The Amazing Views from the Lounge at the Burg Khalifa in Dubai

On March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Dubai1 Comment

During our trip to Nepal last week, we purposely gave ourselves a twenty-four-hour layover in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It was definitely an interesting way to start our trip and provided a completely different experience than that of Kathmandu, but the highlight was going to the lounge at the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. We purposely chose our visit to coincide with sunset, which only enhanced the experience. We really hadn’t thought about it when we planned our trip, but before it was over we would visit the tallest manmade structure in the world as well as the tallest mountain peak on earth.

Fountain at the Base of Burj Khalifa Where a Performance will Occur After Dark

The lounge at the Burg Khalifa is actually higher than the observation deck and takes up floors 152 through 154. When you purchase a ticket to the lounge, you get a cocktail and some snacks as you enjoy the incredible views of the city of Dubai. It is important to purchase tickets in advance and you must be at the entrance in the Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the middle east, at or before the time of your entrance or your ticket will become invalid. Taking the elevator to the top is not only incredibly fast, but it is amazingly smooth. On one of the floors is an outside terrace where you can get unobstructed views above the glass protective wall.

Sunset with City Views in the Foreground

When the sun started to set, the view was absolutely breathtaking. Sitting on the coast of the Persian Gulf, the sun sets over the water, providing the typical reflections off of the water below. It is said that you can watch the sunset twice at the Burj Khalifa, but once was certainly enough for us during our visit. With a start like this to our trip to Nepal, it was clear that we were in store for one amazing experience after another and that certainly turned out to be the case.

Two Days Until Our Trip to Kathmandu, Nepal

On March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Dubai, Nepal4 Comments

We are looking forward to our trip to Kathmandu, which also includes a twenty-four-hour layover in Dubai. As with any trip such as this, we are excited to see the destination, but aren’t necessarily looking forward to the long flights. This is our first time flying Emirates, so we are interested to compare our experience with other airlines that we have flown. As with all of our trips, we will be taking a lot of photographs and will share all of our experiences after we return.

We have a full day to explore Dubai, which obviously isn’t enough time to see everything that we’d want to see, but the highlights are going to be enjoying a drink at the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. We will also be staying at the Palm Jumeriah, the man-made island that looks like a palm tree. Once we arrive in Kathmandu, we have time to explore the city on our own for a day before taking a couple of tours that will get us out of the city and also take us into the Himalayas. We will also be taking a cooking class and enjoying as much of the culture as possible before returning back home.

Eating Our Way Through Istanbul, Turkey

On February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Turkey5 Comments

We enjoyed several wonderful meals during our time in Istanbul and even took a food tour where we ate food in both the European and Asian sections of Istanbul. In addition to the food, we also had a local drink called Raki as well as several local beers and wines. One of the most popular dinner choices are the dinners cooked in clay pots over an extremely hot, open fire. They bring the fire pit next to your table and put on quite an extravagant show as they cook your meal and then crack the pot open and pour the contents onto a plate for you to enjoy.

Dinner and a Show

Coffee and tea is also quite popular and we even tried an orange tea made with fresh orange rinds. We love taking food tours as they provide you the opportunity to try many different varieties of dishes, but it is also way more food than the two of us could possibly eat. We started our tour with breakfast, which is not something that we normally eat, but it was a really enjoyable way to start our day. We ended our tour in the shopping district of Istanbul and then took the ferry back to the area near our hotel.

Orange Tea

You will find street carts with stuffed mussels near many of the attractions and in shopping areas and it is definitely worth trying as they are very tasty. Overall, we couldn’t say that one meal was better than another as we found each of them to be completely interesting with unique tastes. What we can say is that the staff at every restaurant where we ate were extremely friendly and very proud of the cuisine that they had to offer. At some point we’ll try to replicate some of the meals that we had, but obviously we’re not going to be cooking in a clay pot over an open flame.