Christmas in Dubai, UAE - Part I

Above is a water fountain in the Mall of the Emirates.  Below is the Christmas tree that was in the center of the mall. It was decorated so beautifully.

We stayed at a friend of DP's.  The friend is a teacher in Dubai.  This picture was taken from the balcony of the friend's apartment.  DP and I couldn't get over the green grass and plants.  It is not something that we see a lot of in Kuwait.

This is one of many office buildings in Dubai.  Like Kuwait, I marvel at their design - not the traditional boxlike buildings. 

This is the Burj Khalifa.  It is the tallest man-made structure in the world at the present.  It's observation deck, however is not. The official title for the ‘highest observation deck’ is held by the Shanghai World Financial Centre whose viewing deck stands at a height of 474m, 22m higher than the Burj Khalifa’s At The Top observation deck of 452m.  "At The Top at Burj Khalifa is the world's highest observation deck with an outdoor terrace."  The world’s third highest observation deck record is held by the CN Tower at 447m http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/7871-burj-khalifa-observation-deck-not-worlds-highest/
I think I am not doing bad since I have been to the second and third tallest observation decks.  I am sure that I can slip in a visit to Shanghai to include the highest to my accomplishments.  :)

I just couldn't get over all these paper butterflies hanging from the skylights.  These butterflies were only to be found in the "High End" area of the Dubai Mall.  Looking at these butterflies was all I could afford in this area.

 

I found the aquarium in the Dubai Mall fascinating both for it's sheer size and the variety of species to found in the tank.  DP's friend did an underwater dive into the aquarium for a birthday.  Sure beats getting a free dessert at Moxie's for your birthday.

Notice the person standing in front of the aquarium in the bottom right corner.  This will help give you some perspective as to how big this thing is.

This is the skating rink in the mall.  Of course having been to West Edmonton, having a skating rink in a mall is not new.  Realizing that skating is not the normal in Dubai and other Middle Eastern countries, does make this rink special however.

This piece of art work that uses water really caught my attention.  I don't know how many pictures of this I took, and no, I did not include all of them.  It really is incredible to see.

The three pictures above are just a few of the ones I took from the observation tower at the Burj Khalifa.  As you can see from the pictures, it wasn't a totally clear day.  However, we were able to see far enough to get an idea of how big Dubai is.  

This is the Burj Al Arab.  According to Wikipedia, the Burj Al Arab has been  described as "the world's only seven-Star hotel".  DP's friend was able to reserve a spot for the three of us to have Christmas dinner in their restaurant near the top of the hotel.  I must admit that the dinner itself was good, but it was the service that I will remember even more.  In the Middle East I have found that the service in restaurants is very good, but at the Burj Al Arab, it was out of this world.  And as the three of us prepared to leave we were each presented with a sample sized bottle of Hermes Perfume.  It really is nice smelling and will only be used for state occasions!!!

In the picture above, the piece that juts out and looks like a backwards C, is the restaurant.  We actually sat very near those windows that you can see in the picture.  The part that reminds you of Star Trek is actually a helicopter landing pad.  To even get to the hotel or restaurant from the mainland, your name has to be on the reservation list.