Relaxation and fun in Qatar


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Middle East » Qatar » Doha
November 22nd 2009
Published: February 3rd 2010
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Doha on the WaterDoha on the WaterDoha on the Water

Downtown Doha in the background.
***I'm catching up on my blogs. I wrote some of this in Qatar, but finished it recently. I'm also planning on going back and making my previous blogs public, after I scrub them for any info that shouldn't be public... 😊 ***

My first day of R&R in Qatar began with the trip I most wanted to go on - the Doha city tour. I was excited about it because I wanted to learn more about Qatar and figured that was the only way to get out and actually see the cultural sights in the city. Turns out, it was a cheap imitation of a tour. I’m glad I went, given the options, but it was a sad excuse for a “city tour”.

In order to leave the base, we must be escorted by someone on the approved list. Generally, this means we have to get on one of the tours going out that day. They have 4 or 5 each day, and it’s hit or miss whether they’ll be full one day (max 25 people) or cancelled the next (min 10 people). The city tour left at 0800 the day I took it (they vary their schedules unpredictably
Day of RestDay of RestDay of Rest

I loved this image of the worn wheelbarrows resting against the wall.
because apparently there are a couple of terrorist cells that live outside the base and watch it closely - to the point of following some of the vehicles sometimes. I wasn’t thrilled about getting up so early on my “vacation” but figure it’s a necessary evil to be able to do cool activities out here. We got on the little minibus, packed in, and took off for downtown Doha. Our tour guide was a little Filipino dude. As we were driving to our first stop, the Souq market, he would narrate a little bit about the country. I’m sure you can get more/better information off Wikipedia, or a decent tour book, but at least it was something. According to our guide, the country is only 25% local nationals (Qataris born in Qatar). The vast majority are Asian (of which I think are mostly Filipino), and some African and other nationalities mixed in. I’ve never seen so many immigrant workers. I don’t think I met a real Qatari the whole time I was there.

They have a royal family, and as we’d drive by big estates or buildings, our guide would say “and that’s their summer home,” or “the Emir
The SouqsThe SouqsThe Souqs

This is what the market looked like -- like most other markets in other countries, but most of it indoors.
is building that for his daughter.” The whole country is pretty small, and I’m pretty sure Doha is the only big city, or at least it’s the capital. If you had to pick something that this country is known for, it would be oil. Gas actually costs less than water here! Something like 70cents/liter (American). Their currency is the Qatari Riyal and the rate is 3.64 QR per $1. It’s a fair exchange rate and things cost ABOUT what they’d cost in the states. The language here is Arabic, but English is widely spoken by just about everyone (though how well is another matter).

Many of the women wear abayas (like a burka), with various states of face covering. Their gowns are all black, but often have beautiful embroidery or adornments. I was surprised at how fashionable they can be! Underneath, you catch glimpses of long red sleeves, or the skirts of a beautiful dress. They at least have their hair covered, and many have their faces covered with just the eyes showing. It’s kind of exotic, actually. We were told that it’s their choice of how much of their face to cover, but I would bet it’s their
Old SouqsOld SouqsOld Souqs

I love these kinds of places :)
husband or father’s choice. They say the women cover their faces because they are covering their beauty, and they are quite beautiful people. Some say it’s a status symbol - that the rich cover their faces. Occasionally you’ll see someone with the black veil covering her whole face. When they have just their eyes exposed (the most common I’ve seen), the face covering has a little connecting strip from the nose to the band around the head. It really gives the eye opening an exotic feel. It’s not exactly the shapeless burka with the eye slit you often see on TV. The men wear a floor-length white gown, much like the women’s. Their heads are either covered with a white cloth or a red and white checkered cloth. The white is only supposed to be worn in the summer by men who have been to Mecca, but they say the tradition is blurring. Children are dressed in Western clothes.

Our city tour stopped first at the Old Souqs, or the local market. One of my favorite things to do in other countries is to visit their market. Qatar actually has several markets: fruit/vegetable, fish/meat, old (with many different goods), gold (they’re known for their cheap gold and pearls), and a couple of others. Our only choices, based on what’s offered through the base, are the old and gold souqs. The old souq market is set up in a little city center area. It actually looked a LOT like the Eastern Market in DC. It was pretty big, and seemed to be organized around themes: there was the fabric section, the candy/spices section, the toys, and the pets. I had only one mission at the outset: get 4 scarves for Petra. There was lots of haggling (50% down easily) and tons of stuff to look at. I especially enjoyed the pet section where they had pigeons (NO SHIT, PIGEONS) for sale in little cages. They also had these little bunnies in dresses, and the most miserable looking kitten I’ve ever seen 😞 Sad. The one thing I’ve STILL never seen out here is a dog. I haven’t even seen many in Iraq.

My only regret from the market is that I didn’t buy more foreign candy to try. They had tubs of nougat for like $6. Maybe I can talk someone into getting it for me if they go
For Sale:For Sale:For Sale:

2 dirty pigeons. haha It felt like being home in NY!
back. Yum! Our stop was only about 1.5 hours, and from there we went to lunch. Most of the “tour” was just driving from place to place. Lunch was at this local restaurant and consisted of lamb kebobs with rice and yummy flat bread. They also served us this awesome little salad, like ceviche without the fish, and some kind of curry soup. Not a bad meal!

After lunch we headed to the Gold Souqs. For some reason this region has (relatively) very cheap gold and pearls. I’m not really a big jewelry person, so this wasn’t too exciting for me. Everyone felt compelled to buy crap, and in the end, I succumbed. I got myself a set of black pearl necklace, bracelet, and earrings - all for $35 (at a tough bargain). They have salt-water pearls there too, but they’re at least twice as expensive, sometimes more. They say the fresh water has irregularities and that’s how you can tell, but I didn’t think the difference was big enough to justify the cost. Whatever, I now have black pearls. The other thing I got there was a hookah. 😊 It was gonna happen sooner or later, and I saw a nice chrome one. I should’ve bargained more, but I paid a pretty reasonable price (reasonable in the states, anyway). I was always worried about getting a hookah because I was afraid I’d become a habitual smoker, but I think it’s more like I am with alcohol. I rarely do it to excess and will only have a glass a few times a week, so in moderation.

Our last stop on the tour was the City Center Mall. Even though Doha is not that big of a city, there are tons of malls. The USO on base has trips that go to 3 of them. As part of the Doha City Tour, we only stop at the mall for about 2hrs, hardly enough time to even see one floor. This mall was pretty big - 3 floors and hundreds of stores. For a moment, I felt like I was back in the states, at Tyson’s Corner, VA, except for the occasional abaya that would pass me. I really wasn’t planning on doing much shopping because I won’t even be able to wear it until I get home next spring. Plus I’d have to either carry it or ship
Streets of DohaStreets of DohaStreets of Doha

Illegally taking pictures out of a moving vehicle (yes, that's prohibited), this was what the typical streets looked like.
it. It was a nice diversion anyway.

The advantage to leaving early in the morning is that we were back by 4. Getting back on base is a nightmare. The security is so tough, it usually takes at least 30min to get on. First, they have to stop and show ID to the gate, who has to take their time doing whatever they’re doing (making a list and checking it twice??). Then we roll into these big vehicle search areas. They shut down the bus, we get out into this little holding area while they go through the bus and look in all our bags. Then they bring the dogs onto the bus to sniff around. They’re not kidding!

We finally made it back to the USO just as the lists were opening for sign ups for the next day. I only had 3 things on my list for Qatar: scarves for Petra, get a massage, and haircut. I decided that the next order of business would be haircut, so I signed up for a trip to the mall the next afternoon. Then I had the rest of the evening to hang out and relax! I wasn’t really
The Giant PearlThe Giant PearlThe Giant Pearl

Or oyster or whatever. And me slouching in front of it -- posture! This was one of the most highlighted sights on the "tour" if that gives you an idea of how crappy the tour was.
that hungry since the lunch was so big, so I just went to the gym and checked out the massages. No appts necessary -- I walked in for the best 1-hr professional 😉 massage of my life! It was a whopping $34 for an amazing massage. If I lived there, I’d be getting one several times a week!! It was so relaxing.

Also within the gym is an Orange Julius/Dairy Queen. I figured what better way to top off my massage than with a DQ blizzard for dinner. I got one to go and enjoyed it on my way over to the base theater, conveniently located in the back of the DFAC. They were playing “Inglorious Basterds” that night, and it had been a while since I’d been to a good theater. It wasn’t as good as a mall movie theater, but way better than the one in Al Asad. The movie was actually FANTASTIC! Very Quentin Tarantino, but it was very good. By the time it was over, it was already almost 11pm, and the bars in the USO stop serving alcohol at midnight, so I had to get crackalackin to get over, take a shower (and wash all the grease off me from the massage), and make it back to the USO in time to get my 3 drinks in. The perfect ending to my day would be wine and playing on the internet 😊

I raced my butt along, got a shower, threw on my comfiest PJs and sweatshirt, and headed back to the USO. I had been used to seeing it empty, and that’s what I expected. It was packed! There were lots of people out, which made me feel pretty self-conscious in my pajama pants and sweatshirt (I didn’t even put on a bra!). I said heck with it and got a glass of wine and settled at a table with my little netbook for my planned evening of wine and internet. It was a pretty big place, with lots of tables and plenty of people using their computers around, so I didn’t actually stick out too much. Either way, I had a great evening!

The next morning I got to sleep in since I didn’t have anywhere to be until 2. I got up around 11, did some laundry (I actually had MISSED doing my own laundry, which I didn’t realize
Hookah and BeerHookah and BeerHookah and Beer

ahhh a nice relaxing night!
until I did a few loads over the course of the trip), and went to the gym. It felt good to get a workout in with all the crap I’ve been eating. Purifying. We didn’t leave for the mall until 4, so I was hoping to hit the pool too, but I ran out of time. I had just enough time after my workout to shower and get over to the USO in time for the 2pm brief to sign up for the next day’s activities. Since we were “Day 2’s” at that point, we had priority over anyone, meaning we’d get whatever we wanted to sign up for. They had scored 20 VIP tickets for the hydroplane boat races on Sat and Sun, so that was something different. I was torn, but decided to go with the boat races.

After the sign ups, I just hung out and played on the internet until it was time to leave for the mall. I was so excited to finally get my straggly hair cut! When we got there, I made a bee line for the first hair salon I could find. The Landmark Mall actually isn’t very big, and only
My New HaircutMy New HaircutMy New Haircut

(with apologies to the youtube video of the same name haha) This is what it looked like on the day I got it cut. It's grown out since then, and is about ready for another cut -- and a good style!
had ONE hair salon/spa. One was all I needed! I made it up there and was given an appt 30min later. Not bad! I wandered around the mall, still amazed at how fashionable the abayas were, until my time came. It was a “females only” spa, meaning that the women could come inside and let down their hair (obviously necessary) without worrying about having a guy see them without their coverings. I felt like a peeping tom, being able to freely see the mysterious woman who owns the eyes that are the only part of her visible to the outside world. There’s something alluring about that to me - when you’re constantly so covered and guarded, just the sight of something as simple as her face feels somehow risqué, like she’s baring her chest or something. It must have been what it was like back in the 1800s and before, when women wore those long petticoats and it was scandalous if a man saw her ankle.

The girl who was cutting my hair was a little Filipina girl who had a very basic grasp of English. I was trying to explain to her what I wanted, but she obviously
Boat RacesBoat RacesBoat Races

With the driver of the boat sponsored by the Navy -- somehow associated with the Blue Angels. This guy was not in the Navy...
didn’t get it. Instead of the angled bob that I had before, that I just wanted to have cut again, I ended up with a really short cut, all the way around. I pointed out a girl in the shop who had the haircut I wanted, but it was too late. She fixed it as best as she could, but the front is WAY shorter than I had intended. I guess it’ll grow on me. I might need to find a new way to wear it - like with creatively-placed bobby pins (no clips or barrettes are allowed in marine regs). At least I don’t have to worry about getting it cut again for a while!

After my haircut, I didn’t care what else happened - mission accomplished! I wandered around for another couple of hours and popped into the food court for dinner. It was interesting to see the women in their abayas sitting at tables, face wraps removed to eat. Some kept them in place and just held it out slightly and ate underneath it. That’s dedication. I think it would cool to wear one, but I don’t know if I’d take it that far… Besides, like
In the pitIn the pitIn the pit

One of the other drivers
I said before, there’s something sexy about revealing your face if you keep it covered all the time. The food court might be the only place for them to pick up a boyfriend! Haha

The next day I put on the lightest clothes we were allowed to wear, in anticipation of being outside in the hot sun all day. Jeans, sneakers and a short-sleeved shirt. They’re pretty ridiculous on base with their rules. Despite the fact that it’s a Westernized country and even some of the locals wear Western clothes, we can’t wear shorts, open-toed shoes, or anything without sleeves. So while I walked around sweating in my jeans and sneakers, all these women were passing me with their cute little sundresses or shorts, tank tops, and sandals. I was so jealous! I can’t wait to be home and wear whatever I want again! It actually wasn’t too hot during the day, so it wasn’t that bad.

I never knew, but hydroplane boat racing is a fairly new sport (80s I think) with not many international races under its belt. The VIP tickets were sponsored by the O’berto beef jerky company - the owner and founder’s son had
Oh Boy ObertoOh Boy ObertoOh Boy Oberto

haha Standing in front of the Oberto boat.
a boat in the race and wanted to do something for the military. He’s a short geeky sort of guy who had a beautiful and much younger trophy wife. I feel like there was “gold-digger” written all over her. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong. He was very nice, though. He walked us all around the pit and told us about the boats and the races. It was like Nascar, but on water. We got to watch the races from the pit. It was cool, but about as exciting as Nascar would be. It was beautiful weather and a nice diversion. And best of all, a VIP lunch was included. It was AWESOME! Yummy sweet rice (I LOVE that stuff) with dates, some juicy chicken, tasty salad, and VERY impressive desserts. 😊 Beyond that, it was just a boat race.

We got back to base early enough that I just went to the DFAC for dinner. It was SO nice to be able to go in civilian clothes! What a treat! And instead of my usual chocolate chip cookie, they had double chocolate chunk! 😊 Another treat. That night, there was a USO show -a band from Charlotte, NC that
Hydroplane engineHydroplane engineHydroplane engine

They actually use engines bought from the Army that used to be in Chinooks! The guy in green is Steve Oberto -- the son of the founder/owner
was AWESOME! They billed themselves as a southern rock band akin to Skynard, but did an awesome cover of “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. It was the best cover of a song I’ve EVER heard! A very cool rock version. So I sat and had a beer while listening to them.

When I had signed up for the next day’s activities, there was actually space for the VIP trip again (it was a 2-day race) but, after struggling with the decision, I decided to do the adventure tour instead. It came highly recommended and was supposed to be awesome - well worth the $25 price tag. The weird thing is that it left around 4, so it was starting to get dark right at the beginning. I just hung out during the day - gym, massage. Tried to get the most out of my last day there.

The adventure tour starts with hired drivers taking you in SUVs from the base to some sand dunes nearby (maybe 30min drive). Ours looked like a transplanted rasta. Apparently part of the “ride” is them driving like friggin maniacs. We had an older woman in our car who wasn’t
Checkin out the boatCheckin out the boatCheckin out the boat

Me and one of the guys from our group getting a tour of the Oberto hydroplane boat
prepared for it and was gripping the seat. We had a bunch of young, reckless people who were screaming and having the times of their lives each time we almost crashed. I was thinking how freakin ridiculous and dangerous it was. And in the background was hip hop and rap blasting so loud that I needed hearing protection. Now, I’m not an old fuddy-duddy when it comes to stuff. As anyone reading this knows, I love my little adrenaline trips. This, however, was stupid. There was NO fun being a passenger in a car that felt like it was out of control and being thrown around with the constant threat of tipping over or crashing. Awful. I didn’t know anyone on the tour, and with the exception of the old woman, everyone else seemed like they were in their teens, and not the kind of people I enjoy hanging out with. Off the bat I didn’t like it. When we got to the sand dunes, they stopped and let us out for 10min while they let some air out of the tires. I welcomed the blessed quiet of the dessert to that god-awful “music” that threatened my future hearing. (I
VIP lunch!VIP lunch!VIP lunch!

Definitely my highlight of the day haha It's making me hungry just thinking about it!
asked them to turn it down at one point and it went one notch lower. Ugh.)

The 10-min break went by fast and I reluctantly climbed back in our car. Now it was time to drive recklessly over the sand dunes. Jeez. I could enjoy driving in the sand dunes without feeling like we were going to tip over at ever turn (and if you saw the angle we were driving along those dunes, you would be scared - I was). I can imagine that it might be fun to DRIVE over the dunes like that, but NOT as a passenger. So bad went to worse. I was in a foul mood by the time we got there. Oh, and by now it was pitch black. The “oasis” that we drove to was a little outpost obviously maintained for the sole purpose of little caravans like ours. Probably owned by the same company. It was so touristy it was disgusting. It felt like what closed-minded American teenagers would like to do while in a foreign country - treated like Americans and led through a touristy maze of watered-down culture. So there was a tent where you could put on an abaya and take pictures (at least they didn’t charge for it) and the men could put on the traditional dress. It was neat to see what I looked like in an abaya, but I think that was the ONLY part of the ENTIRE TRIP that I liked. I should’ve just tried one on at the freakin mall and been done with it.

The adventure tour is supposed to be fun because of the picnic and snorkeling. Yeah, well, not much snorkeling happening in the pitch black. And they even offered us snorkel gear we could RENT! HA! Whatever. Not only did I have no desire to snorkel in the pitch black, but it was cold out, and there are jelly fish in the water. Oh, and I’m with a bunch of immature enlisted army/marines. No thanks. So I tried to enjoy the dinner they served us (not bad, actually), and just sat around smoking hookah for a while and tried to be interested in hanging out with some of the nerdiest marines I’ve ever met in my life (one was in the marine corps band. That’s two of them I know now, and both are the biggest nerds!)
Getting readyGetting readyGetting ready

Lowering one of the boats into the water using a crane
The conversation was strained and probably tainted by my regrets at having wasted money on this “fun” adventure trip. I actually felt like asking for my money back, but figured the process of getting it wouldn’t be worth it. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, so I guess if you’re a young, immature, enlisted person, it’s the trip for you. It would’ve been TOLERABLE if I’d gone with friends, but still not worth it. A painful ride back with my fingers in my ears and I was so grateful to get out of that friggin car. What a way to spend my last day there. And to boot, the guys who went to the boat race for the second day (some marines from MALS) said it was even better that day and had a GREAT time - and it was free! Grrrr Stupid trip. I tried to recover and make the most of my last night, which consisted of my 3 glasses of wine and some hookah. I even managed to squirrel some of the wine back in an empty orange juice bottle (I could’ve brought a lot more - they didn’t even check!)

Sunday morning, I was up
Navy racingNavy racingNavy racing

Somehow this boat was connected with the Navy, but I'm still not really sure how...
early and packing/checking out of the rooms we were staying in. I hauled my gear back to the USO and about 5min into the brief (which is designed to give you a leisurely time to get your stuff, check out, give feedback, and get to the air terminal), a guy comes in frazzled because they bumped our flight up and they were holding it for us if we could get there in 30min (a BIG challenge since we were on a different base). We ran out, threw our stuff in the van, and off we went. There were about 6 of us traveling together and heading back to Al Asad. We made it to the other base just in time, checked in, and sat around and waited. A boxed lunch sitting in the tent, and killing a little time before loading onto the plane. We were heading back to Balad to begin our multi-stop trip home.

When we got to Balad, and had the pleasure of again watching the fascinating “What to do in case of a mortar attack” video, we checked with the terminal to see when our flight home would be. Turns out, after all our rushing
Downtown DohaDowntown DohaDowntown Doha

What weird looking buildings!
to Balad, there was NOTHING until Tues. Why couldn’t we wait in Qatar? Annoying. So off we went to find the “good” billeting that some of the guys swore by. I’m still not sure why this was supposed to be better. It was a farther walk to the bathroom, farther away from phones and internet, and no where near the terminal. Actually, there wasn’t much of anything nearby. They have buses, but it was like a small city - tons of buses going all different directions. To make matters much much worse, it had gotten much colder and had rained a LOT in the few days that we’d been gone. They have absolutely no infrastructure to deal with rain, so all the dirt parking lots and bus stops and walkways were now rivers and lakes of mud. While trying to get on or off a bus, you were literally walking through mud that was up to your ankles. I tried to step gingerly and find the least muddy spots to step, but still got mud all over my nice new sneakers. I didn’t even want to walk through that with my boots on - I knew I’d be cleaning them.
And the winner is...And the winner is...And the winner is...

With the driver of the Oberto boat, who ended up winning the whole race.
And if you wanted to go into the MWR or USO, you had to have a clean pair of shoes with you to put on. I mean, really? Wouldn’t it just be easier to put down pieces of wood pallets to walk on? Or move the bus stop 20ft in either direction so you’re not forced to get on/off in a puddle of mud? Absurd. I was grateful that I was on Al Asad, not that muddy hellhole. After 2 days of being stuck there, I was so sick of mud and cold.

On Monday, there was a CHANCE that there might be a flight back, so I got up relatively early, made it to a phone, and found out that that flight wasn’t going to happen. Great. Got up early and now have a whole day of mud to look forward to. Even walking to the bathroom from the tent, a good 1/4mile walk, is slogging through mud. How nice to have your feet covered in mud after a refreshing shower. SO glad I don’t live there!!

I puttered around the base and made myself busy until it was time to go back to the tent. Our flight out was early, so I got everything ready that night (by the light of a headlamp) and staged to leave early. And by noon we were on our way! We got very lucky in that this flight was straight back to Al Asad. At least I wouldn’t have to spend another day in Kuwait without sheets! Gone for about 10 days for a 96-hour “vacation” in Qatar. Not sure if it was worth it, but it was a fun diversion.



Additional photos below
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Sand BuggiesSand Buggies
Sand Buggies

The crazy, notsofun ride through the sand dunes.
Playing dress upPlaying dress up
Playing dress up

In the abaya with the niqab covering the face except the eyes.
Less conservativeLess conservative
Less conservative

It was actually very comfortable to wear! I think if I lived there I'd wear one... sort of fun.
Poor CamelPoor Camel
Poor Camel

This camel was so unhappy about being there haha For $5 you could ride the camel. Eh. I passed.


3rd February 2010

So glad you're home!
The title of this comment says it all! Overjoyed that you're back in the good ole USA!

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