Desert Kokeshi 13 砂漠のこけし13

One of the St. Regis hotels.

As you all have probably figured out, the Togatta kokeshi in my recent blogs is really a proxy for me and my on-going adventure in Qatar. In that sense it really is a "kokeshi adventure" in that the kokeshi is having an adventure in an exotic foreign country.

Last week the kokeshi and I had the chance to spend the day at a five-star luxury resort hotel called St. Regis on the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. It was pretty spectacular, and the view and amenities are as nice as anything on Guam or Hawaii, though the summer heat is much warmer.

The plan for the day was to eat brunch at the hotel, and then spend the day at the private beach. As you'll see in the photos below it was first class all the way, and having the kokeshi along made it that much more fun.

After the beach I took the kokeshi along to Souk Waqif where we had dinner. I'll write about in the next blog.

Brunch.

Going out to the pool and the beach.

The beach area.

I'm not sure if the beach is natural, but the sand was nice.

That's the Persian Gulf back there. If you were to get in a boat and go straight toward the horizon you would eventually end up in Iran.

After this day the kokeshi changed color somewhat, becoming a little darker. I guess  kokeshis can get tanned too. 

That's the new Doha skyline in the background. Many of the buildings are still under construction. 

We finished off the day with a refreshing local drink which was, as I recall, lemonade with mint. Delicious! 

The St. Regis at night. Absolutely gorgeous.

If you are planning on visiting Doha, you like the beach, and can afford it, I would highly recommend this hotel as an option. Here's the web site for more info: http://www.stregisdoha.com

سلام