Qatar - Doha

Earlier this month, we traveled to Qatar, where we stayed in Doha. On arrival, our first impression was how friendly the locals were. We were warmly greeted in our hotel and this continued for the rest of the week.

Qatar is not yet well-known as a holiday destination. Yet it is a country worth visiting. It is super safe - you can leave 100 $ on a table of for instance a restaurant, leave, come back a couple of hours later and find your bill as you left it. Prices are not too expensive, either. As a woman, you are quite safe walking the streets and dress western like. Personally I advise to be a bit careful, though. We went for trousers and t-shirts, out of respect for the country's culture. 

Qatari's are the richest of the oil states, still they don't show it like in Dubai. The emir himself doesn't drive a Maserati or Lamborghini, but an ordinary cruiser - and he expects his countrymen to do the same.

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we met our tour guide who took us to see Souq Waqif, where different trades have their headquarter. We first made a tour of the souq. What we discovered wasbhow clean everything was. You can of course find everything in the souq (we bought some items, for a reasonable price, like pearls which are dived for locally; and dresses, which cost us about 15 € a piece. Our guide also showed us into a little café, where older men gather to play Dammas. One of them was willing to show us the game.

Next it went to the falcon market. The Qatari like falcons, which they use to hunt. In the souq there are shops where you can find out which falcon you like best, and they also offer advice on how to train the bird. We got to opportunity of trying it ourselves.

We also visited the camel market. Here camels are trained to take part in races, which are also very popular in Qatar.

Worth seeing is the Blue Mosque in the souq. It is allowed to enter this mosque as a foreign woman, but of course you leave your shoes and wear a shawl.

What you must certainly try out in Qatar is the local drink 'karak'. It is based on black tea with milk andifferent spices, especially cardamon. It's quite tasty and we plan on making it here at home as well (we got the recipe from an old woman who was willing to share it).

Can you believe it, cars stand in cue at stalls where karak is sold!

We also visited the north of the country. We went to Al Khor where dhows (the wooden boats used by the pearl fishers) are repaired and where you also find a fishing harbour with fish market (also very clean).

Then we drove to the mangrove forest, one of the biggest in the world. Here Qatari come to spend a day out, kayaking and such. 

In the desert, we saw the Al Zubarah fort and rock formations that looked like mushrooms.

One thing I also must emphasize, is how clean this country is. Even the public toilets (or whatever toilet in whatever place) is clean. A cleaning woman or man is present at all times and they clean the toilet before you use it, and afterwards - for free. 

So I hope you feel inspired to visit Qater as well. You won't regret it!

Latvia - Riga

Somwhere in the afternoon we arrived in Riga, the capital of Latvia. It was raining at the moment, so our first impression was that of a dark city. And I must say that this first impression remained. When you read reports about the Baltic states, most people claim that Riga is the nicest city of them. I can't agree. I liked Vilnius a lot better.

The old town has narrow streets which circle this way and that, and it's not easy to find your way back to the hotel. The narrowness of the streets and alleys has a depressing effect, I find. We also took a city tour here with guide Erika. There are lots of old buildings, so you can spend a couple of hours seeing them all.

Riga is known for its Art Deco quarter. A whole block is filled with big mansions in this style.

Having discovered Riga, we did an excursion to Kemeri national park on another day. Here you find pine forests, bogs and old spa's.

This excursion ended in Jurmala, on the Baltic Sea. A storm had just passed by, and the sea was quite rough. We had planned to walk on the beach, but that was impossible.

So we went to a seaside restaurant instead and had a wonderful lunch with the local catch of the day. In these Baltic states, the way of preparation is different than ours. They smoke meat and fish more than we do. But I quite like the cooking.

All in all, it was a good trip and everything went to plan. We do all the planning on our own, never use a travel agency. And we never have a bad experience with this.

Lithuania - Vinius

In October we decided to visit two of the Baltic states. Our first stop was Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania.

We arrived late in the evening, so the only thing we could do was to check in, unload our suitcase and go for dinner. The following day we made a discovery tour of the town. Our private guide took us on a walk and our first destination was Cathedral Square. This is a central point in Vilnius. Worth seeing are the cathedral, of course, and also the tower which is one of those to guard the city. 

Then we went to see the university, one of the eldest buildings here. Normally you can't visit the university (unless you are a student enrolled there), but our guide used to work there and she had permission to show us the most important places there, like this wonderful reading hall:

After this visit (and a coffee) we walked to the Jewish quarter. This part of town suffered a lot through the wars, but it is still worth seeing, especially for the wall paintings.

With the tour guide, we saw Gediminas Tower from the outside (Gediminas being the first ruler over Lithuania), but on another occasion we also went up the hill and admired the views over town.

From Vilnius it is not far to Trakai, where the summer residence of the rulers of Lithuania is situated. The castle on the water is build with wood and stone, and is quite old.

I must say we rather liked Vilnius. Despite the autumn weather (sometimes sun, sometimes rain and even a heavy storm which uprooted trees and such) we could make nice walks and enjoy the town. It gives you an open view, with wide boulevards and lots of squares. The food is hearty and nice and for those who love beer, there are plenty of pubs around.

From Vilnius we traveled to Riga. We took private transport which is quite affordable. We use Daytrip for transfers between cities. You get a private car with driver, and they can be trusted to be on time. During the drive we passed alongside the Hill of Crosses, a memorial to the people of Lithuania.

The next part of the trip you'll find in another blog.