In 2009, I had two interviews for different positions in Doha. On the second trip, I also had a trip out into the desert and down to the Gulf coast. Now, here is my driver, Basim, who didn't take off his sunnies!!!
Hoo roo for now...
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February 2009, I had the opportunity to visit Doha Qatar for a job interview. At the time, L was back at home doing the injections for the last session of IVF... I normally gave her the injections, and she was having particular difficulty self-injecting!
One of the highlights of the visit, was a visit to the Villaggio Shopping Mall, which was next-door to where I would've been working! It is a typical shopping mall, right? NO! It had some very high-end stores, and it also had a Venetian style canal inside
Hoo roo for now...
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On my final day/evening in Doha, when walking around, I was amazed at the amount of people sitting around, in parks, buildings trying to find some shade in the very late part of the daylight... But, I had NO idea what it was all about until I realised I was walking down the street that had all of the banks, and the people were waiting (even on a Friday) for them to open and withdraw their wages! It wasn't until around 6pm that people started moving, joining lines and scuffles were on!!!
Doha Waiting for Banks to open, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Doha Bank Waiting, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.I also got this shot of the two swords, I will have to do some research to learn exactly what they are about though!
Doha Al Samad, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.As well as being back, Sydney yesterday had a major dust storm... The only problem I had with it all was that the night before, we had a good old thunderstorm pass through, and I opened up my windows to enjoy the fresh air! 5.15am when I woke up, the morning sky was as red as anything I had ever seen... Then I realised, I had bedroom windows open, and after a couple of hours when getting ready for work, I started to wheeze pretty bad, and I new I would not be getting to work and hunted down an old Ventolin... By lunch, I was at the doctors surgery, on a nebuliser and being closely monitored, or off to emergency! I ended up AOK, and a quick trip to the chemist ($145 poorer) back home and sealed up the house!
And, here are the pets, I haven't posted about them in such a long while... Macc is his usual self sleepy head on his bed, whilst Jasmine, still with a little red tinge about her, taking comfort in the leather lounge!
Sleeping Macc, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Sleeping Jasmine, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Yesterday, when I was in my meeting, we got talking about the amount of demolition & construction work was happening in Doha at the moment. I walking around the day prior, I had noticed that a lot of the buildings were being demolished in a sort of revival type fashion.
Doha, which is not that big a city, is built along the shores of the Corniche. On one side is a 'New' Doha, whilst on the other, the side that I am currently staying on, is the 'Old'. When viewing across the Corniche and the harbour from the office yesterday afternoon, it is really such a stark difference between the two! The far side, full of multi story, glass and steel towers, whilst on this side, it is filled with stone, brick and concrete buildings, most of which are lucky to be under two or three stories. There are a few to the exception and these are mainly Hotels.
So I thought, I would grab, where I could, a few photos of some of the works in progress. There was many MANY more, but in the limited time I had, and the workman at the gates or nearby (and me not wanting to offend anyone and be thrown in jail!), I managed these two sites. The first is an old Hotel, which I understand had been closed for many years as it was seen by the Royal Family, 'too close' to the Palace, and wanted it closed/removed. I guess they got their wish:
Old Hotel, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.At first, I thought it was under repair after a bomb had hit it (and thought I got the wrong flight and ended up in Kuwait or Afghanistan, but no, I was in Doha! The second I was walking past, and all I could see was a dust cloud (of sorts) as I approached. Oddly, opposite there was a new hotel (or apartment's maybe) being constructed, and all of the dust was going into it. I pitied the painters on the inside with windows open!
Changing face of Doha, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.So, today is my last FULL day here, and the day is mine. I have been trying to catch up with a friend here, who I met in Feb when I was here, but time schedules have not been the best, so maybe another time. So I went across to the 'New' Doha and here is what the construction is like:
Doha New Construction, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Doha New Construction, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.It is also the Eid Holiday, which is a very big event. The papers FULL PAGE ADVERTISMENTS, are all congratulating as per the following:
On the happy occasion of
EID AL FITR
We extend our congratulations to
Eid Holiday, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.His Highness The Emir
Skeikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani
His Highness The Heir Apparant
Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani
and the people of Qatar
So I suppose I had better send my congrats to them as well, just to keep on their good side...
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Doha Night Skyline, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.Tonight, I went out with my trusty, albeit OLD, Olympus C-50 camera and that above pic is the resulting shot I got... Well, it was a series of four that gave it to me, shhhh....
When I was walking back to my hotel, through the Souk, I also got a photo of the 'Pearl' and also the Doha Islamic Cultural Centere:
Doha Pearl, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Doha Islamic Cultural Center II, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.Tonight’s meeting went well, and I suspect I have also met a very good friend. He is from Mumbai, and is very knowledgeable. BUT, in more exciting news, I have today found out, that a photo of mine is now a published (on the internet, but heck, it's published) so go and have a look (it's about half way down), tell me if you find it!
Tomorrow, I am again have another meeting, this time, at 1.45, I am being picked up and taken to the office... Then it will be onwards to various sites from there, so things are progressing nicely. This trip has also earned me the status of SILVER Skywards membership, yeah!
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First, this is going to be a very QUICK post, as I am about to go into Old Doha for a bit of shopping before it gets to hot and unattractive (as in, for me when I am walking around, wet from sweat, yes, VERY unattractive I know)!
Yesterday was a very tiering day to say the least... It all started when the phone rang at 5.15am... NOT my mobile which was thankfully on silent due to time zones, but the hotel phone which was right at my ear! I was sort of awake anyway, but I was definitely awake after that!
I eventually got up, showered and ready for my meeting and headed down to breakfast... Food here is just fantastic, and the meeting went really REALLY well! It was a 2 and a bit hours of various discussions about Doha. I am now going to be having a follow-up meeting on Thursday morning sometime, that’s how well it went!
So, after the meeting I went quickly into the streets below where there is an abundance of shops, selling anything and everything, and it is replicated (randomly) like some weird scientific experiment! But, nevertheless, it is cheap! I made a purchase of a broad brimmed hat (NO, I did not forget mine, it was crushed beyond all recognition at home!) for the afternoon in the dunes. And on that note, I will let my pics tell the story of the afternoon, as I have gotta run!
Inland Sea Safari, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Inland Sea Safari, originally uploaded by AussiePomm. 
Inland Sea Safari, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Well, all I can say is, g'day! After a 14.5 hour long flight to Dubai of which I had a great sleep (woken up for dinner not long after departure, missed the mid flight snack, but had to be woken AGAIN for breakfast), and a very quick 45 minute flight from Dubai to Doha, I arrived remarkably fresh in a very hot Doha morning. Here is a short video of the arrival into Doha:
I got through Immigration (eventually) and I had a driver there waiting... You know those types who hold a board with your name on it! WOW!! Anyway, out to the carpark and into the Lexus and we were on our way to the hotel...
As it was so hot, and I had to prepare for a meeting, I quickly had a shower... However, times had changed and the meeting for today had changed to tomorrow (breakfast) so I had the afternoon to myself! So, I headed down for a swim in the pool. It was good, not as cool as I had thought, but with the temperature heading towwards 43c, it was nice. After a swin and a cool down, and even a quick 30 min sleep, I got ready and walked down to the Souk Waqif. But instead found myself walking down to the Corniche fo a quick look. I wished I had taken my long lens though:
Sunset Souk, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
Sunset Roadworks, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.
I then gathered my purchases, repacked, went to the restaurant for a bite to eat, another shower and watched a bit of local TV. What was funny was, there was either a Pakistani or Indian version of Judge Judy! It was so funny, couldn't understand a word of it, but just the mannerisms and the vocal tones just did my head in!
I then had a call from reception to say that my car was ready to take me to the airport...
When I arrived, the check-in for Emirates was still to open, so I perched on a 'seat' and waited... Check-in finally opened and my bag was on its way home. With nothing else to do, I went through Immigration and entered the Doha Duty Free area:
After a small walk around looking for any bargains, I found my way to my departure gate (12.45am) and waited, tried to get a nap to no avail...). It was soon time for boarding and the departure area was filling up. All of a sudden, an announcement was made that there was going to be a delay. New departure time was now 6.45am! Now, a quick estimate of times showed me that we would make Dubai at a local time of 8.45am, leaving one hour to transit, short but do-able. 6.45am came and went and many people (including myself) were at the gate agent wanting updates and information about departure times and connections. Depending on WHO you talked to, you got a different answer. And even the same guy was giving different answers to the same people (he could not even remember the same lie he had already told!). Eventually, at 8.45am, we were called for boarding and to board the bus to the remote stand that our plane was at. From memory, I was now some 32 hours without sleep, and the bus took 30 minutes to get to the stand! We boarded, and departed quickly indeed. A very quick meal service was had and we were soon on approach into Dubai.
Upon arrival, guess what, another remote stand followed by another 20 minute bus ride to the transfer station. We were all taken into a transit hall and told to take a seat and all information would be relayed as to what process would follow. Refreshments (bottled water, Chocolate Muffins and Orange Juice were on the table. I finally got processed, and instead of returning via Bangkok, it would now be the direct flight, again on the new A380. A hotel (including ALL meals) had been arranged, and we were transferred. Shower, lunch and a much needed rest was in order. I slept through an alarm I had set for the Dubai evening bus tour!
After a GREAT nights sleep, it was time to meet my friends (from Doha delays) in the hotels lobby for the bus to the airport.
This is SUCH a grand entrance (typical Emirates style...). Check-in was effortless even though I had been told I already had a bag checked. I reminded him of my days events prior, and he said it was all good and I could go. My new found friends though were not having quite as much luck, as Emirates had not processed the booking rebook as thought. After a couple of eye-rolls from the check-in agent, a request for the Supervisor (and me mentioning that they look at the PNR they might just see a case history of the problems) all was now sorted and it was time to venture through to Immigration.
I did my Duty Free shopping, and went to my departure gate 230, (YES, that's two hundred and thirty!). This is SUCH an amazing new terminal:
The new A380 has some really special features, like the tail camera and the flight information system:
And is there anything better than arriving back home, to your own city, especially when this is your arrival view:
