Indomie (Indonesian noodle) for 1.5 Rial I bought at Abdulla Ali Bumatar minimarket last night, finally accompanied my breakfast at Casper Hotel pantry. I was still reluctant to leave hotel, even though clock had fallen at eight, none other than because of cold air which succed to break my spirit.
At ten o’clock in the morning, I started to force my steps and then waited for Karwa Bus number 12 to go to Qubaa Street, then continue with Karwa Bus number 301 to Doha Sports City which has an area of not less than 250 hectares. This area is better known as Aspire Zone.
A hour journey, took me to my destination. I was dropped off at a bus stop at Al Furousiya Street. Soon, I would feel the coolness of Aspire Park which is part of Aspire Zone.
From Al Furousiya Street I turned right and entered Al Waab Street. A kilometer later I turned left to take Aspire Park Road. Well, this Aspire Park is on the left side of this road. While on the right side of road lies a modern shopping center which is famous in Qatar because there is a Venice-style gondola tour in it, this shopping center is called Villaggio Mall.
Located in Baaya District in south of Qatar, this Aspire Park has a very long and comfortable running trail, some parts of this running trail even show a bouncing sensation when stepped on. Mileage indicator is also displayed at several points on the running trail.
I started my exploration from the southern part of park which features hilly contours. My goal is to see the whole garden from a height, of course it would look more beautiful. Right at base of hilly contours, a skateboard track facility was built, while at the top of hill, eight exercise bikes were provided. From above it looks so spacious and beautiful Aspire Park.
Descending the small hill towards north, I returned to lowlands and entered park area as a whole. You can see large trunked trees, shade roofs with giant cloth umbrellas are also visible everywhere, providing other options for shelter other than under the trees.
Meanwhile, the activities of residents seemed to start to get busy near noon. Several children were seen playing penalty kicks. The atmosphere of Qatari football was no less thick than my homeland football. Understandably Qatar is the winner of the 2009 AFC Asian Cup ago after beating defending champions Japan.
Meanwhile, visitors don’t need to worry if they want to just relax, enjoy the day in the park with a cup of coffee or other snacks. Several shops are scattered in the sand trail area. Gharissa Ice cream, Ard Canaan Restaurant, Mobsto Coffee Truck and a well-known Coffeeshop Company are ready to pamper visitors.
Set in the Aspire Tower or better known as Torch Doha as high as 300 meters, making Aspire Park as an artistic park. Seeing from all directions still beautiful, because of that, many people who visit this park.
I came to a view of an artificial lake with a blend of bridges crossing its middle. I could see the tip of fountain spraying towards the bridge from both sides, if this fountain is turned on it will definitely become an artistic hood which passes over visitor heads who passing through the bridge.
Meanwhile, on a side of Aspire Lake there is a statue of a horse pulling a loaded cart. This is the work of Sarah Lucas Perceval in 2006 which became an iconic spot for visitors to take pictures.
Then on the west side of the lake there is a playground area for children. This area is quite large and provides a variety of games. Making children feel at home for long in the park, also makes this park a favorite place to visit for families to spend their weekends or holidays.
Meanwhile in a part of park, a large pond is being built with a podium on its side. I didn’t know what was being made in this project. It appeared that this area was still closed and couldn’t be visited because construction activities were being carried out on a massive scale.
A few moments later, in north of park I was standing and preparing to end my visitation. Now I was getting ready to enter the Sports Zone, which seemed to be dominated by the existence of Khalifa International Stadium.
Let’s saw what was in this Sports Zone!.
