'wreck' of a weekend

our weekend started with a date night thursday night. mike has been working a crazy amount of hours lately so we were in need for some quality time together. we decided to try the tappenaki restaurant 'asia live!' at the marriott hotel. the marriott is located on the other side of the corniche from our condo so we had the car service drive us in order for us to enjoy a bottle of wine - something that has become a rare treat these days!!! dinner was delicious and very entertaining!! a restaurant that i would definitely take my sister to if she ever visits as she loves tappenaki! this place even gave you a kimono to wear so your clothes didn't smell like dinner afterwards!!! mike and i were tempted to sneak them home as they were so comfortable!!!friday morning we spent down by the pool...i think mike is getting pretty jealous of my tan, hehe. the pool area gets quite crowded on weekends therefore, you must get down there by about 9am to reserve a chaise lounge otherwise, you are out of luck. by mid day the sun is behind the buildings and shades the pool area so it is best to rise and shine early!!

*temperature update*...we are now in the late 30s...38 degrees according to the truck's thermometer on friday. saturday we reached 40 degrees!!!

after our fill of sunshine we took a drive out to the sand dunes...the real desert!! the dunes are located about 38km southwest of doha towards saudi arabia. mike has been to the dunes before when we were visiting back in august however, this was the first time for me and i was excited! the drive out of doha was very much like the drive out to al khor the other weekend - desolate and flat. we passed through a few small towns - al wakra and mesaieed. we also drove past an oil refinery and a petroleum processing plant called q-chem. but the drive into the dunes was absolutely amazing - the landscape changed so quickly - flat, like the prairies to the extreme opposite. up close the dunes looked like satin - so smooth and soft! however, the excitement abruptly came to an end when we saw a terrifying accident up ahead of us involving a driver and his quad bike. we witnessed the driver, who was wearing no protection, hit some rough terrain and thrown from his bike, as a result. he flew through the air and flipped about 4-5 times before landing on the ground - his bike did the same and crashed to the ground. thankfully it did not hit him. the whole ordeal reminded me of the disturbing television shows of stunts gone wrong.

mike and i were the first to arrive at the scene before many others joined us. the driver was having a seizure and bleeding profusely from his head. we immediately called emergency services (999). the phone conversation was a bit trying for mike as the operator only spoke arabic (!!!). luckily an arab arrived at the scene just in time to help with communications (a bit worrisome if no one spoke arabic).

as we waited, the seizure eventually stopped however, he remained unconscious until the ambulance arrived. he may have suffered a neck or spine injuiry therefore, we were careful to keep him as still as possible. when he finally woke and opened his eyes, his left eye was completely blood shot and his eyeball was pointing to the extreme left - not sure what that means but on a more positive note, he was able to remember his name as he was wheeled into the ambulance. our thoughts go out to him in hopes that he is okay and on the mend...

let it be a lesson learned on how important it is to wear protective equipment - especially a helmet! looking around afterwards, we didn't see ONE person wearing a helmet including the children racing around the dunes!!! this unfortunate experience really shook us up and undoubtedly put a damper on the rest of the day.