Mom & Pam's visit - Dunebashing

Are you tired of our "stay-cation" stories and pictures?  Hope not because I still have more to share!!

After our stay at the Sealine Resort, we arranged for a tour guide to pick us up and take us out into the desert.  We drove up and down the sand dunes with views of the Arabian Sea most of the way.  Before we took off, we had to deflate our tires. 

Driver (Achmed) deflating the tires

While Achmed was deflating the tires, we took more pictures with the camels.



Driving in the sand felt a little like driving in the snow ... the car slides at times and you have to just go with it.  Sometimes it felt like a roller coaster, sometimes it seemed like we would roll over on our side.  I wish I had taken video clips of some of the first steep inclines ... it was crazy!  Crazy fun!!  The boys thought it was a blast, but I'm not so sure about my mom and my aunt.  There were moments of fear, but after safely down the incline and a huge sigh of relief, it was fun!   

At one point, we caught up with another tour car, so I was able to take some pictures.  We were also in a white Toyota Land Cruiser.  (It's the preferred vehicle for Qatari people.)

Typical shot driving across the desert

 

Hard to capture just how steep it is...

 

The boys wanted a picture with Achmed

It doesn't get much prettier than this in the desert

What a good looking family!  :-)

Even better looking extended family!

Boys chasing a desert lizard

Not sure why I find this so pretty, but there's
something about the ripples in the sand that I like

Beyond the inland sea is Saudi Arabia (looks almost mountainous)

Where the sea meets the sand...

Sisters survived the dune bashing and enjoyed the view!

Thanks Achmed for a fantastic trip!!

 

And here are a couple of very short videos:

 

 

Mom & Pam's visit - Sealine Resort

Still catching up with all the stories from my mom and Aunt Pam's recent visit ...

Sealine .... Sealine .... what to say about Sealine?

Ken and I thought it would be nice to take a mini retreat in the middle of the week while mom was here and hit a hotel resort right on the beach.  We had heard nice things about Sealine, about 1 hr south of Doha.  We booked 2 rooms for 2 nights.  We were advised that upon checkin we would have to present a copy of our marriage certificate in order to share a room with each other.  Crazy! 

We arrived a little early and our rooms weren't quite ready so we explored the grounds of the hotel ... beach front, several pools, camel rides, jet skis, one of those big inflatable bouncy slides and play area, etc, etc.  All looked good!

Arriving Sealine Resort

The boys were enjoying the pools and inflatable toys with Ken while I went back inside to check into our rooms.  Check in took a while and when I came back outside, it was chaos.  Apparently the wind had picked up and those silly inflatables weren't tied down in any way!!!  The wind literally picked up the entire inflatable, turned upside down, dumped the kids to the ground, and trapped them underneath. 

Picture of the inflatable at night...

Jaden and Nicholas were traumatized!  Jaden could barely blink he was in such shock.  Jaden had bumped his head and Nicholas complained of his leg hurting.  When I set him down to walk, he couldn't support his weight on his right leg.  Paramedics came and thought they looked okay, but to be safe, took us to a nearby medical clinic via ambulance. 

Jaden thought it was pretty cool to ride in an ambulance for the first time!

The medical clinic checked all their vitals and all seemed okay.  Nicholas had a pulled hamstring and Jaden seemed fine.  They gave us the equivalent of children's tylenol and sent us home.  Told us to watch for dizziness, confusion, and vomiting with Jaden due to head injury, but we all thought it was nothing.

We headed back to the resort laughing about the "magic carpet ride."

Boys were exhausted after their ambulance ride to the medical clinic.

That night, getting ready for bed, Jaden said he head hurt really bad.  He was crying and was in a considerable amount of pain.  We tried giving him the Tylenol, but he started vomitting all over the hotel room.  Back into the car and this time, all the way back to Doha's Hamad Hospital Emergency Room.

The hospital has separate entrances for men and women.  There was a door for families, but it was under construction and we were told to enter through the women's entrance.  I checked Jaden in and they took us straight back to a room.  Ken was told he had to remain in the waiting room and couldn't enter.  Women only.  The emergency room was pretty busy, but a doctor saw us relatively quickly.  He too didn't think it was anything serious ... by this time, Jaden was no longer feeling bad at all.  But we both thought it would be best to get a CT scan just in case.  They took us to another room to wait for the CT scan.  I was so turned around, I had no idea where Ken was sitting anymore.  No clue how to get news back to him.  We had left his cell phone with my mom at the resort so we could keep her posted.  So I didn't know how to contact Ken.  A security guard agreed to go find him and update him.  The security guard proceded to sneak Ken into our waiting room.  Yeah!  Together!

Waiting for the CT and then waiting for the results took FOREVER!!  The "room" was a curtain drawn around Jaden's bed with about one foot of space on one side.  And it was FREEZING!!!  Jaden stayed awake the whole time...couldn't believe it!!  I fell asleep, but not Jaden.  Crazy kid!  Just like his daddy!  Results of the scan showed all was fine, so they sent us home.  We drove back to the resort at 3am!  It was a LONG night!!!

Jaden is amazing!  He's always so happy, even waiting for
hours in a freezing cold room for his CT scan.

Next morning, Jaden acted like nothing happened the night before.  We played on the beach all day. Ken rented a jet ski and took the boys out.  It was great except for the jelly fish!!

Boys on the jet ski

 

View from our room

While the boys were on the jet ski, mom, pam, and I waded out in the ocean until the water was up to our shoulders.  It was a beautiful day and we were enjoying watching the boys on the jet ski.  I felt a little sting on my wrist and thought it felt an awful lot like a jelly fish sting, but it was minor.  We stayed in the water.  I felt a couple more little stings and asked mom and Pam if they felt any.  Pam had, but not mom.  We stayed in the water.  Mistake.  Whack!  Big sting on my left foot.  Before I could say anything ... whack!!  A bigger sting on my right calf.  We haul ourselves out of the water and immediately ask for vinegar.  The vinegar worked like a charm on the smaller stings, but did nothing for my calf.  I've never had such a big jellyfish sting!  It hurt like crazy!!!!!!!!!

 

Can you see the jelly fish sting?  I should have taken a picture
the next day when it turned dark red like a burn! 
It's still slowly fading away 2 weeks later!!

 

 

 After we all took an afternoon nap, we decided to ride the camels before dinner.  The pictures look like it's late, but it gets dark really early here ... the sun sets around 4:30 or 5pm.  The boys rode togheter ... so cute to see Nicholas clinging on to Jaden.  It was a bit wobbly getting up and down, but the ride was pretty smooth.  I rode alongside the boys, but no one else wanted to ride.  Can't believe I couldn't get my mom and my Aunt up on a camel!!  Not like you have a lot of chances to ride a camel!!! 

Boys getting up on the camel

Camel ride down the beach

Boys loved the camel ride!

More stories to come of Mom & Pam's visit ... still need to blog about the dunebashing and the camel races!!!  Another time, I have to go get Jaden from the school bus...

Mom & Pam's Visit - Villagio & Trader Vic's

The Villagio Mall was closed when we first moved here.  There had been a tragic fire at the mall over the summer and it has only recently reopened.  Boys immediately saw the gondolas and had to go for a ride!  The interior of the mall looks like you are outside, walking along a canal in Venice with the gondolas running back and forth.  The boys loved it!

Boarding the gondolas

 

Riding along the canal in the gondola

Gondola ride at the Villagio

 After the gondola ride, we headed to the children's play area ... they have bumper boats, roller coasters, log flume, ferris wheel, bowling alley, lazer tag, trampolines, arcade, etc, etc, etc.  The boys loved the bumper boats ... a first for them!

 

 

After all that physical activity at the mall, we treated ourselves to desert.  Boys loved the chocolate fondue!!

 



For dinner one night, we treated ourselves to Trader Vic's.  It's included as part of the Hilton Hotel, so alcohol is served.  (No alcohol served here unless at a hotel since they cater to foreigners.)  Trader Vic's is home of the original Mai Tai, but it was a bit strong for me.  The boys ordered a "Mocktail" and I asked the waiter if they could put an umbrella or something in the drink to make it look fancy.  What did I do??!!!  Look what they put in the boys drinks!!!!  Boobs and all!!!!

 

Nicholas thought the booty was hilarious!!

Sisters

Me and the boys at Trader Vic's

I need work on my silly face, but the boys have it down!

Mom & Ken

 Mom looks a bit red in the pictures ... we spent the morning at the pool.  I think she got a touch of color.  She said it didn't hurt, but she looked a bit like a lobster!

On the way home, we drove past the State Mosque.  I believe it's the largest mosque in Qatar.  It's rather plain looking in the daytime ... just a big concrete structure, but it looks beautiful all lit up at night.

Mom & Pam's visit - Souk

I was looking forward to taking Mom and Pam to the Souk Waqif.  It's a great local market with fantastic architecture, restaurants, and souvenir shops.  I had NO IDEA they were having some kind of EID celebration at the Souk!!  Traffic and parking was a mess getting there ... we saw some kind of camel races / auction in an empty lot along the way!  The Souk was packed with locals enjoying multiple stages with everything from a guy playing music with plastic spoons to breakdancing to a tightwire act!!  It was crazy!!!!  A great place to people watch - although I don't think mom and Pam saw past all the Abayas and Thobes that night.  (Abayas are the black coverup the ladies wear and Thobes are the white garments for the men).

 

Pam, Mom, & I at the Souk Waqif

 

The Souq at night



One of several parades at the Souk

Tight wire act between buildings at the Souk

Another one of the parades

taking a break from the crowds to grab dinner

Jaden captured a great picture of Aunt Pam don't you think?  :-)

Sisha Pipe - water pipe that many people smoke at the Souk. 
There are tons of different flavors of tobacco.
 Nicholas did NOT like the smell!!!

Moon over the Fanar ... beautiful at night.  If only I had a better camera (or maybe it's just the photographer?)

Mom & Pam's visit for EID - Dhow

My mom and my Aunt Pam were here for ~10 days during EID (Muslim holiday).  The boys were out of school and Ken was off work, so we acted like tourists in our new city.  The weather was absolutely glorious!!!  We had a wonderful time and we were all sad to say goodbye...

I have so many stories and pictures to share from the week, I'll have to blog them in parts. 

Mom and Pam arriving Doha airport

Mom and Pam arrived around 1am Thursday night/Friday morning. They were supposed to arrive earlier, but they missed their connection in London. It was a long day of travel for them!!

My mom and aunt were troopers ... after a ridiculously long day of travel and a short night of sleep, they got up and joined a group of our friends on a traditional Dhow trip.   Dhows are traditional fishing boats used in bygone days when Qatar's economy was based on the pearling industry.

In front of a giant statue of a pearl waiting for our Dhow tour to begin

Boys with Doha skyline behind

Dhow boat

Pam, Mom & I on the Dhow.  A beautiful day with a warm breeze...

Jaden had so much fun jumping off the boat with the big kids!!!

Sunset over Doha from the boat