Who says you can't have a bit of fun at work?

One of our bosses kept referring to us as "his girls" (as a joke) but followed it with..."too bad none of you are blond". So for Halloween he got his wish!

Movies on the Beach

Yesterday night was "Africa United" at the Four Season Beach Theatre. What a great night! First, the Four Seasons is a gorgeous venue. Second, sitting on a beautiful beach in a funky beach lounge chair with soft sand at your feet, waves lapping at the shore, drinking wine and watching movies - is pretty fantastic!

But above all, I really enjoyed the movie. You can see more HERE or by clicking on the movie title above. It was a heartwarming but also touching movie. The overall plot synopsis is below (from IMDB) but I like the one on the website better.

Synopsis: 'Africa United' is the extraordinary story of three Rwandan kids who walk 3000 miles to the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Using a sack load of... 'Africa United' is the extraordinary story of three Rwandan kids who walk 3000 miles to the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Using a sack load of ingenuity and sass (and a World Cup wall chart for a map), our pint-sized protagonists set off through the endless horizons of Africa in pursuit of an unlikely dream. And as they walk they gather a tribe - a ragamuffin team - of broken and brilliant characters who help them negotiate a way through a series of glorious, dangerous, hilarious and often bizarre situations. Through these kids, we will encounter an Africa few people ever get to see; experience the hard reality of an epic walk through seven countries; as well as the joy, laughter and hope - 'the ubuntu' - that comes from making an incredible journey together
(from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1429313/plotsummary)

The music was great too and there was a goodie bag from Qatar 2022 (the World Cup bid team).

Front of the Four Seasons

More of the front (from across the street)

Funky decorations

Shout out to Canada - a good Canadian company (at least it started out Canadian...)

From the beach, looking back at the hotel & the VIP section (pink part)

More of the hotel from the back

VIP section again

Sitting on the beach, looking at the screen - enjoying the moment :)

On with the show...

I am the farthest thing from a movie person...to be honest I find it hard to find any subject compelling enough to hold my attention for two hours. Much to the chagrin of my "movie elitist" sister, I generally stick to lighthearted chick flicks and dumb comedies. I cry easily so I avoid sad movies, I hate war movies and I like comedies because I turn to movies as my escape. I leave the heavy hitting subjects to the books I read. It's not for everyone, but it is my approach.

But when the Doha Tribeca Film Festival came around I told myself that I would push myself a bit. Not a lot - skipped ones on abuses to women in Africa and the ones about Palestine/Israel conflicts.

It started with Outside the Law (as I blogged about earlier). Which was interesting, beautiful cinematography and violent. I didn't get to see the end, but I was at the point where I didn't want to. So, good movie, but too long. Plus I was ill, so my review doesn't really count.

Then it was Arab Short Programme 2 which I really enjoyed. I don't think I have ever seen a non-animated short film before and these were neat because they are not big budget films, but those of film students, aspiring filmmakers and actors and different styles of filming. I didn't see the last one (3 Hours) because I had a date with Kevin Spacey (sort of). The program of movies is here:

http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival/shortprograms/shorts-programme-2

Then I went over to the Opera House in the Katara Cultural Village to see a special screening of Casino Jack with Kevin Spacey. Based on the true story of Jack Abramoff, the Washington "super lobbyist" who got in over his head (some murder and scandal involved as well!). I am not up on my US politics, but Kevin Spacey (who came out and introduced the movie - see video clip above) did a fantastic job. Very well done! There was a short Q&A session afterwards and he came across as a very kind and patient man (he was ever so amused by the Arabic translator) with an easy, friendly demeanour.

Outside the Opera House by the red carpet...which we got to walk in on!

Amanda Palmer (head of Film Festival) and staff (Fatima)

Q&A session

Introducing the movie...

Love this picture :)

A Special Screening with Kevin Spacey

It is nearly 2am and I have to go to bed. Work will come very soon. So until I can post properly I leave you the man himself...

Whirlwind Week

This week is brought to you by the letter “B” for BUSY.

C will be working long and late hours at the film festival and I will be attending the film festival!

The night before last was the Qatar Professional Women’s Network (QPWN) after work networking event. I am truly enjoying this group and the friendly ladies that I meet there. It is a great mix of people – some coming to just meet and talk to new people, others who are there to network and others still who are entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs be it with a new business, idea or cause.

I bought tickets to their launch event as well – www.qpwn.org has all the details but it is the official kick off to the group and a year end celebration that feature some leading local (female) leaders.

Last night we went to Katara in the new cultural village to the open air theatre for the opening of the festival and to see “Hors la Loi” (Outside the Law), which was a French/Algerian production about the Algerian freedom movement (FLN) spanning from 1925 to the late 1950s.

It was a very good movie but I unfortunately I didn’t see the end…it was very hot and humid in the open air theatre and the seats were quite uncomfortable (think McMahon Stadium style flip downs but with fake leather coating…sweaty!). I didn’t get dinner as I had to go right from work and we arrived early to get seats (that turned out to not be required) and then of course the movie started 40 minutes late. I was sweating and sweating. And I only had 2 small bottles of water (although I had 2 litres during the day) and we were so packed in I didn’t drink them because it was a huge pain to get up and get out to the bathroom. I made it through nearly 2 hours and then I started to feel like I was going to be sick. So I tried to drink some water but it wasn’t helping. My friends who had come with me where also uncomfortable so we left – but I was quite dizzy and nearly didn’t quite make it down the stairs before I went over to the portable toilets and started heaving. I was so incredibly hot. One of my friends happens to be an emergency room nurse so she ushered me to the ambulance that was air conditioned and I laid down and tried to cool off. I started to shiver and then the cramps hit. Thankfully my friend L was able to get us a lift back to the car and she drove me to where C was so he could pick me up. Diagnosis: heat exhaustion! OJ, water, shower and bed. Guess I need to acclimatize myself better! I really need some clothes that are more suited for the heat (that aren’t revealing of course).

The part of the movie that I saw was very good, although it was too long. But I hope that it all ended well without too much more bloodshed (violent time, violent movie) but I imagine there was a lot more destruction before the resolution.

Tonight is the Arab Short Programme and it appears that I may have been able to get Kevin Spacey tickets thanks to the very kind F&R – I will keep you posted.

Salma Hyek is a judge and already over at City Center were C is working – lucky him!

The View from the Passenger Side

I object! I was an excellent passenger and so was F. C neglects to mention that there was one hairy moment when we were sliding sideways and the edge of a dune was rushing up to meet us!

Not too mention that somebody wasn't the most friendly individual when getting stuck or towed... :-P

The trip out to the Inland Sea was better than the trip home - the trip out had just the right amount of beginner challenges. I was glad to see the flat land between the dunes (much safer) and the water when we arrived.

Our convoy set up a great tent city (to which we contributed the sand mats to act as the "floor" and the table) and we all enjoyed many swims! The water is actually at the point where the temperature is almost refreshing.

The trip home was a bit more extreme and stressful but C did a great job and I am very proud of his skills! He didn't mention that we weren't the only ones struggling on the way back - and they weren't newbie drivers!

Hope you enjoy the pictures...

Cruising out...

Intrepid driver

On top of the dunes

Camel crossing

Across the inland sea is...Saudi Arabia!

I love the British - we can & we will stop for tea in the desert!

On the bottom of the dune - Little J's fave part

Almost at the "camp site"

Our tent city

Parade of Cars

On the flats between dunes

Beach time

The day ends with a beautiful sunset

Dune Bashing Big C Style

Well it was inevitable, we were going to have to drive in the desert. I just never thought it was going to be that much fun. Okay, there were a couple tense moments regarding a couple passengers, but for the most part it was pretty fun.

It all started with the trip to the Sealine Resort outside of Mesaieed towards the Saudi border. The resort is on the East Coast of Qatar facing the Indian Ocean (if you are looking for it on Google Maps...). Once we arrived it was time to let the tires down to 15psi per tire. This is so we can float like a butterfly over the soft sand of the desert ;)

As soon as the introductions were made with the other 5 vehicles and their passengers it was time to head out over the dunes. To get the "newbie" ready for the ascents the very first dune we saw we had to go up. Drop it into 2nd and put your foot down and don't let up. Good news, we made it! Once we were at the top, we had to come down... Luckily the leader of the convoy decided it would be better if we drove across the tops of the dunes before we made a major drop.

This is where the fun began. Remembering that I had to keep my foot "in it" all the time, we successfully navigated the tops of the dunes and some crazy side slopes. Now it was time to get to the flats to make to the next set of dunes. This is where I learned that soft sand is really just the warm version of wet snow. On the last side slope, I slid down sideways and got stuck. So I threw it in 4 Low and backed out and gave it the "old college try" once again. Piece of cake. Made it out without having to be pulled out.

Big C 1 - Dunes 0.

Now we made it over the first set of dunes and on our way to the next ones. Again, we had to go up. I made it up the small one, tried to "High Mark" (drive up a slope as far as you can, turn down and floor it to make it up the other side) and power up the other side. I missed my gear shift and bogged down. So here comes 4 Low again and we back down almost the entire dune to try again. I win again.

Big C 2 - Dunes 0.

Life is good at this point, the dunes are getting a little smaller and more like rolling hills as we start to get closer to the Inland Sea. Not too much more for exciting dune bashing going on here. Once we made it to the beach, we set up camp, swam, ate, and just hung out. I will blog more about the campsite next time.

After 5hrs on the beach, it was time to head home to beat the darkness that falls at around 5:30pm. All day long I heard, "the first time everyone gets stuck". I thought, "yeah right, if I made it out here, I can make it back." Well I was wrong. I think it was the goal of the driver to get me stuck 'case we were going up and over some crazy stuff at this point.

The place I got stuck was a bit of a pain in the butt. We watched a couple trucks go through and they struggled when they shouldn't have. So with a little coaching from the rear, I took a different path...maybe not the best one after all. Buried up to the running boards. This required a little digging to clear the tires and a tow. I guess it had to happen some time, but this one sucked. After a little ribbing from the other drivers, we were off again. We were off to the final challenge of the day.

Big C 2 - Dunes 2 (two point gain for the tow-out)

This was a massive challenge that even had me a little worried. Most of the day I was very calm and cool. This one had me thinking and watching intently as the other guys took their run at it. Even the lead driver got stuck at the top in his fancy Patrol, so how the heck was my Pajero going to make it??? Well, it was my turn. Started off in 2nd gear to get up the speed to do another high mark. I pushed it father than any of the other tracks, geared down, turned back down the hill, and floored it. The moster of a climb caused the engine to work like it hadn't all day long. We bounced, bobbed and weaved trying to stay in contact with the ground and not get bogged down at the same time.... No big deal, I kicked the ass of the monster dune and completely redeemed myself :)

Big C 4 - Dunes 2 (two point gain for the climb and the FU to the lead driver that was being a little cheeky - my Pajero made it first try!)

Now it was time to head back. It was getting a little dark so headlights were on full blast as we cruised back across the flats at 100km/hr. That was pretty fun.

It was a good day, with lots of excitement. Now we know we can head out across the dunes for a little fun in the sun at the Inland Sea (to be blogged about at a later date).

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

Well sort of. We aren't rich...or famous for that matter. But we do have some very exciting plans coming up!

Next week there is both the Doha Tribeca Film Festival and the Sony Ericsson Women's Tennis Championships. We have tickets to the finals on the Sunday and are hoping we will get to see one of the Williams sisters play!

In November for the second Eid - Eid Al Adha - we are going to Thailand. Thanks to a flight deal on Qatar Airways we are going to Bangkok for about $555 CDN (flight is about 6 hours) and then we are heading to Hua Hin for 4 days, 3 days. Hua Hin is a resort type of town near Bangkok. When we found out that pretty much every expat our age was headed to Phuket for second Eid, we decided to avoid the rush and go to Bangkok instead. After a few days in Hua Hin we head back to Bangkok for 3 nights and then home to Doha.

No plans for December (yet) but in February we have some more visitors arriving and we are going to meet them in Dubai for the Dubai Shopping Festival and we have tickets to the Omega Desert Classic Golf Tournament. Tiger Woods has already confirmed that he will be playing in the tourney and well, regardless of what you think of his personal life, he is still a good golfer and seeing him play live will be very cool. Oh yea, did I mention that we have tickets for the final round of that too! :)

What's amazing here is the price of these opportunities. I don't know if they are subsidized or if the market just won't bear the high prices of back home but this is incredible! Tickets to the film festival are 30 QR per screening (about $8.50 CDN) and there are even some free shows.

The tennis tickets (okay we have really bad rush seating, but still...) were 75 QR ($21 CDN) for a championship match!

Even in Dubai tickets to the golf were only $50 CDN. Amazing.

We would be foolish not to attend!

Freedom in Lancer

Doha is a city where a car will set you free. Despite the fact that driving is a dangerous activity, the volume of traffic, lack of true (and safe) public transit combined with the heat and the limited number of sidewalks (keeping in mind that driving over pavement is quite common) means that without a car - life in Doha can be tough. After the traffic tripled in September, we lasted a month of juggling schedules and battling traffic before we realized a second car was necessary. We have started shopping but are really wrestling with what to get.

I like being up a bit higher (helps for visibility when I am at roundabout surrounded by Land Cruisers) but even a small SUV new or used (within a reasonable age) is still expensive (given our budget and the loan I can get from the company). So that takes us to a car...but what kind of car?

We have looked at new and used - including the two door Pajero, Hondas (cars), Toyotas (cars), Volvos (cars) but I haven't found anything that grabs me yet. Plus, we have no idea what a good price is here.

So in the meantime, I have a rented Nissan Lancer 1.3 (little deathtrap) but it is new (came with the plastic on the seats and the sticker in the window and everything!) and it will give me freedom for cheap - $500 for a month. I can live with that (includes insurance too!).

We will have to see what adventures I take on my own as now it is my turn to learn the city - only not from the comfort of a Pajero!

More Cooking Adventures....

One of our goals for our time in Doha is to become better in the kitchen. We aren't bad, but we make some amateur mistakes each time (timing, flavours not quite right, etc) that we know won't go away without practice. Diligently we are doing our best each week to find new recipes (either in the cookbooks I brought or online) and try something new.

I am a believer in cookboooks and recipes because it makes me try ingredients and combinations of ingredients that I might not if I was left to my own devices and often recipes get me trying things I haven't eaten before.

Tonight was promising - Chili Stuffed Zucchini - it actually looked like the picture in the book when we made it. BUT, we for the "pickled jalapeno slices" we chose the Vlasic ones at Spinney's (grocery store) and overestimate how spicy they would be. Needless to say, one cup of chopped picked jalapenos just about ate through our stomachs. It was a shame because once you got past the mouth numbing hotness, they were delicious!

Oh yeah, the Vlasic bottle said "HOT". We weren't sure if that meant you could get mild and medium as well, or if it was just a warning. I want to go back and try the Cantina (Mexican) brand to see if all pickled jalapenos are this hot or if somehow, Vlasic made theirs extra spicy. I read the ingredients though - jalapenos and distilled white vinegar and some chemicals labelled as "preservatives". So not sure that the Mexican brand would be any less deadly.

The Sky is Falling

The world must be coming to an end because I have joined Twitter. I feel like everytime C is on the computer he is non-stopping "tweeting" or "twitter-ing" as I prefer to call it. I was never going to join, I promised myself I was too old school for it.

But people keeping reading the blog and when they leave comments I naively thought their "name" was their blog so, being an avid blog reader, I click on their pictures and whoa - I get some Twitter page that mocks me because I want to see it but I don't have a Twitter account. I swear that stupid bird was going "na na a boo boo" at me. So fine. I joined.

But I haven't clue how to use it. So I will be doing some serious google searching on the subject later tonight or tomorrow.

Sheesh. What has the world come to?!

Tuna & Dried Cranberries

Anyone?

That would be what I found in my lunch yesterday...tuna, mayo, pepper and dried cranberries.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help making my lunch!

But who thinks that will taste good?! Who even considers putting that together?! According to Big C - I am the weirdo for not wanting to eat it!

He claims that tuna salad should be tuna, mayo, celery and raisins. I am not sure why types of salads made the rounds at the Irma Town community events...but I doubt that tuna and raisins (let alone dried cranberries!!) was one of them.

Driving in Doha

Driving here is an absolute nightmare. It takes 45 mins to go less than 20kms. Without any exaggeration, I can tell you honestly that you see at least 3-4 potential accidents per trip. If you are lucky, you are only in 1-2 potential accidents per trip yourself.

It appears that the entire population (no race or ethnicity excluded) has forgotten some simple driving rules...

1. Look in front of you (I wish I was joking). Front doesn't mean the end of your hood either. It means the horizon.

2. Signal.

3. Shoulder check! Shoulder check! Shoulder check!

4. The inside lane of a roundabout should not be used for taking the first exit.

5. Using your brakes should not be an after thought.

6. The horn is NOT a legitimate driving tool be used at all times.

7. Driving at night with your lights off is not cool. It is unsafe.

8. Flashing your lights as you tailgate someone is not actually a generally accepted driving principle.

Here, nobody will let you in. If you are in a lane be prepared to let in one or two cars (because you are a nice Canadian) and then be cut off by four more. It is nerve wracking, stressful and adds years to your life and gray hairs to your head. It is the only part of our new life that I can honestly I hate and that it will be a struggle to get through.

Some videos for you....

One of the amazing intersections that they have here...part roundabout, part something else...note how many people get out of cars that randomly stop everywhere and then they try and cross - to add pedestrian dodging to the fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD8SuZnHfho

This is a good one as well...watch how many Land Cruisers come from behind at high speeds...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExlCOp1BXc

Accident on the Corniche (main road on the water). See how many people a) start honking and b) drive up behind the accident and slam on the brakes...like they didn't even see it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqez617biuU

Wish us luck!

Life Update

Let's see...where did we leave off? We have much more to blog about still. I thought Big C would have blogged about these two things already but since he didn't....

1. C has his ID card!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, this card unlocks the door to everything. Essentially you do not exist in Qatar without this card. You can't do anything - it is like you aren't even real!

2. C has a 3 week position with the Doha Tribeca Film Festival as an Assistant Venue Manager!!

This festival is related to the Tribeca Film Festival in the US (started by R. DeNiro and others) and the one here looks really neat. Some of the films sound absolutely fascinating - and they won't be edited. You can see more about the festival HERE

*Side story: went to see Step Up 3D (don't judge) and right at the end of the movie the main guy and gal go in for their big kiss....and...black. Yup, black screen. Sound still on but no image. For about 2-3 minutes too. Eventually the picture comes back and they are walking off into the sunset together. Hilarious! What an experience it will be here!*

We also had our first experience at a "check stop" - not what immediately springs to mind - but they were stopping cars and checking for valid license and registration. Although we had been responsible (Big C was the DD), there were three of us in the car that had had some drinks. But thankfully no problems...although I am sure that Big C's voice rose at least an octave while talking to the officer. And the rest of us...well, we were so quiet you could have heard a mouse fart!

Last weekend (Friday) was the Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance as put on by the Canadians in Qatar at the Ritz Carlton. Because of CNA-Q I swear at least 50% of the room was from the East Coast. Did I mention the tickets included wine and beer until 10pm (started at 7pm). I don't need to explain any further for the Canadian readers! And for the non-Canadians...well, msg me and I will fill you in! :) We did a 50/50 and well, I guess we do love our 50/50s...although, they don't seem to be as common with the East Coast folk (I am referring to those provinces east of Ontario that don't have a national hockey team...). The DJ was great and it just so happened that one of the girls at my table also happens to be a super dancer - and I can tell you we shut the place down! It was a lot of fun!

And the plans for this weekend...well, we are lucky enough to be going out on the boat again but this time for Armin van Buuren. We have to car shop (we need a second car badly) and then we might have a dinner out with another new friend from the Turkey dinner (by the way, the GF turkey dinner I had at the Ritz was very good!). Life is coming together in Doha. Slowly and surely.

Now if only I had the same feeling about work.... :(

You say Mangroves...

...I say Marvelous!

Back to the adventures with M&D - we went to a new beach spot with them and a couple of our friends. It was past Al Wakra beach where we went before to what is referred to as a "mangrove" swamp. The name is actually referring to a type of plant that grows within these swamps. The roots grow out and up in these stiff reeds that come up from the mud (this system helps the plant deal with salt and lack of oxygen based on the fact they are growing in sandy mud). There is a great article with great pictures here - Qatar's Mangrove Forests

Sand & SUVs - two things we have in abundance here!

Some of the mangroves...yes Virginia, there is green in the desert!

Hanging out in the "river" coming off the ocean...in our camp chairs! :)

Another great day at the beach!

Amazing, Fantastic & Wonderful!

That's how I describe last Thursday night. Earlier in the week, I received a message, somewhat out of the blue, from a fellow Canadian that we met once before and have been trading emails with off & on.

She asked if C and I would like to join her and her husband...(wait for it)...on their boat...(it gets better)...on Thursday night...(the suspense is building)....to WATCH TIESTO!

There is no way that she had any idea that 1) we love boats - particularly C and 2) I have always loved Tiesto. I know he is getting on a bit...and it is trance...but I just love him. And I have for a long time too.

Of course we said yes and we had a magical evening with some amazing new friends. S and her husband are wonderful, friendly people. They made C and I feel so welcome and that we might even have some new Doha friends! S brought two co-workers from the Film Festival and they were fascinating people. One of them works for Robert Redford year round and the other is a true entrepreneur who is now travelling all over the world working at international film festivals. Very interesting stories and perspectives.

There were some drinks. And there was LOTS of dancing. He even played my fave song - "Traffic" right off the Just Be album.

Like I said - amazing, fantastic and wonderful. I need to find a way to show my appreciation somehow!

Insights

The problem with setting and trying to achieve goals is that they take work. Sometimes we make choices based on the fact that we don't want to do the work. But later, when these choices impact our ability to achieve our goals, we realize how poor the choices were. This is when we have the chance to learn. Too often though, we don't choose to learn. We choose to make excuses, to get angry, to blame and we don't take responsibility for our actions. But when we stop reacting, there is a moment when we have the clarity to look back, assess and learn. It isn't a long moment and it isn't easy to look back at your own choices and admit that you made a mistake. It is even harder to take admitting the mistake to the next level where we accept the responsibility, take the learning experience for what it is, and move on. It is easier to glaze over those poor choices, to not take the time to admit anything and placate our egos.

But when we do learn from these experiences, we grow. This growth on the journey to accomplishing our goals is why we set goals in the first place. But sometimes we forget that.

* * * * * * * *

I decided to tackle a lifelong goal. It isn't glamorous but I wanted to take Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. It is just something that I have always wanted to do. So I decided to take Microeconomics online. Already, the journey to achieving this goal has been insightful. I haven't made some good choices about time. I lost 10% of my mark through carelessness. I have had to face some truths about not being as organized as I thought I was. I have had to face some serious weaknesses - it might make you laugh - but I really don't see graphical relationships easily. Especially with abstract concepts. So here I am, taking a subject that has always fascinated me and through the course, realizing my own weaknesses. Who would have thought that all this would come from taking an online class? Don't judge. Yes, I am having "revelations" from taking an online economics course. Remember, this is a blog. There is a limit to the intensity of sharing on here. ;-)

And so I grow...

Arabian Adventures

Since it is darn near impossible to get pictures of dune bashing while you are doing it - between taking it all in, gripping the door handles and such - I took the pictures below off the website of Arabian Adventures in Qatar (click on name for website). They are the company that we used and we had such a great time with them! These pictures give you a bit of a "feel" for what it was really like!

Dune Bashing Pics! A Sample...

Letting out the air...


Crawling up the dunes

The Dunes and the Inland Sea.

Intrepid explorers.

D & The Camel

More of the Inland Sea

See the cars on the dunes in the distance...

Awwww. :)

C the Camel Whisperer. These two girls followed him around the whole time!

When the sun sets, the camels come home. Seriously. Look on the horizon line.

Back in Action

Well it has been a few days since we posted something to the blog. J has been busy putting pictures up and talking about some of the cool things we did with G & L. It was a very busy, but great week.

I will say, one of the coolest things we all did was "dune bashing" with Arabian Adventures. What a crazy experience. We met the driver at the Family Food Center joked around a little with the "King of the Desert" and then headed out to the dunes. Once we got to the first sign of tall, sandy dunes we pulled over and deflated the tires to around 20psi (for all you car geeks out there). This is so we could have more surface area on the tires in order to float along the top and not get stuck.

After we were done that it was time for dune bashing. If I can recall properly the line the King said was, "I will test you to see if we can have fun or not." I guess we passed the test as the first big dune we headed down was huge, or so we thought (they go bigger). Now I know what you may be thinking, "Big deal, so they went up and down some sand dunes." Let me tell you, these were not for the faint of heart or a rookie driver. There is a reason our driver was called the King. The dunes are virtually straight down with an abrupt stop at the bottom and we hurled ourselves over in a 7 passenger Toyota Land Cruiser. These are the best of the best off-road luxury vehicles you can buy in the Gulf. We did this for about 3 hours and every time we went over a dune, our driver was trying to scare us a little more. I may have made the mistake of saying that he would have to do a lot better if he wanted to make me nervous. He sure tried hard. I won't mention any names (Little J), but there was a ton of squealing from the back of the SUV.

I don't have any pictures on my computer yet (will add later), but this was amazing. We would drive along the top of a dune that is not any wider than 10 feet (just enough for the Land Cruiser) at around 50km/hr. If you have ever driven is fresh soft snow and noticed that the car takes a little longer to respond to steering you will know why this is an important point. After we drove along the top, the driver pointed the nose of the truck off the edge and punched it. The average height of the dunes we went down were likely 75-80 feet and the slope was 75-80 degrees. The Jurassic Park Ride at Universal Studios is not quite as tall as these drops.

The insane drops were just a small portion of the fun we had. High speed driving in the desert was very cool. We would travel at close to 100km/hr across the top of a dune and then drop over the edge and whip around the top of the face at a near vertical pitch. Then we whisked across the desert to visit a camel rancher at a mere 120km/hr over rolling dunes. Unreal is all I can say.

Then we went back to the camp, had a great meal, smoked some shisha, and then came home through the desert in the dark. Like I said, we will have pictures up of this trip soon, but I couldn't wait anymore to talk about it.

Continuing the adventure...

That night D & C played golf in the dark (assisted by floodlights) and M & I shopped the heck out of Villiagio (mall).

Thursday we checked out the Gold Souq and that was an experience! Rows and rows of shops selling gold in every form - different carats, different types of bracelets, chains and some gloriously ornate necklaces and earrings. We all attempted to awkwardly barter but given the rising price of gold we didn't have a lot of leverage but did manage to sneak out with a few goodies.

Then we headed to the older (restored) souq - Souq Waqif - and it turned into an absolutely magical evening. We went to the jewellery shop of a former pearl diver - a wonderful older gentleman who makes beautiful pieces - we bought a few and then happened to be outside looking at some of his pictures when the shop cleared and as he had a moment free he came out and told us about his experiences. A former body builder, he had the strength to be a pearl diver (pearl diving by the way is part of the foundation/history of Qatar) and he showed us the weights they would hook to their feet and they would go down with two ropes, a nose clip and a basket. They would be down for two minutes before they would tug on the rope and their partner would pull them back up. He showed us what the nets looked like and the type of shells that he used to look for. Fantastic.

We then headed to Tajine, a Moroccan restaurant, and enjoyed a great meal. We all tried something a bit daring - and we were all pleasantly surprised!