Sand, Speed and Sand. EVERYWHERE.

Life doesn't get much more awesome.

So Eid holidays are almost over, and though the compound practically emptied I still managed to have some fun. We did another Dhow trip, but I must admit, they are getting a bit repetitive, and the weather has cooled down significantly now, and it was just freezing.

SO COLD! But it was nice to wear my hoodie!

Incredible sunset

But by far, the best part of my holidays was the Desert Safari. You get picked up and driven into the desert, where you do all manner of dangerous driving, and then stay in a Bedouin Tent. Our driver was a Qatari called Saleem (I hope I spelt that right!) and his car was a huge 8 seater 4x4. It had a wicked sound system. We drove out of Doha and through the Industrial Zone. Its not the part of Qatar that they are most proud of, as it houses most of the workers that are severely underpaid and has the oil refineries, where they make their billions. I don't have any photos for you as it is an arrest-able offence to take them.

After the Industrial Zone we turned off into the desert and stopped to let air out of the tires, and then we were off. The sand dunes are absolutely massive and the windward sides are seriously steep. The driver takes you up the ridge and goes across it for ages, and then just tips the car over the edge and you go screaming down the slope and hit the salt flats at the bottom. Of course, about 5 minutes from starting out, we almost rolled the car, got half buried in the sand, had to climb vertically out of the car and watch as it disappeared under gulfs of smoke. We decided the car was sideways at about 60 degrees. It was definitely teetering, and listening to our staunch driver say "DON'T MOVE!" gets your heart fluttering a bit. Here is the video if you feel brave enough :) Crash is about 3.30 min in.

After getting the car out (which was very nicely done) we carried on our way, all a bit more nervous each time the car slipped sideways, and stopped at the top of a massive dune. We ran down, and then struggled back up. Its hard! Then more driving, to the inland sea, and as close as I would ever probably get to Saudi Arabia. Apparently if we went swimming and got too far; they would shoot us. Lovely. After the sun set we drove to the camp. There was a Bedouin and his camels there and we went for a quick and overpriced ride, had a delicious Arabian barbecue and some shisha. Then we took the cars back out (not part of the tour!) and drove on the dunes in the dark, which was fantastic. And then we got to drive. I have never had so much fun. The cars are so powerful and respond beautifully to the slightest touch. The smaller car was a manual and i drove it about 4 times. I tried the bigger one we were in all day and it was good too, but I didn't feel like I had the same control compared with the automatic. We then went back to camp and sat around the campfire until we couldn't stay awake any longer and then went and slept in the tent. It wasn't the best sleep - it was cold and the sand, my god it was everywhere. But we woke up to paradise. Our tent was about 5 metres from the ocean, and the sun was just rising. There was leftover barbecue and deliciousness and sun, but it was still really cold. We had a last bit of daredevil driving on the way home, filled the tires up and came home, put my clothes in a pile, got into bed and didnt wake up untill the afternoon. And when I did I got up from one pool of sand, could barely see my clothes for the pile that was under that and then headed for a shower. Its almost two days later and its still falling out of my ears, hair and even my eyebrows. Going to bed is like an exfoliation.

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