sticks! Really amazing.

Rebecca and I in the Dubai Mall

From there we had to walk/roll a looooooong way to the Dubai Mall, then through the Dubai Mall, to get to the bottom of the Burj. I barely have the words to describe the vastness of this mall. You could easily spend days walking around just to get to every store. There are even two sections of high-end designer stores (like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, etc.)--one section for haute couture and one section for ready-to wear. Unbelievable.

After some window shopping, walking, and navigating, we made it to the bottom of the Burj--all 168 stories of her. It's not like the building just squeaks by as the tallest in the world; it's a good 40 stories higher than the second tallest and dwarfs the Empire State, Petronas Towers, and Sears Building. The observation deck is at the 126th floor, so you don't actually go to the top (even though the attraction is called At the Top), but whatever. I've been to the top of the Sears Tower, so I had some expectations of the elevator ride. I can't explain how blown away I was by the fact that you felt ZERO movement for the 60 seconds it takes to get you to the 126th floor. ZERO. NO acceleration or deceleration AT ALL. Unbelievable.

Once we got to the deck level, we were led to the observation area. I had no idea it was open air! High glass walls of course, but no ceiling! Before we got there, I was a little disappointed we had to go at night because I had seen so many pictures of the view during the day. No way; the nighttime view FAR surpasses any photo I've ever seen of the mostly tan-hazy daytime views.

Burj Khalifa construction display

We of course did a pass through the gift shop for souvenirs,
the got to see some really cool displays of the steps engineers and builders went through to put this puppy together over the course of five years. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the construction here is EVERYWHERE, and it is non-stop. I learned from Tom that a full 80% of the entire world's construction cranes are located in and operating in Dubai.

After the Burj, we passed by a gorgeous fountain show--very similar to the Bellagio show in Las Vegas--on our way to Karma Cafe for a late dinner. The food was absolutely incredible; easily one of the best steaks I've ever had. The bar inside was very nightclubby with low lights and dark music; I loved it :). Just one more thing that reminded me of Vegas. After a wonderful 3-hour meal, the three of us we beat and headed back to the apartment. Tomorrow is the souk for some shopping and Jumeirah for some more great food!