Blogs from Doha, Qatar, Middle East - page 16

Advertisement

Middle East » Qatar » Doha September 20th 2009

Hey everyone, Well for first Eid, which is the celebration at the end of Ramadan, a few friends and I decided to go to Doha as one of my friends knew people we could stay with. She had befriended a Qatari family years ago and called one of the brothers of the family so we could stay there. On arrival, we were picked up by her friend, Ibrahim, who is...well I'll just say it...CRAZY! He was so jealous that she had called another one of her friends that he threw us out of his car bags and all. Luckily her other friend was not far away and gave us a ride to another friend's house where we stayed for the week...thank you Julie. You are a life saver! On Sunday, we made reservations to go dune ... read more
sand dune
me
camel

Middle East » Qatar » Doha September 19th 2009

Hello all and first of all, apologies for the lengthy delay in uploading this entry. I’ve succumbed to the realities of international flying: Free time to do this kind of stuff is a rare luxury now. Sleep, eat, fly and layovers are the four main elements of life nowadays. So where to begin? I suppose Istanbul would be the logical place. This was my second observer flight and was on the A320. The fight went well and I didn’t feel as lost as I did on my Dubai flight. The small little touch that will stick with me from this flight was on opening the door on arrival to the airport being welcomed to Turkey by the ground agent. It was a little bit of a reality check in that we wake up in Doha, fly ... read more
Lifes a Beach
Sunset in the Maldives
Portofino Beach, Cebu

Middle East » Qatar » Doha August 16th 2009

The last few days of July were rather kind to us namely in the form of a few much easier days of training and our first pay day. We had two days of training at the Qatar Aeronautical College where we studied Security and Dangerous goods. The two instructors were ex-British army/RAF and it was a welcome change to hear some Brits! I was also able to get a few contacts there as it’s at the Aeronautical College where I might be able to finish the pilot training next year if Qatar Airways approve me for it. Fingers crossed it will work out. Their facilities and training aircraft looked very new and impressive which was great until they gave me their price list... the training was about the same price as the UK, so no saving ... read more
Sky Bar
First Aid Training
Before my first flight

Middle East » Qatar » Doha July 30th 2009

30 July 2009 Morning/afternoon/evening everyone! Having finished Cabin Services the previous day, we went straight into the Safety and Emergency Procedures (SEP). We learnt how to handle ourselves, the passengers and the aircraft in a variety of emergency situations including ditching on water, lavatory fires and ground evacuations. We also learned how to deal with situations such as an incapacitated pilot, unruly passengers and the legalities surrounding the carriage of special passengers. Did you know that a maximum of 6 Falcons are allowed on board?? No, I didn’t either... One of the highlights of the SEP module was the fire fighting practical. After the first of three SEP exams we piled into the crew bus and were taken out into the desert to a fire training centre where we all practiced putting out an oven fire ... read more
Islamic Cultural Centre
Across the bay
Pearl Monument

Middle East » Qatar » Doha July 10th 2009

10 July 2009 After two months worth of medicals and waiting, I finally arrived in Doha on 20th June. I was met at the airport by a housing officer who took me to my apartment. It is in the Bin Mahmoud district which is a twenty minute drive from the airport. The apartment is very large and is brand new, so I am amongst the first batch of people to live in it. We all received a welcome hamper with so essential foods such as bread, milk and water as well as all the cutlery and crockery for the kitchen. Later on in the evening my housemate, Dan, moved in and he is from Ireland. The fully furnished apartment has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living/dining room and a kitchen and is on the fourth ... read more
Bin Mahmoud Apartments
My Apartment & welcome hamper
Bedroom view

Middle East » Qatar » Doha July 9th 2009

And so, week 5 on the road and I seem to have landed in Qatar. Actually not quite five weeks, I think I got a few days at home but it just didn’t work out. I kept leaving my laundry in a bag, ready for collection but honestly, the service was rubbish. Or perhaps I’m jinxed - the hotel here managed to lose my trousers for a day and I had to wear shorts to the office. A drop in standards I know but I think I can be excused - it did reach 42C yesterday. The flight out was uneventful and great value at £340. See, I still try and get value for money, even when it’s not my money (wish the boss was reading this). I really don’t mind taking a short break and ... read more
Museum of Islamic Art
Museum of Islamic Art
Vase

Middle East » Qatar » Doha July 5th 2009

For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com 9am: It is 43 degrees Celsius outside. Welcome to Qatar. I have just left my home for the last year, Taiwan, land of short shorts, to the Arabian Peninsula, where women hide all but their eyes behind black veils and robes. The temperature is about 10 degrees hotter than what I am used to in tropical Taiwan, but curiously it is so dry that I have not even broken a sweat. This is one of the smallest and richest nations on earth, thanks to it’s reserves of high quality oil, so that BMWs ply it’s desert tracks and cloaked Bedouin men play on their laptops and iphones as they smoke sheesha and drink tea in the 2000 year old souq teahouses. Women ... read more
Souq Waqif
Qatari Girl
Qatari boy

Middle East » Qatar » Doha June 16th 2009

Leaving in 2 days and it looks like I'm "getting out" JUST IN TIME! I really don't know what's going on, well I do, and I definitely don't agree with it! Here is the current situation over here in the Gulf: Dubai has become this "vacationland" for adults (and children) but for both vacation and work it's been a thriving paradise. Foreigners have been moving to the UAE to work with excellent pay and full packages (return airfare home, ridiculous amounts of vacation time, no tax, luxuries - drivers, nannies, maids, etc.) until this economic crisis and in the year that I have been over here Dubai has just been falling apart! http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090122/BUSINESS/869184936/1042 Workers have left and lots are coming here to Qatar where the world economic crisis hasn't affected even an ant - why? That's ... read more

Middle East » Qatar » Doha May 19th 2009

So exactly 5 weeks from today I will be getting on a plane homebound....finally!! I really can't wait - I've already sent a box home, have a bag of clothes to give away and have packed 1 suitcase (full of long sleeve shirts, pants, etc. that I def won't be wearin from now til June 23). Have I mentioned how hot it's getting again - let's just put it this way - the water in my toilet bowl is boiling - NO JOKE/NO EXAGGERATION! I noticed this craziness last week when I lifted the lid and found the water bubbling away which continues to this day. You can see the heat rising out of it and see the condensation all over the lid and the seat - it's actually one of the craziest things I've seen! ... read more

Middle East » Qatar » Doha April 2nd 2009

So we're off to Sri Lanka tonight (technically 3:35 am friday morning with a taxi pick-up at 2am) for 10 days. We come back on Easter Sunday. I'm looking forward to a relaxing week on the beach with some sightseeing and definitely a ride on an elephant! I'm also really looking forward to being able to be lying on the beach with a drink in hand and a whole lotta fresh pineapple! There are a lot of buddhist sites that we are gonna go to and there is a hike that I want to do as well. We are planning on going north to Kandy for a few days to see some of these sites and visit a tea plantation before heading down south to the beaches. I'm definitely planning on spending my 26th birthday on ... read more




Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 4; qc: 80; dbt: 0.0721s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb