This morning we took a break from official university business to engage in the traditional Qatari pastime of “dune-bashing.” Piling into Land Cruisers, we sped through downtown Doha until the villa compounds and glittering buildings blurred into petroleum refineries and vast swathes of sand.

After about an hour, we pulled off the road and stopped for the drivers to let some air out of the tires. (This gives the tires greater surface area while driving on the sand.) Conveniently, a few enterprising camel drivers had set up shop close by. While waiting, a few of us caved into the touristy appeal of taking a short, bumpy ride around the parking lot.

With tires appropriately flat, our two adventurous drivers stomped on the gas and gunned it straight for the first dune. The result can best be described as a mixture between off-roading and a roller coaster…with extreme bouncing punctuated by extreme curves and dips where the horizon line suddenly veered off unexpectedly. In between dune climbing and diving, our drivers enjoyed showing off their fishtailing skills and other fancy maneuvers.

Just as whiplash and carsickness were starting to set in, we arrived at “sealine” — an oasis of tents set up next to the Arabian Sea. We enjoyed lunch there (chatting with a group of U.S. military members here on a 4-day leave from Iraq,) swimming, and napping.

On the ride home, we were treated to an encore performance, which was only slightly hampered by a flat tire for Land Cruiser #1. Meanwhile, the passengers in Land Cruiser #2, the “geriatric car” as Renee dubbed it, were busy squealing and holding onto each other as their driver decided he had no need to follow the pre-existing tire tracks. Despite Renee’s backseat driver advice on ‘blazing a new trail,’ everyone enjoyed forging new tracks out in the Qatari desert.

PS. Pictures & shaky video soon to come.

— Jennifer Marlow