Qatar Survival Tips - by Chris Hearn
Five Tidbits on Qatar: More than You Wanted to Know about an Unlikely Place
by Chris Hearn (Leap's Qatar expert - not Leap's accountant)
Qatar: A tiny peninsula that sticks off of Saudi Arabia like a slightly scary looking pimple. It’s the only country on earth with no natural surface water. It’s also one of the world’s largest suppliers of Liquid Natural Gas (I have no clue how something can be both a liquid and a gas at the same time, but apparently there is such a thing). And, it will be hosting the World Cup in 2022, a controversial pick and one that has caused a great amount of head scratching within the football community. But, in the meantime, Qatar is trying to build up its tourism industry, with plans to start building more low and mid ranged price hotels to offer an alternative to what is now an expensive range, a super-expensive range and an ultra-expensive range. So, here it goes: five tid-bits of information that you didn’t even ask for about Qatar from a guy (that’s me!) who has been living here for the last few years.
1. Without a Land Cruiser, you are NOTHING
Qatar is packed with Toyota Land Cruisers; powerful megaliths of a luxury SUV. Without Qatar, Toyota would have probably gone under years ago. Young Qatari men seem to thrive on using these beasts as a way to prove their manhood. The predominant color is white for some unknown reason. Plastic seat coverings that come with the vehicle from the dealer are generally left on the seats at all times. A good number are driven by Indian or Pakistani men, with the back windows heavily tinted. Behind those windows are women being shuttled about by the family driver. To please the occupants, he drops them off at the door of their destination, even if it creates a traffic jam for miles behind them. But, the scariest thing about Land Cruisers is how bloody fast they can go, and how quickly you will find one clambering up your rear, trying to push you off the road, flashing its lights, telling you to get out of the way, even if it is physically impossible to do so. Driving in Qatar is not only unpleasant, but often suicidal.
2. It’s One Never Ending Mall
It gets HOT in Qatar. It’s a desert country, so that is to be expected. In the summer, temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius with extreme Gulf humidity. Therefore, Qatar goes indoors for the summer months, or just leaves the country altogether. Air conditioned malls are the place to go, sadly. What if you hate malls like I do? Too bad, you’re going to end up in them whether you like It or not. Malls are everywhere, with several more being built even as these words are typed. They have everything in them from fake sidewalk cafes to boring and soulless indoor theme parks, completely out of place skating rinks and hellish underground parking. And of course, there is every European and North American chain store - in a homogenized blend of blandness. Bleh. Really, the best part of the malls is the air conditioning.
3. Life is a Hotel
The second hangouts of choice for many are the fine hotels which are plentiful in the city. Oh, the hotels. Pick a top end, high priced brand name hotel and you will find it here, catering to the needs of the wealthy. These seem to be hot expat destinations. Personally, I would prefer to do anything BUT spend time in these boring, dull, snooty places, but, hey, that’s just me. All of the hotels seem to be in an intense Friday brunch buffet battle royal, trying to outdo one another and become a weekend favourite. The amount of food that is wasted seems unfathomable. Not to mention the weight gain that one could experience indulging in these gorge fests. But, they are popular. Is there any wonder obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are so prominent in Qatar?
4. Money is in!
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Want a Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Rolex, or a Burberry purse? Qatar is your place. A great place to go deep in debt for a completely unnecessary luxury item is The Pearl; a man made, island/peninsula covered with buildings being constructed that can never possibly be filled. Here you will find the top end of top end products and stores. And while you are there, browse the top end of the top end of yachts that are moored in the man-made bay. Then, go to the top end of the top end of restaurants - and, watch as the top end of your credit limit is squeezed.
5. The Great Outdoors: Sand, Water, Big Birds and More Sand
Fortunately, there is some natural beauty to Qatar that is seriously worth checking out. There isn’t a lot of it. In a week you can see pretty much all the natural sights and still have 5 days left to go shopping. It is a small country after all. But, the sights are still pretty cool. Hire a driver to take you to the Inland Sea at the south end of the country and do some “dune bashing” along the way (driving at insane speeds up the sides of sand dunes) or book an overnight camping trip complete with tents, fancy meals, and splendid views. Hire a traditional dhow (boat) to take you around to some Gulf Islands. Book a fishing excursion and try and catch some sort of poor, defenseless sea creature. Rent a kayak and explore the salt water mangrove forests that are found along much of the coastline. Visit some of the old forts around the country, many of them restored. Or, take a drive out to the east end of the country to look for ostriches and oryx. But, be careful, the ostriches do like to beat people up.
6. What About Culture? Glad you asked!
Cultural sights are numbered, but that number does seem to be growing. There is the old/new/old Souq Waqif (market area) in Doha. The original souq was demolished to create a new souq, which was then demolished and then rebuilt to look like an old souq. It’s actually pretty cool, if not a bit Arabesquely Disney in realism. This is the best opportunity to buy souvenirs, but you will find very, very few that are made in Qatar. Most trinkets
come from India or other Middle Eastern countries. There are plenty of good restaurants at the souq and places to smoke shisha, if that’s your thing. Then there is the Museum of Islamic Art, which is set in a stunningly beautiful building jutting out in the water, near the Corniche. As well, the new Arab Museum of Modern Art is garnering a great deal of attention and offering up some pretty amazing shows. And, there is the Islamic Cultural Center, which is a great place to go to learn about Islam and the bewildering Arabic language. The Corniche and the brand spanking new Katara Cultural Village are both lovely places to stroll around, though parking is hell on earth on a Thursday or Friday night. The beach at Katara is pretty wonderful, but private and you need an insanely expensive membership to use it, which is rather frustrating. So, there is stuff to see beyond the malls and hotels, with more being developed all the time.
And there you have it. Some interesting, if not unsolicited, tidbits that you didn’t even really realize that you wanted to know about a country you may have never heard of: Qatar. You can thank me later.
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Chris is among Leap Local's growing network of travel experts: http://www.leaplocal.org/aboutus/network/
Chris talks about Chris: I was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada which is still one of the most fascinating places on earth to visit. I met my wife in Edmonton, Alberta, and when she graduated, we headed off to Ankara, Turkey. We lived there for 2 years before moving to Doha, Qatar where
we currently live. Over the last 5 years, I’ve managed to make my way into Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, England, Russia, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Ukraine. I’ve only had my wallet stolen once in that time, which I take great pride in being able to share. In the future, I hope to go back to the Ukraine to trace some of my roots, will most likely spend more time in London as my wife is a Victorianist, and there will probably be vacations to Disneyland and other spectacular kid friendly places as our two boys grow. In the meantime, I’ll keep being a husband and father, and will work on my writing and stand-up comedy careers, neither of which are actually careers. www.twitter.com/chearn73 http://www.flickr.com/photos/chearn73/
Chris Hearn's recommended local is Surendra Pandey in Nepal: http://www.leaplocal.org/locals/view/369/