I escaped all of the responsibilities of my normal life, left the children with their father, and spent last weekend visiting two of my closest friends in Doha, Qatar.
I’d never been to Qatar before – my friends only relocated there in August last year. I was interested to visit though – not only to see my friends and to have a little me-time but also because I wanted to check it out. Qatar is growing rapidly and when you work in this region it’s one of those places that is on the short list of possible places to move for a job.
Doha is a boom town, a sea of construction. Everywhere you look there are cranes and construction sites – with everyone competing to see who can build the shiniest, tallest, most interesting high rise.
(click any picture to enlarge)
There was construction as far at the eye could see!
Not sure if this is an office building or apartments but it made me a bit dizzy just to look at it!
The pool at the Ritz Carleton hotel – an oasis of calm.
Taking an evening stroll in the Souq Waqif.
Coffee break!
Evening entertainment in the Souq Waqif
View of the Doha skyline from the corniche.
The Gulf region is great for street “art” – I simply had to have my picture taken with this giant oyster shell 
Overall, Doha wasn’t a bad place to visit – very shiny and clean. There were lots of mall for us to visit, which was great since that is one thing that Cairo is sorely lacking. The weather wasn’t bad either – hot but with a constant breeze and surprisingly low humidity for being on the water. It will be interesting to see what it looks like in ten years.
And for anyone who read the account of my atrocious seat mate on the flight from Cairo to Doha, I am pleased to say that I had a row of three to myself on the return flight!
Sooooo jealous. I hope you took a million pictures!
by Dana May 1st, 2009 at 2:31 amIt’s amazing to see how those buildings look like they’ve sprouted up from relatively undeveloped areas. You can get a sense of the skyrocket growth you talked about.
Glad karma came around and granted you an empty row to relax in on the way home! Thanks for sharing the pics.
by Jeannie Lin May 1st, 2009 at 6:34 amI always assume I may never get back to a place so yes, I take lots of pictures
Jeannie Lin – Doha isn’t a very big place geographically and yes, there are huge areas of development going on in the desert around the edges of the city. I could have used up my entire memory card taking pictures of construction sites!
by Jenyfer May 1st, 2009 at 7:04 amsouks are some of my favorite places on earth. i don’t know if it’s the woman in me, the american consumer in me, or the romantic in me that loves the exotic feel of them.
i’m glad you had a great time!
by Mima May 2nd, 2009 at 11:54 amAs always, I LOVE your “travel” guides and pics. So glad you had a good time.
by anny cook May 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm