Big, Bigger, Biggest: Burj Khalifa

Dubai has the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It weighs in at 828 metres, 2,717 feet, overtopping the next tallest in Shanghai by nearly 650 feet. Oddly, my best photo of it was from the metro on the way because close-up it’s too bulky and looks like a space rocket. You’ll see what I mean from these next two pictures.

We have already booked for the viewing platform on floor 124 at 452 metres (1,483 ft) as they do timed entry, although you can stay as long as you like once you’re up there. It almost goes without saying that the views are stupendous, although it is again misty as it was on the summit of Jebel Hafeet near Al Ain. It is more like being in a plane as you look down on the tops of the other skyscrapers.

You also observe details you can’t normally see but know are there, like the modern, but intricate, road system. This interchange is a real spaghetti junction; some of the highways are 7 or 8 lanes wide on each carriageway.

Other features not so apparent at ground level are how they create artificial islands. We’re able to look down from here on the sand dredging and mounding operation that will eventually be developed into hotels and residential buildings. 

The largest of these artificial islands is already completed and is located not far from our hotel. It’s laid out in the shape of a palm- in fact it’s called “The Palm”- and is 5 miles in diameter. It’s barely visible in the next photo because of the setting sun and the distance, but it’s the horizontal strip in the sea in the top right hand part of the picture. The main point of the photo though is its misty atmospherics caused by the sun on the glass that I feel is best appreciated by a black and white treatment.

After sunset there’s a fountain and lights display at the foot of the Burj Khalifa that we are staying to see. We while away an hour in the vast shopping centre adjacent (another biggest in the world, as is The Palm artificial island), but shopping malls are almost the same wherever you go and this one had the same stores as you’d find anywhere in the UK: they're just all together and with higher prices!

Just before dark we meet up with Rob who’s come from work, and have coffee.  When it’s dark we head for the display. The illuminated fountains fire up, all very nice, with the added glow from the camera phones and tablets waving in the air that looks like part of some wild ritual dance.

Perhaps I didn’t sound too overwhelmed? It was really quite good, but absolutely dwarfed by the following light spectacle from the Burj Khalifa itself. The whole height of the tower pulsated in rapidly changing light patterns, like a New Year firework display. The next three photos are examples of the many amazing images produced.

Today was a unique experience of things on a scale almost too extensive to take in, but one definitely not to be missed. 

Sunday 22nd Jan: Al Ain

Al Ain is 100 miles from Dubai, on the border with Oman. Rob thought it might be interesting for us to see a part of the country outside the upmarket holiday facilities of Dubai.

It’s motorway all the way, and we are soon running through the desert. This is a typical view, also with some camel herds that were too far away to photograph so you’ll have to make do with the crash barrier and a pylon.

We’re heading for Jebel Hafeet, a mountain on the far side of Al Ain. The stark rocks are evident as soon as we get to the outskirts of the city.

It’s a beautiful new road up the barren mountainside that has no trees or even bushes. You can see a bit of greenery at the bottom of the photo on the outskirts of Al Ain. The road doesn’t disappear, by the way, but dodges behind the white stone in the lower centre of the picture.

The UAE (United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai and Al Ain are part) is known for poor driving skills. The next photo of a small truck seems to underline that observation; especially worrying as the road is excellent and alcohol is banned. 

At the top we’re at around 3,500 ft, in a huge car park that has clearly been blasted from the rock. The red-roofed building at the back rejoices in the name of the “Asphalt Café”, and did a very creditable chicken tikka wrap for lunch at literally ¼ of Dubai prices. The black, tarry relish came free.

The views were remarkable, if a little misty. We are looking down here into Oman.

The car park contains several of these notices. We stopped writing our postcards home immediately! 

An interesting feature is the sheik’s summer palace, looking like a concrete flying saucer. It’s apparently 10 degrees C cooler up here, so a welcome respite from the summer heat for the local aristocracy. Notice, too, the road running along the ridge: that’s our way down.

We pass through Al Ain once more on our way back to Dubai; it’s a fairly ordinary town, but here and there some buildings stand out: this mosque for instance that looks so elegant. Even the lamppost is in harmony. 

Today we realised that Dubai resort isn’t the whole story. The UAE is a desert land with a harsh climate, but somewhat cushioned by the oil wealth that flowed into the country from the 1960’s. 

Friday Jan 22nd: Miracle Garden

Today Rob’s taking us to the Miracle Garden, a riot of flowers in the desert. It’s basically a huge garden where flowers are woven into images and structures. Here are Rob and I near the start.

This is a 20 ft tall peacock. Today in mid-winter it’s around 25 degrees, so I’m not sure how they manage to keep the flowers going as the temperatures climb to a maximum of 50 (122 F) when even the peacock has to sit down.

The colours are quite stunning, as can be seen. It almost doesn’t matter what shapes they use to display the flowers on. 

Clearly, there’s a lot of intricate design gone into the garden, and perhaps a clue as to who thought it up comes from the next photo, with the windmill: it’s definitely got a Dutch feel to it.

And the Dutch do like their bikes!

Now Jane and I are outside our dream home covered in flowers from head to toe. A few months of dead-heading all that and I’d be reaching for the weed killer.

After the garden, there are the butterfly houses where the butterflies are in free flight. They’re impossible to photograph in the air but are quite lovely when they land especially with wings open (not often). I got lucky a few times, as seen next.

It’s also difficult to give an idea of size. These were big butterflies, and fortunately they seemed to be happy to occasionally land on the visitors. The little girl’s look of wonder is priceless.

This one is on my hand.

And then a butterfly on Jane’s back- or is she sprouting angel wings? No smart answers, please.

We could have done with some information on the different types of butterfly and habitats; nevertheless it was a beautiful experience from both the garden and the butterflies, all the more because of its desert location.  

Dubai Jan 2016 Start: Wednesday 20th January

Dubai is 3,400 miles from Heathrow, about the same as flying to New York. It’s a night flight, and we’re descending into Dubai as the day dawns over Iran. It’s a beautiful sunrise.

 The final run into the airport is pure desert- and then suddenly it’s urban development. The main road from the airport soon runs from suburbia into the modern high-rise city that Dubai’s image projects: mile after mile of it, on the way to our hotel. Our driver says these huge buildings are occupied by a mixture of residential, business and hotels.

Our hotel is in the thick of it, but we have to say that the skyscrapers are top designer quality and in our locality, the Marina, we have water sculpted into the cityscape. It’s very attractive, in a futuristic way.

Rob’s apartment is a mile from our hotel and also near the Marina. It’s the tower building on the left. Nothing futuristic about the guy in the pink shorts though (it’s not Rob!).

Strolling around the Marina with Rob, we take a closer look at some of these gigantic monuments to modern architecture. Could this architect have had a twisted sense of humour?

These are our first impressions of Dubai: a modern super-Manhattan. There is more to it than that, which we’ll see later.