00:09Zohai Borzi, a 22-year-old young man, was our guide and driver.
00:15He was patient and kind and willingly took our pictures.
00:19First we went to the camel race ground, but the camels were not racing today,
00:24they usually race on Friday afternoon.
00:27Sorry to have missed the race, but Zee explained everything about how it works which was fascinating.
00:34Observers stay in their cars and drive following the camels on tracks of a wide variety of length from 4
00:40kilometers to 20 kilometers.
00:42We saw a number of camels exercising with riders.
00:46There is no gambling over the races.
00:49Next we went to Mushroom Rock out in the desert.
00:52We also climbed a steep hill to sit in a natural arch on the rock.
00:57It reminded us of Arches National Park.
01:01Then we went to an art exhibit by Richard Serra that's out in the middle of nowhere where, commissioned by
01:07the king to attract tourists.
01:09It cost $22 million for four slabs of steel that feel like rocks and are a real stark difference to
01:16the desert.
01:16It actually divides the country between east and west.
01:21He explained how all of the area had been under the sea a thousand years ago.
01:26Zee bought us a drink, kind of a cross between tea and coffee that's very tasty and offered us a
01:32snack as well which we declined.
01:34I left my prescription sunglasses on the seat of the car but the company has offered to mail them to
01:40me without cost.
01:42This is a pretty expensive tour for about 3 to 4 hours but we felt it was well worth it
01:48to get out onto the desert.
01:50The last time we were in Foha, we took a city tour which was also quite good.
01:55They are trying to become a tourist destination.
01:59It looks as if it will be successful.
02:01Zee was a good guide who made our excursion fun.
02:06This was an awesome tour, thanks to Zohib, our great guide and driver.
02:11We learned a lot about Qatar from him, and he competently conducted our tour and timing.
02:17We had requested an afternoon tour to see Richard Serra's east-west-slash-west-east sculptures at sunset.
02:25Zohib, via WhatsApp, recommended a specific tour start time, 3.40pm instead of 3pm, and it worked out absolutely perfectly.
02:35Note that this tour does involve a lot of driving, you are going to West Qatar from Doha after all.
02:42But Zohib's car is roomy and comfortable, he's a good driver, and the highway roads are great.
02:49First stop was the camel racetrack, although there were no races when we were there, the camels and riders were
02:56out for exercise, very cool to see up close.
02:59We did a short stop at the Zekreet Fort by the sea, with nice views and a nice breeze.
03:06And at the mushroom rock formations, Zohib took us to his favorite spots, wonderful.
03:12Close by were the east-west-slash-west-east sculptures just as the sun was setting, spectacular.
03:19On the way back to Doha, we were treated with views of the full moon as the sun was setting.
03:25Thank you, Zohib.
03:27This was a very enjoyable tour, and we highly recommend it.
03:33Zohib was a great guide, I learned all about Qatar throughout the tour and saw all the sights with plenty
03:40of time and lots of photo opportunities.
03:43Wear good climbing shoes to be able to get the best pictures.
03:47We didn't see the camel races themselves but got to see practice-slash-training which was even better as we
03:54were able to get up close.
03:56Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking to see outside of Doha.
04:01Thanks for a great morning, Zohib.
04:04Our trip was great made even better by our guide, Zohib.
04:09We saw camel racing at the track which was fabulous.
04:12Then drove to see the rock formations and the sculptures had plenty of time to get out and explore at
04:18each place.
04:19The knowledge shared with us by our guide made everything more interactive.
04:24Would recommend to anyone as a good adventure.
