Keith's Capers

Qatar is a peninsular country located on the Persian Gulf. It is historically known for it's pearl oysters and is currently undergoing a major economic transformation very similar to Dubai. Doha, the country's capital and largest city, is becoming a major investment location by many of the worlds major multi-national corporations.

This was a rest and recuperation (R&R) trip sponsered by the U.S. military while I am deployed to the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) theater of operations. Many Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines take advantage of this trip in order to decompress.

During my stay in Qatar I participated in a Doha City Bus Tour and a Sand Dune/Beach Excursion.

The Doha City Bus Tour included a trip to the Souq's (Market Place), a traditional Qatari resaurant, downtown Doha, and the City Center Mall which is the largest shopping mall in Qatar. This tour is geared towards the shopping enthusiast, understandably so because you can purchase hand quality hand made rugs, shawls, and fine jewelry especially pearls for rock bottom prices. Currently the Qatari Riyal (Qatar Currency) is 3.65 to the Dollar, couple this with the fact that you can almost always bargain the Souq vendor to about 3/4's of his originally quoted price means that you will leave with a memorable economic experience.

The Sand Dune/Beach Excursion to the Persian Gulf was exciting as this was my first time to see sizeable sand dunes, ride a camel, and swim in eastern hemisphere waters. The tour guides drove us out in the sand dunes with all-wheel drive SUV's and no matter which Qatari driver fate selected for us we were all in for a wild ride. The dip in the gulf was excellent and the jellyfish welcoming committee must have been told this Texan was visiting so they did their best to acknowledge my presence (got the scars to prove it).

Keith