#7 - Doha, Qatar

One of the reasons I had originally settled on London to do my course (rather than Paris) was that I was counting on ACP and KP as primary guinea pigs.  Events have somehow forced us to re-evaluate our plan, mainly because an exciting work opportunity came up for my lovely friends who are currently in Doha.  I had to look it up when ACP told me that there was a possibility that they would be going there for six months.

After so efficiently getting the essentials in London (you know, flat, banking, mobile phone, laundry detergent, paper towels) I then booked myself on a holiday, whoops sorry, visit, to see my friends.  There was a travel advisory on the British Airways website about Bahrain when I went to check in online, but since I was only flying through, I thought it should be fine.

In which I learn that you should probably pay attention to travel advisories (and that Mexico City can be dangerous)...

The journey started a bit confusingly.  I had forgotten that the Heathrow Express has a certain schedule, but that wasn't a problem as I had built in enough time to account for such little slippages.  My bags were almost empty (for which I would later be grateful, but I'll get to that) and I followed the signs all the way through bag drop and security.  My immigration check was done at the counter where I dropped my bag - it did make me wonder why everyone else seemed to have a more inefficient system.

A white fog had descended on London and I was concerned flights might be delayed.  That is, until I saw planes landing in it.  Apparently this happens a lot and they are very experienced at taking off and landing in it.  The ride from the terminal/gate to the actual plane took about 5 - 10 minutes.  I finally saw why they close the flight a while before it is scheduled to leave - they have to drive you to the back of beyond somewhere, where they parked the plane.  We ascended roll-away stairs, which I am more used to seeing next to little inter-island propeller planes, not a 747-400 jumbo jet.  I hope I got that right - it sounds so much like I know what I'm talking about...

It turned out that the very nice fellow sitting two seats to my right was from Mexico City and we bonded over the rollaway stairs we had just walked up in order to board.  The usual conversation came up (the where are you from/what do you do/is this business or pleasure...).  NC is a journalist for the Wall Street Journal and he was on his way to cover the situation in Bahrain.  I suppose this is when you normally start to see flags, but...instead, we just chatted away.  I asked a lot of questions about what it was like in Mexico City, how he had gotten into journalism, how his girlfriend and parents felt about him going somewhere dangerous and how they deal with it and what he was expecting to see in Bahrain.  There was also a succinct summary of the situation in Bahrain and Libya, but unfortunately I started to fall asleep and have jumbled it all up in my mind.  I can't give you a rundown of his analysis because I am quite sure that nothing I write would be accurate.

We landed in Bahrain kind of on time - there had been a delay in Heathrow but I'm not sure what it was.  The landing was fine, but there was a problem with taxiing to the gate.  During the flight from Heathrow to Bahrain, and curfew had been declared.  No lights and driving was only allowed in limited areas between 4pm and 4am.  We arrived at about 9pm local time and the airport is in one of the affected areas.  Apparently you need the whichever guidance system and lights to get to the gate, neither of which were available.  At one point it sounded like the Captain was going to try to get us to the gate anyway, but then came the announcement that there was a jetty (the jetway?) which was broken and blocking our access to the terminal.

I wished NC luck on getting to his hotel as there was no telling whether it was in one of the blocked areas (in which case he would have to find alternate accomodation or sleep in the terminal for another 7 hours).  Then there was a further delay - the passenger manifest said that there were supposed to be X passengers on the plane.  They had counted noses and come up with X+1.  And the numbers kept changing.  We passengers were grumbling, wondering how hard could it be to count noses, especially since it seemed that they were getting stuck around 32 and 34 after a couple of counts.  That was before we found out people were going to the bathroom and moving around generally, which does make it a bit harder to get an accurate count.  Eventually they checked everyone's tickets (some of them several times) and decided there was a typo on the manifest.  Time to realisation:  30 minutes...

Doha - finally!
I was lucky enough to be collected at the airport by KP.  ACP had peacefully gone to sleep in the knowledge that she would have to wake up at "stupid o'clock" in the morning to get into work.  Immigration, customs and baggage claim were all fast - I think the payment for the visa may have been the most time consuming portion of the final part of the trip.  There were a couple of bad hours after arrival when I checked the BA website (after the Bahrain leg, I just needed to check).  You can look up information by flight number.  The message for my flight to London leaving Sunday night was "cancelled".  NOOO!!!!  It eventually got sorted out, but there were several emails and telephone calls with BA in Doha.  Service:  they say yes, then do nothing, or can't help, or don't kow, or...well you get the idea.

KP and ACP have been allocated a serviced apartment at the W Hotel.  The W's "Whatever/Whenever" service can, according to reports, leave a little to be desired.  I suggested that perhaps the Whatever portion was the California Valley Girl version and the Whenever referred to whenever they got around to it.  Personally I didn't see any of the unhelpfulness, but on the other hand KP and ACP were some of the world's best hosts and I didn't want or need anything from the hotel so I didn't really test its WW service.  It certainly couldn't be less satisfying than that of BA's ground office.  Perhaps if I had asked the hotel for a seeing eye camel...

Most of Doha is still under construction.  I was told that very few of the modern buildings were more than 4 or 5 years old.  There are spaces where you see what I am guessing to be the Doha version of MacMansions surrounded by other MacMansions and then piles of dirt/rocks where they are excavating for the next building.  There are buildings in various stages of construction almost everywhere, scaffolding and the structural bits in view and workers dressed in blue coveralls swarming around them.

Day 1 (aka Thursday, Doha's version of Friday)

Museum of Islamic Art and Doha

I have been asked to post pictures with the posts, so this post is my first try.  The desert winds mean that Doha feels quite dry - I was drinking a lot of water and as you know, that means it has to have somewhere to go.  KP and I were going to take a walk after we met ACP for lunch on my first day (Thursday) in Doha.  The solution to the dilemma was quite easy.  There was a building right next to the beginning of our walk.

Obviously my picture doesn't do it justice...

Souk Waqif

Being so new to the area, ACP and KP had saved a lot of the touristy things to do with me.  Case in point:  the souk.  At night it's surprisingly cold, something I hadn't expected because I think, Arabian peninsula, desert, sand, sun, hot...

We went and had a walk around.  It appears that the souk has been designed a little bit like the streets in Vietnam - for example, this was the cute baby animal section.  I'm just hoping it's not like China where these are actually meant to be dinner...
  

 Possibly hatched from dyed Easter eggs...

And bunnies...

We picked up a bunch of spices (I couldn't resist the saffron threads - I'm sure I'll be able to use them at some point this year - or the cumin, mixed curry...my bag is now airing out on top of a closet in London) then we got some dinner.

Our not-yummy dinner at Tajine

In all fairness, the Time Out review said cheap and cheerful and told us to try the camel (we didn't).  It didn't promise that dinner would be delicious.  The dips and starters were actually quite good.  The disappointment was in the mains.  We're convinced KP's unhappy stomach was from the meatballs (maybe they were camel!) but who knows.

Day 2 (aka Friday) started with an attempt at an enormous brunch at the hotel.  I was told that it is the big thing to do on Fridays, as Doha keeps to a Sunday to Thursday work week, in order to observe the Friday sabbath.  Brunch officially opened at 12pm.  Confused looks all around - that's lunch time.  We weren't game enough to tell the hotel that brunch means Breakfast/Lunch and that usually they start a bit earlier.  So we went grocery shopping first, to get sundries for the desert the next day and also all the bits and pieces you end up needing.  Carrefours is not in the Lonely Planet - I suppose grocery stores are not considered to be tourist attractions.  It was enormous - Costco sized venue but normal sized products, selling everything from groceries to homewares and electronics.  Hm, sounds more and more like Costco as I describe it...

So after the grocery shopping, we hopped downstairs and pigged out.  I skipped dessert - you have to pass the tables on the way in so it was an easy call once I saw the oysters, sushi, salad bar (with a Caesar salad station) and all the cooked foods (some kind of mixed grill with saffron rice, steak, fish) and your usual suspects for those who wanted roast and 3 veg.  ACP said the desserts were really good.  We all liked the sushi and oysters with the various accompaniments (shot of tomato/gazpacho, shallot dressing, lemon and a few others) and ended up eating much more than would be sensible.  Any pretence at restraint was thrown to the winds when someone (KP?) made the brilliant suggestion that we should have a siesta after lunch.  Capital, old fellow!  I don't have any pictures because I left my camera upstairs.

The Museum of Islamic Art didn't open until 4pm, so we all headed there after we recovered from the effects of too much food.  The outside is unmistakeable and although not quite as interesting as the Louvre, inside it invited you to keep looking at it for a while.  It made a lot more sense after reading about the symmetry, geometric shapes and shapes from nature from various cultures which all influenced Islamic art in their own ways.

   

Eventually we all faded and headed back to their place.  General consensus was that we would be happy to have a quiet night in.  Dinner was Heinz baked beans on toast.  I am not a fan of beans, so this didn't sound super exciting.  However, when in Rome...all I can say is that once you add the cheese and pepper, it turns it into a completely different dish.  Where has this been all my life?  Even better, this was accompanied by movie night - the Bourne Supremacy, and because there was an issue with the DVD player, popcorn from the hotel.

Day 3 / Saturday
Started early.  We were heading out to the desert in a couple of cars, to the inland sea.  KP had shown it to me on a map on my first night.  We were also going to see Saudi Arabia - although apparently that depends on from whose point of view you delineate the geographical barriers.  We were three per car and Amin, who knew the desert and was going to guide us, on his dirt bike.  Amin and JA were our hosts.  We left the main road after passing a large industrial area, then started driving over dunes, having first let a lot of air out of the tires.

I was just excited that we were heading to the beach because London had been cold - 11/12C when I left, which is fine, but the 1/2C at night was a bit brutal.  We caught some air in the Jeep and generally chatted away.  Amin had driven the initial distance from the city to the turnoff where everything turned into dunes and let us know in no uncertain terms that he was happy to miss any further discussions about 80s fashion.

After an hour or so of driving over dunes and the "road" so called for the black rubber streaks left behind on the packed sand in areas where there was relatively high traffic, we arrived at our destination.

We were due to spend the entire day here, so out came the shandy mix (beer and Sprite/Miranda/lemonade), snacks were later.

The water was cold - too cold for me to jump in, but I was assured that the week before, it had been quite pleasant.  You did eventually get used to the temperature.  Well, it's either used to it or you went numb and no longer felt it - so the same, really.  There was also a plan that we would dig for some clams and KP would make spaghetti vongole for dinner that night.  Good plan!  Only thing was the initial search didn't really result with much in the way of dinner ingredients.  It may only have been that the tide was too high - a couple of hours later there were quite a few.  I found the first ones purely by chance.  ACP and KP told me that they could actually see them sticking out of the sand, so I went and looked.  You can!

KP cooked that night - spaghetti vongole - but I don't have pictures because we were so greedy that we all dug in as soon as the food hit the table.  I had an instant where I thought I should get the camera, but decided against it as I didn't want my pasta to get cold.  I'm sure you understand...

Day 4 / Sunday

ACP had to go to work...so KP and I amused ourselves by going to the Museum of Modern Art.  It turns out that it is NOT at Education City (where several well-known universities apparently have a campus).  It is off the main highway - you turn off and you wonder if you are going in the right direction.  There was an outside exhibit which seemed to allow touching, judging from the flyers handed out to families with children.  Although in that case, I'm not sure why I got one...there were some really interesting paintings and sculptures - KP said that it may be a matter of "if you build it they will come".

We had lunch at the Villagio (mall) which served as an example of the excess which you can see next to the poverty.  A taxi driver might be lucky to earn the equivalent of $300 in a month - not enough for him to qualify to bring his family over from Erytrea.  Those who are wealthy might spend that much on a single meal, more if they have it with champagne.  Yes I know - the country is Muslim but there is a way to get around the alcohol thing, apparently.  This place had a canal inside - yes, you read that correctly and I wrote it correctly - and high end fashion labels.  There are some that I couldn't tell you one way or the other, but I assume they are based on the stores next to them.

Also - there's a Dean and Deluca there.  I suppose if I can't get over to New York...for those of you based in Sydney and haven't been to a D&D, think of it as Jones the Grocer or any of those gourmet deli/grocery stores.  We had lunch at D&D, then collected ACP from work before heading back to their place for some relaxed hanging out.  There was a late afternoon walk along the Corniche (the crescent walkway which extends from the Museum of Islamic Art down to a garishly lit restaurant which has a giant statue of an oryx which has a cute face but is carrying what looks like a large cudgel.  Possibly an illustration of Roosevelt's "walk softly but carry a big stick"...

We finished our walk just in time to make it to dinner, a little Turkish place we found on TripAdvisor.  KP and ACP were excited because generally you don't see all positive reviews when you look a place up (not even Michelin starred ones).  We found it - it's not super easy to find but it was worth it.  Really good food, quite quick and after some of the sky-high prices at hotels, a welcome break for the wallet.  We ate in a family room because there were two females - apparently this is a common practice so that women can eat in restaurants with their menfolk but away from the prying eyes of others.

Having encountered some of the unabashed staring, I was actually a little glad for this.  ACP noted that the men stare because they women are about 30 - 40% of the population, many are covered up and these guys have been away from their families for extended periods of time.  Also, it's illegal to have sex unless you are married.  I'm not quite sure on what the position is if you are married but you are sleeping with someone who is not your spouse.  Frowned on, most likely.  I forgot to tell you, you're not meant to bring in alcohol or porn through customs.  Lucky the most risque thing I had packed were the two jars of Vegemite and my swimsuits for the beach (which was deserted - no one there but us so no need to worry about offending the locals).

Leaving Doha

Had to wake up at stupid o'clock on Monday morning to make it to the airport.  Had managed to get online booking (take that!  BA employee who said it wasn't avialable) so could have a little leeway.  Which I needed because the taxi booked for the job arrived 30 minutes late.  Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but leaving Doha is a nightmare.  I'm sure part of it was that it was heavier than normal traffic, but it took an hour to get through immigration (I really missed the British queuing system - there was some form of queue but not one that made much sense) then security was absurdly easy.  You throw your bags on the x-ray belt (no need to remove laptops or liquids) then walk through.  There's a further screening at the gate - separate line for the ladies - where they had me take my scarf out of my carry on and open my purse - then onto a bus out to the plane - a repeat of the drive at Heathrow from terminal to plan a few days previously.  Up the roll away stairs, then to my seat.  Where there was a baby two seats over and two little boys behind me (3 and 6 years old, respectively).  The little boy screamed so that he woke up the infant in my row who proceeded to scream the entire way to Bahrain.  Short trip yes - only 25 minutes in the air - but you try it with a shrieking baby (I'm sure she couldn't help it) and whiny boys behind (I'm sure he could help it).

Bahrain - so much easier when it's not the curfew...the baby got off the plane.  Pity the boys didn't - they were in the same seats and it's about 7 - 8 hours to London.  Oh, and their mother kept putting her feet on my armrests - both of them - so I couldn't really use them because leaning on an armrest meant that all of a sudden a foot (sans sock!!!) would be poking the back of the arm.  I came home and did a large load of laundry.  In fairness to mom, dad and the 2 whiny boys, they had had a very long trip - 5 hour drive from Saudi Arabia to Doha beforehand - but it was Not Fun.  Even better, they were then in the same carriage on the Heathrow Express.  Thank goodness they were just changing terminals!  Smooth ending to the trip - no problems at immigration this time (but the guy had only just started his shift), quick unloading of baggage and I finally walked in the door sometime in the late afternoon.

It is now a decent time on Tuesday morning so I am off to get acquainted with my neighborhood.  There wasn't a chance before, given I was setting up house and travelling.  There is finally a chance to see what is around and see what's the best route to go where.  Also, I finally get to stop living out of a suitcase for a while, which is cause for much excitement and rejoicing.  As much fun as it is to travel, one of the nicest things about home is that it usually has all of your creature comforts - and I am a big fan of creature comforts...so until next time, happy eating!  Oh and if you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them on.