at the top

Going to the Observation Deck of Burj Khalifa was totally unexpected for me and my colleague. You see, on the 6th of July, we had purchased 2 tickets for guests who would be coming to our office on the 14th, and since it was their first time to come to Dubai, part of their visit was to go to At The Top. Unfortunately (or fortunately), on Wednesday just before we left the office, our boss told us that they had postponed their trip and wouldn’t be able to use the tickets; and since there was no way to return or exchange them, he told us to use them instead.

So at 10:30am last Thursday, my colleague and I left the office and headed for Burj Khalifa, armed and ready with our cameras and the tickets in our hands. As it was our first (and probably the only) time for us to go to At The Top, we took pictures of practically everything we saw.

the sign showing the way from the parking area

my ticket

big model of Burj Khalifa at the souvenir shop (no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get a good shot of the entire model because it was just too big)

big model of Burj Khalifa in the waiting area

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol stuff

see whose director’s chair this is?

Finally, they allowed us in, but we had to have ourselves and our personal belongings scanned first and one of their photographers took a photo each of everyone entering (for souvenir photo purposes which we could buy at the exit).
Just going to the lift which would take us to the 124th floor of the tallest building in the world was practically a feat. There were so many pictures and models on display and lots of screens showing how Burj Khalifa was built, which entertained us throughout our loooong walk to the elevators.

The way up in the lift was incredible. You couldn’t feel it going up even though it was moving so fast, but you would notice the change in pressure in your ears.

Less than a minute later when the door opened to the 124th floor, I noticed that almost everything was white (something like what I imagined NASA would look like). To our left was a rotating door which led us to the view outside, in fresh air, underneath the blazing sun...although the shadows from the interiors provided a shade that we could stand under.

Right away, I called hubby to tell him “Nandito na ako! Tinatawagan kita from the tallest building in the world!”

My colleague also called his wife in India to tell her the same thing

Looking out and down, we could see Dubai and the countless buildings.

The view continued around the floor, but the other side was enclosed with cool air-conditioning.

Looking out and down again from this side, the view was pretty much the same. Everything was just brown and gray.

For those who wanted a closer look, interactive telescopes could be used for Dhs10.

Of course being a tourist spot, At The Top had its own souvenir shop with all sorts of items

shirts

camel milk chocolates

paper cubes

miniature models of the Burj Khalifa

sunglasses, wallets, cushions, and lots of other stuff

There was even a gold ATM!

After 30 minutes, we had had enough (plus our boss had only allowed us an hour out of the office for this), so we queued for the lift going down, stepped out of the elevator when it reached the ground floor, rushed out of Dubai Mall and headed back to the office.

So what did I think? First of all, it’s definitely better to purchase General Admission (Dated & Timed) tickets before the actual date because it’s much cheaper than buying Immediate Entry Admission tickets. You’ll save Dhs300 just by purchasing the tickets in advance, and all you’re paying for is a view of Dubai. And it would be better to go there during winter season, because now that it's summer, the heat is really scorching!

Honestly speaking, the view of practically the entire emirate from the 124th floor is pretty much the same as to what you would see out the window from an airplane on a clear day (without the vibrations and limited view, of course). However, I would still recommend going to At The Top at least once in your life if you’re in town. Maybe because it’s the whole tourism or publicity of the Burj Khalifa, but it was still overwhelming to have been able to visit the Observation Deck of the tallest building in the world.