On my way to southeast Asia I chose to have a 2-day stopover in Doha, Qatar- a small country in the Persian Gulf. I managed to fit a ton of things in, and it's now become a recommendation I'll make to anyone who will listen :)
I got a great deal on my hotel through the Discover Qatar promotions to increase tourism. I stayed in the Souq Waqif, which translates to "standing market". The Souq had endless alleyways of shops and food that I was more than happy to explore! It comes alive at night, but I fell in love with it early in the morning.
Morning one was a Friday, which is a Holy Day. This meant a later open for most things, so I took to the Corniche to walk along the water. Heading back to the Souq I stumbled across my first Qatar bucket list item- camels! Then I made a friend with an Arabian horse, before i spotted one of my must-dos: the Falcon Hospital! Unfortunately it was closed, but it still made me happy that I had found it. In the afternoon I took an Uber to the Katara Cultural Village (Ubers are very affordable in Doha) where I got to put my feet in the waters of the Persian Gulf for the first time! Not sure I realized I would get to say that in my lifetime, but there you go! Then it was off to the Museum of Islamic Art, which had free entry, before heading back to the Souq to take in the energy of the market at night.
I had delicious dinner that included falafels and hummus, and found dessert that warranted a second portion to take home... I went to bed relatively early to get ready for Day 2's adventure.
Day 2 is when I ventured outside of the city limits for a desert experience. What a day! I joined some other tourists and hopped in a 4x4.... when we stopped to deflate the tires to get them ready to drive on the sand, we got to ride camels, hang out in a bedoin tent, and to my utter surprise, hold a freaking falcon! So amazing.... then we head to the sand dunes to "dune bash"! Our really talented driver drove up and down the dunes, and I 100% though we were going to roll over. It was insane! I lived to tell the story, and of course, show you the pics :)
Not all my posts are going to be this detailed, but thought this special stopover needed the details :)
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