World's Tallest Building in Dubai

Dubai Creek in an "older" section of Dubai

Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall

The last few days have been spent in Dubai.  Okay, the first day was mostly spent sleeping and hiding from the heat.  I didn’t get to my to my hotel until 3am after a 9-hour flight so I deserved some sleep.  I wandered a bit through an older part of town near my hotel and called it a day.  The next day I headed to the fantasy land of the Dubai Mall with the shark tank and fountains and giant waterfall—all at the base of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. 

I won’t say I was disappointed by the view from the observation deck on the 124^th floor, but Dubai is even more dusty and brown from above as it is from the street (once you look past the shiny buildings and fancy cars and all that other useless stuff that too much money can get you.)  There were also 80 floors above me that might have offered a better view, but I was still more than 10 times higher than the tallest building in Montana.

Shadow of the Burj Khalifa

Dubai was my first experience in the Arab world and it was certainly a unique blend of cultures.  There are people from over 150 different cultures living there in a relatively small area.  It is also like Las Vegas with more money.  I could have done without the stop there, but I’m glad I did.