Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Remember that time I went to the Middle East?

That one time back in October...? Over two months ago? Yes, well I finally had a day off with no commitments and am finally getting around to it.

(I wrote that yesterday. Why in the world is it taking me so long to do this?!)

Okay, so back in October my friend Spencer and I went to go visit his parents who live in Doha, Qatar. They moved there not long after I arrived in Bulgaria so they've been there since Summer '09. Spencer and I grew up together at church, went to ACU together and I love his parents so why not go visit them in the Middle East!

We drove from Dallas to Houston to catch a direct flight into Doha. Since his parents travel so much they've become friends with the Qatar Airways employees who then hooked Spencer and I up by putting us in the bulkhead seats. So much room! (Travel tip: Always ask for the bulkhead seats when you go to check in at the desk!) And the adventure begins with a 14 hour flight to Doha....

Diet Coke. Duh.

Here is where I learned my love for camels. We went on a quick camel ride with some of the Jackson's friends who also live out there. (This was after four wheeling in the sand dunes!)

Yes.

More Camels!

The Souk // The Market

Museum of Islamic Art

The Pearl (This is the development that Jerry, Spencer's dad, works at!)

The sashimi igloo platter at Magu. Who has ever seen such a display?!

My wonderful hosts! The Jackson family! The scale model behind them is of The Pearl development!

Now I'm in Dubai!
(Doha to Dubai is about a 45 minute flight.)
This is the view from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world! It was a little sandy but some crazy views from the 124th floor!

The Dubai Aquarium... I got excited about the SHARK TANK... IN THE MALL!


At the Sky View Bar in the Burj Al Arab. Spencer became famous at this bar where a drink was created in honor of him.

View of the Burj Al Arab from Pierchic.

I had so many wonderful pictures from this trip. This is a seriously quick overview. The Jackson's were such great hosts and fantastic tour guides. It was an awesome way to experience the Middle East. I mean, who doesn't love going to the pool at The Ritz in Doha?! This was far different from my other travels... where I couchsurfed, ate as cheap as I could and wandered around. I like this kind of traveling too! :)

The flight home was another... adventure... It took 16 hours, Spencer was sick and the altitude just about did him in! We had our own rows but on the way there we both fell asleep and slept through the whole trip. On the way back... not so much. Then we arrived in Houston, jumped straight in the truck and drove back to Dallas. It was a LONG day to say the least!

If you want to look at pictures, you can check them out HERE.
I realize I didn't write too much about the actual trip... kinda hard to do so many months after it happened. 

But know this... 
It was awesome. 
You should go.



1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the quick overview. I think this was such a neat experience for y'all to experience!! Keep up the blogging! Glad you are back at it.