Doha, Qatar

Day 5 (Dec 24)

Arrived in Doha, Qatar, bearing a gift of 2 bottles of good wine for Mike (he hates being called Uncle Mike). Found out Qatar doesn't allow alcohol unless one gets a permit (and the process is extensive)! So I had to leave the bottles at immigration to pick up on my way out of Qatar.

Got to Mike's swanky pad at West Bay Lagoon, apparently also the residence of a very wealthy Iranian family (the Al Fadins). Showered and took a walk round the compound. The backyard is a lagoon filled with all kinds of sea toys that the residents of West Bay Lagoon own (speed boats, jet skis, etc). Lovely beach and the weather was absolutely fantastic.

Had lunch at Bice, Italian restaurant, at The Pearl, then took a drive around Qatar. Qatar is a very noveau riche country - everything there is new. There's so much construction going on - big tall buildings, entire blocks of residences, man made islands (The Pearl), and a whole new city (Lusail). But how much of it is occupied, Mike estimated about 30%. Considering the population is only 1.7mil and the financial centre looks as dense as Singapore's cbd, I wouldn't be surprised.

Seems like construction is happening just because the Al Thani family can. They build a new place and demolish the old and put everyone in the new place, and so on. It's a show of wealth similar to how Chinese do it with their nice cars, except on a wayyyy larger scale. I guess they're also prepping for the World Cup 2022, for which they won the bid. Building up an entire for such a event will take that much time, I guess. Amazing to think that if I were to go to Qatar 2022, I wld probably recognise nothing from this trip.

We went to Villagio (rhymes with Bellagio), which looks like Venetian in Las Vegas (complete with canal and gondola), with good ole American stores (Dean & Deluca etc) and run by the Germans. Humongous, confusing, upmarket shopping mall.

At night we joined Mike and his delightful colleagues at Shell. Had dinner at Pampano's at The Pearl again, a restaurant supposedly opened by Placido Domingo and friends. Followed up with drinks at this restaurant/bar called Tse Yang. Was so shattered by the end of the night that I went home and passed out like there was no tomorrow.

Nothing like spending Xmas with family though. :)

Day 6 (Dec 25)

Woke up disoriented, having had my first decent night of sleep in days. Washed up and headed Souq Al Wahiq (sp?). Again so new - the stone is aged to give that ancient feel. Had a yummy Lebanese bfast and met more of Mike's colleagues.

Walked round the souq. They sold the usual stuff - spices, rugs, and even falcons. Haha. No joke. What was highly disturbing tho, were the bright pink and yellow rabbits that they sold. No joke. Poor bunny.

After more pic taking at the Souq, Corniche, and during our round-the-city drive, we headed home. Napped from 4 to 8PM cos I could, and then had a simple dinner at home, made by Mike the man. Yummy cheeses and bread.

Spent the rest of the night trip planning for Lebanon.

Day 7 (Dec 26)

Woke up bright and early cos I was feeling particularly well rested. When Mike came back from a quick morning of work, him and his friend Razak prepared a brunch feast. Yumm. I contributed by being decorative.

After that, we went dune bashing in a desert south of Doha. The sand on the sand dunes looked like liquid, desert as far as the eye could see. Oh, and the sunset was amazing. Can't really describe it well, but it was PRETTY AWESOME. Pictures will best describe this experience. (Sue, if u read this you'd appreciate that our driver was a fellow Yemenese. He seriously endangered my life while on the road - equally intense at gunning the accelerator as he was at conversing with his limited English and punctuating with frantic hand gestures. However, he was a king on the dunes.)

Went for dinner at Tse Yang cos I was craving Chinese. Could have repeated the same mistake of eating Chinese food in Rome (think undercooked rice and sweet and sour chicken - pineapples + unmarinated chicken doused in vinegar). However, given this was an uber upper crust resto (Mike's European and enjoys life), food was yummy. I guess, that was pretty much the end of the Xmas vacay. Lots of good conversation, hanging out and resting.

Day 8 (Dec 27)

At the Doha airport, I was able to bring in an overweight carry-on and a bottle of water. But I was unable to claim my 2 bottles of good wine that I had originally bought for Mike. Customs claims that it was "stuck at the other terminal" and they had been asking the other side to bring it over "for more than a week now". I say they tell it like it is. All the customs officers are foreigners and hate the rules of restricted alcohol sales in Qatar, so they use the alcohol brought in by unsuspecting tourists like myself to celebrate over the festive season. Oh well, hope they love my amarone (sad face).

But all was forgiven very quickly, cos Lebanon loves me and I love Lebanon. Arrived at airport early, free visa-on-arrival, driver came (was a lil worried he wouldn't turn up but I only waited 5 mins considering I came early). Within 15 mins, I was at my hotel. Within another 15 mins, I made 2 day-trip tour bookings cos all the tour agencies were so accessible.

Here I am now, still at Kadche. Finished my Fattet Meat. The two waiters have just introduced themselves - Tarek and Hussein - and given me the pword for their wifi.

Will be heading back soon to check into my room and then exploring Beirut after. Keep you posted again when I can. And sorry for brief descriptions. It's a pain writing on my BB.

Whee!