Started off Day 2 in Doha at 9am, as we had plenty of sleep the night before.
The day started by strolling into Souq Waqif (which our hotel was right beside), and getting an Arabic breakfast at the Baith Maryam Brothers restaurant:
http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2024/11/26/baith-maryam-brothers/
Then strolled around Souq Waqif, visiting various Souq areas, including jewelry, falcon, bird, clothing. (Haha friend I was with thought the jewelry here would be fake).
Afterwards we headed towards the Museum of Islamic Art. Countries represented in it included Spain, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Qatar. Lots of Qurans, and pen boxes! There was also a temporary museum featuring Morocco art.
Here is a link to the museum’s audio guide:
https://app.smartify.org/en-GB/tours/highlights-of-the-museum-of-islamic-art?tourLanguage=en-GB
Afterwards we made our way to the West Bay Area, where there are a lot hotels and 2 malls. Also the sky scraper view looks fantastic. The first mall, The Gate Mall, was definitely not impressive (would not go back). We then checked out the Marriott hotel nearby to get drinks at their Tulum like bar (which is located at their pool deck and according to a friend did have Tulum vibes):
http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2024/11/26/tulum-doha/
After we went to the City Center Mall. It had a giant arcade, and a giant kids bouncy castle. Also lots of eateries (American ones). Also had a Gold Souq area. Would come back to this mall.
Then walked up to the beach area to check out Doha Beach Club. Will say we weren’t too impressed by it (but did enjoy the walk to the beach club to check out the rest of the buildings in the city.
After we walked to the 2nd tallest building in Doha, The Kepinski Residences. Here on the 61st floor they have a restaurant (with drinks) called Zengo, which has an epic view of the Lusail area, and also captured a sunset view. Details are here:
http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2024/11/26/zengo-doha/
Afterwards, to a small nap, then head back to Souq Waqif, which is a different vibe at night (the website guide mentioned it’s when you can see how the locals live). And indeed it was wayyy busier than the day (probably since it is cooler at night). For dinner, checked out this restaurant:
http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2024/11/26/infinity-rooftop-bar/
Then headed one block away to the Msheireb (Downtown Doha) area, which was a contrast between the adjacent Souq Waqif (very modern). We checked out this rooftop bar in the area called Infinity Bar that was in a hotel. Here are the details:
http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2024/11/26/infinity-rooftop-bar/
Ended the night by going back to the West Bay (City Center) area to check out a club called HIDE (Monolink, Zed, Tale of Us played here by the pictures on their wall). The club was a bit too crowded, and smelt like too much smoke for my liking. Therefore we checked out Glo Bar (again at the Marriott) as our last night at Doha.
Learnings/Take-aways: next time would either stay in the West Bay Area (where there are more westerners/ bars) or the Lusail area (ie where it’s more like Vegas). Whisky drinks here are way over priced since one Oz shot is usually $20. Also for the west end (also referred to as city Center), remember thinking that there is a lot of hotel buildings, residences, and office buildings, but still a lot of things being constructed, and doesn’t seem busy (ie hard to believe all the buildings are even close to being fully occupied). Some buildings look like they are starting to be constructed, but ran out of money. Lastly, basically all alcohol is in a bar in a hotel (and seems like you can get a whole bottle at the Marriot… but not sure if you can take it to your room or if you would have to finish it there). And lastly lastly, if I came back here again, would check out some sports stuff (since Formula 1 is now here, and the World Cup a few years ago). And lastly lastly lastly, for entering places that is exclusively alcohol / 21 plus like sports bars or clubs, you need to present your passport (most alcohol places we did did not have to do this).
