When you say Guinness Book of World Records, I guess Dubai is already a regular customer claiming their own one of a kind record-breaking facts and achievements.
One of the most extravagant and elegant achievements of Dubai is to own and to proudly tell the world that the tallest building and tallest manmade structure is found in the very heart of their city.
With a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft), and with its antenna included, it stands a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft) made Dubai to reach the spotlight and the Guinness. Before its inauguration, this megatall skyscraper is known to be Burj Dubai, then later on named Burj Khalifa.
Burj Khalifa meaning ‘Khalifa Tower’ in English began the construction way back in 2004 and it took Dubai 5 years to complete the exterior. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It is designed to be the centrepiece of large-scale, mixed-used development. The decision to build the building is reportedly based on the government’s decision to diversify from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to gain international recognition. The building was named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai money to pay its debts. The building broke numerous height records, including its designation as the tallest tower in the world.Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, then of Skidmore, Owings and Merill (SOM), whose firm designed the Willis Tower and One World tRADE Centre. <source: Wikipedia>
So you will ask yourself, what is with this famous Burj Khalifa that I need to see? Well, getting into the tallest building of the earth is one thing that you want to include in your experiences and in your bucket list as you roam around this country. Yes! You can visit this building and be up high above everything else and see the beauty of Dubai while you are standing ‘At The Top’.
On my previous blog, I featured The Dubai Fountain <click here> which is the one you will see in front of the famous Burj Khalifa and is located near Dubai Mall. So going to Dubai Mall is actually hitting not just 2 but 3 birds using one stone because you will get to see the mall itself, the Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa. So I recommend that you visit this place and at least you get to see 3 of the most amazing things in Dubai using half of your day or a day if you want to explore more.
So how to get in there? Like on my previous blog, you have 3 options:
- If you have a rental car, then drive all the way to Dubai Mall. You can use google maps or waze. I prefer waze more because google cannot cope up of how this progressive country has been doing its own construction every now and then and for some reasons, waze is doing great and I don’t why. Anyway, it will be your own preference.
- If using a metro, you need to take the red line going to UAE Exchange and hop out of the train when it is already Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall. This time you have 2 options as well: A. walk form the metro going towards the mall, but mind you, it is a long walk, as in long way walk just to get inside the mall. So if you plan on doing this, please wear the most comfortable shoes you have. B. go out of the metro station, right in front of the exit, there is a bus stop, ride the bus F13 and it will drop you right in front of the entrance of Dubai Mall.
- If you don’t have a car and you don’t want to use the train, then you can ride cab and tell the driver you are going to Dubai Mall. Most drivers knew this famous mall so it will not be a problem.
Dubai named this experience of being there as At The Top because you will just be there, at the top of everything else. So how to get tickets? Click here. You can also get tickets right inside the Dubai Mall located near the Aquarium. There is someone in the At The Top Booth who will assist and guide you. if you choose to buy tickets online, then all you need is to print it. Take note, you will use the mall to reach your destination. There are maps on multiple languages being given free at the information desk and there are computerized screen maps all over the mall that you can use as well.
Please observe timings during Ramadan because there might be changes. Anyway, as promised from my previous blog, seeing the Dubai Fountain as well make its own remark while you are up there, at the top of the tallest building on earth alive. You can watch the dancing fountain from At The Top while it is performing. But of course there will be different prices on the tickets when it is day time and night time. It will be up to you on how you want to do it. But seeing it there, up above, is something different, and beautiful.
Then this has been the bucket list that you should look forward to. This is an extremely amazing journey that you will experience and definitely be a memory that will last forever. So what’s the wait? Jot this down and include it to the places you will visit.