May 2014

Friends trip to the Middle East! Jord and Jodi Ritsema and Sarah and me taking on the beautiful Arabian peninsula. If I recall, this trip was after Jord had gotten his masters in Petroleum engineering and we had been talking about taking a big trip all together. We floated lots of ideas around and decided on some destinations off the beaten path (not so much anymore…thanks instagram!) At the time, I was working for Irwin Seating company and had made some contacts and “virtual friends” from our logistics operations in Qatar and Kuwait and they had me convinced this part of the Middle East needed to be seen. So it was decided – Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE. A whirlwind trip to the Arabian Peninsula.

The girls weren’t able to get as much time off of work as Jord and I, so we decided to fly out 6 days early to Qatar! Neither of us knew much about this tiny state located along the Persian Gulf. Jord was in the oil industry and knew this part of the world was sitting on some major oil money. What else would we discover? Upon arrival, we took a taxi from the airport through downtown Doha, the capital of Qatar, filled with ultramodern skyscrapers. I’m a nut for cityscapes and Doha was amazing. We booked an Airbnb and shared a villa with an Iraqi guy at The Pearl. The Pearl is an artificial island near Doha’s West Bay District. It’s known for its yacht marinas, luxury shopping and residential villas…wow, who would’ve thought we’d be here? $50 per night offered a beautiful view of the Pearl. 

We visited this part of the world in May. The summer temperatures are insanely hot and we were right on the brink of not being able to be outside. It was HOT. We weren’t going to let the heat deter us from wandering Doha. 

We spent the day strolling along the Doha Corniche which is a 4.5 mile promenade along the Persian gulf and downtown Doha. The corniche provides views of downtown Doha, the traditional dhow boats in the bay and a view of the museum of Islamic Art. 

At the end of the corniche is Souq Waqif, which is a must see and do while in Qatar. Souq Waqif is Qatar’s oldest Souq or marketplace. Wandering the narrow alleys felt like an authentic Qatar vs. the modern downtown skyscrapers we walked by earlier in the day. The Souq consists of tiny stalls and stores selling anything from spices and herbs, to garments, perfume and even birds. It’s also known for its many restaurants and cafes and by the time we arrived, we were looking for some traditional food and shisha! 

I mentioned earlier, I had made some contacts with colleagues from work, Hiba and Elias, who are both originally from Lebanon, but living in Qatar. They took us out for a delicious Lebanese dinner. Definitely a highlight from the trip. We ended that night with the most expensive pint of Guinness we had ever bought at the only upscale hotel in the country to serve alcohol.

Qatar is a very small country so we filled our remaining couple days enjoying the Pearl, visiting Katara cultural village, eating and smoking shisha. 

Off to Kuwait! A close virtual colleague of mine named Ragheda, lived in Kuwait City and over the years had been telling me about her family’s life in Kuwait. Sounded interesting. Why not visit? Ragheda picked up Jord and I from the airport late at night and dropped us off at our hotel in Al Salmiya, Kuwait City. 

Like Qatar, Kuwait is a very small gulf country. However, in May with temperatures so hot, Ragheda picked us up and drove us around Kuwait City visiting the highlights. We visited the famous Kuwait Towers, the Grand Mosque and the sea side fish market. Jord also wanted to get a very jersey shore-esque haircut from a local barber. 

Ragheda even used her persuasive Lebanese to get us into the top floor of the newly built Al Hamra tower to get a staggering view of the Kuwait City skyline at night. So epic.

The second night at the hotel, Jord and I received a frantic Google call from Sarah and Jodi. They had ran into major traffic on their way to O’hare and were not going to make their flight to Kuwait. All this planning down the drain! We couldn’t believe this was happening. Getting on a new flight the next day was going to cost $2k each!! Sarah was crying to the desk lady and at the last second, the ticket lady said there was a slight delay and if you RAN to the gate, you might make the flight. Those girls ran their tails off! Sweaty and out of breath, they boarded the plane for an enjoyable 15 hour flight.

Sarah and Jodi flew into Kuwait City with a bunch of army guys who asked what in the world they were traveling to Kuwait for. “Tourism!” they replied….those army guys thought they were nuts. Sarah’s luggage never arrived, so the girls had fun shopping for local dresses and garments at Souq Al-Mubarakiya, one of the oldest souqs in Kuwait. We spent several hours wandering the marketplace. Jord even got suckered into purchasing a keffiyeh and flip flops that were two sizes too small .

We ended the trip with Ragheda over a Lebanese meal and shisha at the Avenues Mall.

Off to Bahrain! None of us knew much about Bahrain, but decided it made sense to make a stop enroute to Dubai. Highlights from our short stop in Bahrain included the girls first experience hearing the call to prayer over the loud speakers in the middle of the souq, Al-Fateh Grand Mosque and Bahrain National Museum.

Bahrain is a Muslim country but is the most lenient with alcohol, so we took advantage of it by visiting a rooftop bar in downtown Manama and enjoyed a beer. We also enjoyed a laid back day at beach and yacht club along the gulf.

The epicenter of the trip was UAE…more specifically Dubai. Home of the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world. This was a dream destination for us. We booked a ballin’ airbnb on the Dubai marina and as a cityscape nut, the skyline was unparalleled. Our balcony faced some of the tallest buildings in the world.

Dubai has an extensive metro that takes you to all the different neighborhoods and taxis were dirt cheap – land of the oil.

We made the most of our time here. We visited Old Dubai, which provided a window into the day-to-day life of the city’s local community. We enjoyed lunch and took a traditional dhow boat ride.

We accidentally snuck into the Jumeriah Beach hotel that took us onto the beach and offered us a perfect view of the only 7-star hotel in the world, the Burj Al Arab.

Again, as a Muslim country, for the most part, the UAE is a dry country. The only way you could get alcohol is purchasing it duty free when flying in. We picked up some coronas and enjoyed Papa John’s on our balcony watching the skyline come alive at night.

A highlight of Dubai was going up to the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa. The view was insane. From the viewpoint terrace you could see the Palm Jumeriah, home to the elite residential communities and the Palm Atlantis. You could get glimpses of the World Islands, the man made islands made to look like a world map, and the desert extending out to the horizon.

We also did a day trip out to the desert to experience the thrill of dune bashing (silver lake still beats Dubai!) 🙂 the day ended with a traditional UAE meal with camel rides, henna, belly dancing and shisha.

Our last day trip took us to Abu Dhabi, another emirate in the UAE and home to the magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Truly breathtaking. The mosque is open to all visitors, not only Muslims, and we were given the appropatrie clothes in order to enter. Amazing experience. We spent hours trying to capture this place with our cameras and couldn’t do it justice.

10 years later and us 4 reminisce about this trip often. The ridiculously close call of the girls making their flight is something we laugh about frequently. I remember our parents wondering why on earth we chose to this destination. Before Instagram, Kuwait brought up ideas of terrorism and war and the girls experienced that sentiment first on hand the flight with army personnel. Having Ragheda, Hiba and Elias to show us around provided in the inside track to these places and we were able to experience first hand the hospitality in this part of the world. Sure, experiencing the call to prayer blasting across the city, which is a normal occurrence in the Islamic world, while trying to sleep in a Sony hotel in the middle of a bustling Souq can be uncomfortable. However, it also brings these intense feelings of being in a new world – which is an addictive and fascinating experience for me. In the end, we had an unforgettable trip visiting this part of the world. Can’t wait to be back.