What is Qatar like?

The cranes are always busy in Doha


Qatar is:

Hot

But not all the time.

It’s at its hottest in July and August – and I mean hot. One day I remarked to my wife that the weather was cooling down and then noticed the temperature was 38 degrees. I’ve been fishing at four in the morning and been soaked in sweat by seven. It gets so hot even the air-conditioners can’t cool you sufficiently. (Tip: buy a fan to complement your air-conditioner in the hot summer months.)

However, in the spring, autumn and winter it can be quite pleasant. In fact, it can even be a little cold in December, January and February. We bought little heaters for out villas – if you want to do the same, do so early, before supplies run out.

Multi-cultural

About 20% of the population are Qatari – yes 20%. There’s Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Indonesian, Philippinos, Canadians, British, French, Italians and many more. Which leads me onto the next point:

Delicious

Food! With all these people you get lots of different kinds of food available. But the best of the best is seafood. And it’s so cheap! You can get what they call small prawns (they’re huge) for as cheap as twenty riyals a kilo. (That’s about three pounds.) I’ve also bought whole tuna in the whole-sale fish market for 5 riyals.

I particularly like eating at the Dhow Restaurants, tucking into a delicious platter of mixed seafood while watching the lights of the city reflect off the bay. It’s a good way to impress guests too! It’s a little expensive by Doha standards, but there are also many good and cheap restaurants. You could check out the incredibly cheap Indian restaurants – perhaps a Mutton Curry with Briyani rice and Indian bread, hand made and baked while you wait. Or if you feel really brave, you could have some lamb’s testicles in an Arab restaurant. (I gave this one a miss!)

Doha Dhow Restaurant

Fun

If you put a little effort into finding things to do. There are all sorts of sports to get into, from kite boarding and scuba diving to sailing and fishing. There are races galore – horse racing, GP racing, super bike racing, camel racing, power boat racing. If you prefer to remain indoors, you could go ice skating at the City Centre Mall and then relax with an ice-cream under an artificial waterfall – not bad for a city in the middle of a desert. There are hotel bars and clubs if you want a drink and a dance – although single men may find the ratio of male to female a little distressing! (Ladies, you can get in almost anywhere for free.)

Fairly safe, actually

Crime is virtually non-existent. People leave their windows open, flats unlocked, cars running unattended - it’s that sort of place. The main danger is from the nutty driving!

Great for kids

They really love kids here. The main problem is trying to preserve your precious ones’ precious teeth. We’ve stopped trying to explain to people that we want our children to be fit and healthy. Instead we’ve taken up blatant lying: our daughter is now hyperactive and we are under strict order from the doctor not to let her have any sugar whatsoever. This has proven much more effective!

Bare

In the desert at least. It’s basically scrub desert, prowled on by camels, inhabited by villages of Bedouin and broken up by huge oil installations and power lines. Doha, on the other hand, is half building site, half park. What’s finished is beautiful, immaculately sculptured, dotted with palm trees for shade and green lawns to rest on. The Corniche is in particular is lovely, a pleasant sea-front walk around the bay. But Doha is a city in a hurry, and there are more half built high-rises than completed ones.

This is just a taster of Qatar. Have fun finding out more!

Doha across the bay

Also see: Qatar Visitor Tourist and Resident Guide


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