DUBAI

The 148th floor observation deck of the Burj ( Tower in Arabic ) Kallifa was the highlight of my stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Emirate Airlines allows stopovers in Dubai for no extra flight charge. The tower is 2,217 ft ( 828m ) tall and is the same weight as110,000 elephants. It has 57 elevators serving 163 stories. At the peak of its construction there were more than 12,000 workers from more than 100 countries on site. Construction took 22,000,000 hours. There are 27 setbacks in a spiraling pattern to minimize wind vibration. Due to the desert climate, concrete was poured at night to control its temperature. Because concrete must be properly hydrated to harden, a combination of chilled water and ice flakes were used. Because of its height, special cranes had to be installed to transport people and equipment. The tower is roughly 2 1/2 times the height of the Eifffel Tower. (Facts from a display at Chicago Architectural Foundation Center in Chicago).

Because of the dust storm on the desert on the day that I was there, the view from the 148th floor was slightly hazy. The view was still spectacular and really showed off the incredible variation in Dubai’s architecture. On the way down, I stopped at the 125th floor which has a two floor observation deck. It was a considerably clearer and I took a fun picture from the 125th of the people looking out from the 124th. 

The architecture of Dubai is unbelievably diverse with no two buildings looking alike. One of my favorites is the hotel built in the shape of a sail.  The lowest nightly rate is $1,400. The aquarium picture is at the Dubai Atlantis hotel and is inside the hotel. The hotel is huge, completely over the top, and reminds me of the Venetian in Las Vegas for decadence. 

Another Dubai attraction is the Dubai Mall which has 500 stores. Every store, that one could think of from any country all over the world,  is represented here.  Since my iWatch was confused after crossing so many time zones and could not “find my iPhone”, I found the Apple store. I spent a very interesting half hour talking to the guys and gals working there while the phone and watch found each other. It was incredible but the "kids" working there could have been the same as here. The only real difference was their English pronunciation.

And  of course, how could I forget the gold jewelry?  It was everywhere. Some is so ostentatious I cannot imagine who wouild wear it but most is very, very beautiful. Alsa,I hadself diecipline, or rather, it was so beyond anything that I could afford that it was not even tempting.

There are so many international, ethnic restaurants that choosing where to eat was a very difficult decision. I had an excellent dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. In my wandering around the mall after dinner I found the Eataly store.

At night the lights outdo Las Vegas. It is utterly amazing that so much could be built in the desert but the building continues as Dubai prepares for World Expo in 2020, expecting 25,000,000 people over 6 months. The Soccer World Cup also will be held inDubai in 2020.

The trip from Chicago to Dubai to Sri Lanka to Vietnam was my first on Emirates. The food and service was as good as advertised. I think the seats are more comfortable in United Polaris.

The above picture was one of the many informational screens on my "personal 18 " video screen