East of Suez – Part 5 – A Tour of Doha and Goodbye Qatar

12th – 13th January, 2024

Well, there we were, waiting in the hotel for our taxi to the airport. I had just put the finishing touches to the latest post, but had uploaded a photo I didn’t want, so tried to remove it. Ah, I think, ‘Discard’ should do the trick. Oh no, I think (or words to that effect!!), I seem to have discarded the whole draft post. Oh bother, I cried (again, something along those lines) I will have to start all over again.

So here I am, now at the airport, strengthened by a Costa Coffee cappuccino and hazelnut twirl (though needing to sit down after paying for it), with time on my hands with version 2 of our last 2 days in Doha.

Yesterday was, of course, Friday, so a day when most places are closed, at least for the morning, it being a big mosque day. So we had a very easy start, with a bit of lounging by the pool (I even went for a dip) and reading and games of Yahtzee. Val finished her book, ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ and can heartily recommend it. I indulged my love of birds and photography in general, as follows:

We decided to set out for a bit of a tour of Doha, so, to assist, I append a map or two…

Just to flesh out the details, which might be a little difficult to find in the map, we hired a taxi to give us a tour, starting at the hotel, then going up the Corniche, which runs along the curving bit of bay to the right of the green bit (which is where the Expo is, btw). You get a good view of downtown Doha, with all the high-rise buildings.

It is all very impressive, not least as most of all this part is built on reclaimed land. This is also true of our first stop, Pearl Island, a 4 square kilometre residential area, that is on a totally man-made island. It can be found near the top of the map. It has about 25,000 residences (so far) and roughly 55,000 inhabitants and has added some 32 km to the coastline. It is obviously a good place to moor your yacht! You can get a feel for how swanky it is by the Ferrari and Rolls-Royce dealerships. That said, checking online, I think you can get a 3 bed apartment for about £550,000, which compares favourably with East Bergholt! That said, I am not sure what other fees might be involved. It is the only part of Qatar where foreigners can buy property.

We then headed south again for our next destination, Katara Cultural Village, where we said goodbye to Bilal, our driver, who had been wonderful (and probably still is!). The Village is home to a number of up-market retail outlets, such as Gallerie Lafayette, some smart delis and plenty of eateries. It also is home to several entertainment venues such as a large amphitheatre and other stages.

By now, I had unfortunately walked Val to a standstill, so we made our way back, negotiated a taxi and headed for the hotel, where we had dinner (a burger!!!).

Today (Saturday, 13th) is moving day, so we had a slow start, did our packing, typed up the first version of this post and waited for our taxi.

A few reflections on Qatar – wonderfully clean (truly spotless – makes the A12 look like a rubbish dump!), unbelievably cosmopolitan and very safe. I set off to find a cable for my wide-angle camera, quite late in the evening to a less-frequented part of town and felt completely secure. I also got the cable! We have actually only seen one police car and no police officers in our whole stay.

Lots of interesting food, very welcoming locals and expatriate workers and all-in-all a good place to visit (leaving the politics to one side).

I mentioned the famous cable – a few photos you have not seen…

OK, time to publish this before I lose it again! Next stop Kuala Lumpur!