Doha Transit visit

Farah and Ekmal is going back to Malaysia for good. At their last minute impulse, decided to take Qatar Airways from London to KL, which means a transit stop in Doha.. and luckily, their stop were made longer, sebab there's no flight from Doha to KL on thursday, so they had to leave on Friday nite.. a comfortable 2 days 1 nite stop in Doha, sufficient enough to experience Doha (with of coz, a cekap tour-guide from us hehe).

At 6am Thursday morning, their flight landed.. I was busy preparing the welcoming dish, while Aizal out to pick them up. Bile sampai je rumah, macam tak sangke.. our short perkenalan kat London dah bersambung kat Doha.. it was so kind of them to even think about visiting us here.. ;)

The four of us, seated and enjoyed the nasik lemak Doha, sambil borak-borak..sampaila Myra bangun. Then at 11am we started with our trasit-visit-itinerary; first stop Doha Museum of Islamic Art.

A good excuse to go for us Doharian, yang tak penah pegi jugak. The entrance to the Museum is free.. (Except for the special exhibition, this time is on Pearls) with magnificent collection of arts, ceramics and all sorts.. And the best part, boleh ambik gambar sesuke hati.

After the 3 floors tour of the museum, we went out to the corniche for a relaxing Dhow cruise. A good way to experience Doha- naik boat sambil tengok the beautiful scenery of the modern and old buildings collision. And best thing about their visit, it's tengahhari bute, yet the wind is so cool.. so tak terase keterikan matahari at all. After the cruise we went off to Al-Rumailah park, having lunch in Thai Smile sampai kembung perut. Our last minute plan seems to agree with the time, that dalam tak sedar, it's already 4pm, just nice for a quick visit to Souq Wakif as it's already opened. Yeah, yang tak brape best, all souqs kat sini mostly open morning til 1, then close up till 4 baru bukak balik sampai malam.

Souq Wakif has got all of the typical tourist attractions. And now there are plenty of choices for souvenirs too. A must visit, not just to shop, but to also appreciate the arab's traditional building, architecture, surroundings and even food.

After the quick tour, we then head off home to freshen up and carry on with our next stop; The Pearl. Surprisingly, the pearl now has got more shop opened, and many street performances, including the scary guy with his flaming act. Takut terlepas, masuk lam kedai..hancus terbakar.. hehehehe. The luxurious Pearl is not just a place to shop, but also a good place to hang and stroll along. Ade ala-ala Mont Kiara kate Farah. Yang bestnye, you park your car at the designated area, then the tuk-tuk will pick you up and send you off to the shopping area. Yes, for free! Both Farah and Ekmal were so tak biase with the fact that most of the things in Doha doesn't cost a penny. No parking fee, free buggy ride, no VAT, etc2.... yela, kat London, almost everything cost money, so memang culture shock skit la for them (but in a good way) hehehe.

So that ends our first day of touring Doha. That nite all five of us pengsan tak ingat.. penat jugak jalan-jalan ni. ;)

Next day, Farah and Ekmal woke up a lil late, dah due malam tak tido, kesian. Bangun-bangun, Ekmal sempat lagi pegi Friday prayer. Aizal is at work, so we decided why not take them into 4ljaz33ra for a quick peek. Lucky them, the gate pass were approved, so they got in to see how the news work and all. After almost an hour, we then head off to singgah beli arabs chocolate dates nearby Markhia Roundabout. The shop has got many types of sweets made of variety types of nuts, chocolate and perhaps dates too. Yang bestnye boleh taste satu2, makan je sampai puas. You can choose to fit the sweets into all sort of container or box, memang sangat cantik for souvenirs. Harge pun tak mahal, berpatutan dengan bekas n sweets. Then it's time for them to go home. With a berat hati, we bids farewell..

Farah and Ekmal, thank you for visiting, I hope your life in Malaysia will turn out fine like your plan ;) Come back anytime!