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Published: July 25th 2006
Some things you may not have known about Qatar...
•The Qataris leave all the plastic wrapping on the seats of their new cars. Maybe it’s to show people their car is a brand spanker and therefore they are perceived to be RICH! (Never mind the diamond cufflinks dripping from their thobes or the prada sunnies peeking out from their abbeyas!)
•Qatari people will pay up to AUD$50,000 to purchase the use of a “cool” phone number, such as 555 5551 or 202 0202 etc.
•Qataris drive up to the kerb of little juice or coffee shops, toot their horns and the little Indian men run out and serve them on the street. Same thing applies for the pharmacy and some small supermarkets!
•If a foreigner gives the finger to an arrogant Qatari driver who cuts you off or almost hits you on the road, you will likely end up in jail…
•Every time you wish leave the country, you need to get written permission from your sponsor (usually a sheik) to do so.
•It costs less than AUD$10.00 to fill the petrol tank of an ordinary sedan.
•You can’t buy pork here…so some people bring it in when they fly in from Dubai!
•The call to prayer happens five times a day. The times are dependent upon the rising and setting of the sun and are listed daily in the newspaper, just like the weather forecast.
•Much of the city shuts down between 12:00pm and 4:00pm each day as the locals have their lunch and a nap. Peak hour on the roads is around 8:00pm…shocking time to drive, but home from work at 5:30 / 6:00pm is a breeze.
• There’s a set of twin towers here that are (were) under construction and have burnt down…twice!
•Most construction sites are operating 24 hours a day.
•A lot of the fruit and meat in the supermarket comes from Australia and New Zealand.
•When you park your car at the major shopping malls, there’s always men offering to wash your car while you shop.
•Often if something costs you, for example, QR5.75, (Qatari Riyal) you will hand over QR6.00 and they will give you change in the form of chewing gum.
•Most of the labour (especially construction) here is Indian, Bangladeshi and Nepalese. Most of the service industry positions are held by Phillippinos.
•So many of the roads are under construction, or upgrade from roundabouts to intersections with traffic lights, that the route to work is altered on an almost daily basis.
•Some days, when you walk outside the humidity is so high your sunglasses immediately fog up and you can’t see a thing!
SUCH an interesting place to be 😊
xoxox
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Anna Tickell
non-member comment
sounds awesome
hi sal and gav!! wow, what a very interesting place!! sounds like you guys are having lots and lots of fun! glad to hear you are both doing well. life here in adelaide is sensational, loving it, though compared to qatar probably seems rather dull. love to you both, anna and michael xxoo