Arthrex Manufacturing Inc. East (AMIE) Senior Manager of Operations Ryan DeCaprio began his Trip of a Lifetime in Qatar, where he and his wife, Olga, attended both semi-final matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In addition to seeing Argentina defeat Croatia and France defeat Morocco, they had the opportunity to experience the FIFA fan festival, tour several museums and walk the full 4.3 miles of the Doha Corniche, a bustling seaside promenade lined with restaurants, clubs, parks and prominent government buildings.
“The experience in Qatar was amazing,” Ryan said. “We got to meet people from all over the world.”
Not wanting to waste the nearly 15-hour flight by only visiting one country, they decided to add a few more destinations to their itinerary: places they’d seen in documentaries, recommendations from a friend in the Coast Guard and a few other stops simply because they are popular tourist destinations.
“Olga and I had gone to Jordan a few years ago as part of a guided tour,” Ryan said. “That was our first time being immersed in Middle Eastern culture, and we really enjoyed our time there. We wanted to build on that experience.”
From Qatar, they traveled to Oman where they stayed at one of the Middle East’s most iconic hotels—the Al Bustan Palace. The hotel was originally built to host the 1985 Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, and at least one floor is rumored to be reserved for exclusive use by the Sultan of Oman.
Ryan and Olga then flew to Bahrain for a few days before continuing to Saudi Arabia.
“In Bahrain we spent a lot of our time shopping in the malls,” he said. “We were there for the celebration of Bahrain Independence Day, so there were a lot of good sales going on.”
Ryan said they ate their favorite meal of the trip at a traditional Saudi restaurant called Najd Village, located in downtown Riyadh.
“We sat on the ground on carpets and pillows and ate rice and camel meat with our hands.”
The United Arab Emirates was the final stop of their 14-day trip. In addition to shopping at the Dubai Mall, which at one point claimed to be the most visited building on the planet, they went to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo and took a desert safari tour in a vintage Land Rover.
The hotel where they spent the last three nights of their trip was located inside the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, measuring over a half-mile tall.
“We met so many friendly and amazing people,” Ryan said, “and everyone was happy to share their culture with us. I made it a point to explain the Trip of a Lifetime benefit to as many people as I could during the trip, and everyone commented on how lucky I was to work for a company like Arthrex.”
For every five years of employment with Arthrex, employees are eligible for a company-paid Trip of a Lifetime to recognize their dedication. Look for more Trip of a Lifetime highlights on the Arthrex Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.