I’ll start by showing the view from my apartment at the Arjaan Hotel. I found it interesting to track the views from all the rooms on this trip and I’ll stick to it for Dubai as well.
Hotell appartement view in Dubai
I booked the hotel in Dubai through Hotels.com. The room was in other words pre-paid. My confirmation said a single room, but I got an apartment 3 times as big as my own apartment back in Oslo! Kitchen, living room, bedroom, two bathrooms and THREE balconies. I was in other words pretty comfy during my stay in Dubai 🙂
If you saw my comments on Abu Dhabi you already have a pretty good picture on Dubai. I did the tourist bus ride and about 15 out of totally 20 stops were at a mall. Even the stops that were not at a mall were at some kind of shopping facility. It was more or less impossible to find a nice place to just walk around because the whole place is constructed for the drivers. There’s glass, steel and concrete everywhere you look and you have to pay to visit the few available parks.
Don’t get me wrong – I had a great time. There’re a few spectacular buildings to see, a hotel resort or two to visit and of course a few bars.
The Burj Al Arab Hotel is iconic and I believe I got a couple of shots that weren’t too bad:
Burj Al Arab
Burj Al Arab
Burj Al Arab
Next to the Burj Al Arab is another beautiful hotel – The Jumeirah Beach Hotel:
Jumeirah Beach Hotel
On a pier outside the Jumeirah Beach Hotel you find the 360 Bar with a great view of the Gulf. A great place to have a drink and watch the sun set!
360 Bar at Jumeirah Beach Hotel
Another iconic structure is the Burj Dubai Tower. This building just dwarfs everything around it and is supposed to be the tallest man made structure on earth when it’s completed later this year:
Burj Dubai Tower
Burj Dubai Tower
I guess most people have seen the aerial photo of The Palm. The man made archipelago made to look like a palm tree from the air. The photo below is taken from a balcony at my hotel, and the wall long wall of tall buildings straight ahead is a long row of hotels. When I first heard about The Palm I must admit that I had this image in my head of a beautiful lagoon with islands and palm trees. It is just more of the steel and concrete you find on shore in Dubai.
View of The Palm
All the way out on The Palm you find the Atlantis Hotel resort and water park. It’s a great looking structure which reminds me a little of a Disney castle. The hotel is famous for its indoor aquarium. I also found it worth while to snap a shot or two of some of the decorations.
Hotel Atlantis, The Palm
Hotel Atlantis, The Palm
Hotel Atlantis, The Palm
That’s it for Dubai. You’ll find a couple of more pictures if you visit my photo stream on Flickr.
