This is my first weekend in Qatar. Actually, the first day I wasn’t feeling the drag of jet lag. What a miserable feeling. My sleep cycle was pretty messed up the first 2-3 days and the trip to Dubai, although worth every minute of it was not as enjoyable because I felt like I wanted to lay down and sleep most of the time.
Our office manager took the group for a tour of Qatar, actually Doha. Most of what there is in the country is Doha, the Corniche, West Bay (downtown business district) and new developments like the Pearl and Lusail, well Lusail is still undeveloped desert. More on what is going on with Lusail later. We went to a mall called Vellagio. If you’ve been to the Venetian in Las Vegas you’ll know what Vellagio looks like. Beautiful modern store fronts with a ceiling painted like the sky. We had lunch at the Lebanese grill, all appetizers. There are kabobs on the menu. There is a theme here.
Left there and went to the Pearl. What a beautiful development. Mixed use residential and retail with a man made cove. Only about 50% of the buildings are completed. I wonder what it’ll cost to live there. It is on the other side of Doha from the office, but it might just be worth the commute.
Went to the City Center Mall. It is the largest mall in Doha. Carrefour is located in this mall. Carrefour is a French chain much like Wal-Mart. I got a pay as you go phone and now I have a local number. Later in the day I sent the number out to folks and a manager in Dubai welcomed me to the region. When I asked him about his comment he said getting a local number is like changing your status on Facebook.
That night we were invited to a house party of an architect our firm has used in the past. It was a young couple about to have their first baby. When they moved to Doha they lived in an apartment. Now with the family coming they wanted more room and the amenities of a compound (all houses in Doha are behind a wall that isolates and protects the community. The villa is a three bedroom semi detached villa. It was a very nice house and ready for the baby. They were a lovely couple, but interesting. He is from New York City and she is half American and half Japanese. They are giving the baby a Japanese name and working to create the character that will represent his name, oh yeah it’s going to be a boy. Another point of note – I had my first beer in Doha. As I have learned the way you buy alcohol is to either go to a hotel or get a liquor license and go to the one package goods store in the country. Your annual allowance is equal to 10% of your salary.
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