Blogs from Doha, Qatar, Middle East - page 18

Marathon Travel from Africa to Asia - Our 32-hour travel day… From the start of our journey, we knew that leaving Africa was going to be both emotionally and physically challenging. We wrote in our last blog of the emotional attachments we made in Tanzania to the Kili Kids orphanage and to the warm, generous people we met throughout our safari adventures. Our physical challenge was one of endurance, to traverse the distance from Arusha, Tanzania, to Chiang Mai, Thailand, over a 32-hour time period and through 4 time zones. Thankfully, Sam and Lauren are fabulous travellers. With only minimal whining about lack of sleep, they seem to love the adventure of it all and are usually the cheeriest ones in sight at our middle-of-the-night airport stops. Our travel day began at 3:15 am, when we ... read more

8 hours down, 7 hours to go... Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 7:38pm So, had better make this quick as am on a 10 minute time limit in an internet cafe in Doha airport... First leg of journey over, and now have 3 hours to go until I board the next plane to the middle of nowhere! Right now, am feeling very alone... its kinda nice, but wierd. Also feeling ridiculously overwhelmed.. as the plane landed caught a glimpse of the amazingly unfamiliar landscape- its like something off the news. Anyway, am off to plant myself firmly in the smoking room for the next 3 hours! Hopefully speak soon everyone xxx... read more

We enjoyed a Dune Bashing trip near the Sealine along with a dessert style overnite camping right on the ocean. Much of Qatar's oil and natural gas wealth is visible in Doha, which is the economical centre of Qatar. Doha is home to the headquarters of the country's largest oil and gas companies. Like the nearby city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Doha's economy is moving away from its dependency on the oil and natural gas industries, although unlike Dubai, Doha's main focus is not tourism. Construction is also booming in Doha, a result of increasing corporate and commercial activity in Doha; this is most visible with the changing skyline of the city, as Doha has over 50 towers currently being constructed While there we also got to tour The Pearl Qatar....it is still ... read more

After a couple of car bookings went missing I found myself in Doha airport sans wheels, and since I know my way round the the slums of Calcutta better than the average taxi driver knows his way round Doha, I resorted to Hassan Baghazal Trading Est. (Rent a Car Division). On the phone I spoke to someone who's name sounded like "Mr. Lovely", but I assumed that a combination of telephone and background noise, and English not being his first language, I had misheard somehow. Not the case. But the funny thing is, he is actually a really nice bloke. Well named Mr. & Mrs. Rodrigues! If you need a car in Qatar I thouroughly recommend him, his cars are reasonably priced and come pre-scratched so you don't have to worry too much about where you ... read more

If you didn't know already, I'll provide a quick update on my recent activities. I packed in my job having decided I'd regret not travelling before settling down; those who've known me for a while know I've been considering this for far too long before actually deciding to do it. I handed my notice at the end of April, rented my house by the end of July, finished work at the end of August and set-off on the 14th September for one year's worth of travelling solo. The plan was to visit Qatar, UAE and Oman, India, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, America and Canada, although it may well be subject to change. Now I'm away, I've never felt less stress, more content and happy...perhaps at finally overcoming the fear associated with leaving my ... read more