Burj Khalifa - At the Top of the World

My legs turned to jelly. I thought they would. I have to admit I don’t like heights. And, as a mere mortal, you can’t get much higher than the top of the Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower); the world’s tallest building. www.burjkhalifa.ae

There are more than 160 floors but the public observation deck is 124 floors above the Dubai Mall. On a clear day you can see for miles across the Dubai landscape. The observation deck is half in and half out of the building, but oddly I felt more wobbly inside than out in the fresh air.

Carol tries her luck

The elevator whisks you from the Dubai Mall up to the Observation Deck in less than 60 seconds, and surprisingly, there is no sensation of movement at all – no acceleration, nor any side to side trembling. For me, the scariest part is actually getting out of the elevator; with legs like lead I crawled out with my hand against the wall; then, gradually you get used to being there… The top of the spire, at 828 meters (> half a mile), moves by more than 2 metres (> 6 ½ feet) in the wind, although the building’s ‘Y’ cross section, patterned on the Hymenocallis flower, is built to confuse the wind as it spirals skyward.

View: The Address Hotel & Dubai Fountain
Day & Night

And, there’s gold at the top of the world. One of the first gold bar vending machines was installed on the Observation Deck, Carol put her hand in the dispenser drawer, just in case…

Known as the Burj Dubai during construction, the building itself is part hotel, part residential and part corporate office space. And, the world’s highest restaurant (At.mosphere) sits at the 122^nd floor, if your stomach can take it.

But the views here are breathtaking – literally. Huge skyscrapers below you look like Lego models, the sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab sits in the distance like a toy yacht. That’s if you’re lucky enough to get a clear day – it’s often marred by sand and dust in the atmosphere. If you time it right, you can see the sunset twice – once at the bottom and again when you get to the top… And you can choose your time slot if you buy your tickets on-line; the line-ups to get in aren’t bad but if you are going, it pays to buy in advance; tickets are four times more expensive if you buy them on-site.

In the grounds of Dubai Mall below lies the illuminated Dubai Fountain, the world’s largest computer choreographed water feature; crowds come just to see it dance to music, which it does every evening. As large as it is, it looks the size of a postage stamp from the Observation Deck. www.wiki/Dubai_Fountain

Dubai Fountain from above

The building is record-breaking in so many ways: tallest structure, highest elevator, highest nightclub, but this week at the turning of the New Year (2013/2014) it added the highest and largest display of fireworks. www.youtube.Dubai Fireworks

So for all the torture of going up there, it was well worth the trip.

Dancing Dubai Fountain

For further info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa