Blogs from Doha, Qatar, Middle East - page 19

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Leaving the Maldives was hard enough. Arriving into Qatar (pronounced ‘cutter’) for a ten hour layover on our way to South Africa bordered on torture. The desert nothingness that revealed itself on our descent wasn’t exactly what I would call “welcoming,” nor was the 44 degree C (110 degree F) heat blast that overwhelmed us as we deplaned. Having psyched ourselves out about spending a majority of our day parked in the desert oasis, Gina and I looked forward to a decent meal and the possibility of some Internet time at the airport. No instructions were given by the airline’s ground crew as we entered the terminal building with the mass of passengers transferring to other flights, so like lemmings we followed them to the security queue. As we stood waiting our turn to pass through ... read more

A Glimpse of the Middle East March 29-31, 2007 It would be impossible to imagine a greater study in contrast than our experience in beautiful but impoverished Lesotho and our short stay in Doha, capital city of Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world. An 8 hour flight can indeed take you to a whole other world. We flew Qatar Air from Johannesberg, SA to Doha and even as the bus made its way from the aircraft to the terminal, we were able to glimpse the rounded turrets of mosques beyond the airport’s perimeter. Because our flight path en route to London then Spain took us via Doha, it seemed only sensible to stay for a few days and catch a glimpse of life in the Middle East. (or at least that is ... read more

Yesterday afternoon I visited Al Jazeera news rooms where Pia works. Given my job in PR I found it hugely interesting (as were the conversations with Pia and her journalist colleagues - such ambitious and high energy people) even if the Al Jazeera English language centre looked pretty much the same than CNN and CNBC in London. In the evening two nights of hardly any sleep just became too much for me and went to bed at nine. After sleeping around the clock i felt fine and was all full of energy - off to gym then. I was on my own as Sunday is a work day here. Rest of the day i spent on the beach again. When Pia came from work we went to a bazaar - Sorry Pia can't remember anymore how ... read more

Happy New Year!! Christmas came & went & here are some pics of the few days we spent with David, Brenda & Naomi Newnham... We had so much fun, finally being tourists here in Doha. Took the fam to our favourite Indian restaurant, Chingari, ate arabic food at Balhambar on the corniche, headed into the desert for an arabian adventure full of sanddunes, camels & arabic tea and enjoyed Christmas day in style with 9 holes at the Doha Golf Club for the boys and 5 star spa & pampering at the 4 Seasons Hotel for the girls, followed by a delicious meal at the top of the Sheraton, overlooking the gulf... Hope 2007 is a great year...looking forward to catching up with you in Melbourne in March. Luv Sal & Gav xoxoxoxoxox... read more