Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

TGIF!  Thank God it’s Friday, my husband and I are here at the church parking grounds once again while waiting for our daughter who’s attending her Catechism class.  What better way to spend time waiting than writing for the blog.

Both my husband and my daughter are very fond of the beach and the sea.  Every time we are in the Philippines for our holiday, we always get to visit the beach.  Whether it’s in the nearby beaches of Zambales (a province in Region 3 in Luzon) where come from, or the beaches of Batangas, they just simple love it.  The last time we went home, we were very fortunate to have visited the lovely beaches and ocean of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  It’s probably the best we’ve ever seen by far.  My daughter had a blast playing on the sand and most of all snorkeling in the middle of the ocean. 
Since we came here in Doha, three years ago, we haven’t really been to the beach until recently.  The closest we ever got to the sea is by going to Corniche where we usually had our picnics and took lovely photos.  But thanks to some friends who told us about the “Al Wakra beach” we have been visiting the beach twice already.  It is called Wakra beach because it is located at the Municipali

ty of Al Wakra, Qatar.  Al Wakra is just 10-minutes drive from Doha, especially if you are coming from the Airport Area where it’s very near.  The beach is an open one, no entrance, no resorts to speak of.  It’s just a long strip of beach that is accessible to everyone who would like to come for a morning walk on the sand or an afternoon splash in the water.

Going to Wakra beach was a bit tricky
for us at first.  There weren’t any maps to follow, only directions given by friends which involves counting roundabouts and looking for a bank.  The first time we went, it was at 4:00 in the afternoon.  It took us a good 20-30 minutes to finally reach it as we got a little confused.  We never saw the bank and we didn’t know which of the roundabouts.  We even had to ask people along the road.  Then we later found out that there are different ways going there, since it was a long strip of beach, all the roads on the left (if you’re coming from Doha) will take you there.  But of course there is always the better if not the best way.

Finally, when we got there, it was definitely worth the wait.  The tide was low as it was almost sunset.  You’d be surprised at the number of vehicles parked at the beach.  Families with children, couples and even bachelors were there, enjoying a walk in the sand. Some of them were even having their barbecues which made us really envious and made our mouths water.  The three of us just had a nice stroll which was quite a long once since the water was quite far from the beach by this time.  Xianelle enjoyed picking up shells of various shapes.  We watched as the sun set.  Although the cold breeze was freezing we surely had a great time and promise ourselves that we’ll be back for more.  We left the beach with a big smile in our tummies as we were so happy that we’ve finally found our weekend hideaway without having to go to an expensive resort.