Standing at 2,722 feet, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.

After spending a day at the Mall of Dubai, I head outside at sunset to photograph the Burj Khalifa and watch the light and water fountain show.

Here’s the view from an upper floor of the mall:

It reminds me of the Venetian in Vegas… and in a few photos the fountain show will resemble the Bellagio. Even though there’s not a drinking or gambling culture here, the Dubai / Vegas comparisons are starting to make more sense. Both embody luxury and impressive large-scale properties.

I head down to the first floor and snag a good standing room spot with a view of the water.

As I wait for the show to begin, I continue to admire the Burj Khalifa. Shout-out to my friends Kelley & Irving, who gave their daughter the middle name of Khalifa following their trip to Dubai. In addition to being a pretty name, it refers to a female ruler and signals empowerment. I think of them every time I see the Burj Khalifa — which is often, given its prominent spot in the Dubai skyline.

The show is about to begin… I spy special effects fog:

And now the water and light display starts, each movement synchronized to music. It’s cheesy and pretty to watch.

The show only last for a few minutes and it repeats again throughout the night with different songs.

The crowd disperses as the show ends.

I catch the show one other time from a different angle and snap this photo:

While we’re on the subject of the Burj Khalifa, I fully intended to go to the top of the world’s tallest building. But it requires a timed ticket for entry and there’s always a few hours’ wait for the next available time slot. I should’ve just purchased a ticket on my first day in Dubai, but I noticed that the evening hours were open each night so I decided to be flexible and attempt it on my last night here. The observation deck up top is open until midnight, and I wasn’t going to the airport until 2am so it made sense to try it then. Well… I didn’t count on even those late hours booking up in advance, but it was a Friday night four days before Christmas and a lot of people were in town. So I missed my chance! I’m bummed that it didn’t work out. I’d like to return to Dubai in the future so hopefully one of these years I’ll have another opportunity to visit the top of the world’s tallest building. For now, I’m happy to have seen it in person and photographed it from below.