Gillian's Trip to Doha
By Gillian Foley
I was recently invited by Qatar Airways to visit Doha and experience the Qatar Airways product. We travelled direct with Qatar Airways from Dublin to Doha (which is an experience in itself alone). Doha is under construction with new skyscrapers and buildings being added. As Qatar is due to host the Football World Cup, the city is currently undergoing a huge transformation in preparation. The currency used in Doha is the Real, and the weather is same as Dubai and Abu Dhabi between July and August. It can get extremely hot, with temperatures ranging from 40-50 degrees. We visited in November and it was a very comfortable 30 degrees every day.
Location
We stayed in the capital of Doha in the JW Marriott Hotel. From the airport it took us about 20-30 minutes to reach the hotel, but this can vary depending on traffic. The hotel was very nice and accommodating and had everything a tourist would want or need while on their holiday.
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What I Loved
The souks was a highlight for me as I felt I went back in time. It is also a shopper’s paradise with lots of shops to be visited. I also really enjoyed the dune safari; this was a lot of fun and a truly unique experience.
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Activities & Places to See
- The Dune Safari was a great day out and really enjoyable.
- Visit the National Museum of Art.
- See the Museum of Islamic Art.
- Take a camel ride along the beach.
- Visit Falcon Souq - a market dedicated to falconry.
- Make the most of the soaring temperatures on one of Doha's glorious beaches.
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Shopping
We did not get much time to shop but our hotel was attached to a shopping mall called the City Mall. The Vellagio Mall, based on the Bellagio in Las Vegas, can be described as looking like Venice with gondolas sailing down the centre of it, and houses many designer stores.
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Food and Bars
In Doha, you can only visit bars in hotels but when the weekend comes around (Friday-Saturday in Muslim culture) the bars are packed with ex-pats and are always busy with bands playing. As mentioned above, we stayed at the JW Marriott which had 3 bars to choose from. But be careful, as not all do happy hour and drinks can be expensive. Restaurants in the souks are a must! We dined in Parisa; its décor was out of this world and the food was phenomenal.
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Beaches
There are several beaches within close proximity such as Al Wakrah Beach and Al Khor Beach.
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