by Pete Barba

We’re off!!!!!!!  Our apologies for the delay in posts, we’ve been off the grid for the past 10 days, more on that adventure in future posts.  (Note: any locations, services, and companies mentioned here have NOT provided compensation in any form. These are our honest opinions based on our experiences.)

Before we started planning this trip, I had never heard of Doha.  Maybe Qatar, but could I place it on a map?  No.  When we started buying flights last summer, we had minimal options.  For $1200 each we could fly non-stop from NYC to Johannesburg, South Africa in economy for 13 hrs straight.  With my lanky body, it is doable but uncomfortable.  The other option was business class on the world’s best airline, Qatar Airways, with a stopover in exotic country for a few hundred more.  It was a no-brainer to have a far more comfortable flight (more on that in another post) and the opportunity to explore Qatar for a few days on an extended layover.

We stayed at a local hotel in the main market (Souq Warif) that focuses on delivering a traditional experience.  No bars or other debauchery at this establishment.  Rather we were greated with Arabic coffee and scrumptious dates upon arrival.  If you’ve never had dates before, I highly recommend that you try them.  Unfortunately, the ones in the States aren’t as fresh or as tasty as in the Middle East, but they are still quite good.  It’s a small dense fruit that tastes like honey without all the chewiness of most dried fruit.  The hotel was immaculate with polished marble floors, attentive staff, and furnishings that were soft and comfortable.  Despite being a desert country with little to no rainfall, the hot water was plentiful, although we still limited our showers being mindful of our environment.  While I won’t bore you with more lengthy prose on the Souq Warif Boutique Hotels, let me just say if you ever have an opportunity to go to Qatar, I highly recommend them.

On our first evening in Doha, we ate at a local Yemini restaurant, Bandar Aden.  Like much of Middle Eastern food, it was served communally with us sitting on the floor in a circle.  Instead of using utensils, we each used our right hand, tearing off small pieces of warm flaky flat bread to scoop up the food.  The food was exotically delicious.  Imagine stews with warm comforting spices of cinnamon and cumin, with chunks of chicken and fish, served with spiced rice and a tomato salsa. 

Why did we eat with the right hand?  Because that is considered the clean hand for much of the world.  Traditionally the left hand was reserved for using the bathroom.  This very smart tradition stems from days before fresh water and plentiful soap.  As Americans we think that utensils are the norm, but we fail to recognize that we are in the minority.  A majority of people on earth eat with their hands.  The second most common is chopsticks.  Utensils are a distant third.  As utensil dependent westerners, we are in the minority. 

For our first full day in Doha, we wandered out to do some exploring.  My usual plan for the first day after crossing time zones is to go for loooong walks to get the body recalibrated to the sun and exhaust the kids so that they go to sleep that night.  My kids call them “death marches”.  We’ve done them in London, Venice and Rome.  Unfortunately that wasn’t possible in Doha, since it was 110 degrees with 90 percent humidity.  From the moment you walked out your hotel door, even at 8 am, you were hot and drenched with sweat.  So after a beautiful local breakfast we started our day going to the Museum of Illusions, because it sounded interesting for the tired kids and it had air conditioning.  It was tremendous fun, lots of mind blowing rooms, displays, and experiments that demonstrate how our brains process what we see. 

In the afternoon, we had a tour planned of the city with a local guide.  Sahim was great!  He’s originally from Sri Lanka, but has lived in Doha for 14 years.  His wife and kids are in Sri Lanka; he only gets to see them every 4 months.  It makes me appreciate that despite the long hours of doctoring, at least I get to kiss my kids goodnight most every night.  Our tour was mostly from the comfort of his well-air conditioned Land Cruiser.  Between stops he explained that Doha is a relatively new city, having been mostly built in the last 10-20 years.  The architecture is phenomenal, mirroring the Arabic culture of the city.  While other cities may have taller buildings, Doha has some of the prettiest buildings.  When it got cooler, we explored an impressive fine arts compound, explored the market, and even learned a bit about the traditional and modern culture around falconry. Falcons are treasures in Middle Eastern culture, and in Doha, these birds even have their own three story, polished marble hospital.

While I commend their foresight, one wonders how much more the population can grow in light of global warming in an already hot and arid country, and with a capital city at sea level.  Not to mention, most of their GDP is based on the export of natural gas, which is greener than oil but not as green as solar or other renewable energy.  I wonder if they may be growing beyond their future potential. 

There is a tremendous amount of construction going on in Qatar to match their exponential population growth and to prepare for the FIFA World Cup this November.  There are now eight football stadiums in Qatar.  They are even building a whole new city to house their government offices about 15 miles east of Doha.  Sahim explained that when they build they plan for the future, making extra housing and wider roads than necessary.  They also take the opportunity to use the newest technologies and integrate beauty as they grow.

For our last day, we took a morning desert tour with Sahim.  Qatar is one of the few places in the world where the sand dunes meet the sea.  While that view was beautiful, the real excitement is the roller coaster feeling you get from bashing through the dunes in a Land Cruiser.  Pictures can’t explain the feeling of drifting sideways down a dune (something I’ve been taught you never should do in a vehicle), descending straight down a 60 degree slope, or lifting off from the ground as you fly over the top of the sand. 

With only a few hours left in Doha, we did a quick lap through the Qatar National Museum.  The architecture of the building is breath taking, it is modeled after the desert quartz crystal called a desert rose.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more aesthetically pleasing building that perfectly reflected the local environment. 

With our brief but action packed 48 hrs in Qatar completed, we headed to the airport for the second half of our flight on Qatar Airways to Johannesburg for the start of our Southern Africa adventures.  

More to come soon….waterfalls, elephants, hippos and other adventures. Thanks for reading to the end!  Don’t forget to check out our past stories and subscribe for future articles as well.  As always, if you are planning a trip to any location we visit we are happy to provide more details and opinions, so feel free to contact us!