The Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest thing

The Burj Khalifa is an epic structure, proclaiming Dubai's vertical ambitions to the world around it.  While the world's economy receded, Dubai kept building the beast that towers at over 200 floors.  It took over 5 years, with 196 nationalities comprising the 10,000 workers that made the project possible.  By day it looks like it has been hastily photoshopped into the downtown skyline.  By night it appears as though it will shake free of the earth and take off like a rocket, bound for the furthest reaches of our galaxy.

 Kristin and I dwarfed 

 Sans goons

 AT the top is the attraction 124 floors up in the Burj 

 We drooled at this food court after much time in Nepal.  I must say, Dubai has more western (read: American) food than ANYWHERE I have ever been outside of the U.S.  One of our guides even told us proudly while nodding is head in disbelief, "We even have a Potbelly."

 Food! Food! Food! Food! Food!

 Lego Burj 

 K inspects a Gold ATM - a machine that dispenses a variety of gold 

 Dos Boos 

 The footprint of the Burj K is inspired by the hymenocallis flower

 A glass model 

 What it would look like in NY

 Entry to the Burj elevator, one is treated to an Emirates history lesson 

 That is where we are heading

 The inspiration 

 The elevator travels 10m per second and takes about a minute to go 124 floors 

 The view, desert and buildings 

 From this high, it all looks like a scale set of Dubai 

- little toy skyscrapers

 The view up from "At the Top" - still an Eiffel Tower of height left to the top 

 Downtown Dubai 

 Emirates Towers 

 The green area is the Sheikh's palace - where we earlier checked out peacocks

 The picture didn't capture it, but in the top left of this frame is Dubai's fake islands shaped like the world 

 Another gold ATM, without a doubt the highest 

You walk away from the Burj and look up and it appears to curve over your head

 I tried to make a pesky light reflection look like fireworks and I love it