It's been a while since my last blog - sounds a bit like a confessional - CQ will like that - seems appropriate since he is now here and that is what has delayed my latest entry - I have been very busy showing him round everywhere and making sure he will be independent whilst I am at work.
He arrived on 29th March - the flight got in around midnight and although I picked up the rental car that day, I had not been brave enough to drive it let alone at night, so I booked a taxi to the airport to collect him. He was tired from the flight but everything had gone well, apart from the luggage being a little bit overweight. I had managed to get a couple of days off work and these were tagged on to the weekend which gave us four days together. This was because I had worked two Saturdays and had some TOIL to take. Officially I am not allowed to take any annual leave until I have worked my three months probation period which is not up until the end of May. So we managed a lie in and we were able to plan what to do on Colin's first day in Doha.
Obviously the challenge involved where to find some alcohol and we ended up at the Admiral's Club at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, which was where I first stayed in November, over looking the marina and the sea - a very enjoyable first afternoon with Guinness and cheeseburger and chips, followed by watching the boys launching their jetskis. This is the Qatari boy's after school activity - they drive up in the 4x4s with the jetsksi on a trailer, launch, race round for about half and hour and then away they go.
In the next few days, we took the car out, managing the driving fairly well, with CQ acting as navigator, and watching out for the other drivers coming up on my inside, outside, cutting in front of me, traffic lights turning to red and reading the map as well. It took his mind off the dangers of the road. I am now getting used to it and have had my first solo drive, collecting him and Khawar's friend Caron from the shopping mall.
Colin's first week coincided with Caron's visit here - she is Khawar's old school friend from Scotland - they had not seen each other for thirty years but regularly corresponded. So she and Colin have spent the week together visiting the various sights whilst we have been at work and we have got together in the evenings and the weekend. This worked out well and they have talked themselves to death, drunk a lot of coffee and worn their feet out on the Corniche.
We went to the desert at the weekend - this was a very long day because the first part was spent with the Qatar Ramblers Group. This is something of a misnomer because they actually ramble in 4x4s. We all met up at a petrol station, filled up with petrol and essentials, sunhats, water etc and then set off in convoy to the other end of the country to the Ras Abruq peninsula in search of the nature reserve, wildlife such as flamingos, the Oryx which is the national animal similar to a gazelle, camels, birds etc. We were lucky enough to see two Oryx - they are very rare and shy animals. We also stopped at the Doha film set in the desert - this was built specially for their version of Lawrence of Arabia and is now there for tourists to take pictures at with a small oasis and an ostrich breeding area.
We moved onto the coastal part with some fantastic geology and rock formations - the pictures are on facebook if you are interested to see them - they have been there around 7000 years. Around 1pm, we left the group and drove to the inland sea for swimming and driving over the sand dunes. At the end of the day we had driven around 300 kilometers.
Colin had his first ride on a camel - there are some very tame ones for the tourists - they are muzzled because I think they have a reputation for being a bit bad tempered. It was very cheap, only 20 QR which is about 3 pounds. We met up with some friends who are locals and they built a camp fire -we were out there until about 9.30 by which time it was dark and it was quite surreal sitting on the sand in the dark, looking at the stars and then driving back over the sand dunes in the total black and not knowing which way you were going and when you would hit a steep dune. You navigate by your sat nav and the markers you have put in it or follow the other people heading back. It can be quite scary but Khawar is fearless and a very confident driver. The Hummer can go anywhere.
The rental car had about a quarter of a tank of petrol in it when I collected it from the garage and in England, you will recall that there is quite an obsession about taking them back full of petrol or they charge you for the refilling of the tank etc. Here, because petrol is so cheap, they really don't seem to care. Khawar had already told me that she could fill her Hummer tank for about the equivalent of fifteen pounds but I hadn't really taken that in. So when I took the rental car to the garage for some petrol and the attendant asked me how much I wanted (here you do not fill it yourself and you have to pay cash) I said half fill it and this came to 20 QR which was about 3pounds. Filling the car in effect would have cost me about 6 pounds so no wonder the garage attendant looked at me strangely and Khawar laughed her head off when I told her!
Driving is a strange experience because apart from the main highways, many of the roads do not have names so everyone navigates by the roundabouts, all of which have lovely names and strange sculptures or something unusual nearby that they are named after. For example, the Oryx roundabout has a very large Oryx statue; the National Theatre roundabout is near the National Theatre; the Civil Defence roundabout is next to the Fire Station - you get the general idea. The Decoration roundation happened to be next to a very large interior design shop and I was going with Khawar to a meeting with a community project last week. The directions were that it was next to the Mercedes garage on the Decoration roundabout. When we got there, the interior design shop had been pulled down. Perhaps, they will rename the roundabout, which will confuse everyone.
Last night we went in search of the Irish bar which is at the Sheraton Hotel. To enter, the procedure is very strict. I had to have my picture taken, show my ID, pay 35 QR and Colin had to show his passport. The bar was excellent and is a very good imitation of a real Irish pub with live music, Guinness and Kilkenney beer. It has a happy hour from 5-7 pm and we had a great time. I of course could not drink since there is zero tolerance here on drinking and driving.
Colin started school yesterday - he has enrolled in Arabic classes at the local cultural center here called Fanar. He will be going three times a week for two hours in the morning. The classes are conducted entirely in Arabic so I think he is very brave. He has already made a friend from the class - a young man called Mohammed who is going to help him because he has missed the first week and is behind the class who have already started learning the alphabet. Here is the link if you are interested http://www.fanar.gov.qa/ .
Well better go now - more soon.
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