Tambourine Man

When I hear the word tambourine, I automatically think of Josie and the Pussycats and someone simply shaking the instrument or banging it on their hip. So imagine my surprise to see a tambourine accompany an orchestra and play a principal role in most pieces!


This gentleman, part of a group from Egypt, was at the National Theatre here in Doha and was a joy to watch. He was so energetic and happy. I have never seen someone play a tambourine like that before - never knew there was so much you could do with a tambourine.

You can see a bit of his playing in the video below.

Tambourine Man part 2

Then he got the crowd clapping and joining in during his solo performance. Hope you can see it and enjoy too!

Too much to do

Sometimes it is easy to over commit in Doha. It certainly has felt that way recently. I repeatedly say that when there are things on in Doha you almost feel obligated to go.

So in the past six weeks in Doha we have seen ....

the Qatar Masters Golf Open and followed Adam Scott (who won) and Sergio Garcia.


a football (soccer) skills demonstration

an Arabic concert at the National Theatre with an visiting orchestra from Egypt

women's tennis ATP tour - we saw Maria Sharapova play (she went on to win) and also Venus Williams


Placido Domingo in concert


kids (and adults) cycling, skating, enjoying the Wheels on Heels day down at the Corniche, with stunt bicycle demonstrations

men's and women's gymnastics - an international competition at Aspire Academy


the Doha Players production of The King and I.....

Oh and did I mention that except for Placido Domingo and The King and I, everything else was free entry! And we had close to front row seats at every event! To get so close to so many great athletes / musicians is just fabulous.

There are other things we missed - but where would we have found the time!

Driving.... me nuts!

I'm one of your more laid back Doha drivers. I didn't feel the need to buy a big 4WD to be intimidating on the road. I feel more comfortable in a smaller, sportier car to handle the roundabouts.

Normally, I am quite relaxed amongst all the chaotic drivers here. I feel like I am part of an un-choreographed dance - some drivers are ballerinas, some slamming punk rockers, and some slow toddlers! I normally watch all the drivers around me and as gently as possible maneuver amongst them all while getting where I need to go as quickly and safely as possible.

So I was quite disturbed today by a punk rocker type, who tried to slam me! There are three lanes going round the roundabout. I am in the middle as I am not taking the first exit, but the second. Next thing I know, the car on my right is pushing into my lane so I gently honk to remind him of my presence. But instead of correcting course, he accelerates, gets in front of me and slams on his brakes! I slam on mine too - while wildly honking my horn to express my displeasure. I am carrying three small children in the rear of the car and this kind of behaviour by another driver is just completely uncalled for!

Fortunately none of this was at speed, so no whiplash for the little ones in the back and no contact between cars. Thank goodness for good brakes! But my hand hurt afterward from all my honking and my internal temperature took a while to return to normal!

I was mentally cursing local drivers, then had to calm down and remind myself that it is not fair to damn an entire nationality because of the arrogance and stupidity of one. But I do wish there were fewer disrespectful drivers here.

Not quite Venice

The gondolas are now running at Villagio. For 15 Rials you can take a round trip spin on the canal in an electric gondola. I thinks it's a bit cheesy, but the kids all seem to love it - and it does make for an interesting feature in a shopping mall!

Not the New York Rangers...

Sometimes you can't believe that you're in the middle east.

What do you do on a Friday morning (first day of the weekend) after seeing some little league baseball?

Go to a shopping mall to see an ice hockey game!




And while watching the ice hockey, you nibble on some french pastries and raisin and hazelnut baguettes a l'ancien!

How much fast food do you need....

One of the most striking elements of Doha is the amount of North American and European fast food chains. One intersection is actually called cholesterol corner because of the preponderance of fast food restaurants.

Some of the chains you will find here are...
McDonald's, Burger King, Dairy Queen, KFC, Hardee's, Arby's, Chilli's, Ponderosa Steakhouse, Starbucks, TCBY, Baskin Robbins, Haagen Daaz, Nando's, Applebees, Bennigans, Sbarro, Macaroni Grill, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee.

So as if we don't have enough fattening food here... here comes Krispy Kreme Doughnuts! Their advertising is everywhere. They are opening in Villagio mall of Feb 1 at 5pm and the first 25 customers get free doughnuts for a year! I can't believe that would be good for your waistline!

I must admit, I am a Krispy Kreme fan. I was introduced to them in the US by a cousin over ten years ago and they are a special treat. But I must admit, I wasn't expecting them here in Doha. What's next - a fried mars bar joint?

After the rain came the dirt!

So the sun came out again but there was now muddy roads everywhere. And not just muddy roads, there was sand and dirt spread all over the buildings too.

The W hotel in west bay which is opening in May this year gives you a glimpse of how dirty it got. The window cleaners have been busy taking layers and layers of dirt off the building and they still have a fair way to go!




I got my car washed at City Centre parking lot, and after driving less than a kilometer, the car looked just as dirty as so much mud was being thrown up on my car from the roads and other cars!

So it does rain here!

Came back after holiday to weather that was definitely cooler, but still very pleasant. Enjoyed the evening outdoor at the tennis open, and even went sailing a couple of times - just wearing a bathing suit with shorts and a fleece under my life jacket.

But then suddenly it turned COLD! Not 3 feet of snow, blizzard cold, but still cold. It rained for four days straight and I must admit, we just didn't feel like going out.




The rain was funny, it was more of a drizzle most of the time, a rain hat would keep you dry if you were just running from one place to another. But inside homes are where it really turned cold. All of a sudden tile floors and multiple air conditioners weren't really that helpful! I put on my sheep skin boots, watched tv with a blanket on my lap, and put extra blankets on our bed. My hands and feet are still cold though!

The sun has come out again but the chill is still inside. We have one space heater, and it doesn't make that much of a dint in the cold.

Tennis so easy

I haven't posted for a while as I was away on holiday - so I wasn't observing Doha. But I couldn't believe what happened the day I got back.

I got home from the airport at 2am and didn't get up until late. Went out for a drive and ran into a friend who had tickets for the final of the Qatar Tennis open, that evening. He said that he only got them that morning, and that they were free! So, of course, I had to go.

I am a tennis fan you see - I have previously been to matches at the Australian and US open and Wimbledon - but never could get finals tickets. So to be able to go to a fairly high calibre tennis final, for free... what a treat!

I saw a number of people I know at the final. The crowd was a good mix of ethnicities, but not many Qataris. The few that were there were in the VIP seats down one end, but that was the section with the most empty seats. What a shame.

Also got something else free that night. The Doha Olympic bid folks were handing out free t-shirts and baseball caps. So all in all a pretty good night!

Points for money

So the newspaper headline says,

POINTS SYSTEM PUTS CAR RENTAL FIRMS IN A FIX
(click to read full article which will open in new window)

and then goes on to explain how the new traffic rules in Doha are impacting rental car companies. Driving offences now carry fines and penalty points on your license. Rental car companies are able to pass on the fine to their customers, but not the points. Most renters are foreign yet somehow, the Traffic Dept requires that points be assigned otherwise the car in question cannot have its road permit renewed.

So here is the ..... I can't believe it ..... solution!!!!

The car rental company finds local drivers who are willing, for a fee, to take the points (the blame) on their license!

Given the small number of people in Qatar, and the growing number of visitors, here's hoping a proper solution gets worked out before these not guilty local drivers rack up too many points!

ps. I wonder how much they get paid!

Thanksgiving... or Christmas!

Shopping this morning for last minute things for our Thanksgiving turkey dinner and lo and behold there is Christmas music playing over the loudspeaker! So even in Doha Christmas comes early.



I have actually been quite surprised at the amount of Christmas decorations around everywhere, candy canes, Santa claus's and even fake Christmas trees. Can't say that I find any nativity scenes available - just all the commercial, non-religious Christmas stuff everywhere!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...

We had the privilege to see the UK Red Arrows fly over the Corniche today. They put on quite an aerial display for about a 1/2 hour. As you can see, they buzzed right past the Sheraton and inserted a bit of colour into the sky.


Yesterday, we saw the Formula 1 racing boats.

And last week we saw the French stunt planes. So othere has been a lot of very fast things making a lot of noise all around the Corniche! I wonder what next week will bring?!

Strange headlines

This was the headline of an article in a local (English language) Qatar paper...

EXPATS ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTIONS AT WORKSHOP ON HUMAN RIGHTS
(click to read full article which will open in new window)

I was curious (and scared) to think that it was newsworthy for expats to be allowed to ask questions!

The article itself is about a "two-day workshop ....on ‘Promoting Human Rights Culture in Qatari Society'." and has little to do with expats being allowed to ask questions! I have seen this before where headline and story don't exactly match. I'll try and find some more!

Where did everything go?

I woke up this morning to a world that had disappeared. At 6:45am there was fog everywhere, and I couldn't see a thing out my window. I live in west bay and normally I can see the ritz carlton, but now I couldn't see across the street.



Surprisingly, some of the tall buildings near city centre were sticking up above the fog, so it looks like there were about 20 stories worth of fog covering part of Doha.

Not quite full serve / almost full circle

As a kid growing up in California, I remember full service gas stations. A nice man (it was always a man) would fill your car up with gas and clean your front and rear windows. Sometimes they would even check your oil. By the time I was a teenager, it was definitely a pump your own world. Gas was still cheap - around $1 a gallon.

Then I moved to Australia, learned to call it petrol, still pumped my own but paid AUD $0.80 a litre. Then I moved to UK, still pumped my own and paid GBP £0.80 a litre! (that is roughly US$ 6.50 a gallon)

Now in Qatar, there is again a nice man who fills my car up with gas but doesn't do windows or check the oil and I pay 0.80 Qatari Rials a litre (about US$ 0.85 a gallon).

Drive thru banking...

As I have mentioned, Doha is hot. Even now that is almost November it is still 31°C (88°F). So you don't want to get out of your air conditioned car if you don't have to. Hence the multitude of drive through ATM's. These are scattered all over town and the screens are angled to make it easier for drivers. I have yet to master the approach and usually have to open my door and lean out quite a ways to reach the buttons but give me a few more years and I am sure I'll be an expert!

Where did all the cold water go!

In summer, cold water comes at a premium in Doha!

The only way to get it at this time of year is to refrigerate it.

The "cold" water for your home comes from a tank that sits outside with direct sun shining on it all day long.




So as a result the water that comes out is even warmer than luke warm. For a kids bath, you don't need to put any hot in and sometimes you even need to let it cool a bit for the youngest ones!

It does take some getting used to. The biggest adjustments for me are brushing your teeth with hot water, and getting a warm backside from the toilet! In public places, where there is higher "bathroom" usage, you can actually feel the cistern behind you is very hot! Quite strange. Fortunately at home the water normally has a chance to cool down a bit between flushes!

The swimming pools are funny too. You can tell how "up market" your pool is if they actually go to the expense of refrigerating the water before pumping it in. No need for pools to be heated here, you have to use electricity to cool them down!

Recycling... or lack thereof

In London we were very good at recycling. Before we had door stop recycling, we would walk down to the local bins and put in our paper, plastic, cans etc... Then it got even easier and we could leave all our recycling in a special bag outside our door and it would be picked up by the council and recycled. And while we lived in an apartment and couldn't compost, we used a waste disposal unit and felt good that our organic waste wasn't wrapped up in plastic bags in a dump somewhere. Now we can't seem to recycle anything!

I am told that our new home country is just too small population wise to warrant building facilities here and it is too costly to ship recyclables to a facility. So after training the kids what to throw in the bin and what to recycle, it now all goes into one bag and off to the landfill it goes.

If any one has any tips, suggestions... this is one area where I feel like some sort of progress should be made

Energy use and air conditioning

We arrived during the Qatari summer. With temperatures up to 50 degrees celcius (122° Farenheit), you are grateful that pretty much everything is air conditioned. However, with all the talk about global warming, the needing to conserve energy etc.. I often feel guilty about leaving the air con on 24/7 but it get so hot so quickly you normally do.

So when we went away on holiday for four weeks, I figured there was no point in keeping all the air con units on (we have six) so I turned of a couple of them and turned the temperature up on the rest. I figured leaving all the internal doors open would allow enough airflow moving around.

Much to my chagrin I found out why people in this part of the world keep their air con on all the time - even when they are away on holiday!

Mould! Two of the rooms where I turned the air con off had lots of things covered in the stuff. From shoes, to empty back packs, luggage, children's car seats, and lots and lots of clothes. What a mess. So the energy saver in me has had to concede that saving on air conditioning just isn't the way to go. (I still turn off the lights when I leave a room though!) :-)

Starting over

After 9 years of living in London, our family (me, husband, two kids) moved from the centre of a very busy city, with lots of trees, parks and public transport.... to Doha.

I am not qualified to comment on all the details of what is truly going on in Doha as my life here is primarily restricted to living in what I call an expat bubble. But I do want to share with you my observations on life here.

Previously I have lived and worked in the UK, US and Australia and have travelled to a great many countries. When asked where I consider home, I always reply that it is where I am living at the moment as in my heart I have many places to call home. I do not know where I will eventually end up "settling down". For the moment, my family and I are enjoying our continuing adventure and I hope to share a bit of it with you.