Greetings from Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). With a population of more than 3.5 million, this sprawling desert metropolis is almost twice as large as Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E.’s capital, and is much better known due to several well known landmarks, including the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. And with a desert adventure behind us yesterday in Abu Dhabi, today was all about seeing some of those famous structures.
Today’s weather was a lot like yesterday’s, though not quite as hot, with a high in the mid 90s. And like yesterday, the humidity was pretty low, making the heat much more bearable. If anything though, the smog here was even worse than it was in Abu Dhabi, with the thick haze putting a bit of a damper on our view of the skyline from the ship on an otherwise bright, sunny day.
We started our day with a bus tour that took us to some of the city’s iconic structures, the first being the Jumeirah Grand Mosque, one of the few mosques that is open to non-Islamic visitors. It’s part of the overseeing organization’s “open doors, open minds” policy, and I would have dearly loved to enter, but there wasn’t time due to our busy itinerary. One of the few downsides of a world cruise is that there isn’t always time to fully explore the places we visit, and this was one of those times, so we settled for photos and hopped back on the bus.
Our next stop was at one of Dubai’s most recognizable buildings, the Burj Al Arab Hotel. Designed to resemble the sail of a ship, it is one of the world’s tallest hotels, although that counts quite a bit of unusable space at the top. Dubai is famous for what it has done on artificial islands, and the Burj Al Arab sits on one of them. I thought it was gorgeous, and is a great example of the creative architecture that can be found throughout the city. Indeed, it’s worth mentioning that the entire city looks new, modern, and sparkling clean, like it just popped up out of the sand last week. That being said, Dubai is nowhere near done growing. There is construction everywhere, and cranes are busy adding to the city’s skyline.
Dubai is also famous for having a couple of the world’s largest shopping malls, and I was looking forward to our next stop, the Mall of the Emirates, though not for the shopping. What makes this mall unique, and the reason for its renown, is its indoor ski resort. Yep, snow skiing and snowboarding in the Arabian desert. Although I knew about Ski Dubai beforehand, I was still blown away when I actually saw it. It’s enormous, with five separate slopes of varying degrees of difficulty, a chairlift and tow rope, a bobsled run, and much more. They even have penguins, which they let out several times a day. The fake trees, boulders and other structures throughout the area give the resort a Disney-like outdoor feel. From the outside windows the whole complex looks like a giant snow globe, and truly has to be seen to be believed. I was glad we came.
Of course, Dubai’s most famous attraction is the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. The term skyscraper doesn’t do the Burj justice, and in my opinion there needs to be a new term to describe a structure this tall. Its height dwarfs former record holders, and not surprisingly you can see it from all over the city. Still, standing at its base is the best way to truly appreciate its incredible tallness. Consider this—a previous record holder, Taipei 101, has “only” 101 floors, while the Burj tops out at 163. And yet there’s actually talk here of building an even taller tower, which should give you an idea of what’s happening in this oil rich emirate. By the way, those who know me well won’t be surprised to learn that you couldn’t pay me enough to go all the way up there. Looking up at it from below was quite sufficient, thank you.
The Burj is part of a complex that includes another of the world’s largest shopping malls, the Dubai Mall. Size isn’t its only attraction, and it’s worth visiting to take a gander at its waterfalls, enormous aquarium, NHL-size ice skating rink, and even its own Chinatown. Shopping is almost incidental when you walk around and take it all in. We spent an hour and a half here, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
The Dubai Mall was the final destination on our excursion’s itinerary, though we weren’t done seeing the city’s unique architectural wonders. On our way back to the ship we passed Dubai Frame, the world’s largest picture frame, and the oval shaped Museum of the Future. You’ll just have to see my photos to appreciate them.
I really enjoyed our day in Dubai. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but there’s a visual wow factor here that I suspect new visitors to Vegas would experience. There’s a boldness to this city’s growth that’s exciting, and it’s clear that this emirate is hell bent to create something that will remain viable when the oil money stops pouring in some day. The smog is a problem, and the heat and global warming are ongoing challenges, but the visionaries here shouldn’t be underestimated.
That’s it from the U.A.E. As I write this we’re on our way out of the Persian Gulf and into the Arabian Sea, then south into the Indian Ocean, across the equator, and on to the Seychelles. There are four sea days between now and our arrival at those islands, which are famous for their beaches and turquoise waters. I’m excited to see them, but also thankful for the sea days, as they will give me a chance to catch up on other stuff that piles up while we’re ashore. I’ll be back when we reach the Seychelles, so stay tuned.
One of the first things you notice in Dubai is the smog, a good bit of which is probably sand. Yes, that’s the Burj Khalifa in the background. You can see it from all over the city.
This is the Jumeirah Grand Mosque, one of the few that allows non-Islamic visitors inside. I wish we’d have had time to enter.
Next stop, the Burj Al Arab Hotel, designed to look like a sail. That’s a helipad up near the top.
The Emirates Mall is famous for its indoor ski resort. This is only part of it, as it’s too big to capture in a single photo. The whole thing looks like a giant snow globe.
No time to ski, but we did ride the chairlift.
And Michele met the reindeer.
Almost forgot, there’s shopping at the mall too, lots of it.
Attached to the mall’s Polo Ralph Lauren store is a Ralph’s coffee shop, where I had lunch. Ralph Lauren serves very good coffee.
The mall takes security very seriously.
On our way to the Burj Khalifa. Michele caught this shot of it between these twin towers. There’s imaginative architecture all over the city.
the Burj Khalifa. No words.
The Burj Khalifa is part of a complex that includes the Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping malls. That’s the base of the Burj on the left. The mall is just off camera on the right.
There are two large waterfalls in the Dubai Mall.
Inside the giant fish tank at the mall’s aquarium.
The mall’s ice skating rink.
The mall has its own Chinatown. This is a small part of it.
On the way back to the ship we passed the world’s largest picture frame.
And the amazing Museum of the Future.
View of the city from the ship. The Burj Khalifa is on the left. On the right is the Queen Elizabeth II. The ship is now a very cool hotel and entertainment venue.
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