After my wander around Souk Al Bahar on Sunday I spent the rest of the morning at Dubai Mall. I had no plans to actually buy anything, but you know...there were a couple things that were too good to pass up! (oops...)
The mall is huge, and it's very easy to spend an entire day there and not go into a single shop.
There's an aquarium right in the middle. Passers-by can simply gaze at the huge tank for free, but paying visitors can go explore the entire aquarium. I went in once on a school field trip when I was teaching. It hardly compares to the aquariums I have been to in Annapolis and Osaka, but it's really well done (for being in the middle of a mall, and all!)
There is also an arabian-style souk! It mazes through the center and you can buy carpets, traditional clothing, the gawdiest gold jewelry you've ever seen or touristy knick-knacks.
If you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the mall, you can duck onto Fashion Avenue. It's a whole section of the mall devoted to high-end brands that normal people like me can only dream of ever owning! I think it's fun to see the names and shops that I thought only existed in magazines and on Gossip Girl. It's almost like learning about a piece of art or famous destination in school and then seeing it in real life for the first time. Yes, I just compared a fancy purse or pair of shoes to say, the Mona Lisa or Sydney Opera house.
Maybe it's because it's so out of many peoples' leagues, but it's quiet and pretty much deserted.
Which on closer inspection are actually butterflies! It's very whimsical.
There are fun window displays all over. Bloomingdales had particularly cool ones at Christmas time, which I wrote about here.
The mall has every sort of restaurant you could possibly want. As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat a good burger, and Shake Shack fit that bill perfectly!
Shake Shack happens to be right next to the Waterfall fountain. It covers all four floors of the mall with shiny metal giants swan-diving down. Pretty cool!
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