You can’t go to Dubai without seeing the iconic sites. You just can’t. So Day 5 takes us to the super touristy Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa. We even hop on a city sightseeing bus and drive around to see some more.
I would describe the day as exhausting and the attractions as pretty neat!
At the Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa
After taking a taxi to the mall, we headed to our appointment at the Burj Khalifa. The Burj (Burj means tower), is actually a part of the mall complex. You have to enter the mall to get to the Burj Khalifa.
You also have to dress modestly while in the mall so bear that in mind.
Even the Signage is Pretty.
I was immediately taken aback by just how large the mall is. I was exhausted just looking at it.
Couldn’t get it all!
We took the “At the Top” tour, which really isn’t the top but certainly was high enough for me. It costs hundreds more to go to the “Top Top” and since I knew there wouldn’t be much more to see at that higher vantage point, I was like, meh.
The elevator there was surprisingly fast without feeling like it. After getting there and taking a few pics, we quickly discovered there really isn’t much to do but look.
I liked seeing the other skyscrapers that in any other city would be huge, look so small.
Top of the World- Ish.
Skyscrapers looking small.
Quite a few vendors tried to sell us all kinds of pics and memorabilia so we got out of there and back to the mall.
By this point, the activity level was much higher than earlier. Tons of people, luxurious stores, aquariums, skating rink- you name it, just a ton of things were going on.
I loved seeing the Emiratis out and about in their regular life- shopping and eating at the gigantic food court. With it being the infamous Friday brunch in Dubai, there were even more folks out enjoying the morning at the various restaurants and stores.
While at the Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa, we also saw tons of those luxurious cars and vehicles that Dubai is famous for. We kept joking that in Dubai, the Range Rover is equivalent to a Toyota Corolla. You can be at the stop light with 4 or 5 around you, that’s just how common they are.
We had tickets to the aquarium so we checked that out. The massive rescue crocodile from Australia captured our attention as he lay around with his female companion. It was fascinating to see all of that in an actual mall.
Way bigger than he looks here.
Look Closely. Closer. There’s 2 Crocs!
Check out these funky fish.
What is that? Coolest looking fish ever.
The fountains were also pretty cool. We caught the afternoon show. It was less than five minutes of the fountains being synchronized to classical music, but it was still pretty neat to watch.
Fountains dormant. I have video of the show tho!
I got so exhausted walking around, I was happy to get on the sightseeing bus just to rest my feet.
Hop on- Hop Off City Sightseeing Bus
The concept here allows you to get on double decker buses with different loops with stops at multiple attractions in the city. It was a bad idea to do this after all that walking at the mall.
I simply used this trip as an opportunity to sightsee while in the air conditioned section of the bus’ upper deck! I was too tired to even take pics.
Luckily I had seen quite a few of the attractions on my earlier tour, so I didn’t mind.
We hopped of the tour on the Deira side at Al Ghurair Centre- another shopping mall. We did some shopping here while we waited for our hotel shuttle (which we ended up missing).
A quick cab ride took us back to our hotel which was just a short distance away. I don’t remember much more of this day. I imagine we were so exhausted we slept the night away.
Don’t miss the final installment of this series where we head to the indescribably magnificent Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi!
The post Adventures in Dubai: Day 5 at the Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa appeared first on Afford a Life.