In the beginning of 2018, I wrote this post on the travel plans for the year. It was a short list compared to what the proper “travel blogger’s” list would look like. But considering that we don’t have the finances or the time for frequent vacations, I had stretched it a bit, almost sure that I could make to only one of the places on the list – back home on our yearly vacation – thanks to the expat life in Qatar. SubhanAllah, Allah is the best of planners! Indeed we visited 3 of those countries and finalized plans for the others in the near future.
Best Travel Moments of 2018
Oman. Finally we visited this beautiful, friendly neighbour of ours in the Gulf. We had one of the best experience staying at the ShangriLa Barr Al Jissa resort.
With our brood of 3 little ones, we realized that this was the most family friendly resort we had visited so far. After 3 days of sun, sand and surf, huge swimming pools, fun kiddie pools and the superb lazy river – our one year old learnt the word ‘Oman’ for all things water and it still hasn’t changed. So every weekend when we plan a beach trip in Qatar, where are we going? “To Oman!”
Turkey. Just a few weeks back we took our short vacation to Turkey. This time we traveled without the kids. Although I missed them so much and it was much harder for me to stay away from them than the other way round, our busy, fun and super charged itinerary made this whirlwind trip totally worthwile.
We managed to do 3 regions in about a week. From the black sea region in the north, to the super touristy Cappadocia in Central Anatolia to the mega metropolis Istanbul. This trip turned me into a Turkophile! What more it’s back on the list for our next travel plan…
Travel Plans 2019 / 2020
It isn’t a long list again, but just about 4 countries Bi iznillah
Turkey. This time with the kids, more time, more researched and more relaxed. InshaAllah we have this planned as a stop over en route to The USA.
The USA. The one item remaining on our list from last year. With family living on the opposite coasts of the country, we are expecting this one to be a long vacation with a lot of exploring around.
India. The mandatory vacation back home to Hyderabad, India! Our 2 yearly vacations have now become annual and we are more than happy to escape the petrifying summers of Doha.
Lastly and most importantly, we have the ultimate travel plan for the coming season:
Hajj. The Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca. One of the pillars of Islam and the religious duty of every able muslim to be carried out once in a lifetime. We hope Allah blesses us with this opportunity this year.
