Our rule on this trip has been to stay extra time and get to know everywhere we have a layover. For the Cairo to Casablanca (Morocco) flight we had a layover in Doha, Qatar. A co-worker at my job in Napa had alerted me to the fact that she had family living in Doha and got me in touch with them. After talking a couple of times with them we ended up staying at their place.
Lauren and Kevin are part of the large expat community which is helping to build Doha from a small town to a large, modern city. Funded primarily from the large reserves of natural gas in the country Doha is booming and the whole city is literally under construction.
We left Cairo tired, dirty and burnt out from 3 months of hard traveling. We craved a nice situation where we could get clean, rested and enjoy some amenities from home. In Doha we got that and much more. Lauren and Kevin picked us up from the airport and were wonderful hosts for us while we were in Doha. We ate home made (American) food, rested a lot, met up with their friends for dinner and I got to work out at the gym at their place. We forgot about the trip for a couple of days.
Doha was full of American restaurant chains, big American cars and Americanesque suburbs. Although it is an Islamic country it is very modern and westernized. Nothing like what we had come from. Lauren took us to a shopping mall with a Venice theme (motorized gondolas) and the ceiling pained like the sky a la Vegas. One area of the mall was devoted exclusively to ultra luxury brands and had all the latest from Prada and Gucci. People here had lots of money to burn.
Another day we walked around the market in the old downtown (which was more similar to what we had already seen during the trip) and the Corniche which ran along the waterfront. But the old shops were watched over by a skyline of skyscrapers all in the process of being built.
Doha is a trip. It is a devoutly Islamic country but it has the highest per capita GDP in the world according to our sources. The gleaming new buildings and expensive cars testified to the local’s wealth. Meanwhile immigrants from all over the world have left their families to work in the huge construction projects there. 80% of the population is non-Qatari and because of the laws they will never get the chance to become Qatari citizens. Once they stop working they must leave the country.
Doha was unlike anything we had ever seen. And because of the hospitality of our hosts we were able to have an insiders view on the place and enjoy the comforts of home while there.
Steve
Lauren and Kevin are part of the large expat community which is helping to build Doha from a small town to a large, modern city. Funded primarily from the large reserves of natural gas in the country Doha is booming and the whole city is literally under construction.
We left Cairo tired, dirty and burnt out from 3 months of hard traveling. We craved a nice situation where we could get clean, rested and enjoy some amenities from home. In Doha we got that and much more. Lauren and Kevin picked us up from the airport and were wonderful hosts for us while we were in Doha. We ate home made (American) food, rested a lot, met up with their friends for dinner and I got to work out at the gym at their place. We forgot about the trip for a couple of days.
Doha was full of American restaurant chains, big American cars and Americanesque suburbs. Although it is an Islamic country it is very modern and westernized. Nothing like what we had come from. Lauren took us to a shopping mall with a Venice theme (motorized gondolas) and the ceiling pained like the sky a la Vegas. One area of the mall was devoted exclusively to ultra luxury brands and had all the latest from Prada and Gucci. People here had lots of money to burn.
Another day we walked around the market in the old downtown (which was more similar to what we had already seen during the trip) and the Corniche which ran along the waterfront. But the old shops were watched over by a skyline of skyscrapers all in the process of being built.
Doha is a trip. It is a devoutly Islamic country but it has the highest per capita GDP in the world according to our sources. The gleaming new buildings and expensive cars testified to the local’s wealth. Meanwhile immigrants from all over the world have left their families to work in the huge construction projects there. 80% of the population is non-Qatari and because of the laws they will never get the chance to become Qatari citizens. Once they stop working they must leave the country.
Doha was unlike anything we had ever seen. And because of the hospitality of our hosts we were able to have an insiders view on the place and enjoy the comforts of home while there.
Steve
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