Head for a desert safari in Doha for an unparalleled experience
BY AKANKSHA DEAN
Within 45 minutes from the Mandarin Oriental (my home for four days) in Doha, I arrive at a desert camp: a few tiny tents where we get to drink ‘karak’ (hot sweet tea), observed by the local falcon, a couple of camels which we can ride if we want to, and some kind men who help our driver reduce the air pressure of our Land Cruiser tyres.
For those who do not know, tyres need to be flatter than on the pitch to evade getting trapped. You don’t want to get stranded in the heat, do you?
Tyres flattened, we get back in the car and set off, training directly at a dune as sharp as a crag.
Up we go at quite a thrash, Arabic songs playing on radio. And then, like on a rollercoaster, unexpectedly we are gliding down the other side of it. Over and again, we incline up a dune, or thunder along the side of one, and slide down a sandy grade as if it’s a red run in the Alps.
It’s accurately exciting, swaying from sideways and escaping sand bumps. Maximum speed is about 40mph, “else you can misplace the car’s bumpers,” jokes our driver, as he tempos to another peak.
The locals like the desert when it’s breezy, so that the dune surfaces are brushed as suave as glass, offering a sand show for spectators.
Sparkling in the expanse, on a coast just arranged back from the sea, is another desert camp, the Regency Sealine Camp. We head there for some icy beverages. Imagine it like the Boho Social of the desert. The aqua sea looks like somewhat you’d see on a picture-perfect holiday. We end up having some mint tea and kebabs, and bounce back to Doha.
Behind here, sand sports are the craze. Manifold operators offer trips from Doha, for activities ranging from sand-skiing and sand-boarding to dune bashing in 4x4 jeeps.
You can stay for half a day or overnight, or numerous nights if you are after the complete Arabic glamping experience. There’s a campfire each night, and the next morning, if you feel like heading out into the dunes over, you can have a go at sand-boarding.
There’s nothing near the camp for a long way so the
only thing that could distract you is a nomadic camel. Truly, an oasis.
