One of the cool factors about flying Emirates from the US to Africa is that you have the chance for a free layover. Depending on the ticket Emirates will provide you with a hotel, hotel transfer and even meals! Who can pass up an opportunity like that? Certainly not TrekkingTrego!
So, what do you do with 20 hours in Dubai?
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| Burj Khalifa - Worlds Tallest Building |
First, you better go see Burj Khalifa. Being the tallest building in the world it is pretty amazing. What's even more amazing is that you take a single elevator up 124 floors in 90 seconds and the ride is as smooth as a cadillac! Yes, I know I'm an engineer but it is pretty amazing. The view down to the ground gives you a good perspective on things! Of course, all you see are tall buildings and sand! If you look hard enough, you can see where the latest Star Trek movie was filmed.
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| Notice how hazy it is, and that's at 830am! |
Second, the fountains are nice to see if you are there in the evenings. We got in just before dark so after checking into the hotel we quickly headed out to the Dubai Mall (largest by size in the world - not that I care for shopping but google said so <g>) and watched the fountain shows. They range in timing from about 3 minutes and not super spectacular to 7 minutes of wow. After the show go walk around the mall and eat an expensive bowl of cereal (two flavors for 3$).
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| Watch out Vegas, here comes Dubai |
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| Inside Dubai Mall was an ice rink |
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| My favorite store - buy a bowl of cereal! |
Third, see a lot of other really tall and fancy buildings around the marina area. They have twisted buildings, they have the famous Al Arab building, and a lot of other buildings still under construction. It is a growing place with a lot of hustle and bustle.
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| Burj Al Arab |
Lastly, go old school and take an abra wooden boat across the Dubai Creek for a little nostalgic ride. It only takes about 15 minutes and 1 AED.
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| Cruising down the river...well, putting down the river. |
It was definitely a blitzkrieg of a trip through Dubai, and with the heat so crazy (110F with 80% humidity and blowing dust) we didn't explore much more. In fact, we were a little bit like the Wicked Witch of the West as we were melting as we quickly visited the Persian Gulf. Nonetheless, we were able to see a majority of the tourist spots and have a little adventure in the process. Dubai - check!
Stay tuned for a post about the rest of the trip! You can view additional pictures in my
Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.
