Good Bye to the Gulf

My last day in Dubai was just as great as all the others ... except for the fact that it's my last day!  I know I've only seen the tip of the iceberg of what there is to see and do in this part of the world and I do wish I had more time here - but then again I know more adventures await.

I did two "big" things yesterday - one was I went up the Burj Khalifa and then later I repeated my desert safari experience so I now have double the memories and this time my camera battery wasn't dead so I do have a few photos to share.

The Burj Khalifa (as you probably know) is now the world's tallest building at 828m - and it truly is a feat of architecture and engineering!  There is an observation deck called "At The Top" and unless you're willing to pay 4x the price to go up (for immediate entry), you need to book your tickets in advance.  Having stood in very long queues for things like the CN Tower and the Empire State Building I've got to tell you, the Emirates have the system down pat here.  Probably 95% or more of the tickets are pre-purchased for a specific time period and then you just show up at your time - that way there is really never a line, and the number of people on the observation deck is also controlled.
The elevator which you travel in to get to the observation deck is apparently also one of, or the, fastest in the world, travelling at 10 metres per second.

You've seen pictures I took from ground level previously, well this is what it looks like from the   124th floor, at 442m.  Some are taken from the outside part of the observation deck whereas for a few I was in the indoor part.  I did my best with reflections but couldn't eliminate them entirely - even though it was very hazy (as you'll see) it was still incredibly bright!

As you can see, the building and development is incredible - but you'll also have to look really, really hard to find much green space.  As you can see, Dubai really is built on the desert!

Back to the hotel for a quick change of clothing (as I was now familiar with the layers of sand I would be accumulating out in the desert I figured already dirty clothes would be fine) and I was back out into the desert again.

You don't have to drive far out of the city limits at all to know you are in the desert - there's a fence alongside the major highways to keep the camels from wandering onto them - and there literally is nothing but sand.

Except of course for the oasis areas - and the Emirates (like in Qatar and Oman) certainly do put those areas (where underground water can be found) to good use.  There are farm animals, vegetable gardens, and of course date trees!

First stop was the "meeting place" for all vehicles on the tour, and then off we went, into this:

To do this:

A stop along the way to visit a camel farm:

And then just before sunset we drove to a high sand dune to watch the sun set.

After the dune bashing we then went to a 'camp' that has been set up - in the middle of the desert somewhere - for a BBQ dinner and to watch some traditional dance.  And yes, another chance for camel riding!

And my day ended with my lovely guide (the same person I had on m first desert safari) taking me by the Burj Khalifa for one last look at it.

So now I'm sitting in Dubai's international airport - quite the experience itself.  The size, the shopping, WOW... but like everything else I've seen here it's incredibly well organized and efficient, as well as letting you know that money isn't a problem in this part of the world.

I'm off to Hong Kong now... see everyone soon.