We drove past the Burj Khalifa several times on Sheikh Zayed Road that ran by only a few blocks away....and quite frankly, it didn't seem all that big to me from that vantage point. Only when we stopped off to see it up close....once at night, another during the day....did its immense size really reveal itself. It's really quite a challenge to get a decent picture of it when you're standing that close. In this post are the two best close-up photos we could come up with.I'm sure there are places around Dubai that offered a better photo op of the building than we ever had, but we didn't find those places. Still, the experience of seeing it up close was pretty awesome. It was hard for me not to keep staring at it any chance I got.
There are opportunities for visitors to go up the Burj Khalifa, but they require advanced purchase of around $30 at schedule times (unless you pay $110 to get in immediately). Needless to say, we didn't go up.I noticed a few oddities during our up-close visits to the Burj Khalifa. One, there was still tape stretched around the block the Burj was situated, cordoning off any access to the general public. Two, other than construction workers, there was no pedestrian traffic in or out of the building that I could see. Three, I noticed at night that the building wasn't very well-lit, compared to other buildings nearby. With the recent economic problems plaguing Dubai, it made me wonder whether anyone could afford to rent the place now, unlike the times when ground was first broken years ago. Maybe it still wasn't ready....but then why the huge fanfare opening on Jan 4? Was anyone actually using the place? "K" mentioned that the Abu Dhabi ruler after whom the building was named wasn't present at the Burj's inauguration ceremony, which was rather embarrassing for Dubai. The circumstances surrounding the completion of this incredible structure seem muddled in uncertainties.
I was reminded of a friend commenting to me during a visit to Kuala Lumpur that the Petronas Towers had trouble attracting tenants for a long time, cynically suggesting these buildings were built more for Babel-like pride and ego than for commercial practicality. I'm sure more than a few people have thought that about the Burj Khalifa.
It certainly is a architectural sight to behold, this king of skycrapers. Still, bystander admiration doesn't pay rent. Time will tell if the Burj Khalifa will be worth what it cost Dubai.
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UPDATE (Mar 2010): Evidently, the Burj Khalifa observation deck was closed indefinitely due to "power supply problems", just one day after we left Dubai. Another article reports that there was an elevator malfunction....scary. Still doesn't totally explain the observations I had before the ob deck closed down.
