Dozing in Doha…

The new National Museum is being built behind this wall...

Mural in Museum Square...

I had been warned that there was not much to do in Qatar…

Even the guidebook that Elspeth had lent me stated that Doha was a boring city, desperately trying to catch up to the likes of its neighbours, Dubai and Abu Dhabi…

The lousy weather did not help matters either… It rained heavily during my first night there, and in the morning, the city was shrouded in fog…

All the staff at the Mourouj Inn were migrant workers from the Philippines and as is usually the case with this type of employee, they knew very little about the city or country they were working in, and could not suggest much in the way of “things to do in Doha”…

Life for them comprises of work and sleep, and waiting for their annual visit home…

They did however have a photocopy of a fairly detailed map of the city, and together with some notes I had made from the guidebook, I set off to find the National Museum…

Unfortunately, the original building had recently been demolished, and in its place, a massive new museum was being built… Two entire blocks had been screened off and behind the screens, bulldozers, and other earthmoving equipment were preparing the foundations…

Tired of all the blue tinted glass buildings...?? They make them in black too...!! Place your orders Gentlemen...!!

The main road that runs along the half moon bay on the shores of Doha, is known as the Corniche… My hotel was situated at the very far end of this seven kilometre strip, and I decided to walk along it towards the skyscrapers that stood in the distance across the bay…

Only if you promise to show me stuff I can understand...!!

...or the cartoon cops will get you...!!

The Corniche was practically deserted… I passed barely a dozen people on the first half of my stroll…

From the sea wall, I could look across the bay, past the few fishing vessels anchored there, and see the downtown area of Doha, where the most amazing buildings reached for the sky…

I was too far away to get decent photos, and continued walking around the bay, hoping that the main road would take me closer to them…

There wasn’t much else to do, and occasionally flurries of rain sent me scuttling for cover under bus shelters and the like…

The city is heavily decorated with the Logo for the Asian Cup Football tournament..

With the Asian Cup on the go, banners and flags are flying from every lamp post…

Giant TV screens have been erected on the public squares, and at night when the games take place, these areas are packed with people watching the action…

But the vast majority of them are migrant workers, the Qataris preferring to watch the games on their giant flat screen TV’s, in the comfort of their living rooms…!!

The Indian guys I spoke to were distraught by the fact that their team had crashed out early, and had now thrown their support behind Qatar, who were playing that same night…

Qatar lost, and were also bundled out of the competition…!!

What now, guys…?? Uzbekistan…??

Downtown Doha... Modern as you like...!!

The Knowledge Enrichment Centre... Built on a floating barge-like structure, houses exhibits of exotic building designs...

There's a twist in the sky...!!

Going up...!! But why not call it the Doha Towers...??

I stopped at the far end of the Corniche, having covered over seven kilometres without finding a single place to buy a cup of coffee or a snack…

I finally found a small kiosk that was frequented by hordes of Bangaldeshi construction workers, who were on their break… I chatted to them about their home country and tried to get some information about the conditions there…

To a man, they said that I should prepare myself for lots of traffic, but that the people were friendly and would welcome me wherever I went…

Just then, a three-wheeler rolled up and a nattily dressed biker dismounted and strolled over to place his order… We got talking about his bike (which he said he had paid $35 000 for…) and he told me that it was one of eight in Qatar…

“But mine is the only yellow one…!!” he proudly advised me… “They can see me coming from far away…!!”

That they can, my friend, that they can…!!

Cool dude on his 3-wheeler...!!

Not sure about the design of the one on the right... Could be Vibrator H.Q. ...!!

I spent the majority of the afternoon sitting on the sea-wall, listening to my I-Pod, and watching the world go by… The weather was not the best, but when the sun did come out, it shone down on the blue waters of the bay, and reflected off the buildings on its shores… All very pleasant…!!

Wealthy Qataris, their fully-covered wives and daughters walking the appropriate number of steps behind them, strolled along the paved walkways… I wondered what was the point of going for a walk with your family, and then having them walk in silence behind you…?? That’s just plain weird, Dudes…!! Look around you…!! This is 2011…!!

Better I not get started on this topic…!! I have spent the last three months in the Middle East, and have witnessed hundreds of incidents that have had me shaking my head in amazement…and despair…!!

And that’s all I have to say about that…for now…!!

©GBWT 2011