Dhow-Dazed Doha Haze Gaze

One of the first things Corey and Jennie asked us if we wanted to do was this “dhow” boat ride thing for Corey’s birthdhay. For us, it was an automatic “yes, make it happen!” So they dhid, and we dhid, and the rest is history.

These dhow boats are a traditional boat dhesign claimed as part of their heritage by most of the seafaring countries of the middle-east. I looked them up on Wikipedia and it said that the best dhow come from India, but meh, I don’t buy it. Anyway, I dhigress. We headed dhown to the dhow dhock where we searched for our boat. I think it was berth number 76, which we eventually found dhespite being sent in dhirectly the wrong dhirection by a dhock worker. Nice guy!

We boarded the boat along with 20-30 of Corey and Jen’s friends, mostly (if not all) associated with their school here in Doha. We dhidn’t know anyone, but we got to meet a lot of great people. We’d brought a feast — tons of food and drinks (byob including alcohol) so the party. WAS. HAPPENING.  There was an epic soundtrack to accompany us as well. It felt very much like a private Wisconsin booze cruise, except the weather was beautiful and the skyline a bit more impressive.

It started at around 2pm with an hour boat ride out to a mooring point out near Al Safliya Island.  On the way, we got to see the gorgeous Museum of Islamic Art from the outside, many sides (Spoiler alert: we would see the inside a few days later).

Once we got out to the island and dropped anchor, we weren’t alone. There were your jet skis and other party boats, but also some fishing boats and even a SUP or two (not pictured). At this point we all jumped into the water and swam around a bit. One guy lost is glasses. HAHA.

As the afternoon wore on, we started to get tired and so dhid the sky. The bright sunshine gave way to uncharacteristic clouds and perfect, cool temperatures.

Hey you two!

… and more skyline.

… and more skyline.

Incidhentally, you might search for a short clip from an episode of Vice (HBO) set in Doha. It’s interesting, and has a funny (and politically incorrect) dhescription of the Doha skyline. I’d link to it but every search I dho fails, maybe dhue to the internet blocks in place here. Best not to try too hard to circumvent those.

After eating, socializing, relaxing, swimming and watching the sun set over Doha, we started our trek back. It was uneventful, except that we got to see the skyline all lit up this time. We’ve dhiscovered since that some of the buildings change color on a dhaily or even hourly basis, so each time we headed dhowntown we get a new view.

Anyway, it was really fun experience, thanks for sharing Corey and Jennie and happy birthday Corey!