Doha Days: Souq Waqif

There are things that I enjoy about living in Doha, but it can sometimes feel a bit samey. Once you're inside one of the many shopping centres, you could be anywhere in the world and it sometimes feels as though I've never left the UK.

The things that I like most are the unique things and that's why I love Souq Waqif so much. Could I be in Lincoln? Oh no. This is another world and despite the fact that this world is made up of 90% men who stare along as women wander down the street, I love it.

We first visited in May when we were in town for Rich's interview when his friend took us to a Moroccan restaurant for dinner. I went back in my first week with my colleagues, but this was only Rich's second trip. When we returned last weekend it was far busier than I'd seen it, due to the fact it was Eid and it seemed like the whole city had turned out.

We enjoyed a wander round the various Eid attractions, found the animal Souq for the first time and then stumbled into the bird area which completely freaked me out. If you know me, you'll know that a large bird flying straight for my head is my idea of hell on earth. I got out of there pretty quickly.

We ended our evening with a visit to Royal Tandoor, and I posted a review earlier on so have a little look here. There are so many restaurants at the Souq that I want to try and the options are far more varied than I initially expected. There are also a huge variety of shops selling everything from spices to clothes to fabric to hardware and at some point I'll have to pluck up the courage to go shopping there and haggle for some bargains.

So aside from ensuring that I don't wander into the bird souq again, this is one place I'll keep visiting again and again.