Dubai, the city that literally came out of nowhere.
Dubai from above
I first visited this enigmatic city back in 2006 on my way to Japan. I still remember that despite my hope of spending an awesome day in the city, it was actually quite boring. I walked around a lot but except for an awful lot of shopping malls and the hotness of the sun, there wasn't much to see, as most of the buildings that constitute Dubai Downtown nowadays where still in construction during this time:
Picture taken in March 2006, see this post.
Nowadays, Dubai city looks more like this:
However, the most impressive building in the rich city is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure on earth:
And not only this, it also hosts the tallest viewing platform in the world located on the 124th floor of the high tower. Without having booked in advance, the tickets are relatively expensive with 80 Euro each. When booking for a time in advance, one only has to pay about 25 Euro, which is worth paying for the view At The Top, if only once.
View from the top.
Looking down on the other skyscrapers.
An intereactive screen shows the view from the platform in different modes: day, live, night, and historic. When switching to the historic view, one only sees the desert in every direction. Not sure from which year the historic view originates from.
Looking up from the viewing platform.
My recommendation is to get up there around 5 and then wait until the sun sets for the ultimate night view of Dubai.
Comments