Qatar Living: Day-to-Day

In Qatar..

.. 'kobus' (Arabic Bread - Pita) is tasty, soft and always always freshly baked. 

Photo: wikipedia

..you can see fancy cars everywhere - daily. It's a norm!

..you can wear gold accessories all the time. Accessorize all you can, all you want, all day, all night.

..Sorry Gentlemen, "LADIES" first:

..they have well-maintained public parks, museums, and other interesting recreational places:

..traffic: road, traffic lights, highways and road signals are excellent. Most roads has roundabout:

..when it comes to fashion nobody is getting left behind, however:

..Oil / Gas / Petroleum is cheaper than a bottle of water.

There's a lot to share, but let me stop from here. I'm sure there's more to discover. Ciao!

Road Trip: Sealine Beach

Sealine Beach is one of a weekend getaway spot here in Qatar. Indeed an excellent hide-away from the busy city life. It is located at Mesaieed which is 45-minutes drive from Doha.

We took the Wakra Road going to Mesaieed which is known to be the shortest and convenient way. We left Doha from Airport Road at 3:00 P.M and we reached the Sealine at exactly 3:45 P.M.

During the week, I prayed that it will not be too sunny over the weekend as the summer season has started. Thank God it rained last Thursday night, so we're lucky that we have had a breezy Friday. ☁ ☀ ☁ 

Along Wakra Road, there are establishments and restaurants that you can stop by for a quick break. Since we want to arrive early as possible, we headed straight to Mesaieed.

The road and signs are excellent. We're still thankful that only few cars and trucks are on the road. Some SUVs  are running at 120 kmph but my husband stayed cool and driving at 80 kmph. Besides, we doesn't know the way. 

The whole trip went pleasant. To be honest my emotion is mixed up with excitement and a bit nervous since it's husband's first time to Sealine. I kept reminding Alfred to keep his sight on the road while I do the navigation (which I'm not good at, so thanks to google map) as well as keeping my eyes on our friends' car which was also our guide.

At 4:00 P.M the sun is still up but the wind is just perfect. It's not as hot as I expected on a desert. Surely the rain of last night's helped to cool down the weather for us!

As we reached our destination, the camel ride was our first stop and the camels are all lined up to welcome us. 

Camels sat down as we hopped on their back.

The camel ride cost 20 riyals with a guide who will walk you around for 5-minutes and kalas. 

After the camel ride, we headed to the beach side where people are staying there for picnics and bbq, while some enjoys swimming at the beach. The water is clear and the surroundings is somehow clean, however, the only downturn is that there isn't any comfort rooms available.

After picture taking at the beach, we headed to the other side for an ATV ride. I'm the only one in the group who hasn't tried it so they let me. The cost is 120 per hour, but our friend tried to negotiate the price and we finally got 50 riyals for 30-minutes. Before anything else, we handed over our Qatari ID, and sign an agreement (which I didn't know what it is for but I signed it though). There are ambulance available near the ATV site which is a good thing. The guide will teach you how to run the bike then you're good to go.

There's a nearby private beach resort named Sealine Beach Resort. As I did my research, entrance fee is 135 riyals per head. They have restaurant/s (not sure of the choices, check out their link) where you can buy food and drinks. We passed by to it but didn't see the beauty of the resort.

Friendly advise: Read the road signs as there are parts of Mesaieed road strictly prohibits taking photos. If they said no, No!

Overall, it was a wonderful road trip. To summarize, the Sealine would give you the desert feels. Riding a camel, ATV & Sand dunes are worth trying while the beach is peaceful and calm which is relaxing enough to complete your trip.

It's always best to enjoy every moment and pay something for experience.

“If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us.” 

~Daisaku Ikeda

Katara Cultural Village: 19th Katara QatART Handmade Market

19th Katara QatART Handmade Market
Handmade Market with a wide variety of handcrafts from Qatar-based makers of art, craft and design.

I went to see the handmade market last weekend with my friend Sandy. The market was open from 3:00 P.M to 8:00 P.M. Though we came late, we're still lucky to see 2 excellent artists at work!

1. Andrii Chernovil nicely approached us while working on his another masterpiece. He mentioned that he was invited to display all of his works and to have an own exhibit. His exhibit will be in the next few weeks.

Andrii Chernovil was born in march 1977 in Odessa. He is a runner-up of Painting Sculpture and  Grapic Contest organised by Genaral Consulate of People Republic of China. He developed and monitored the projects for interior fresco painting, sculpture, design. More about the artist and his works here: (http://www.chernovol-art.com/#!about/cme1)

2. Ooh, is a Thai national based in Qatar. He is a paper mache artist and a painter. We had a small conversation with him because he already needs to pack up and close the studio. He still accommodates our questions and manage to smile at the camera.

His works are somehow unique. Here are some of his collections on sale and displayed during the art market:

         

These are paper mache coin banks. ♥

(Taken from his FB page, thanks)

 While the butterfly is still waiting for her days to bloom - still in progress  (A Monarch Butterfly in the making)

The Artist, Ooh with my friend Sandy.

You'll find more of his works on Instagram / Facebook

Lastly, I end my Friday night ecstatic!

Katara Cultural Village

Located on the Eastern Coast,  this is an excellent location for everyone to refresh and relax. A combination of arts and Arabic traditional culture achieved a diverse modernity & style.

Katara promotes cultural awareness, arts and exhibitions that encourage creativity and / or any kinds of artistic expressions.

As we parked the car, this traditional mosque welcomed us. The vibrant colors of gold, blue and purple is stunning.

This is a traditional pigeon house. Definitely Instagramable!

Next photos are indeed some of Katara's exceptional collections. 

Gandhi's Three Monkeys is a series of sculptures created by Indian artist Subodh Gupta that portrays three heads in different types of military headgear. The sculptures recall a visual metaphor from India's famous champion of peace, Mahatma Gandhi, of the "Three wise monkeys", representing the principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". 

The three heads are composed of stainless steel cooking instruments, used pails, traditional Tiffin lunch boxes, and glass bowls. (wikipedia)

While this sculpture perfectly fits in front of the amphitheater and near the shore, this is just fascinating to look at.

Harnessing the World sculpture - a veiled figure

Harnessing the World sculpture - a veiled figure

Harnessing the World sculpture - a veiled figure

Katara Cultural Village is the largest and the most multidimensional cultural project of Qatar. It is a place where people come together to experience the cultures of the world. With beautiful theatres, concert halls, exhibition galleries and cutting-edge facilities, Katara aims to become a world leader for multi-cultural activities. (http://www.katara.net/en/About-Katara)

Al Dosari Zoo & Game Reserve

The Zoo is located at Al-Shahaniya  which is a 45-minutes to an hour drive from Doha City.
There are detours and road constructions along the way so it's quite difficult to reach the area especially if it's your first time (like us).

Though the location is far from the city and few animals are inside the Zoo, I'm sure any age group will still enjoy this place.

Spoiler: this is the one and only Zebra in the Zoo. :D

The Arabian oryx or white oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the Oryx genus, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula (wikipedia)

 This one wants to play around..

Donkey

This guy winks at the camera! 

While this zebra is a snob.

People are also coming in for camping and picnic. There are tents/spaces for rents that is good for overnight camping and a few convenience store.

There is a space for kids that has swings, inflatable slide and so far, more swings.

Al Dosari Zoo still worth visiting after all if you want leave the city to get in touch with the nature and animals.