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

When I heard from a friend that there is an International Trade Fair being held here, I just got to go and see.  It started on the 5th of January until the 14th.  It’s not so much that I wanted to buy anything.  It was just out of curiosity.  I wanted to see what this fair was all about.  The trade fair isn’t open until 4pm so we decided to grab some lunch first at McDonald’s.  Tian saw a McDonald’s ads on the newspapers today and so he dragged us there.  Huh such power of advertisements!  Xiane had a blast playing at the giant play area.  Thank God she did because for a time she was scared of going up there.

Tian tried to talk me out of going to the trade fair but I was persistent.  In the end, he gave in although not without consequence.  The trade fair is being held at the new Qatar Exhibition Centre, Ad Dawhah going to the Ritz Carlton and The Pearl.  As a condition of him agreeing to go to the fair, he asked me to locate the venue on the map.  We had an old Marhaba in the car so I went looking.  I also had to call my friend who has been there and give me directions.  But since there were conflicting directions, an incomplete and my poor sense of direction, we spent a good 30 minutes going around and around.  Though I had a hunch that my husband already knew how to go there and was just fooling around with me.  He had a good time laughing at me and teasing me as I struggled to understand the directions on the map.

Then finally, he decided he has wasted enough time and just drove us to the place.  I wanted to give him a smack, not on the lips! I knew it! I was right all along.  He was just messing with me!  From a far, you would see so many cars already parked in a very big vacant area in front of a building that looked like an airport.  Then the entrance (which is more than one) leads to a very large hall where they put up numerous stalls.  It was like Divisoria Mall and 168 Mall in Manila all over again.  The International Trade Fair which was organized by Qatar Expo features an array of international products under one roof.  It is said to feature International Cultural shows although at the time of our visit there wasn’t any.  Exhibitors bringing their products come from China, Iran, Syria, India, Kenya and many others.  Surprisingly, there seems to be no exhibitor from the Philippines.  There were various products such as traditional clothes, children’s and ladies’ clothes, lingerie; blankets and comforters; rugs; perfumes and cosmetics; bags, shoes, accessories; dried fruits and nuts; and other gadgets. 

But the thing is a lot of the stalls are just duplicates of each other, probably 5-10 of each kind.  That’s why, roaming around would turn out to be less interesting the more you spend time there.  Aside from that, the prices are quite expensive especially because they aren’t branded ones.  Well, we couldn’t blame them for the mark up because for sure they paid a costly price just to be able to join the fair.  We ended up buying 3 pieces of small animal figurines from one of the Kenyan stalls for 10 Riyals.  Xiane was so happy to have her very own giraffe, elephant and zebra figurines which she named Alice, Dumbo and Nini respectively.

When we realized that there was nothing more to see, we left the place but as we were leaving, more people were coming.  I guess a lot of people are also as curious as I was just a while ago.  In any case, at least we got to experience going to the International Trade Fair which whether we like it or not, is an event that only happens once a year here in Doha.