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UAE 2010: Burj Khalifa, At the Top (and Wafi Mall) – Part 2

Date: 7th April, 2010

(This is a continuation of Part 1)

Once you are allowed in past the At The Top ticket counter, you wait at the lobby until it’s time for you go up.

At the lobby are some facts, figures and interactive displays comparing the Burj Khalifa to other tall structures around the world.

In the above display, you choose a location (it’s a touch screen) and it then shows you a simulation of what the Burj Khalifa would look like in that chosen landscape.

Dubai Mall Burj Khalifa lobby structures comparison — Compared to other tall buildings from around the world

When it was time, I went through security and made my way to the lift. (Oh yeah, the lift is the fastest in the world.)

There are other displays en route to the lift.

Burj Khalifa observation deck 124th floor — I didn’t align this right but if you get it all in the center, it points to the 124th floor — which is where the observation deck is

Dubai Mall Burj Khalifa At the Top message — Behind the tape: “I *was* Burj Dubai”

I queued for the lift (there’s two) and it wasn’t a capsule (or glass) lift so you can’t see how fast you are going. The feeling was just amazing (video is below)! You hardly feel anything. The noise is cut out due to the music that plays and the only indication you are going up at 64kmph is that you feel like something is pushing down on you.

Also, the ride takes less than 30 seconds.

And then, you step out.

Burj Khalifa observation deck — The observation deck

Dubai Mall from top Burj Khalifa observation deck — Dubai Mall from up above

Sheikh Zayed road panorama from Burj Khalifa — That’s Dubai: tall buildings and sand. (Panorama comprised of 7 shots)

Dubai Mall Burj Khalifa At the Top view fountain — That weird design in the pool is the base of Dubai Fountain

I walked around to take in views from every angle.

Burj Khalifa The World project — There was a slight dust storm that day but what you see in the distance is The World islands

Burj Khalifa observation deck zoom viewer — These digital telescopes give you an accurate simulation of what the view would be at day and at night

Burj Khalifa Downtown Dubai construction — The Downtown Dubai construction site

Burj Khalifa Downtown Dubai desert — There’s a lot of empty land still left in Dubai

(Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this article to see the HD video I made)

After the tour, I got into an empty lift going down.

But pictures aren’t as cool as an HD video right?

Once out, there was more to see.

Burj Khalifa Downtoun Dubai project — The (planned) Downtoun Dubai project

Burj Khalifa various design changes — The design (& height) changes Burj Khalifa went through

Downtown Dubai buildings fountain — Looking out

At the Top people behind Burj Khalifa — A few people behind this massive project get a mention too

Burj Khalifa Shebbir Ahmed workers — “Edaa Shebbiru…!”

Burj Khalifa exit walkalator lcds — And with that, the tour ends

You come out near the At The Top ticket counter itself.

Burj Khalifa At the Top sold out — This is why you need to be in early or book well in advance

Dubai Mall Dior stairs ceiling art — Wow, even the ‘under-the-escalators’ get attention

It was past 5pm by this time and I had initially planned on waiting for the Dubai Fountain show which begins at sunset.

But my legs were aching!

All that walking around, with my camera bag… my body couldn’t take it anymore. So I decided to catch the fountain show the next time I would be coming here — which would be 2 days from now.

Outside Dubai Mall towards metro — Making my way back to the metro station

Dubai Metro inside — Inside the driver-less Dubai Metro

After heading back to Azhad’s room, I gave my legs a rest before heading out again at night. I had dinner plans with a friend, Payal, from my school days who shifted from Bahrain to Dubai a few years ago.

We met up at BurJuman Shopping Center from where we weighed in our dinner options.

Payal inside Honda Civic Dubai — Payal’s book of infinite choices (& discount coupons)

She took me to Wafi City — one of the more interesting real estate projects in Dubai city. A mixed use complex which houses a mall (duh), residences, and a Raffles hotel.

Wafi mall pyramids Citibank Dubai — The Raffles Dubai hotel is the pyramid in the center

What makes Wafi unique is that the whole place is themed around ancient Egypt.

We first checked out the mall a bit.

Wafi Mall glass pillar ceiling — Not sure if this was a part of Egyptian history, but looks cool anyway.

We walked past Asha’s and ended up sitting down at Mahi Mahi, a seafood restaurant and a favourite of Payal’s.

We sat out at the balcony and I would advice anyone to do so if the weather permits — the setting is great.

Wafi Mall panorama Dubai — A panorama comprised of 7 shots

Wafi Mall restaurant chandlier — The ambiance inside Mahi Mahi isn’t bad either

Our dinner conversation ranged from the extreme superficiality of people in Dubai to Payal’s Las Vegas plans to my travel plans for this year. (Yes, I will be travelling again later this year)

Wafi Mall restaurant dinner payal — My friend Payal

Wafi Mall restaurant Thai dinner — Our (mostly) seafood dinner

Mahi Mahi is a slightly upscale joint but the portions and food are well worth the price. You can’t beat the night time atmosphere either.

Wafi Mall seafood restaurant — The seafood is very fresh

By 11pm, we left Wafi City (after a bit of Lebanese sweets-shopping).

Dubai felt quiet for some time that night.

But once Payal dropped me back in Deira, the signs of life were still buzzing even as today came to an end.

I went back to the room, knackered. Absolutely knackered.

After yesterday’s tiring walk and today’s exploration of Dubai Mall, my legs were crying for rest. Tomorrow was going to be more mall hopping and meeting another friend for dinner.

All said and done, I got what I came for. I was very happy with the photos and it was well worth it.

(Now you know why I took so long on these posts.)

P.S: Here’s the HD video tour of the Burj Khalifa, enjoy:

Next posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Mall of Emirates and Times Square Center

UAE 2010: Driving around Dubai (Souk Madinat Jumeirah, The Atlantis & The Palm Islands) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, The Walk and David Guetta concert – Part 2

UAE 2010: Showing my parents the sights of Dubai; inside Ibn Battuta Mall

UAE 2010: From the desert sands of Abu Dhabi to the corniche

UAE 2010: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit

Previous posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Heading back to the Gulf after 7 years

UAE 2010: Driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai (& back)

UAE 2010: Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

UAE 2010: Heading to Dubai by bus; checking out Bur Dubai

UAE 2010: Dubai Mall (Aquarium, Underwater Zoo & Gold Souk) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Dubai Mall (Aquarium, Underwater Zoo & Gold Souk) – Part 1

Date: 7th April, 2010

After a tiring walk around Bur Dubai the previous day, I had to give my feet some rest.

But I was just too damn excited about today. And so, as Azhad headed off to work early in the morning, I too got ready to set out early for the Downtown Dubai site.

I took the metro (from Union Station) to Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall (of course they were going to get their own stop). As soon as I stepped out…

Burj Khalifa from Metro Station — … there it was!

It really is a beauty, unlike the last building that earned the title “tallest building in the world”.

There’s a bit of a walk to be had to get to Dubai Mall (there’s a bus service too but I chose to walk just to see the surroundings)

Burj Khalifa Emaar site offices Downtown Dubai — EMAAR is the company behind the Downtown Dubai

Burj Khalifa surrounding office buildings — Offices, (empty) offices, and more (empty) offices everywhere…

Burj Khalifa construction worker Dubai — Thousands of people like him build that

I got into Dubai Mall through the parking lot — because I couldn’t find any other entrance that side.

Dubai Mall parking space lot — Parking capacity: 14,000 cars

I had gotten to Dubai Mall quite early. Most stores hadn’t opened or were just waiting for the first customer to walk in. I was going to check out the mall of course, but first things first. I wanted to buy tickets for the observation deck on Burj Khalifa. The observation deck was closed just a few weeks after it had opened due to some technical snags. It had re-opened only a week before, so I knew there was going to be a mad rush for the tickets.

But finding the ticket counter for At The Top proved a bit difficult (at first). Since there wasn’t anyone at the information desks, I simply followed the signs out to the Burj Khalifa thinking, well, that the counter would be at the ground floor of the Burj Khalifa itself.

Downtown Dubai The Address old town — The Address hotel on the left

Dubai Mall The Address panorama — A panorama comprised of 5 photos

Problem is, when I tried to get to the entrance of the Burj Khalifa, that didn’t seem possible either. Everything was cordoned off due to construction work still going on or was restricted access. I asked around but ended up back inside Dubai Mall.

Once inside, I finally found a security guard and asked him how I could get to the At the Top counter.

Dubai Mall Ermenegildo Zegna — I followed his directions and took the lift near the Ermenegildo Zegna store

I was instructed to go to the food court at the ground floor.

The ticket counter only opens at 10am but at 9:45am, a few had already started a queue. I asked if tickets were available for the morning but they said only ‘Immediate Entry’ tickets were available.

You see, they have two types of tickets. The regular admission ticket costs Dhs 100 (Rs. 1200/US$27/€21) but needs to be booked a few hours/days in advance. But if you need to see it “immediately” or (truth be told) just show up at the ticket counter, you have to pay Dhs 400 (Rs. 5,100/US$108/€86) if you wish to go in then itself.

I ended up buying tickets for the 4:00pm slot (they let people in every 30 minutes) and also three tickets for a later date.

And now that I had plenty of time to kill until then, I began checking out the empty mall.

But as I got up to the first floor, I got distracted by the Dubai Aquarium. So I bought the Dhs 50 (Rs. 630/US$13/€10) ticket to see the largest (& probably the only) indoor aquarium in the Middle East. (The Dhs 50 ticket is the aquarium plus the Underwater Zoo. The standalone ticket for the Aquarium is Dhs 25)

Dubai Mall Aquarium glass reflection — There’s over 30,000 species of fish in this tank (or so they claim)

And then you enter the tunnel.

Dubai Mall Aquarium baby sharks — They have a lot of sharks…

Dubai Mall Aquarium Stingray — … and a few stingrays

You can check out the HD video I took here:

Once you step out the tunnel, the path takes you past souvenirs and a themed restaurant.

… before leading out to the escalator that takes you up to the first floor.

There, you find the entrance to the Underwater Zoo.

Dubai Aquarium underwater zoo otter — Otters

Dubai Mall Aquarium underwater zoo water rat — Water rats

Dubai Mall aquarium Dory Marlin — Dory and Marlin are still friends^, awwwww…

Dubai Mall Aquarium school tour — The operations at the back

The aquarium was obviously very popular for school kids.

Dubai Mall Aquarium underwater zoo jellyfish — Jellyfish

Dubai Mall underwater zoo coming attractions — There’s more coming

Here’s a video I took:

Dubai Mall Aquarium from top — From outside the Underwater Zoo

After that, I checked out the rest of the mall.

Dubai Mall Pucci store — Pucci: Poor man’s Gucci*

*not really

Dubai Mall Wooden floor lobby — If there ever was a material used in construction, you’ll find it used for Dubai Mall

Dubai Mall sofa rest stops — It took advantage of these everywhere around the mall

After nearly an hour of window shopping, I decided to have lunch at the food court at the basement, near the At The Top counter.

Dubai Mall Fatburger beef — Lunch was at Fatburger, which I never tried before

The burger was okay, nothing exceptional. Of course, I only had the regular beef burger. (Not really ‘Fat’, just regular)

After lunch, it was back to roaming around a bit more. This time I explored the Gold Souk.

As the name suggests, this is the section of the mall dedicated to just gold stores and other pricey items.

It was also the quietest part of the mall.

Given the high price of gold now and the fact that there wasn’t a whole lot of folks shopping anyway, it wasn’t surprising to see very few customers walk through these corridors.

And with that, I was out.

I also walked past the only Olympic-sized Ice Rink in the Middle East.

It was 3:30pm by this time, so I decided to make my way back to the lower basement.

I waited near the At The Top counter for my turn to get in

Dubai Mall At The Top gift store — The At The Top gift shop

(This is just part 1 of what I saw today, part 2 is when I went up to the Burj Khalifa observation desk)

[^ ‘Finding Nemo‘ reference]

Next posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Burj Khalifa, At the Top (and Wafi Mall) – Part 2

UAE 2010: Mall of Emirates and Times Square Center

UAE 2010: Driving around Dubai (Souk Madinat Jumeirah, The Atlantis & The Palm Islands) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, The Walk and David Guetta concert – Part 2

UAE 2010: Showing my parents the sights of Dubai; inside Ibn Battuta Mall

UAE 2010: From the desert sands of Abu Dhabi to the corniche

UAE 2010: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit

Previous posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Heading back to the Gulf after 7 years

UAE 2010: Driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai (& back)

UAE 2010: Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

UAE 2010: Heading to Dubai by bus; checking out Bur Dubai

Thailand 2009: Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Feb 02, 2010
/
Bangkok, Thailand, Travel

Date: Dec 21st, 2009

As soon as I was done with lunch, I headed to the nearby BTS station (this stop was called Nana) and stood in line to get coins. The fares range from 10 baht (Rs. 13) to 60 baht (Rs. 83) and it essentially works like so:

– get 5 and 10 baht coins from the manned counters

– each stop is number coded, so you first choose your destination by selecting the number on the machine

– put in the required number of coins

– your card is issued

You need the card to get past the gates and only then can you go up to the platform. Once there, you generally don’t have to wait long. I had to get down at the last stop heading north on the Sukhumvit line, Mo Chit, to get to Jatuchak park.

Siam Paragon, Bangkok — Taken from inside the skytrain on the Nokia E72

It costs 60 baht but my god! The time you save! A ride which would have taken me an hour in Bangkok traffic took me just over 10 minutes. I can’t wait for Bangalore Metro to open! This service is such a time-saver.

Chatuchak Jatujak park Bangkok — Jatujak Park in Bangkok

Chatuchak (also called Jatujak or even JJ) Weekend Market is located near Jatujak Park.

Now, I’m not much of a shopaholic but while I was doing my research for my trip, JJ Weekend Market claimed to be the largest flea market in the world with thousands of stalls! I wasn’t going to count but it still intrigued me enough to go check it out.

I didn’t even know if there even was a “main entrance” so I just entered one of the lanes.

Chatuchak weekend market — She was promoting a product

I immediately realized why JJ was popular. You get everything! From clothes, fashion accessories, home furnishings, cutlery, food, fake brands, stationary, cool crap… wholesale as well as retail.

The guy in the pink shirt you see above was selling every bag inside his store (even the big ones) for 199 baht (Rs. 270). He kept calling every non-small eyed guy (including me) “Michael” and pointed towards his store in the hopes of luring us in. The tourists did find it funny hearing him go “M-O-I-kaal!” and I did step inside to see what the fuss was all about. There was a fairly large trendy looking Puma bag (good looking fake) I thought of picking up but I reminded myself that just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean I have to buy it. Especially if I’m really not going to use it. So I just walked away without buying it.

Which was a good thing because just down the road there was another store selling bags for 189 baht (Rs. 260) — but without any fuss [picture can be found below]. I realized what a clever marketing move it was that the 199 baht store was employing. Get people’s attention with a lot of noise and the notion that everything must go with 199 looking like the rock bottom price. Once people are in, take a hit on bags that may actually cost 250 selling for 199 baht but make up for lost profit by selling bags that may actually cost him 100 baht for 199 there by evening it out anyway. Clever.

Tip: Try and do all your shopping from Bangkok. I realized Bangkok is the hub and main distribution point for pretty much every other city in Thailand. Take for example the cool looking lanterns you see above. I saw the silver one first on the streets of Ao Nang — for around 1600 baht (Rs. 2,200). Obviously I didn’t buy it because I thought it was quite pricey. But here? Prices start from 300 baht (Rs. 410).

Just because JJ calls itself a ‘flea market’ doesn’t mean you don’t get genuine products here. There are authorized dealers for original Converse shoes (very popular in Thailand) and several other brands. But the thing is, I’d still pick up a good looking fake for hundreds less. The imitation is just that good!

Another cool aspect of JJ I really liked was the sub-cultures that existed within the place. You had various sections dedicated to different fashion. A series of stores specializing in hip-hop fashion, gear for rockers, reggae, etc. It was really cool.

I really want to profile the various sub-cultures at Chatuchak the next time I come here.

So did I shop much at all? I had already picked up a funky T-shirt (for 90 baht/Rs. 125) and I was looking for a Def Leppard t-shirt at all the stores selling rock gear. Some stores had genuine second-hands (the official merchandise but already worn) but those were selling for over 1000 baht (Rs. 1,300). Now, I love me some Def Leppard but I wasn’t going to spend that kind of money for a second hand t-shirt unless it was worn by Joe Elliot himself!

I had spent nearly 3 hours here and I could have checked out more stores but a lot of them began closing by 6pm itself.

I decided to leave JJ and so… puppiiiiiesssss!

Chatuchak weekend market puppies — Awwww… yet so cruel

They even had puppies for sale! I felt sad seeing them being sold like this. But when I heard 3000 baht (Rs. 4,100) for some breeds, I was more “Hey, that’s not bad” than “Awww, poor thing”.

Chatuchak weekend market food — Those are quail eggs

Chatuchak weekend market bag — The store that was selling bags for 189 baht

There was a lot of stuff I could have bought from here, especially clothes and shoes. But I had already spent enough and my bag was full enough.

Also, don’t cave in and splurge at JJ thinking everything is cheap here. Some items you’ll get in air-conditioned malls such as MBK Center for more or less the same price. So do go around Bangkok a bit before you decide to spend.

It was past 8pm by the time I finally left JJ market. Yet another place I’m definitely coming back to.