Eating at At.mosphere in Dubai - the world's tallest restaurant

 

Dubai is a city of realized hyperbole. It has the tallest building in the world, man-made islands shaped like the world’s continents, and a restaurant high high above the towering skyscrapers below. At.mosphere, a restaurant in Dubai’s towering Burj Khalifa, provides a dining experience with a view reminiscent of glancing out the window of a plane. It is preposterously thrilling to savor a plate of foie gras 122 floors above what appears to be the world’s largest game of Sim City developing below, spreading out into open desert.

Reaching At.mosphere involves a few steps absent from most dining arrangements. First, one must enter the tallest building in the world, approach a sleek metal elevator, and make a very important choice that is really no choice at all. Only one option exists in the elevator – floor 123. With no stops to make on the way up, the elevator travels with a speedy transcendence that feels just a few technological steps removed from teleportation – 33 feet per second. In the time it takes a middle school graduate to read this paragraph, the doors swing open to reveal a spiral staircase leading to the restaurant one floor below.

The Burj AL Arab is okay by me

Long before Dubai began showing up at the bottom of fashion advertisements along with Paris, New York, and Tokyo, it was all sand and ambition. It was once simply desert and an idea. An “if you build it, they will come” on the most massive scale. Build it, they did.

As the years piled on, Dubai transformed. The skyscrapers grew like weeds in an untended lawn. Any doubt that the city was primed to be a world class destination was responded to with the sonic roar of hundreds of buildings rising from the ground almost overnight. Ready or not, here it comes.

Today, the hotels in Dubai have more stars than the milky way. The roads run smooth and are stocked with fluorescent hypercars and murdered out Mercedes Gelandewagens. Construction cranes sway in the gentle Arabian breeze next to impossibly tall buildings. The malls have ski slopes and aquariums with neat little Guinness World Record plaques. Man-made islands shaped like palm trees maximize beach front real estate just offshore. It is a place where the compendium of engineering knowledge has been plundered, nudging the limits of man-made extravagance into open space. Engineers come to Dubai to test the pliability of steel, the outrageous whims of architectural imagination, and the possibility of solving impossible problems.

And it all began with one building – the Burj Al Arab.

The Malls of Dubai

 

Every country has its own culture of shopping. Italy has the pedigree, with worn estate leather goods from Tuscany and glittering catwalks fueling Milan's couture. America boasts 5th Avenue, the biggest week in fashion, and the cookie-cutter malls of middle-America. Shopping in Paris is as elegant as it is expensive, where visiting the temples of Chanel, Dior, and Hermes is like a Hajj for fashionistas. Getting fitted for a suit on Savile Row in London is a gentlemanly apex, one that is best achieved while gently pulling on a cherry-wood pipe and commenting on cheeky matters from a pink-tinged page of the Financial Times.

In Dubai, The malls are king. Vast expanses of high end extravagance, these oases from the draping emirate heat are stocked with Gucci, Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton, and any other brand that peddles four-figure handbags to the jet set. Just as America brought the shopping mall to retail prominence, Dubai has perfected the art, blown it up, and put it all back together with megatons of glitter, pomp, and reckless luxury. But more so than brands and shine, the malls of Dubai also have other extraordinary features. A skating rink and a movie theater? That is so 20th century. How about scuba diving, snow skiing, and visiting the tallest building in the world? Welcome to the malls of Dubai.

Gallery: The Malls of Dubai: Skiing, scuba diving, and shopping 

Al Maha Desert in the United Arab Emirates - Luxury, dune bashing, Oryx, falcons, and horses

An hour outside of Dubai, the Al Maha desert is a  sprawling landscape of shrubs, dunes, and the occasional oasis.  The Al Maha desert reserve is also home to many Oryx and Gazelles.  We stayed at the (very 5 star) desert resort in Al Maha and the animals were frequent guests at breakfast and would also amble up to the pool curious of the strange white creatures thrashing about in the water - us.  The impetus for my entire reason for going to Dubai was to stay at this particular resort and visit with the very endangered Oryx (maybe 1000 or so left in the wild).  These are very interesting animals and the access to them, whether they be staring at us about a meter away from our outside breakfast table or walking alongside us during a desert camel ride, was unbelievable.  They are not scared of people, at all. 

Diving in the aqaurium at Dubai Mall

 Dubai mall is the nicest mall I have ever been to, without a doubt.  The quality of the stores is extremely high, which makes sense, because Dubai is where the wealthy go to shop.

Ski Dubai

Dubai is the only place in the world where one can ski 3 different ways: snow, sand, and water.  This is thanks to a massive ski slope built into the Mall of the Emirates.  We didn't ski, but did tube down several ice slides, ride the ski lift, and tag-teamed a menacing stretch of slope called Backwinder's Stampede (name I made up).  Both of us almost broke our tailbones on that run.  Kristin also leaped into a padded ball and was pushed down a slope.

A room in the Burj Al Arab

So what does the interior of the Burj Al Arab look like?  The Burj has no stars, but some joke it is the world's only 7 star hotel.  Rooms come with butlers.  Each floor has its own concierge.  Everything is gold.  There is a pillow menu.  Here are some pictures.

Seven courses at the top of the world - At.moshere in the Burj Khalifa

One of our favorite activities in Dubai was an 8 course meal at At.mosphere in the the Burj Khalifa.  It is the highest restaurant in the world.  While I will muse about every savory bite in a few weeks on gadling.com, here are some pictures of our incredible meal.

Staying at the Armani Hotel in Dubai

If you knew me growing up, then you know that I was a huge follower of the Armani brand, even working for the company at one point, albeit at one if its lowest rungs.  When we checked into the Armani hotel in the world's tallest building, I was very excited to say the least.  It is Armani's first property and is fittingly stylish. After staying in the Jumeriah hotels that kick you in the teeth with glamor and shine, Armani was a welcome change of pace with understated style and monotone coolness.  

We stayed on the top floor and enjoyed every minute of it.

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.

Sheikh Mohammed's Peacocks

While in Dubai we visited the driveway to Sheikh Mohammed's private residence.  The Sheikh is beloved by the people and lives a very normal life, from jogging in public to casually visiting stores like an everyday Sheikh.  Keeping with this theme of accessibility, people can visit the driveway leading up to his house and admire his army of colorful peacocks.  Allegedly (not verified), further into his residence, a pack of lions patrol his gardens - probably not open to outsiders.  The Sheikh essentially willed Dubai's impressive growth and is the absolute monarch of the Emirate and the VP of the UAE.  He has 21 children and a few wives.  He is also very very rich and has exceptional taste in peacocks.

Jumeriah Mosque

As a non-Muslim, a privileged glimpse into a mosque is an eyeopening experience.  The Jumeriah Mosque, one of the only mosques open to Westerners in the United Arab Emirates, provides this opportunity several times per week.  While Kristin and I were too rushed to take in a full service, the individuals running the service let us in before everyone else to take some pictures.  

A night on the Palm - Jumeriah Zabeel Saray

 In this picture, you can make out the hazy downtown skyline anchored by the towering Burj Khalifa - the tallest building known to man

Dubai - Camel burgers, waterways, and souqs

As Kristin touched down on before in Boo's corner, we were treated to a feast during our Dubai press trip at Local House restaurant.  One huge detail involved in this feast not lost on its participants was the menu offerings - everything, except the hummus, included camel meat.  There were camel burgers, camel milkshakes, camel steak melt sandwiches, camel meatballs, and camel milk.  If an award were given out for camel consumption and the contest included Kristin and I, then Kristin bested me on all counts.  She ate her burger like a champion, washing it down with a strawberry camel milkshake, after which, in a brazen display of camel madness, she also pounded a small glass of salty camel milk.  Yea, her stomach didn't fare so well.  While I was given a disinterested tour of Dubai's souqs (markets), museums, and waterways by a Pakistani businessman, Kristin sped away with our expert driver and friend, Mr. Mujeev.

She would find solace in our new hotel - Zabeel Saray.  

Arriving in Dubai at Al Qasr Madinat

 Our arrival in Dubai was not marred by the usual horrible cab driver negotiation tango.  No sir.  We were scooped up in this navigator and brought to our hotel - The Al Qasr Madinat.

The iconic Burj Al Arab - the height of luxury

 Exterior of the Burj on the beach
 

The Bugatti Veyron in Dubai - the world's most expensive car

Exchanging Nepal's world of rickshaws and oxcarts for Dubai's land of super-cars and 5 star hotels was a rush to the dome.  Upon arriving at our hotel, The Jumeriah Al Qasr Madinat, a string of flashy cars were parked out of front, including this blue Bugatti Veyron - a mid-engined demon with four turbos, ten radiators, and a top speed of over 250mph.  With a price tag of $1.9 million, the car is right at home in the excessive car culture of desert Dubai.  While I will do a proper story about it later, one interesting this about the car culture here involves the license plates.  Lower is better, 7's are important, repeating numbers are important, and 5 digit plates are for commoners and pleabs.  Here on this Bugatti is a 7700 plate number.  The 7's mean it is likely owned by someone in the Jumeriah group.  Frequently the plates are auctioned by current owners with "1" selling for over $14 million back in 2008.  Just driving around Dubai, we saw "3" and "5," both on blacked out Mercedes G-wagons.

The breakfast of champions

I do not know that butter will ever be enough again.  After many years on this planet, and still more as a semi-functioning adult, I have crossed over into the land of jams.

I may never again be the same. 

At they very minimum, I do not intend to look back on an existence free of preserves.  Whether they be black currant, strawberry, apricot, or orange honey blossom, my time in luxurious Dubai has been rife with jam eating, smelling, and smuggling.

I am kind of kidding.  Seriously though, our breakfasts have been epic and jam has figured prominently into the equation.  For the traveler, no time is better for carb loading than a breakfast buffet.  Above is a typical plate for me.  It is believed that if not for my intense workout regimen, I would weigh over 300 lbs from bread intake.

Self-realization in Dubai

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that it would play out this way.  On that first night when I set the proverbial pen to paper in Hong Kong, almost a full 3 years ago, I wanted a reason to justify traveling, a link to the world back home, and most of all, I wanted to write.  Some of my friends had done fantastic travel blogs: The Reiersons, Eric Rems, and Mark & Cathy Jackson. I wanted to follow in their footsteps.  Share my experience, allow you to travel with me.