After a reasonably comfortable night we enjoyed a lovely buffet breakfast in a restaurant which was surprisingly well appointed, very modern and nice. The waiters were also very pleasant and we enjoyed our meal.

With only one day to look around Doha we wanted to see as much as possible in the time available. We were going to get a taxi down to the Souk Waqif but the guy on the hotel desk told us that we were already in the old part of town and assured us that the souk was very close by. We set off to walk, armed with a map of the town which we studied carefully. Unfortunately it appears that the map must have been of some other place called Doha because it bore no resemblance at all to anywhere we were going and it certainly didn't prevent us from getting ever so slightly lost! The weather was warm, very windy and dusty with sand blowing in the air. Not the best walking conditions but we walked for miles and miles and all that exercise must have been very good for us!

First of all it took us much longer than it should have done to find the Souk Waqif. We didn't mind though because at least we got to see most of the rest of the old town on the way! The souk was a fascinating place with alleyways going in all directions but the place was deserted and all the shops shut up. We had made the mistake of arriving during siesta time! The only part open was the pet section and we spent 10 minutes looking at all the birds, especially the psychedelic coloured chicks, the baby rabbits, puppies, kittens etc, etc, all looking very appealing and hoping for someone to take them home.

We left the souk and headed for the Corniche. This covers about 7 km along the waterfront and is really beautiful with many palm trees, flower beds and lush green lawns. We walked for quite some distance, unfortunately on the wrong side of the road and no way to get across several lanes of traffic. Nevertheless we had a good view of the sea and the many dhows bobbing on the water in the strong breeze. We passed the clock tower, one of the few things Amanda definitely remembers from when she was here in the seventies. So much is new since then that it is difficult to recognise the place.

By now we were getting rather hot and in need of a rest. We walked inland and eventually picked up a taxi and headed towards the reclaimed area, Doha Bay, which is full of many new high rise buildings, hotels, offices etc, etc, all very impressive. We went to the Sheraton which Amanda remembers as being one of the first hotels and probably dates back to the seventies too. It is lovely inside, much nicer than more modern hotels often are. We treated ourselves to afternoon tea, beautifully served and extremely reasonably priced, not to mention absolutely delicious!

From there we took a taxi to the Pearl. This is an amazing place, slightly surreal, with a large number of elegant blocks of apartments and upmarket shops and restaurants surrounding a marina full of many luxury boats and yachts. The whole area was semi-deserted, obviously waiting for the crowds of rich and beautiful people to move in.

After a short visit to the Pearl we moved on to the Katara cultural village, situated on Doha's Gulf shore. Much to our surprise, we were taken to the centre in a golf buggy and there we found a public beach with lots of water sports activities and various other things to do, but everything had to be paid for, including walking on the beach! We had a wander round and saw the huge amphitheatre and many other impressive buildings. There were many huge restaurants but it was late afternoon and, again, the place was almost deserted. Around 6 o'clock, just as we were leaving, many more people began arriving. It seems that people enjoy being out in the evenings here and stay at home in the heat of the day. How very sensible!

We returned to the Souk Waqif and it was like a different place from the one we saw earlier in the day! It was busy and bustling with many people thronging the alleyways and all the shops open for business. We spent some time wandering around and enjoying the spectacle before choosing one of the many lively restaurants where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of our favourite Arabic dishes in very traditional surroundings. We clearly chose too many dishes for the two of us but still managed to do it justice and just about cleared the lot!