is what the sign in the elevator said as we entered the Dubai Mall. And they weren’t kidding. The Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world and houses the second largest aquarium in the world. We visited twice and hiked all over the place and I never even caught a glimpse of the aquarium. I did see the full sized ice skating rink and the entrance to the tallest building in the world (the Burj Khalifa Tower), but we could have spent days there and not seen everything.
The boys in front of the model of the Burj Khalifa. You can buy tickets to go up to the top, but the tours sell out so you have to get them several days in advance.I’m not so sure that’s a trip I want to take (even though they did show it in an episode of The Amazing Race as it was under construction).
See these other buildings in the skyline? They are regular huge skyscrapers. This thing dwarfs them. It is monstrous.
Also monstrous? This mall. We met some Marines from California that had been at the mall for three days. Osama could have been hiding out here for the past 10 years and no one would ever know. We tried to come up with a landmark to serve as a meeting place in case we got separated, but I didn’t have much confidence that I would be able to find the meeting place again so we just held hands a lot.
At the “food court” we found Baja Fresh and Fatburger — both Carter and Caleb ordered double cheeseburgers and ate the entire thing. I guess all the swimming and running around the waterpark gave them even bigger appetites than usual.
Of course, Josh and I chose Baja Fresh. In a country where you can’t find black beans I’m going to choose Mexican or Tex Mex any chance I get. (And to solve my black bean problem, I ordered a bunch from Amazon. Yes, I did.)
So back to the mall and shopping. I didn’t have nearly enough time to explore it the way I wanted to, but I did get a new swimsuit and spent a ridiculous amount of money on a hat that I love, so it was a great trip. I just figure the hat is a gift to my 80 year old self, who will be thankful to have less wrinkles staring back at her when she looks in the mirror each day. Or maybe 2054 me will have access to all the latest skin resurfacing technology and won’t appreciate that I bought an fabulous hat just for her. Whatever. My expensive hat is awesome anyway.
ETA: photos of the hat. Yes, Mom, I should have posted some to begin with, but I didn’t have any since I bought it on the way home. These quick snaps will have to do.
Back to the awesomeness that is the Dubai Mall. If I had tons of money and tons of time, I would love to spend a week there — but the waterpark was calling our names so we only spent a few hours taking it all in. Not nearly enough time to experience Everything.