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Today was a busy day! It began when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. (thank you jet lag) and 15,000+ steps later, it’s coming to a close.

Yoni and I made our way to breakfast which was a leisurely seven-ish minute walk from the Najd. We ordered similarly to yesterday, though today’s fruit juice was watermelon! It was freshly juiced, with no added sugar, and delicious.

We could not be staying at a kinder hotel. We asked the receptionist, Lexi, for a map of the various hotel amenities and she also set me up properly on EHTERAZ. This app syncs with your vaccination status and personal information and uses contact tracing to give you a green, yellow or red QR code. Many establishments here require registration and a green code to enter. We needed to show this at the mall yesterday, but were let in with a paper copy. Turns out, I needed a local number to receive a one-time code and complete registration which is why I was having such difficulty without Lexi’s help.

We took the day leisurely and after eating, we walked to Souq Al Dira to explore fabrics. It is a fabric market with maybe 30-40 stores inside. While it can feel like a proper store rather than an open market, it is ok to haggle. It was about a 12-minute walk from breakfast in Souq Waqif and we headed over after breakfast.

Along the way, we jaywalked like locals (and I panicked like an American) but safely made it over the streets. While crossing one of the parking lots, a group of three men (I believe they were also tourists) got Yoni’s attention and asked for a photo. He thought they wanted him to take a picture of them. Turns out they each wanted a picture with us! We took pictures with the guys and Yoni explained after that he was nervous about pickpockets. I didn’t think that was the situation (and we had all our items) and shared the photo experience I had in China. I said how many tourists in China are Chinese and have never seen a westerner in person before, or someone very blonde, tall, etc., and how my brother and dad were very popular on our trip. You can read back about my time teaching English in Beijing here.

Souq al Dira

Shortly after, we made it to Souq Al Dira. I ended up buying two meters of floral fabric and at the time of writing, I was unsure what I’d make it with. However, at the time of posting, I am proud to share that I sewed myself a skirt!

After our outing, we went back to the hotel for a little break and started hunting for lunch. Yoni found a place in the Souq Waqif that was open (the Souq is closed essentially from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and that’s the hottest part of the day) called Cafe Ashberg. They didn’t have food during this time but we ordered a kiwi juice and banana milkshake. I loved the kiwi juice and Yoni had the banana milkshake.

I was very hungry and grumpy at this point. We were disappointed they didn’t offer food so we quickly got an Uber and rode the 20 minutes to the Katara Cultural Village. It’s very easy to get around Qatar with Uber. We found an open Lebanese restaurant called Albisana and ordered falafel. With each bite, I could feel my body's battery increasing. It’s 2:30 p.m. now and I’m crashing with exhaustion, no longer hangry. I drank a fizz stick and it held me up until about 10 p.m.

Katara cultural vIllage

The Katara Cultural Village was much better than either of us anticipated! It’s a beautiful space dedicated to preserving the history and diversity of Qatar. The online description had me a bit confused as to what to expect, but we had a pleasant time walking around.

We explored the amphitheater, courtyards, and beach walk area. Along the side, there is a pedestrian-only street called Tasty Street with small restaurant stalls. The stalls were closed but we were interested in going back when everything would be open.

The pearl

When we finished in Katara Cultural Village, we took an Uber to The Pearl. This is a retail and living development area on a man-made island. Per their website, “Divided into ten architecturally distinct precincts inspired by the most charming Mediterranean cities, The Pearl Island is considered an iconic site that embodies smart and sustainable features, offers an eclectic mix of residences, retail, F&B and entertainment outlets and houses Doha’s fastest growing community.”

It’s interesting to note that they were offering Qatari residency in one day if you buy a unit in one of the properties. The process to get Qatari residency can be otherwise complicated and lengthy.

We strolled along the canals which are reminiscent of Venice, Italy. The canal banks are full of shops and restaurants. On our walk, we encountered a violinist. She played so well that we both thought it was a recording!

We ended the night at a vegan restaurant, Evergreen Organics, that was recommended to Yoni by a colleague. It was great! We ordered a tasting platter and split everything. The platter came with: mini burgers, spicy cauliflower, avocado toast, fig toast (YUM!), butternut squash sandwich, avocado jungle roll, and kibbeh. A raw hazelnut brownie, snicker bar, and banoffee pie were the dessert offerings on the platter.

We Ubered back to the hotel, showered, and ended the day cozy, all wrapped up in the hotel bathrobes. Tomorrow we’ll do breakfast, hang out at the hotel pool and follow where our feet take us. Yoni has a surprise planned for me in the afternoon/evening. What could it be?? Let me know what you think in the comments!