Spelunking

We learned about a sinkhole/cave. We went and found it. The last picture is of sheep about to be slaughtered.

Duning and Inland Sea

I went duning with some friends. We went south to the "inland sea" (a large salt water inlet). The land you see across the water in some of the pictures is Saudi.

Dhow Cruise

I went on a dhow cruise (a wooden boat, you can see one in the pictures) for some people's birthdays. We went out to an island and swam and had some food.

Doha at Night

This is the skyline at night. The spirally thing is a fancy mosque. There seems to be something to say about the mosque and the HSBC right next to each other.

Oryx Breeding Facility and Camel Race Track

My dad was invited to go and view an oryx breeding facility and the camel race tracks. The oryx is the national animal here but has been extinct for quite a while. They are trying to reintroduce them. While the camel racing season has just started, and there was not a race scheduled, they put on some practice trials we were able to observe. The camels run along a track (with robot jockeys) while the trainers drive alongside in suvs controlling the jockeys and yelling instructions. This is a serious business here; most of the camels in these pictures (with the exception of those in the last one) are worth in the vicinity of one million dollars.

Dukhan

My dad happened to be in town last week (for reasons unrelated to my being here). On Friday we drove to Dukhan, a city on the west coast. We found beaches and oil. We swam in the water. It was warm (high 80s/low 30s, at least).