Rolls Royce/Bentley Arabian Adventure Lunch

Nicks company has been involved in the Rolls Royce/Bentley Arabian Adventure. Rolls and Bentley's from all over the world have come to the middle east to take part in rally which starts in Doha. Nick is accompanying the convoy over the Saudi Arabian Boarder to the Abu Dhabi boarder.

We were invited to the company owners Farm for lunch along with all the drivers of the cars (you don't often get invited to the locals homes - so this was a great opportunity.

The drive to the farm was about 1hr and it was in the middle of nowhere.

As you can see it really is in the middle of nowhere - the trees boarder the property.

I took these videos of some of the cars arriving at the property - in total there were 70 cars.

Nick in his official gear and with the car he will be driving

The entrance to the farm

Waiting outside the farm for all the cars to arrive - it was quite windy and very hot

Driving into the property

This is just one of the houses on the property - this one belongs to one of his sons - apparently there is a house for each of his children - but they only spend the weekends here.

This is where we were served drinks - it had several rooms off a courtyard, the toilet alone was amazing, with a selection of beautiful perfumes, it was quite funny as everyone who came out of the toilet smelt lovely....even me (had to sample)

The marquee where we had lunch - the food was amazing - typical arabic food. Different animals served on a plate with rice - animal carcass and head included!! (could put you off meat forever) There was even camel - hump and all!!! Very yummy though.

To the right of the entrance was a shawarma stand (kebab) all the other food was inside. There was whole spice stuffed fish also. So much food.

This was one of the rooms off the courtyard where drinks were served

Tea Set

This table was actually an old door - it was beautiful.

Cute garden statue

After lunch we were offered a drive around the farm - I had the pleasure of being in a Bentley, the farm had all sorts of animals - zebras, ostrich, deer, goats, rabbits, donkeys. It was an amazing property - this is another of the houses on the property.

On the way back to Doha - the drivers had the opportunity to drive a couple of laps around Losail International Race Circuit (MotoGp will be here in April) I hitched a ride with the most down to earth man - Terry from the UK in his Bentley and he burned some serious rubber round the track - we followed the safety car for the first lap and then we were let loose for one lap - and Terry came third - it was an amazing experience. This was us driving up to the starting grid.

This is the Bentley that I was in - beautiful car.

All the cars lining up - only about half of the cars took up the opportunity to drive the circuit.

Waiting for the checkered flag.

And we're off!!!

Heading round the track - It was just the most amazing experience.

Rolls Royce Tour

Nick has been chosen from his company to escort these cars to Abu Dhabi over three days.

He will add more photos when he returns.

The Arabian Gulf Adventure Tour, the first extensive tour of classic cars to be organised in the region, is to kick off tomorrow at The Pearl-Qatar.

More than 70 classic cars, including a collection of Rolls-Royces, representing virtually every year and model of the legendary brand – including a pristine 1912 Silver Ghost, are to be featured. 

It is organised by Peter Cameron, the mastermind behind earlier successful tours of Malaysia in 2001 and Borneo in 2005.

The objective is to promote regional tourism, showcase rare cars and to offer the participants the opportunity to experience Arab hospitality and learn about the local culture. 
All the classically-engineered cars are in working order and most have travelled on similar tours throughout the world, some as long as the 2007 Peking to Paris Rally. 

This particular tour brings together motoring enthusiasts from all over the world too, including the UK, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Monaco, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and Bermuda.

The event is organised on a non-profit basis and is supported by a committee of seasoned volunteers. The Alfardan Group, in close co-operation with main sponsor and official carrier Qatar Airways, has helped bring this unique classic cars adventure to the Middle East.
The Alfardan Group will facilitate the complex logistical aspects of the programme throughout the Gulf region. The tour is also receiving support from various regional government agencies and tourism authorities, The Commercialbank of Qatar and many other bodies. 

From Doha the tour goes to Abu Dhabi, transiting Saudi Arabia, before touching the historic town of Nizwa in Oman, via Al Ain, continuing on to the Omani capital Muscat, before ending up in Dubai

Accident

This accident was yesterday afternoon - but as you can see the traffic was not diverted, the road was not blocked off, everyone just drove on as usual.  And this is one of the main roads.

It was a petrol tanker.

Road Rules .....What Road Rules!!!!

This is just an sample of some of the bad driving here in Doha - it gets much worse than this!!

Sand Storm

This morning I headed out for a walk along the corniche - it started out as a really nice morning even though it was a bit windy.

I went into the shopping mall after my walk and came out 10 mins later to a huge sandstorm - you could hardly see a thing.

So it was head down, eyes open just enough to see and mouth closed!

Interesting Article

An interesting or disturbing article in the local paper.

Lunch at the Ritz

Last weekend we decided to go and have lunch at the  Ritz Carlton - we sat outside by the pool and had a beer a bicardi breezer and the best salads we have had since we have been here (Thai Beef/Seafood)

The poolside bar

Around the pool 

We took a walk around the gardens

The view of the Pearl from the Ritz

This was parked outside

And this was moored at the marina - very nice indeed!!