Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

After a short flight from Bahrain, we arrived in Qatar at about 6:00 p.m. last June 25. This also explains why I haven’t been able to update my blog for the last week. We stayed in Ramada Hotel for three (3) days and yesterday, moved to the company compound. Staying at Ramada was quite nice. We spent our days and nights eating, along with calls from HR in between. For once, Mavis didn’t have to do laundry and ironing as the company is shouldering the cost. We also were able to swim once at the Cabana Club. It was a mini-break for us. Now, the company compound, for a family of 3, is really big. We have three (3) bedrooms, a receiving area, a kitchen, and a dining area. It is furnished with a sofa, TV and Satellite Receiver, dining tables and chairs, washing machine, refrigerator, beds, cabinets, dressers and others. The only items we needed to buy were other items that are not here; pillows, beddings, dinnerware, ironing board, pails, etc… We’ll be staying here for 3 months. Transportation is quite difficult if you don’t have a car. We’re working on that. But, so far so good.

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We’ve just stayed for 4 days in Qatar and here are my impressions and comparisons to Saudi and Bahrain.
1.) It is a progressing country. It’s not there yet but fast to achieving a status like Dubai. Give it 3-4 more years. The Asian Games is to be held here next year. They already hold professional sports events for golf, tennis, regatta sailing and more. There are a lot of buildings being built. They hold international conferences and delegations a lot. It has the highest per capita income in the world. Saudi will never achieve what Qatar has the potential to achieve as it is restricted by its strict religion and culture. As of now, even Saudi’s economy is stagnant although they have the most oil in the middle east. Bahrain, as the most “open” country of the lot, is doing quite well. A lot of multinational companies are moving their offices there because less operating costs and less traffic than Dubai. But it is a small country that’s why they are reclaiming like crazy.

2.) Public Transportation needs a lot of attention. Karwa taxis will ask you to wait for at least 20 minutes (usually an hour) before they can fetch you or worse, they will never come. They need to increase the number of their fleet soon. Old taxis are really OLD. You’ll have to bear with the smell and condition of the taxi itself. There are no buses available. This forces you to buy a car. In Saudi, you have a lot of available taxis. Some areas have buses. The same goes for Bahrain. Driving wise, Saudis are the worst, Qataris are much better than Saudis, while Bahrainis have educated drivers.

3) Housing is becoming a big issue. As the government can’t control it, owners are having a field day increasing the rental rates for flats, villas and compounds. The minimum you could get, as I’ve heard from people already looking for 2 bedroom flats, is about 4,500 QR per month. A decent compound will cost you for about 12,000 QR minimum. A Villa could cost up to 20,000 – 35,000 a month! Wow, that is a lot. You can get a 2 bedroom flat in Saudi for 10,000 SR a year, a compound/villa for 45,000- 65,000 SR a year, high-end villas for 80,000 SR upwards. In Bahrain, a two bedroom flat would cost you 150 BD (1500SR) to a fully furnished flat of 360 BD upwards a month. A compound/villa would cost you 500 BD upwards.

Will add more as the days pass.

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It was Xiane's Bday last Friday. As planed, we took her to the Seef Mall as they have a play area for the kids. She rode the teacup ride, the Flying carpet, a horse, a camel and went jumping on an inflated play area. She enjoyed it! Mavis also tried driving a car while I tried flying a jet fighter. Both, without success in our chosen games. At Lunch time (1:00 p.m.) , we ate at a place we usually go to, Rendezvous. The Managers and waiters already know us and greet us, esp. Xiane, when we come to eat. So we told them that it was Xiane's birthday that Friday. By the end of our meal, they brought our a piece of cake covered in icing with a candle lit on it. The place started piping out the tune of happy birthday as the rest of the waiters and managers gathered around Xiane, clapping and singing Happy Birthday. Xiane was so surprised yet we know that she knows what was happening and was excited about it. She knew it was her birthday and she got what she wanted; a cake with a candle for her to blow. She almost couldn't hide the smile on her face while they kept singing, waiting for her to blow the candle. She did try to blow it out but needed some help with it. Still, one couldn't buy the way she looked as she was being sung the birthday song. Last night, we asked her if she still remembers her birthday and her cake. We asked her what the color of her cake was and she said "white" and she said "green candle". Amazing how a 2 year old kid could remember what happened the day before! Anyway, to all Godparents, you owe Xiane one.

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I do have Gastritis. After paying 156 BD (1560SR) in Bahrain International Hospital to have another check-up, it was confirmed that I have Gastritis. It might have been brought up by stress (probably because of moving and finishing work in my current company), food (eating a lot of spicy foods), or improper diet (eating a lot of steaks, soda, greasy burgers and bratwursts). I also had a Barium Xray. The Barium should coat my stomach lining so that they can Xray it. Well, first, they asked me to take these small granules ( I think they're Bicarbonate of Soda) on my mouth and then wash it with the Barium fluid. The granules are like the popping-candies you buy on candy shops except that the reaction with the Barium isn't as pleasant. They fizzle a bit in your mouth and then gives out gas so you have to swallow the Barium and granules while your mouth becomes full of gas. And then you have to turn from side to side, around 360, 180 and so forth as they take the Xray. It lasted about 30 minutes. A call in the afternoon confirmed that it wasn't bacteria which was causing the gastritis. So it could be any of the mentioned above or it could be all. In any case, I need to go on a diet!

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We spent almost the whole day, friday, to pack some of our stuff to be sent to the Philippines and to Qatar. A week ago, Mavis was soooo excited at the thought of sending a "Balikbayan Box" to the Philippines. A "Balikbayan Box" is supposed to be a box filled with goodies and stuff that you send back home for your family and relatives. "Balik" means return, while "Bayan" means country. We usually bring our "pasalubong"/gifts to our families by placing them on our luggages when we come home. So this time, we we're going to shop and have them sent through cargo. The thought of family actually opening the box and trying to set aside items for their use is what makes us excited. I remember when dad sends/brings these boxes home. Everyone stands in front of the box being opened and tries to see if the item being lifted out of the box had their name on it. Or grabbed items that we want to claim. And the smell of the box is actually different. Intoxicating. He he he he. But it does smell different, i don't know why. Mavis and I had our budget to spend. So we went to Geant. It's actually a supermarket but sells items that you can possibly think of; electronics, perfume, clothes, shoes, gardening, etc. We went to buy them lotions, sandals, dishwashing liquid, chocolates, coffee, deodorant, some baby items... anything you can think of. I also packed my 5.1 Harman Kardon 3000 Audio Video Receiver for my dad-in-law. Have used that for about 3 years and it really is a great receiver but decided that it was time to part with it. My dad-in-law would really like it since he is into music and stuff, but I don't know if he's that audio-tech savvy enough to fix and make use of the receiver. Well, he is in Japan right now so we'll have to see when he comes back to the Philippines this October/November. Otherwise, he has to wait for me to come home to set it up for him. Then for my mom, we decided to send our 29" JVC flat TV home. We bought her a 21' inch flat TV last year and bought dad an Audio Component but decided to give her our TV since we just plan to buy a new one in Qatar. I just don't know if the TV cart that they have at home would be able to carry the weight of the TV. We even haven't told her yet of the TV! Last Saturday morning, Forex Cargo came to get the boxes. We sent a pair to Angeles and sent another to Baguio. Since we are shipping the items, it would take roughly a month before they reach their destinations. If only we could take photos of them while opening the boxes ;)

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