Dune Bashing (sorry Frank)

For youtube video, click here!

Jennie hired a driver/guide named Wazir to take the four of us dune bashing, an activity that sounds destructive but doesn’t actually leave any real mark on the very fluid sand dunes south of Doha.  It’s about 1 1/2 hrs drive, and then we get to a sort of rally point just before you head out onto the dunes. Here you group up with other cars, lower the pressure on your tires and take a last minute trip to the bathroom to clear anything out of your system before the rollercoaster ride.

In addition, there are some tourist activities here such as falcon fondling and camel rides. Liz was lucky enough to spend a bit of time with the falcon. Incidentally, falconry is a historical national pastime of Qatar, and an important part of the culture of the Qatari.

… and I had had a big day already.

With that, we packed up and followed another car out onto the dunes. You can view a short clip of what it was like by checking out this youtube video.

Overall, it was a 2-3 hr drive with varying levels of excitement. Some of it we were hanging on for dear life, other times we were rolling along the Arabian Sea coast and enjoying nice conversation.

We took a break at an area known as the Inland Sea, where we had a view of Saudi Arabia across the water. There we had a late lunch/early dinner and relaxed.

Midway through the trip, we stopped on top of a dunecliff and played around a bit. At our driver’s suggestion, we took this picture which turned out remarkably well. The general consensus was that I won the day.

Very cool experience. It was an exhilarating way to explore a vast area that would be difficult otherwise.