Looking straight down from the viewing platform of the Burj Khalifa.
It’s Sunday and Neil and Karen go off to work. Fridays are holy days so Friday and Saturday are the weekend in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I go into town to go up to the viewing platform of the Burj Khalifa. I had to book and pay for the privilege two days ago. Ten o’clock is my appointment with the tallest building in the world.
The viewing platform is on floor 124 but there are a further 39 floors of living space. The roof is nearly 830 meters from the ground and there is a spire above that. Construction began in January 2004 in the good times but with the implosion of world economics, completion only came with some serious help from friends in the neighboring Emirates. It was finally finished six years later in January 2010. The bill came to $1.5 billion (American dollars I suppose). The crane driver, rather than up and down every day, lived in the crane for the latter part of the construction winning praise from the Emirate hierarchy.
Looking out over Dubai central from the viewing platform.
The Dubai Airshow is on today. I had a possible opportunity to go but in the end didn’t. Entry to the show is complicated. It isn’t open to the general public. You have to be associated with a business and after paying your fee you have to then go through a registration process. Having an entry ticket does not guarantee you success at the registration phase. Anyway, I’m feeling tired and with a lot of flying ahead of me I decided not to go. I hope I don’t regret it. I can see most of the action from Neil and Karen’s balcony but there are also a lot of planes on static display at the show, including the new Boeing Dreamliner. I would like to have seen that up close and personal.
I’m catching my flight for home early tomorrow morning, 1.30am early! The end of this adventure is neigh.
angusmccoll 
Jee I was born in Abu Dubai and bred in Dubai and Sharjah =P then left UAE but gosh the title brought back a number of memories
Nice post =)
Hi Haibar, thanks. Where are you living now?
Hi Angus, Well thanks for all of the Inca and New Orleans info, and I suppose a person should see war history in Europe. From the sound of Dubai, it is definitely going to be a switch back to reality I suspect. FYI you’ll be jetting in just ahead of Obama.