At The Top

Finally: I made it up the Burj Khalifa….you know the one: world’s tallest building, can be seen from space etc etc (ok, I made that bit up.) But it is BIG. ENORMOUS. And many other superlatives. I see it all day every day given that I live and work about ten paces from it, but it’s taken me until now to get up the courage to actually hurtle 124 floors up for a neb at what the views are like. Maybe it’s living on the 28th floor that made me a bit more up for it. Anyway….we had a bit of a work outing – originally we were planning to take our global CEO..his flight changed so he didn’t come – which in hindsight was probably a good thing – no need for someone quite so senior to see one of his Dubai management team weeping openly in public…

So what was it like? Well, amazingly, I absolutely loved it. I’m sure you’ll remember just how excited I was when it actually opened, and it’s full of fascinating facts as you go through and start your ascent. (Vikki Harris: you’d be all over it. They don’t have the KitKat fact – I think you need to have a word.)

It takes a good 30 minutes from the time you enter to actually getting into the elevator..that’s 30 minutes to have a really good think about the fact that you:

a) are scared of heights
b) have your team with you, who may well see you cry in public
c) have no way of getting down if the lifts fail

It was a tense 30 minutes, let me tell you. The lifts are an experience in themselves: pitch black, flashing lights, and disco music. I think this is to distract you from points a, b and c above. I’m not exaggerating when I say it takes all of 10 seconds to go from ground to 124……compare that to the Empire State Building and it’s a blink of an eye.

Lift doors open, and you’re faced with the most amazing view. Obviously. But it bears re-iterating. Once I’d got over the first terrifying ten minutes or so, it was brilliant. Hey, by the end, I was even strolling around without gripping onto the wall/bars/anything solid that I could get my hands on (sorry James!). It’s spectacular and I can’t recommend it enough. And if you pre-book, it’s 100 dirhams. A bargain in Dubai terms. Visitors, be prepared to pay it a visit, whether you like it or not – I can’t wait to go again!