New Dawn Trip to Doha – November 2010

November 5 2010 marks the day New Dawners first embarked on a trip to explore a place outside of Bahrain.

We met at the airport’s Costa Coffee at 7 a.m. tired but excited. Some of us hadn't met each others before, I thought to myself: this is exactly the kind of change I needed. This trip is going to be interesting!

At the hotel in Doha, we decided to take a two hour break and then go for lunch at the Villagio. Paco drove our little rented Pathfinder as Manar delved into the 'famous' Doha map to provide directions. As we sat back and enjoyed the journey, Manar would describe some of the important landmarks, she was a cute guide!

At the Villagio mall, we met Paco's friend Manal, who's been living in Doha for four years and offered to show us around.

Lunch at Le Notre was outstanding, indeed we were all starving. We discussed some interesting topics including differences in personalities at work and the importance of knowing what each character type is capable of giving. We were inspired to bring such through future events.

Next, we went to Souq Waqif. This time we split in two groups with Paco and Manal driving each. I sat at the back and enjoyed the ride as I listened to Manal and Hind Al Sabbagh (Hind S) discuss the development of Qatar and the nowadays disciplined traffic system!

We arrived at Souq Waqif at the perfect time: an hour before sunset. Yasmine together with Paco and Manal needed to take some shots for Yasmine's upcoming photography exhibition, so the rest of us wandered around exploring the Souq's various corners. We were taken by the beauty of old minarets, traditional cafes combined with the modern looks of people and of course, a breathtaking view of the sun preparing to set in the background. The weather was just perfect. 

 We took a break and decided to load on sugar, ice cream with chocolate brownies and some yummy fruit smoothies. As we chatted about our careers and daily lives, I felt closer to each one of the girls and learned small lessons from their perspectives in life.

Our professional photographer arrived with Paco and Manal, just in time to witness the commission in front of us. A famous magician stood impressing people with his tricks as they chanted and clapped every now and then. One thing we all knew as we experienced this atmosphere. We want this in Bahrain.

It was time to leave. We stopped by one of the traditional shops to buy our favorite candies: cute mini jello packs and candy rings for Hind S and Yasmine, and a pack of dried fruit for me!!

The plan was to take a short break at the hotel, after which we can head to the Pearl for dinner. We were all impressed by the beauty of the Pearl. As a project, it was in many ways similar to Amwaj in Bahrain, but the vibrant retail space with the restaurants and the well known 'Walk' made the place more lively than ever. We stopped for dinner in a Mexican place called Pompano, which Manal recommended. And while we had our delicious Guacamole and salads, we were all anxious to get to the Chocolate Bar before it closes. Unfortunately we didn't make it on time, but dinner was worth the delay.

In the morning of the next day, and after enjoying a delicious waffles breakfast, Paco, Yasmine and I went for another photography session at the corniche and there we met an interesting Indonesian photographer who offered to take a  picture of us and fix Yasmine's camera settings.

Our next station was the Museum of Islamic Arts, where we felt the greatness of our Arab and Muslim ancestors of Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and India as well. We walked proud past a group of Europeans as they stood listening carefully to a guide explaining the glories of these remarkable empires. The efforts our Qatari neighbors spent to not only put together a great building, but also display artifacts and jewelry from all over the Middle East to insure an appropriate foot traffic, inspired us all.

We had lunch at the Landmark Mall, after which we rushed to Lush to buy our favorite facial masks and creams.

Our plan was to get Yasmine to the Le Notre branch at New Busines District area, to get the Macaroons she ordered the previous day, and also take some photos next to the 'THINK' and 'REALIZE' signs at the corniche.   It was probably thankless job, but we still thought it was a great idea to place such signs next to the sea, where people stare when they have problems or are for any reason confused.    

We drove around for at least one hour before finding the Le Notre branch, Yasmine got het Macaroons and we all got cute chocolate gifts.

We fortunately made it on time at the corniche to 'pose' next to the 'THINK' sign before heading to the airport. It was evening by then, but we still took the shot.

As I said goodbye and 'see ya soon' to my New Dawner friends, I couldn't believe I had only met some of them for the first time on the previous day. After hanging out together for two full days and chatting nonstop about every possible subject, I felt like I knew these girls for years! We had fun together, laughed, complained, but most importantly… got inspired together.

We all agreed this trip, despite its simplicity and shortness was a great success and should be repeated every year, or maybe every few months as some of us dreamed!