Lots of great pictures in your post. Your advice is to purchase a metro pass and visit "the marina, Dubai Mall, the needle, Burj Khalifa, gold souk, spice souk, fish market and Dubai Creek."

I'm also trying to find something authentic to do for a few days in Dubai. I'm sure the Burj is a great engineering marvel and the markets are fun to look at, but I want to get a flavor for what life is like for the average resident, and possibly explore something outside of the concrete jungle. Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.