Doha, Qatar - touring around

Well, my Doha adventure continues some more! I spent the morning touring around a bit and made to the Pearl as well (more on that later in the blog). First thing is that I was touring about looking at architecture ...

Cool buildings on the way to the Pearl

The above buildings were my first architecture goal. Fascinating architecture because looking from the long side they buildings look straight, but from the side they are really funky! Below them is a mall but not one that seemed to interesting to me ... I was on my way to The Pearl ...

This is The Pearl from afar

I made the drive to The Pearl, which is a major development in Doha. While it is really pretty, it is utterly ostentatious beyond belief. The first place I checked out at a Masarati & Ferrari dealer across from the Rolls Royce Dealer ... from there it simply got gaudy. Lots of people who seem to live a high life on The Pearl - and I mean a LOT of people. It is a very high density "community". Needless to say I searched for a way out. Most of the stuff seemed to be under construction and finding a destination to chill was difficult so I simply gave up ... you do need a car to get around because the place is very large!

Next was some touring along the city coastline ...

A view of downtown Doha

 Doha is full of skyscraper construction. They are undertaking a considerable effort to really modernize the city and make it appealing. It is not as desert-like as other cities in the region and they made phenomenal use of their coastline.

Right along the Corniche area south of downtown

More downtown across the water from the park area. Note the boats for water tours

More of the coast and nice clear water of the Arabian Gulf!

A nice area along the park (turn 180 degrees and you are right beside the water)

Some of the tourist Dhows going across the bay

 Overall, it was a pretty good tour of Doha this morning - I hope to do some more later, but need to fix a minor car tire issue before I return to Saudi Arabia ... oh and one more thing ... someone asked about a particular building ... location is good for access :-)

The Bin (I think)

Traveling to Doha - part one

It seemed like it was time to escape the Magic Kingdom and explore the region a little more. This excursion takes me to the State of Qatar. The drive was quite pleasant - actual driving time is only 4 hours and I took the long way (it would have been 3.5 or less if I ignored the signs and GPS and went with my instincts although I suspect the Arabic signs were clear were I able to read squiggly lines). Anyway, the drive was really pleasant except the two hours crossing the border ... the Saudis took and hour and the Qataris showed an equal efficiency. The upside is the border staff (both Qatari and Saudi) are far more pleasant than the ones on the Bahrain Causeway ...

Anyway, since I was driving I could not take any pictures safely (my speed was around 13² km/h) and there is still a big haze of sand preventing much vision. Had it been clearer and if I had a passenger (I would have stopped if I was solo) there would have been many pictures of the desert that includes some small mesas, jabals, dunes, camel herds, bedouin camps, and some really cool erosion of the rocks. On a side note, I know know where Haradh, Hiawia, and Hofuf are ... definitely an interesting drive!

Once I arrived in Doha, it was a positive driving experience with polite drivers, decent signage, and major construction projects! Despite the main artery under serious construction, it all worked well and the drivers were definitely courteous, albeit fast. Speed is respected here in Qatar with cameras every 5 km or so on the highway. It was a nice change traveling along with the cruise set just under 120 km/h and no crazies passing on the shoulder or stuff like that. But the road construction will make a huge difference for traffic flow when it is done. This is one very big project, likely to help support their World Cup effort. There also appears to some form of a bus system here ... this place is definitely a modern city! The exploration will be Friday and I hope to take many pictures ... but for now I will start with my residence for the weekend - the W Hotel Doha :-) I cannot say enough nice things about the hotel ... I did not even leave it last night since it appears to be THE night spot in Doha.

Walking up to the door of my suite ... gotta love a special suite, but what does it say?

I must be a cool person being in the "Cool Corner Suite". This made me smile!!

First impressions are everything and a picture is worth a thousands words!

A well thought out (and appointed) desk

Beautiful bed with a view

One of the two sitting areas (looking back toward the entrance)

A proper sized bed with a nice down duvet

the other sitting area in the corner point of the room

The TV even knew who I was and welcomed me :-)

A nice place to relax in the room

With lots of space to just get ready for the day

View #1

View #2

View #3