Qatar

Qatar had been on our list for a while, especially after the camel races came highly recommended by our Catalan friend, Jordi. But after weeks of battling traffic and concrete along the eastern coast of Arabia, we were weary of cities. So we made a slightly dramatic decision and we would skip the capital altogether. Could we enjoy this small peninsula without seeing its supposedly unmissable pearl, Doha, and chasing nature only? Let's go.

We crossed the border without much fuss and first of all went to a visit at Decathlon to fix a leaking sleeping mat. Desert nights are romantic, but only until the air leaves your mattress!
We dodged the weekend traffic on our way to Zekreet, a large rock formation on Qatar’s western coast. Darkness was falling when we found a camp spot, but this time it was a good one: a quiet desert valley, no noise, no cars, just the breeze and the stars. It had been a while since we’d had a night like that.
And the morning... Wow...

Next day we rode out to check out Al Shahiniya camel race, one of Qatar’s most celebrated sporting traditions. Camel racing is a huge deal here, with animals trained from a young age by foreign workers (obviously), but ridden actually by tiny robot jockeys perched on their back (child jockeys were banned in 2005 thanks to UNICEF). The prize money can reach the hundreds of thousands USD.
At the tracks, you can wander around freely, watch the camels train, and see owners driving alongside on parallel asphalt roads, honking to make their animals sprint faster. Of course, IronChris couldn’t resist taking Murghob on a lap or two - some tracks are just asking for it!

Back at the same spot in the desert we reunited with our friends in the big truck, and of course, gaming night and laughters made us curl up in the bag a bit late.
It was all fun until the Regional Environmental officer turned up. Apparently, campfires are illegal, and camping is only allowed on weekends. He took some pictures of our numbers plates and told us he would need to report us, but after some ‘gentle pleading’ he let us off the hook, on the condition we put out the fire and clean the site up in the morning. Avec Plaisir!

Tempted by the offer of more board games and the use of their washing machine, we joined the family to the Mangrove Beach, northeast of the country. We spent two days beach bumming, doing the laundry, and playing with the kids to the point where their insurmountable energy was depleting (mission accomplished!). With Douwe’s help, we could finally fix Kismet's lights, and now the bike was sort of ‘street legal’ again.

After a few sandy days we treated ourselves to one cheap hotel night - a good shower, pizza and film in the afternoon, being alone a bit, reset.

After five days, we rolled back to the Saudi border to continue south, aiming for the UAE.
Always keep rolling ❤️Read more