Our two days back in Dubai were certainly the grand culmination of an exciting tour. Some went snow skiing at Ski Dubai, four went on a helicopter road over the area, and all of us went to the magnificent Burj al Arab for High Tea and finished off the day Sunday with a desert safari and Bedouin Dinner! Then on Monday we all made the ascent of the world's highest building, on the world's fastest elevator (3 floors per second!), to the world's highest observation platform (on the 124th floor). The Burj Khalifa is more than a half mile high!! It dwarfs the other skyscrapers in Dubai and is even 50% taller than the next tallest building in the world!
Gloria models her new gown.
Ski Dubai, inside the Mall of the Emirates
Andrew loves the skiing!
Don, Pat, Jim & Donna go for a helicopter ride.
Up they go.
The Burj al Arab
Fountains in the lobby of the Burj al Arab
Shots of the interior of the Burj al Arab
Reflections of the lobby columns in the grand piano - can you see it?
Jean, LaVerne, Andrew, Ruth, Mary Beth, and Gaylene have high tea in the atrium of the Burj al Arab.
High Tea entertainers
lobby
Group Photo in the lobby of the Burj al Arab
Jumeirah Beach Hotel
And then off to our desert safari, with a first stop at a camel farm.
Beautiful dunes and landscapes
Blowing sand over the dunes
Our desert safari was in perfect comfort in our modern safari vehicles!
Tearing across the dunes!
Gaylene and Ruth go flying off a high dune.
Sunset over the dunes
Gaylene gets henna painting on her hand in our Bedouin Camp
Donna and Babs try to stay on the camel!
Andrew and John try out the Arab water pipes.
The evening concludes with belly dancing in the Bedouin Camp.
But then Pat gets carried in her wheelchair by four Arab men across the sand to her jeep!
Monday, our last day, was picture perfect with temps in the 70's and good visibility.
We started off with a photo stop at the Sultan's Palace.
Peacock on the grounds of the Sultan's Palace
And then the HIGHlight of our trip, literally!! We took the elevators up to the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa for a very far-reaching view.
The skyscrapers north of the tower look small from the BK!
Mere 30-story buildings look like dwarfs.
In the far distance with full zoom I managed to get a shot of the Queen Elizabeth 2 and our ship, the RCCL Brilliance of the Seas. QE2 aficionados will be happy to know they have begun work on her and in fact they had a big New Year's Eve ball on board the ship. Her permanent home will be on the Palm Jumeirah.
Looking straight down from the Burj Khalifa. Note the fountain infrastructure for the evening displays.
The Burj al Arab in the distance
Proof that I was up there!
Out in the water is the 'World' development of islands. Work is not progressing on it at the moment.
We had to leave the ship by 4:30 so we spent the evening at the Dubai Mall, at the foot of the Burj Khalifa. The mall is stunning with over 1000 shops and many attractions, like a 3-story waterfall, an giant aquarium, an under-water zoo(!), the largest indoor gold souk, and the beautiful lake out back featuring the musical fountain displays each evening. Here Ruth, Babs, and LaVerne enjoy a choo choo ride through the mall!
The beautiful Dubai Mall Waterfall with the silver Pearl Divers
Sunset over the 'lake' behind the Dubai Mall
Fountain shows were every half hour, beginning at 6 p.m.
The water reaches heights of 500 feet!
Dubai Mall from across the water.
The top of the Burj Khalifa tower. It is 180 stories high!
The 7:30 fountains. How appropriate that the fountains were done to the music of
"Time to Say Good-bye!!" Absolutely exquisite.
One of the delightful buildings in the Dubai Mall / Burj Khalifa complex
And the streets near the mall are lit up prettier than Beverly Hills!
