VIDEO: A PARADE IN A SHOPPING MALL

The Emirates Mall was suddenly awakened by the sounds of drums and whistles, and there was some sort of celebration going on. People were seen magnetized by the commotion on the ground floor. There it was: a group of people parading around the mall in bright colourful costumes, the men playing the drums and the girls dancing to the beat. Why was there a parade in a mall, I really did not know but the crowd looked excited with the free entertainment.

And the group just paraded round and round the shopping complex three times (I counted just by listening to the approaching and disappearing noise) before I left the place.

SPOT THE ERROR - DOHA 3

One spelling error, the other could be a type-setting mistake.

found at Katara Beach, Doha

MOVIIE REVIEW - "THIS MEANS WAR"

What would happen when two CIA agents fell for the same woman? The war began - a case of spy versus spy. First, they were best of friends but they became rivals after that. They used all the intelligence, high-tech gadgets and skills they had for various reasons: to find more about the girl in order to win the girl's heart, to put her under close surveillance and to fail the enemy's plan to get into bed with her. A proverb that describes this movie best: all is fair in love and war.

If you love a bit of romance, comedy and action, this is the movie you must watch. There is no complicated plot or flashbacks or nonstop blinding and deafening effects. You just have to watch and enjoy yourself (but the beginning part was a bit slow).

SKIING DOWN THE SNOWY SLOPE OF DUBAI

Can people really ski in Dubai when there is no snow? The answer is YES if you have the money to pay for it.

Ski Dubai is a spot in Emirates Mall, an indoor playground which enables people to ski all year round. It is equipped with all the an artificial hill and slope for people to surf down the icy ground and then climb up back to ski down again. When the weather outside is too hot, I guess this will be the perfect place to let the steam off.

As for me, I just enjoyed myself watching these people having the fun of their lives through the glass panel. The entrance fee must be too expensive for a tourist like me. At the same time, I do not ski and I do not want to get myself killed - there are still too many places in this world that I have not visited.

VIDEO: OUTSIDE DUBAI AQUARIUM

Seen from OUTSIDE the Dubai Aquarium in Dubai Mall - free for all to see. This place holds the Guiness Record for having the largest acrylic viewing panel in the world. The view from inside must be more spectacular.

SPOT THE ERROR - DOHA 2

one spelling error

from the same sign board at Katara Beach, Doha

IN AND OUT, AND ALL ABOUT - DUBAI MALL

Surprisingly, there are similarities between Dubai Mall and Kuala Lumpur City Centre. If you are familiar with KLCC, you know that there is the Suria KLCC Shopping Mall, a Suria KLCC Park and from the park, people gather to admire the Petronas Twin Towers. That is what that you will find if you visit Dubai Mall. [Oh there was a Kinokuniya Bookshop too there.]

From the Metro station, we just walked to the mall. We did not want to wait for the shuttle bus and at the same time, we were excited to see and get nearer to Burj Khalifa. At the same time, we could observe a more modern side of Dubai which was very different from the earlier part of Dubai we saw in the morning.

a late lunch - Arab style

finally, I managed to get myself photographed in front of my dream car (dream on... )

If we have Aquaria in KLCC, they have Dubai Aquarium in Dubai Mall. Now I start to wonder why are there too many similarities between these two places. However, passers-by had the chance to enjoy the spectacular underwater view of the fish swimming FOR FREE. This was because the aquarium glass was actually put in a way for the people walking in the mall to see. I guess no one who would not be attracted by the FREE display (unless you work there) and in the end would pay the ticket to get into the Dubai Aquarium to see more. Hopefully there will be some other time for me to do that.






One outside, there were a lot of people, just lazing around or taking photographs of the Burj Khalifa and other beautiful buildings surrounding the park. I always saw the foreign workers doing that in KLCC Park but I myself did that when I was in Dubai Mall. Oh, I forgot I was once a tourist there.

NEXT POSTING: video of the Dubai Aquarium. Come back soon and you will be amazed.

SPOT THE ERROR - DOHA 1

found at Katara Beach, Doha.

BURJ KHALIFA - THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD

Tourists flocked to this very spot to witness the tallest building in the world. It is compulsory for everyone to observe and admire this mega structure from the nearest distance possible. And I was contented with what I saw but there was a price to pay for it: a stiff neck.

Visitors could go up the building by purchasing tickets. When we were there at the ticket counter [it was a Wednesday], all the tickets were sold out and the next trip available would be on Monday, the following week.

Other than being known as the tallest in the world, this building also holds these records:

Tallest free-standing structure
Highest number of stories
Highest occupied floor
Highest outdoor observation deck
Elevator with the longest travel distance
Tallest service elevator in the world

I don't think there will be a building that will break the records hold by Burj Khalifa in many more years to come.

SEEING MORE OF DUBAI ON FOOT

Seeing more of Dubai on foot. Let the pictures do the talking.

a Dubai cat :)

a ministry building


MOSQUE #1
[cannot remember the name]

MOSQUE #2

in the water taxi

THE HERBS SOUQ [MARKET]