QATAR WAS WONDERFUL, BUT MY HEART IS STILL IN NEPAL

            Qatar is such a contradiction. The affluence is astounding. But traditions as simple as buying spices from giant vats in an open market are also common. The nation behaves like someone who just won the lottery and has no idea what to do with all that money. Qatar was originally one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. Now, it's the richest nation in the world. Huge jumps in per capita income occurred just over the past few years. Skyscraper and high rise construction is occurring throughout Doha, the nation's capital and largest city, where we stayed. They can't spend their money fast enough (though they are building some rather incredible structures). The average income of the population exceeds $100,000 a year!

            We stayed at the Four Seasons which sits on the Arabian Gulf. Four Seasons are forever fabulous but this one was the grandest I've seen. So, as those of you who know Casey and me can imagine, the two of us spent much of our limited time in Doha (which was just over a day) at the hotel, enjoying the luxury and beauty. However, I did get together with Zoe and her family and friends (really, for the first time this trip) and take a half-day desert safari Saturday. That was a lot of fun. We went sand dune bashing. Sand dune bashing feels like a long amusement park ride. Dune bashing occurs when much of the air in the tires of a vehicle is removed, enabling the vehicle to ride the top of the dunes more freely. You whip across the sand and up and down the dunes with great speed and ease. We also rode camels (yes, I actually rode atop a camel, though I understand the animal spent the following day with a camel chiropractor). We drove to the Inland Sea where we could actually see Saudi Arabia. While seeing the nation from across a sea was impressive, it was also unfortunately reminiscent of the moronic Sarah Palin comment (talk about a hopelessly broad phrase) that she had extensive foreign policy experience because she can see Russia from her house.

            Despite the wealth, Qatar didn't move me as Nepal did. On our last day in Nepal, we visited numerous temples that were hundreds of years old with the most intricate design and latticework. Despite its poverty, the place has such personality, such history and such beauty. I especially loved the temple that displayed all the possible positions of sexual intercourse -- it was in essence the Kama Sutra temple. (Obviously, gay rights weren't in vogue at the time of temple construction or the structure would have been much larger.)

            We're in Frankfurt today. Last night, Bill took us to a fabulous restaurant about a mile from the Intercontinental Hotel where we stayed. We had a real German meal. I had the sausage plate (I LOVE smoked sausage and where can you get better sausage than in Germany?) While the five different types of sausage were wonderful, the sauerkraut was the best I've had (and the fried potatoes were great). Talk about comfort food.

            The European leg of the tour is historically the one where we're on our own. Bill drops us off in a city (here, Frankfurt) and tells us where to be in four days. We have to be in Oslo on Friday morning. The scavenges are to occur in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. But Casey has always wanted to go to Amsterdam, I love the city and frankly, I'm tired of traveling. So, rather than traveling through four countries, scavenging for a few hours in each, we're taking a train to Amsterdam and will be there until Thursday night when we'll leave for Oslo. (OK, we're lazy.) The group flies from Oslo to Toronto for the final reception. Please send out good vibes that we (principally, Casey) don't get into too much trouble in Amsterdam.