A Day on the Dunes

Last weekend Kris and I decided to take a trip out to the dunes. We've been talking about it since we got here, but have been so busy that we kept pushing it back. It also requires near perfect weather conditions if you want to enjoy yourself and not be furiously pelted in the face with sand, so you always have to factor that into the equation. Luckily the conditions were perfect on Saturday with sunny skies and a light breeze, so we decided to go for it. 

From our house it only takes about 45 minutes to drive South to Sealine. Once you get out of Doha, the drive consists of desert... and more desert... and a few oil refineries. You also have to be alert for the random wild camels. I have to say that it's strange going from "Deer Crossing" signs to "Camel Crossing" signs. I really need to get a picture of that next time.

Once you get there you can choose from quite an assortment of ATV's and dune buggies lined up at one of the many makeshift shacks set up in the desert. Our strategy was to drive straight down the line and find our best price on a vehicle that looked sturdy and safe. But our first line of business was to take advantage of the camel rides! You can't go to the desert and not ride a camel. As you can see by the look on my face, I was quite amused at the idea of mounting this two humped animal (which Kris likes to refer to as "Nutcracker"). The ride was actually smoother than I had anticipated. Luckily they padded the camel with plenty of blankets for a more enjoyable ride. 

Our camels were quite fond of each other, just like their riders. Although this is more action than we can get in public for fear of being thrown in jail. Public display of affection is illegal and limited strictly to holding hands (and that's only if you're married). I often catch myself going in for a kiss or a little bum squeeze. Kris constantly has to remind me of the consequences of this Arabic felony. But we were able to sneak in a quick kiss on the top of the dune when no one was in sight. =)

Falconry is a highly respected sporting activity in Qatar, as well as around the entire Arabian Peninsula. We didn't get to see this particular falcon in action, but it was a treat to see such a beautiful creature.

Our first view of the gulf after we threw the Jeep into 4 wheel drive and made our way through the desert. What a gorgeous site! The water is such a brilliant blue.

This custom dune buggy was equipped with a Corvette engine. We watched him speed up a dune and almost flip backwards from the amount of power. Good thing he had a flip-preventer-contraption (my technical speak) on the back end.

We went with the dune buggy over the ATV's so we could enjoy the ride together. Kris is an experienced driver so I sat back and enjoyed the ride. By the end of the excursion I had my hood up, scarf over my face and sunglasses on. You can reach decent speeds on the open plains and the sand in your face doesn't feel great. Although I consider it a natural exfoliant for my skin and now I don't have to splurge for the facial.

Take note of that gaping hole in the center of the picture below. As we approached this huge crater I said, "Let's not get stuck at the bottom of that!". Well we didn't get stuck at the bottom, but we did have a slight incident attempting to make our way out. We must have caught the loose sand awkwardly, because we tipped the dune buggy onto it's side. Luckily we weren't going very fast at the time and we were both strapped in very tightly. We figured it was a good time for a Kodak (or in our case "Sony") moment. So we flipped the dune buggy back on it's side and snapped a few shots of the gorgeous surrounding areas.

This was the scene of our second "incident". The view of the gulf in the distance was the perfect backdrop for another photo session. This is a picture of me about 5 minutes before I had flashes of myself being interviewed on "I Shouldn't Be Alive" on Discovery Channel. We stopped here for a short break and when we attempted to restart the dune buggy we got no response when turning the keys. After a few tries my heart starting beating faster, I started breathing a bit deeper, and I began taking note of how much water we had, where the sun was in the sky, and if there were any signs of people within a reasonable radius. I realize that's a bit dramatic, but I'm new to the desert and the 5 story sand dunes can seem quite daunting when thinking about trekking back to civilization on foot at sunset. My cool, calm and collected husband wasn't phased in the least. We flagged down a nice Arab man and his son and they got us started in no time. Somehow we overlooked the fact that we had to put the vehicle back in neutral before we started up. Woops!! Live and learn. =)

The two black dots in the picture below are actually vehicles. It's difficult to tell the depth, but this was a pretty steep hill.

My first desert experience was amazing. You can't even imagine the size of the dunes until you're enjoying the view from the top or staring up from the bottom. For all of our future visitors.... this is one activity at the top of the list!!!

A Floating Tennis Court? Only in Doha.....

Federer and Nadal play on floating tennis court

January 4, 2011 12:45 PM

http://newslite.tv/2011/01/04/federer-and-nadal-play-on-floa.html

The net was as likely to catch a fish as be hit by the ball in this game. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have played against each other on a floating tennis court. 
The duo took part in a bizarre exhibition match on the court which had been laid in the water of Doha Bay, Qatar, to promote the upcoming ATP World Tour.

And though the pair have the experience of winning 25 Grand Slam titles between them, neither had played on a surface anything like this before.

While we don't know what score the game ended at, it's not our main concern, we want to know what happened to the ball boys… or should that be ball buoys.

Speaking of the odd court, World No. 1 Nadal, said: "For the past three years we have done a few different things, and this one was a very nice experience."

Federer added, "It was good fun. It was so different. You’re always excited and nervous to see how it will turn out. It is always nice promoting an event and an entire tour with Rafa."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

We've officially made it through one month in our new surroundings! I've been told the first month is the toughest and I can vouch that adding your first ever Christmas away from home to your first month in a new country probably doesn't help the homesick factor. Thanks to my wonderful husband and his endless support and thoughtfulness, we were still able to enjoy the holiday here in Doha while our families were celebrating in PA and Scotland. I had a few tough moments thinking of all our holiday traditions that we would miss, including our 7 fish dinner on Christmas Eve, our Christmas morning breakfast at Mom & Dad's, and of course the rest of the celebrations and delicious dinners with the whole family! But thanks to skype and the wonderful video chat technology that they offer, I was able to watch my nieces and nephew open Christmas presents first thing in the morning, and chat with my family multiple times on Christmas day =) 


I have to admit that one of my favorite things about Doha is the gorgeous winter weather. I've never spent a December in short sleeves and flip flops, or dining outside, or enjoying a round of golf. So I'm soaking up every minute of it. The weather is amazing, but I can't help but think that it just doesn't feel like Christmas without the freezing temps, the masses of snow and the Christmas lights.  So Kris and I made every attempt to make our first Christmas together as a married couple as "Christmassy" as possible... by turning on the air conditioning to extremely low temps and dressing up in our hats, scarves and gloves! Just kidding... But we did go to see the Christmas carolers at the Ritz Carlton on Christmas Eve. The hotels are decked out with gigantic trees, garland with lights, wreaths, and Christmas music playing in the background. We sat and enjoyed some tea and juice while listening to the familiar Christmas carols that we grew up with and watched the many families gathered together around the lobby of the hotel. The majority of the crowds were Westerners so it felt very much like we could have been close to home.

We also wanted to share some Christmas lights that we found in our neighborhood. I've been told that these lights were actually put up in celebration of an Arabic wedding, but I'm sticking to the story that they're Christmas lights =)

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning opening presents and eating blueberry bread for breakfast.  Later in the afternoon we joined friends for dinner. I contributed one of my family favorites of sweet potato casserole for dinner and an apple crisp for dessert. Kris had every intention of bringing the parsnips that he worked so hard to find, but ended up forgetting them at home =( We had a beautiful Christmas dinner celebration with friends and enjoyed a meal of turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings.  I was also introduced to the British tradition of Christmas Crackers. You and a partner must pull each end of the Christmas Cracker to reveal a small present of some sort, a joke, and a Christmas hat which must be worn throughout the meal. 

On New Years Eve we celebrated at the Grand Hyatt. We had just planned on eating dinner at Rocca, their poolside restaurant which overlooks West Bay Lagoon, and then heading out. But we had such a blast that we ended up staying there for about 4 1/2 hours and ringing in the New Year. 


Of course there's a little side story to every experience in Doha. When Kris called to make the reservations he asked if they were running any dinner specials for the occasion. They said no, so we figured we'd just order off of their regular menu and have a glass of wine or two and we'd be good to go. We arrived and quickly realized that was not the case. Our server (an extremely happy and likeable 22 year old guy from Turkey who spoke very broken English) asked if we already knew what was going on that night or if we needed him to explain. It turns out that the only option for the evening was an all you can eat pizza and pasta meal. It also included your choice of endless beer, wine and champagne. We weren't particularly looking to stuff ourselves with an all-you-can-eat meal, especially since the original plan had a slightly more selective dinner in mind than pizza and pasta. But we've learned that nothing really goes according to plan in Doha. So we rolled with it! Since it was only 8 pm when we arrived and our server inquired if we had planned on staying there to ring in the New Year, we decided that the all-you-can-eat (AND DRINK) option just might work out for the night. It was the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful scenery and intimate setting!


We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Years with your family and friends. We wish you a healthy and happy New Year!


(Here are some pictures from our New Year celebration. We're starting to figure out a few more settings on our new camera. We hope you enjoy the shots below.)