Day 2- Dubai in one word...Big!

Probably the best single word to describe Dubai is...big. The biggest, or tallest building, in the world at 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa is very impressive. It is tall, it is imposing, it is grand and beautiful both by day and night. While enjoying the view from the 124th floor we began to understand that this city, hugging the coast and surrounded by a desert, is really quite...big. On the way to the Burj Khalifa we visit the Dubai Mall and the word big is really an understatement. The extensive indoor souk, the real dinosaur skeleton imported from Wyoming and an incredible indoor aquarium featuring sharks, piranhas, stingrays and even a penguin colony would be enough to describe Dubai Mall as...big, but of course like malls everywhere it is being extended, to make it bigger. Later in the afternoon we went for a very pleasant stroll along the beach that was, by Australian standards, quite small. However it borders the Persian Gulf, which is actually quite...big.

Most cities have a CBD. Dubai has three or four major precincts of huge skyscrapers. Apart from the Burj Khalifa Dubai has had various other buildings which have sequentially held the title as the world’s tallest residential tower. Burj Arab is not only a seven star hotel but is also rather...big. Dubai stretches along the coast for about 40 kms, – which again is rather...big.

The weather is mercifully mild at 27 degrees, the public transport is excellent with a relatively new metro and the only thing in short supply for us, is time. 

We confess there was so much to see that we compromised our principles and joined a Big Bus Tour that included a sunset tour to the desert featuring not only a camel ride, a chance to hold a falcon, but also a Bedouin lounge chair in the sand to watch the sun set.

All in all, it was a big day out in Dubai.