I thought that a desert tour was a must while here in Qatar so i booked a tour into the inland sea that is actually very close to the coast south of Doha. My friend took me out to the Four Seasons Hotel for brunch the morning of the tour. The hotel is very nice and we had a buffet lunch. The food was in four rooms wow. Have a look at the pictures, even a special children's buffet area with toys.The driver arrived to pick me up from the Four Seasons and we then traveled to another hotel and picked up 2 other people booked for the tour then we were off. It took about 1 hour to reach the desert area and our driver then stopped and let some air out of the tyres this helps traction in the sand and the vehicle does not sink into the sand as much. There were camels for a ride if you wanted to before we set off into the sand dunes. Well it was an experience that i will never forget and at times quite scary. I really did not think we would be racing over the top of quite steep sand hills and sliding down the other side at times you could not see out of the vehicle because of the sand being spun up from the wheels. Call me a chicken i don't care.I was amazed what the driver could do with this vehicle in the sand and inclines that i thought were to steep for us to go up or down we went up them and down them. The moves sliding down inclines sort of sideways. Really it was amazing. We reached the inland sea but the visibility is poor due to some sort of haze. We then went on a little more dune riding and arrived at the camp for a buffet dinner. It was a quiet night at the camp apparently the colder season is busier and you can actually stay out in a big tent and sleep the night if you would like to. Fantastic experience although i was hanging onto my seat i can tell you. Will have to add pics later cannot upload at present.

I decided today to try out the public bus system. There is very little cover for waiting passengers at Al Ghanim bus depot but i managed to get undercover while i waited for the bus. I have seen other buses very full during my visit but when the bus i boarded was only half full when all passengers boarded the bus. The fare was 3 Riyal about 1 Australian dollar not bad. The bus was clean and the trip to Central City Shopping Centre was fine. The drive takes you along Al Cornice the bay that is beautifully landscaped all the way around. The shopping centre i loved was nice to hear the calming noise of the various water features at the entrance and i had breakfast at Ali France Cafe was nice. Then some shopping and back to where i am staying. The shopping centre is 5 stories with over 300 shops including Carrefor and an ice skating rink. The roof above the foyer is like a big circus tent amazing and adds to the over all character of the place. The escalators be warned if you don't like heights don't look down lol they are on the edge but of course there are many other escalators to use to get from floor to floor. Bottom pictures are Black and White cafe the pictures explain it all apparently originated in Kuwait according to the person waiting on our table.

The Souk is an amazing place you never know whats around the corner.

Some more pictures of the Souk the bird and pet market and a bird teasing a kitten I wonder.


Some people watching sport in the window of an electronics shop.