Read about my desert adventure in Dubai here.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

While we were in the UAE, I really wanted to see the famous Sheikh Zayed Mosque, located in Abu Dhabi. Following my previous post, on the next morning, we took a bus from Al Ghubaiba Bus Station in Dubai, and reached Abu Dhabi after a 2-hour journey.

See here for my Photo Diary of my experience in the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. 

Note: To take a ride in the Metro, buses, water buses or trams in Dubai, you have to buy the Nol card. There are several different types, so just buy the the ones that suits your needs.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Burj Khalifa

So once you're in Dubai, visiting the most iconic landmark is obviously on top of your destination list. We had already made an advanced booking to go up At The Top of Burj Khalifa at 4:00pm that day, so when we'd arrived back in Dubai from Abu Dhabi, we rushed and took a taxi from the bus station to Dubai Mall, where the entrance to Burj Khalifa is.

There are 2 main types of viewing platform of the Burj; Level 124 (At The Top) and Level 148 (At The Top Sky, which is a premium lounge, therefore have higher price rate). Fizal and I went to the observation deck on Level 124 and paid AED 125 for general admissions. The elevator to the top of the tallest building in the world, is claimed to be one of the fastest in the world, travelling at 10 metres per second.

Once we were at the top, the deck encompasses a 360-degrees view of Downtown Dubai, and furthers your sight into the ocean and desert. You can take your time observing the city through the telescopes provided, and shop for varieties of souvenirs on offer.

Level 124 observation area.




Vast desert areas in the outskirt of downtown Dubai.


 Outdoor observation deck.

.
.
.
.
.
.

The Dubai Mall

We didn't spend too much time at the top of Burj Khalifa since we didn't have much time, so we came down and walked around Dubai Mall after that. The mall is humongous and you might need a whole day to explore the mall itself! There's the Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, The Waterfall, Dubai Fountain, The Souk, numerous shops for shopping and dining and many more attractions. So I'd recommend dedicate a whole day for visiting Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall.

 An interesting design of human-dive waterfall.


 The Aquarium - from outside.

Don't miss out on the 'dancing fountain' of the Dubai Fountain! We missed it though, due to time constraint and because we wanted to walk around in the mall. But the view outside, even after the show is over, was still very lively and beautifully lit up, with Burj Khalifa in the background.




.
.
.
.
.
.

So that ended our 2-day Dubai stopover. Our flight to Manchester was later that night and again, we took the bus operated by Etihad Airways from Dubai to Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Until my next trip!