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A Burj by any other name...

Dubai offers many man-made attractions of outlandish scale

It reaches into the sky like a mirage. By some strange optical illusion it doesn't even look that tall. Perhaps a building that's only 172 metres shy of a kilometre messes with our human scale sensibilities and so we just don't see it for what it is.

At 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure on earth. By comparison, before the Burj broke all the records, the Warsaw radio mast at 646 metres, was the world's tallest structure and the CN Tower, at 553 metres, was the world's tallest freestanding structure.

To keep other would-be sky barons guessing, the actual height of the Burj was kept a closely-guarded state secret until its official opening on Jan. 4, 2010. To all those contemplating building something higher, be warned: the architectural drafts and retrofit plans are in place to go even higher if the Burj's status is ever challenged. Or so the carefully "leaked" story goes...

By the way, it's understandable if you have never heard the name Burj Khalifa. Until the opening day celebrations, neither had anyone else. From the Burj's conception in 2004, through its construction and until only a few hours before its official opening, it had been called the Burj Dubai.

Did money and politics play a roll in the name change?

The way Sheik (pronounced like "shake") Mohammed of Dubai spends on infrastructure you'd think his Emirate has all the oil. It doesn't. Sheik Khalifa of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) possesses almost all the country's oil. That's right, Khalifa, the same name that now adorns the world's tallest structure (formerly known as Burj Dubai).

In late 2009 Dubai's financial woes came to the attention of the international press and after a long hold-out, Abu Dhabi came to the rescue and bailed out Dubai. Hmm... bail out, Burj name change... nah, that's just a coincidence and idle speculation.

Whatever you call the Burj, opening ceremonies for the building were mesmerizing. Filling the night sky with colour were 828 stroboscope lights and 10,000 fireworks that cascaded from all parts of the building. The light explosions were choreographed to music and synchronized with the US$217 million worth of dancing water fountains that surround the Burj. Many Sheiks from the seven Emirates of the UAE, attended. Sheik Khalifa was noticeably absent.

What's even more mind-boggling than all the world-breaking facts and figures is trying to find the entrance to the world's tallest building, which is located somewhere in the bowels of the world's biggest mall. I attempted this feat a few days after the Burj's opening and assumed that the lack of signage was due to the last-minute name change. The lack of good directions by the mall staff... well that's another matter.

At 64 km/h or 18 m/sec, the world's fastest elevator takes 60 seconds to travel the 124 stories to the observation floor. You arrive at the top without the sensation that the lift ever left the ground. Views from both indoors and from the world's highest outdoor observation deck are spectacular. Watching the light and water fountain show from 442 metres above is delightful and the photo ops are endless. And I swear it's possible to see the curvature of the earth from up there. If you have a fear of heights, this is NOT the place to test your courage. I suggest sticking to the unofficial national Emirati hobby... shopping!

Lineups for At the Top are generally long and most visitors have purchased their tickets in advance for a specific date and time. The price of a ticket is 100 Dirham (US$30). If you show up without an advance ticket and no spots are available anytime soon, there is another option. For US$100 you can jump the queue and go straight up!

 

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Dubai offers many other star attractions too. The Dubai Mall, the world's biggest, houses a full-size ice rink and an aquarium where scuba diving with black-tip sharks and an assortment of other fish is made possible. Fifteen minutes away by newly-opened monorail is The Emirates Mall. This one has an indoor ski hill with several runs and a chairlift! Gear rentals and lessons are offered and people seem genuinely thrilled to be skiing and riding inside a massive refrigerator.

If you Google Earth another development project called The World, just off the coast of Dubai, you'll find the map of the world re-created to scale in islands made from rock and sand. Reducing mountains to rock-size chunks, hauling the chunks away dump truck by dump truck and depositing them into the Gulf of Oman (Persian Gulf), is an ongoing affair. The purpose is to create luxurious and exclusive real estate investment "opportunities."

Phase I of another development, The Palms, is complete and two more phases are on the drawing board. It uses the same deconstruction-reconstruction techniques as The World and the development concept consists of manmade islands in the shape of palm trees. The thing is... the trunks of the palms are the size of Manhattan. Really!

I wonder how many Whistler Blackcomb-size mountains have been turned to rubble to make these dreams come true? Lex Luthor of the Superman series desired to own Australia and now you can too. It'll only set you back a billon or two.

After all, in the UAE money is king... ahem... Sheik.