Things to ponder

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and here's wishing you all a wonderful New Year and a fantastic 2009. Only one day to go...Who knows what the new year will bring for us but it is sure to be different and although hard work will be on the cards we do hope to get away for a bit of a holiday at the end of January/ early February as there are no holidays after that until Lynne's contract finishes at the end of June.

Christmas day was a little different for us this year - Xmas eve here we managed to skype Brian's Mum in Napier which was Xmas morning in NZ. We also woke Dan (sorry Sarah) up early on Xmas morning to have a wee chat. Then we went off to bed and woke to find it was Xmas afternoon - NZ time. So much had happened in that time that we had sadly missed.
We had a Christmas breakfast with some friends across town and then had a big get together for an afternoon/ evening meal ( and a few drinks ) here with many of the apartment dwellers in our block. So a good time was had even though we couldn't share it with our friends and family back home.

Celebrating the New Year is not a big deal here. I'm still not sure what we are doing as yet - we have work the next day ( Brian has the day off and is hoping to go Fishing and maybe even catching something). We could go to a flash hotel and enjoy an expensive drink or 2 with the many other expats here and then get a taxi home or get together with some of the folks here and have a few quiet ones up on the roof and watch the fireworks that are supposed to happen. They do good fireworks over here - We'll keep you posted as to what we got up to....

Felucca down the Nile

We spent 2 nights sailing - a very relaxing time except for the mozzies on the first night. We were joined by 3 young guys - 2 from Oz and 1 from UK. Check out the cooking facilities on the boat - he cooked and served all meals; breakfast, lunch and tea. Brian had a swim and I went in up to my waist! It was cold but like NZ waters you sooned warmed up. There were no toilet facilities on the boat - if you needed to go we just had to tell the crew ( 2 local Nubians) and they would pull over to land and off we'd go....an interesting experience. Luckily I didn't find out there were no toilets on the boat until we were just about to board!!
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Pyramids

Here are some classic shots of the pyramids - both at Giza and Saqara.
They are huge and impressive.

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Christmas is close...

It is feeling much cooler here now. I'm even having to wear socks around the house on the cold tile floors. We were standing on top of our apartment last night watching a big fireworks display with a group and we were all complaining how cold it was - we were all rugged up in jackets (I think it was around 16C). Mind you as someone said it's preferable to the 50c+ it gets in June/July.

We have a long weekend - Qatar is celebrating it's National Day. They have had a big parade along the Corniche (waterfront). Unfortunately we only watched it live on TV as we didn't want to get caught up in the crowds/traffic jam. It was impressive watching the camel army and funny seeing the marching band with bagpipes - the parade walked past the Emir and all the Arab dignatories sitting in a large open tent.

We will miss the whole family xmas festivities - we hope to skype everyone at home. We do get xmas day off and luckily it falls on a thursday which is the last day of the week over here so we'll enjoy xmas as a long weekend. We are having a late lunch/tea with a group of people at our apartment. It will be enjoyable but not the same as the company of family on this day.

Carry On Up The Nile

Technically that should be down the Nile ( or Neil as the locals often say....We opted for Neil as it sounded so much more friendly) but more on that later.

We started our trip in Cairo - what an eye-opener of a place. We had thought the driving in Doha was pretty crazy but Cairo takes that prize by a vast margin. We dont know why they bother with traffic lights or lanes as everybody ignores them - cars, motorbikes, donkey and horse drawn carts criss cross in all directions, quite how they don't have more accidents is beyond comprehension - as our driver from the Airport said you need ten eyes and a strong heart to survive the mayhem that is driving in Cairo.
By far the majority of cars were old Peugeot 504's along with the odd Renault 12 and Fiat 125. The cars like the city were old and crumbling.

Cairo has a population of over 20 million and is full on 24 hours a day. There are people everywhere and it is all close quartered stuff. Most of them seemed to be out on the street just outside our hotel at night. Kind of oppressing but not really scary. The place is old and looks it, with everything in a state of decay and rubbish everywhere.

The pyramids ( 2580 B.C. ) of course were very impressive and photos just dont do their magnificence justice. Also we visited the pyramids and tombs at Saqqara ( 3000 B.C. ) some of the oldest to be found.
A long ( 14 Hour ) train trip to Aswan took up day 3. Aswan is a beautiful small city on the banks of Neil far to the south of Cairo. Our hotel was right on the banks and very luxurious and very relaxing.
Days 4 to 5 found us on a Felucca, a local sailing boat, again relaxing as we travelled down river towards Luxor. That was a real highlight of our trip and we lay about just taking in the views and particularly enjoying the sunsets and sunrises and the onboard cuisine cooked by our two crew - a couple of affable fellows and big Bob Marley fans.

Luxor is another very pretty city on the banks of Neil. At Luxor we visited the Valleys of the Kings ( where Tutenkhamuns ( 1336 B.C. ) tomb is found ) and Queens as well as Queen Hatshepsuts Temple ( 1470 B.C. ) and the amazing Karnak Temple where they did a great line in Columns.

Egypt ( and Egyptians ) largely appear( s ) to be very poor. Farming seems to still be very much hard work done by hand and Bullock pulled ploughs. Country folk get around on donkeys and carts. Tractors were a rare sight and farm buildings were often of mud or brick construction and pretty run down looking , yet the country exports quite a lot of farm produce. Tourism is the biggest income earner and you get hassled a lot by sellers at all the temples and in any of the fascinating and colourful markets. Even resorting to physical restraint ( mostly harmless ) at one place where a leather belt was not purchased by a desperate vendor. Hard bargaining is a must and often you get something for a fraction of the first given price. You wonder after any purchase that you most probably could have got it for a lot less even if it seemed a bargain anyway. A lot of fun.

One week is not nearly enough time to visit this most interesting country and there are many places we just didnt have time to visit... Who knows, we may make it back sometime, probabaly not to Cairo though. We'd be quite happy to give that a miss. There are just so many countries to visit around this part of the world and high on the list of recommendations are Jordan, Turkey, Oman ( possibly Jan/ Feb ), Iran, Morrocco....the list goes on...Cant wait until the next Holiday break. After 30 years the old itchy travelling feet seem to have reoccurred.

Apartment living - no. 2

We've been in our new apartment block for a week now. It's much lighter and with a view, but in a seedier part of town across from a motorway. We have to leave the aircon going in the spare room to drown out the drone of the motorway at night!. It's comfortable - we're now on the third floor. I do like having a bit of a view. The roof is great especially at sunset - I'll take a photo tonight and post it. In the photo slideshow you can see the front of the building - with Brians green truck in the front and you can see the view across the motorway - a mosque and other family homes. No apartments across from us.

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Eid Mubarak

Happy Eid ( Eid Mubarak ) to all our blog followers.

Eid al-Adha is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims. The festivities last for two to three days or more depending on the country - the Emir has given us all a week holiday. Eid occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj ( the annual pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims worldwide ) descend from Mt. Arafat. People go on the Hajj once in their lifetime and it's quite a big deal with a lot of preparation going into it. I think they can only wear white.

This year in Qatar Eid lasts from Sunday until Thursday and this means there is pretty much a week of public holidays. Yay - a well deserved break from the daily grind.

The desert Kiwis are off to Egypt for a week and are very excited about the thought of a bit of Pyramid and Sphynx spotting and a Felucca trip on the Nile. We start off in Cairo then train to Aswan and a sailing boat ( felucca ) trip ( hopefully - not yet organised ) to Luxor. Thanks Geoffrey for your help with our itineary.

So keep checking out the blog, when we get back we will post an article and some photos.

A Beduoin Wedding

I was lucky enough to be invited to a Bedouin wedding on Saturday night. What an amazing experience. The NZ teachers from one of the Cognition schools were invited and I was asked to join them – 2 sisters of the school librarian were getting married (to 2 brothers!?) I have no photos to post as photos are strictly forbidden – in fact we had our bags searched on entry and cell phones with cameras had to be left at the door with the security guards!

The wedding party is for women only, no alcohol and lots of dancing to loud singing in Arabic and an all women Bedouin drumming band. The women were all dressed in very colourful, amazingly decorated ball gowns – I’ve never seen anything like them. They looked like they had been at the hairdressers all day and the beauty salon. I have never seen so much make up - like beautiful dolls. Some were still wearing the full abaya – so we didn’t get to see them even when they were up on the cat walk dancing. The food was constantly being brought around – little nibbles and sweet things, as well as endless cups of sweet tea, yellow cardamom coffee and water.

The bride came out from behind a sliding wall up on the stage. She looked beautiful in her white traditional wedding gown, but she didn’t smile, apparently you aren’t supposed to smile. The family showered her with money and she stood there for a long while for all to admire. The dancing started again - this time we were all invited up onto the catwalk for a dance – what a hoot. They all had a good laugh and we got the thumbs up.

At about 11.00 we ate the main meal – which was yummy local food. No men were present for the whole event - they had their own party somewhere. We were home by 12.00 – up again the next day at 5.00 to get ready to be at school by 6.45, on a Sunday! An experience not to be missed.

Up Zikrit ( Without a Paddle )

Two fridays ago three 4 wheel drives full of intrepid adventurers armed with picnics headed up to the top of the Zikrit ( pronounced Zeekreet )Peninsula, on the west coast, in search of Flamingos, Ostriches, Fish and Fun( and camels but they are easy to find ). On our way up ( very much off road ) we discovered two amazing old film sets. The first was a stunning cluster of tradition type buildings that are now lived in. The second set was a bit more unusual - very much as if on another planet...Hidden in a kind of secret valley. We are told that the round stone structures were filmed in the evening with fires lit in them - they would have looked really other worldy. In any event one of them made a very useful toilet stop.
On the way we saw a couple of Ostriches - keeping our distance as they can easily outrun humans and are mostly not harmless. Some poor chap nearly got kicked to death by one recently. They sure can keep up a cracking pace.
Once at the top, at a really stunning beach looking out to Bahrain, out came the fishing rods and swimming attire. Unfortunately although a couple of big fish were hooked up none were landed. Not so different from NZ fishing eh. But hey just so very relaxing. They have really huge irridescant blue Piper here that follow your lures in which are really impressive to see.
The water temperature has cooled rather rapidly in the last weeks from the early 30'S to probably the early 20's but still absolutely lovely swimming and being very salty you are so much more bouyant.
Many locals ( and Ex Pats ) go camping at this time of the year and it is common to see large groups of tents complete with satellite dishes, outdoor Majlis ( Man Caves - see earlier blog ), Volleyball nets - all very well set up. We have even been looking at getting some camping gear ourselves and heading out with a few others.
On the way back we saw a couple of lonely Flamingos so all in all it was a very successful outing ( except for the fish ).
Also on the way back we stopped in at Al Shahhaniah where they do all the camel racing, as some of the crew had not been there, and watched while they were training the camels.
These expeditions are great fun and many more are planned - next maybe the Inland Sea in the far south which is highly recommended - another 4 wheel drive only trip.

Raymond

This ones for you Raymond - we captured this photo at the local tailor - to add to your collection. The Complete Man (unfortunately the camera wouldn't stop flashing)
You're a lot older than we thought you were!

Crane lovers....

Gerard we thought you would enjoy these.

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Followers of this blog will already be aware that Doha is a city of construction, and also, sadly, a lot of destruction.
The old parts of the city are being torn down at an alarming rate to make way for the new and big at an even more alarming rate. And yes there are cranes...
Big cranes, little cranes, old cranes, new cranes, red cranes, blue cranes ( Thanks Dr S )...They have them all here and everywhere you look, there they are, in all their majestic glory...( they do bring back my distant boyhood meccano memories )....In a couple of the photos there aren't any cranes and these couple slipped through, but are however of the site that I am working on. And yes we do have a small crane on the roof but it's days are numbered as the site nears ( I use this term loosely ) completion. I guess it will be dismantled and bought back down to earth via the lifts - when they are going. I get to walk lots of flights of stairs much to the displeasure of my poor legs.
It will one day be fascinating to come back here when all the construction has finished. We still havent quite worked out what the focus of all the re-building of this city is all about and what the plan is - if indeed there is one. It all seems a bit haphazard and much of the architecure, to my mind, is not pretty. You do however appreciate the few buildings that do look good. It certainly keeps ( I'm sure )over half the population employed, including me, so I dont want to be seen to complain too much....If only they would do something about the roads which seem dreadfully inadequate for the amount of vehicles using them....There is that planning issue again. Somebody just didn't get that part right at all....On a good day it takes me 10 minutes to get to work...That can more often become 40 minutes on other days, and I'm sure that that time will get beaten very soon. It is very frustrating when you can see where you want to go, but just can't quite seem to make it.....If Tarzan were here he would probably just swing from crane to crane....which all goes on to say that it really is a jungle out there. A concrete jungle. ( Thanks Bob M ).

Week 8

It's hard to believe but we've been here for nearly 8 weeks. In some ways time has gone fast - 8 weeks doesn't seem that long but then again it seems like a long time ago that we last enjoyed your company. We do miss those catch ups for meals, chats, shopping, a glass or 2 of tea, coffee, wine, beer, music......

As always we enjoy the weekends as it is a great chance to get out and about exploring this place.

There is a large development going on, on the outskirts of Doha. It is a large artificial island/s called 'The Pearl' - around 32km of new coastline. When it's finished it will be the first land in Qatar which will be available for freehold ownership by foreign nationals - not that we'll be able to afford it!. The island is built on one of Qatar's previous major pearl diving sites. Qatar was one of the major pearl traders of Asia before the Japanese introuced cheaper pearls just before Qatar's oil boom. They are copying the Abu Dhabi one that looks like the world I think. On Fridays you are able to take a wonder around it - the only day the workers have off. As with all of Doha it is very much still under construction BUT it is impressive - sort of Auckland viaduct with a middle eastern flavour and Arab money.

Last night I had the opportunity to go to the semi finals of the Womens Interneational Tennis Tournament at the Doha tennis stadium - an impressive place. I watched Venus Williams play Jankovic - the world no.1. It was an exciting game which see sawed back and forth - deuce, advantage etc. We'd also watched another semi final between 2 top Russian women players earlier in the evening. Here is Venus preparing to play.
Note the VIP seats for the Qatari royal family.
Tonight are the finals.

Computers in schools

A few shots of a computer lab in an old school. The ICT teachers teach skills - talking endlessly while the boys sit (patiently) and listen. A lesson I watched was on the various workings of the inside of a computer to a Grade 7 class - interesting in many ways but after 30 mins I had to leave. My suggestion was why not get the boys in groups to take an old machine apart while the teacher explained what they were. They thought it was a good idea but I don't think they will do it. They were wathcing a powerpoint with all the terms etc. They did have a display at least up on the wall he could point to.





I was at one of the new schools this week and watched the delivery of 150 brand new desktops!! It was amazing - the new schools have 2 ICT labs with 25 in each, a language lab, computers in the Library Resource Centre and some for the administration. Very impressive but what a huge job to set them all up. Mind you they would have lots of helpers to move them around and usually a fulltime IT teachnician on site.





The new school ICT Labs are large although not set out all that well with monitors facing the back of the room instead of the front so the teacher can see what the kids are doing! Each student has a computer each - no sharing or collaborating on tasks.

Old school

The end of another week. Thought I would add a few photos of the schools I have been working in.
This is what I wear to school - I'm the one on the left!!
We have to wear a long skirt and have our arms covered.
This is one of the old schools - the library with the librarian. She is very on to it and has the place well organised. I was taken on a tour of the school by the Principal, a very enthusiastic man, who wants his school to be the best in the world! He has ordered 25 Promethean boards for the new school so each class has one - the government only supplies each new school with 5! He has a great vision - may take a few years!!
The old Ministry schools are being replaced with brand new schools. They only upgrade a certain number each year. Cognition helps with the transition from old Minstry school which are disfunctional, bad behavior, no learning etc etc to new, what they call, Independent schools.The teachers in the old schools are all sacked and a new Principal is appointed (Qatari) who then employs a whole new bunch of teachers - and so the reform begins. The old schools are usually in a trashed state and the new teachers start the year in these old schools while they wait for the new schools to be built and finished. Cognition is working with 5 of these schools - they have 1 year to 'reform'. We also work with 6 'failing' schools - they didn't meet the standard at the end of their first year so get another year's contract with Cognition. Other companies are doing similar work to Cognition.
These photos are in the old school at a Prep school - Y7-9. They will be moving to their new school at the end of November/Dec. The school year finishes at the end of June.

This photo is for you Geoffrey - Yemen Honey Centre.
We only went into the shop because Geoffrey had raved about Yemeni honey. We stumbled upon it and thought we would call in. A very small man with a friendly face gave us a tasting - how could we refuse. The honey is incredibly expensive for a small jar but very delicious.





A street shopping scene outside the honey shop. Quite different from the flashy malls. The word for a shopping area is Souqs - as in spooks without the p!.
There are Gold Souqs, silk and fabric souqs, and mixed trader souqs. The old market or traditional Souq is a hive of activity with many alleyways lined with small shops cramped with goods hanging out for display - clothes, carpets, spices, hardware, perfume.

Sea Line Resort

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We took a drive south of Doha, in the new car, to a beach resort out in the middle of nowhere. South Qatar is where the sand dunes are. There were many many 4 wheel drives and quad bikes driving all over the dunes. We paid $50 per person for the privelige of spending the day at the Sea Line Resort - it was like a little oasis with grass, palm trees, camel rides, shade and pools, plus the beach and lots of people - a mix of expats and locals. It had a bit of a Hi Dee Ho feel about it, probably won't go back but an interesting experience.

Residency

Yay... I'm officially a resident of Qatar - that now opens many more doors, a useful one being we can now go to the 'Distribution Centre' to purchase liquid refreshments. All very hush, hush....We are visiting it on Saturday to apply for a card - we have to put down a $450 deposit which we get back when we leave the country. We have to have a letter from the company stating how much we earn as we are only allowed to buy/spend a percentage of my monthly income there (which I think allows us to buy a reasonable amount - not that we're doing huge amounts of that these days). Once purchased you must go straight home and not deviate to friends house! If you are caught drink driving - big fine and straight back to NZ.

We have finally leased ourselves a car - freedom to get around when and where we want.
We paid a visit to the distribution Centre - it was packed with people buying up large.

We had to take this photo - we figured it must be a port-a-loo!

Sundays

There are some things here that are hard to get used to - like starting work at 7.00am on a Sunday. It puts your whole week out...and then you finish on a Thursday (TGIT instead od TGIF) Fridays here are like Sundays - everyone sleeps in until 11ish and then they all (well the men) head off to pray - I'm not sure how long they spend in the Mosques but they all stream out and hang around talking - as you would. Not sure what the women are doing. Everything is closed, it's very quiet - just like Sundays used to be like in NZ (showing my age now.....).
Fridays are actually great for us expats, as the roads are pretty much empty. One of the newbies here, Hazel, got her new leased car last week so invited us out with her to go exploring Doha. We had great fun being the navigators and learning all about the road systems here, finding our way around in a much more relaxed manner.
Come Sunday morning though it's chaos again - cars tooting, flashing their lights to make you move over, cutting in in front of you, driving on the footpath to get in front of a line of traffic, crossing all three lanes and then there are roundabouts and the fact you're driving on the other side, all good fun!
I think my residency comes through this week so we'll be checking out the leased cars - we hope to get a big 4 wheel drive (sorry Rob), but large is good, and safer!
We will have to go back and get our fresh fish from these local fishermen down by the port - we'll need to take a chilly bin to put it in so it won't go off. Some of the fish were very small, some of the small ones looked exactly like snapper.

Keeping busy

Brian enjoyed himself today? - he went to two different places ..... first to try and get a temporary drivers license so we can lease a car - but unfortunately the background colour on his photo was the wrong colour. It must be blue or red NOT grey! The second trip was to the Diplomat Club to become members - he thought he had filled in all the paperwork but unfortunately he didnt have a photocopy of my Passport - so he had to come home empty handed....a productive day. Maybe he'll try again tomorrow - we've just come back from getting a new set of photos.

I'm off to get my fingerprints taken tomorrow - another step forward in the process of gaining residency.

The fabrics and tailors here are amazing. I picked up, from the tailor, a top I had made which is a copy of one I already have. It only cost me $20 to get made plus the cost of the fabric. I am getting a skirt made from a picture I found on the internet - he measured me up and suggested the type of material to go off and buy. I will collect in 10 days.

Lots of camels

We were kindly invited to go with a group over to the west coast of Qatar yesterday for a swim. We arrived at a small village and there were a couple of camels wandering around - a fenced area for them was close by. We had to stop and take photos - the neat part was we were able to get up close to them - a mother and her youngster (not sure what they call a baby camel - will have to investigate). Here is a photo of the beach - we were north of Zekreet - fairly isolated and a bumpy sandy/rocky track to get there - you need a 4 wheel drive really to access these parts. There were 12 of us. Bahrain is not far - they are going to build a bridge to Bahrain from this part of Qatar. The water was very warm and salty - easy to float.

After the swim Brian's vehicle drove past a camel racing place and that's where all these wonderful photos were taken.

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Officialdom

Had my first taste of Qatar officialdom this morning at the Nationa Medical Centre. To get residency we need to have a blood test (checking for HIV and Aids), an xray(checking for TB I think) and another blood test to get our blood group.
There was a group of us newbies from Cognition getting this process done. I'm not good at having blood taken, as some of you know, because they can never find a vein. Well I couldn't watch but it did seem to take ages before he had got enough - I now have a bruise on my arm.
Next was off to get an xray. We had been warned to wear a white T-shirt as the gown they give you to wear is worn by many many others and doesn't look like they get washed often. We had to remove our bra where we stood (luckily no men allowed in this area) and then led to the area to stand for the xray and pushed and prodded into place, - very officious. Each time we went somewhere we jumped the que - which felt a bit weird as there were long ques of every nationality you could imagine waiting patiently in line.

eLearning in Qatar?

Yesterday, after a bit of organising, I taught a modelled lesson with a class of 6 year olds in the ICT Lab. I encouraged one of the teachers to be my guinea pig - I would work with her class. I took with me the Arabic translator and we collected the class and walked to the ICT room. I sat them down on the cold lino floor and proceeded to show them, and the teacher, how to use Paint to draw, with the interpreter explaining ( as well as management skills in the room). A group of teachers also came in to watch for a little while. The junior ICT teacher was also with the class. I then sent them in an orderly fashion! to a computer to have a go - there were 20 in this room. The kids were fabulous - they drew some really cute pictures and wrote their name. A teacher questioned why I wasn't doing the theoretical stuff!! (meaning the computer basics!) I tried to explain as they were using the computer they were learning all they needed to know. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me - it was a real photo opportunity....
The best thing was today when I went to the school at about 11.00, the junior ICT teacher had taken a class to the ICT room and copied my lesson. That was very cool. I felt my first 3 days had been worthwhile.

First Day....

Finally after being here nearly 2 weeks I went off to school this morning. I must admit I was feeling a little nervous about what my role was to be although I had an overview I was still unsure about how / what I was going to do . I was picked up at 6.15! School starts at 7.00 and finishes at 1.30 for the students. We got caught up in early morning traffic chaos and didn't arrive at school until just before 7.00. It was fascinating being in a completely different environment. The school is one of the old schools. They are moving to a brand new school in a couple of weeks which is part of the reform process - having us (the Cognition Team) in as well to help change teacher attitudes, tecaher knowledge, teaching approaches, etc etc.
The local teachers have a fairly lax view of teaching by all accounts.
The ICT teaching is scarily skills focused which means learning weird things like changing the date and time on the computer (why), change the desktop background, screensaver?? No context just learning basic skills. I'm going to work with a class tomorrow to get the kids drawing. They have no internet access in the old school but they do have a data projector. They need to learn how to use the ICT Room - management strategies.
This is where the kids have assembly - every morning at 7.00.
Thought you would like to see a pic of the classroom - bearing in mind this is what they are moving from and why they need to reform their education system for the 21st century! Nothing on the walls, no books. Lots to do in 1 year. (each school gets 1 year to make the changes needed - the reality, as we know, takes longer)

Icecream stop

We loved the display this local 'dairy' had - everything was ordered and very colourful.
We had stopped, on our trip to the northern part of Qatar, for an icecream.

Buildings

From construction sites in Doha, of which there are many, to village ruins up the northern tip of Qatar. A reconstructured fort and many shots of the architecture in Doha - in no particular order.
Had to add the shots of the camels going for a ride in the back of a pickup truck! - they looked so cute. We were following the truck.

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More thoughts

Hey thanks you guys for all your emails and comments. We love getting them - keep them coming. We try to reply to each email individually at the mo - cause we have the time.

Here is an exert from Brian.....(apologies Linda and Phil)
We continue to enjoy things here, it is certainly very different from NZ and even what we had imagined of the place. We are somewhat limited still by a number of factors. We really need a vehicle as getting around is otherwise limited to cabs at the moment which gets a bit expensive even though they are generally a lot cheaper than Auckland. Also it is difficult to go anywhere during the day without having air conditioning - its very hot ( and this is kind of mild to how it can get - up to 50 in August/Sept ) so big walks are out unless its early morning or evening when it cools down. Also componding things at the moment is that it is Eid which is three days of Holy Celebration whereby many shops are closed during the day. So we spend a fair bit of time at the moment hanging around the apartment going from one cup of tea to the next ( substitute coffee into that as well ). Thankfully we have a mac full of music, plenty of books and a whole lot of Herald puzzles I accumulated before we left.

Occasionally we have been invited out with someone at our apartment block who has a car which is great. Seems like a pretty good bunch here, mostly Kiwis, and tomorrow we have been invited along with some of them to drive to the northern end of Qatar which we are really looking forward to as we will get to see outside of the city, along with a possible camel or two and maybe if lucky get to see an Orix, which is kind of the national animal. Also we will see a fair bit of desert, along with some ( historic ) port towns and a few beaches, maybe an old Fort or two - should be great. I cant wait to have a swim, the water teperature is about 30 - 33 degrees, which sounds hot but if the air temp is in the very high 30's then the water should be fairly cooling. I dont have a fishing rod yet ( I sent over some reels and tackle ) otherwise the fishing I hear can be quite good. The fish is certainly cheap and so far we have seen fresh Kingfish and Trevally and a fish that very much looks like snapper for sale in the seafood section of the supermarket. They had a fish called white snapper that looked more like a very big trevally on sale at about $1.50 a kg...looks like we will be eating a lot of fish if that sort of price is anything to go by and it seems that about $8 is a maximum price for fish...YUM....

Export quality meat from NZ ( No Pork here ) is about the same price as at home, veges come from all sorts of places, a lot from Jordan and Egypt can be very cheap. We have even been buying Kiwifruit. Most food is imported as nothing grows easily here being so dry and generally the soil infertile. Greenery is pretty sparse around the place although some peoples gardens are very lush and local date palms are everywhere.

Water is a bit of a commodity here, tap water is desalinated and not that nice ( or safe ) to drink. We get bottled water which is pretty cheap and have just orgainsed a weekly bulk delivery where we get a 5 gallon ( 20ish litres ) container for $3.20. You really need to keep your water intake up as you can dehydrate very quickly. I have been getting a few headaches which maybe is the result of still having a bit of flu, but, I think dehydration contributes somewhat too.

Lynne starts work next week from Tuesday and I will soon be contacting a chap who is the manager of a big construction firm so hopefully something may come from that.

Out and about

We are having to spend much time trying to fill our days in at the moment, Ramadan has just finished and Eid is now happening which is a bit like Christmas Day I think - shopping hours are reduced during the day with most things happening at night. It is very hot and you need to be somewhere that is air-conditioned if you want to venture out and about.

We have been for the odd small walk but the heat prevents larger exploration, so has to be very early in the morning or early evening onwards. We have to take taxis until I get a car. I can't lease a car until I get residency - residency takes about a month with a few formalities to be done, like having a medical - they check for TB, HIV I think. Until then I will have a driver who will take me to my schools. Everyone is on holiday at Cognition - schools are closed until next week - so in a way I have arrived at a good time as I get a chance to have a look around before the work begins for real.

Last night we visited one of the many Souks ( trad marketplaces ) and had a Morrocan meal - targine. Very delicious - costing about $45 all up which seemed pretty good value. They don't sell alcohol so I had a carrot juice and Brian a lemon and mint juice. Quite different from the usual wine with a meal we are used to. It was actually OK. The place feels very safe and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact people can't drink. There were lots of families out and about last night. Many different races. The markets had a fabulous feel - most weren't open because it is Eid but there were still heaps of people roaming around.


At the market place a stage had been set up for muscians. Unfortunately we waited around for about an hour hoping to hear them play their traditional instruments but they took ages to get organised - I think it was going to be televised. It was fascinating just standing around watching the crowds of Qatari in their striking outfits.

More mall shots

A couple from our apartment took us out to this newly opened mall called Villagio. Man what a place. It is designed around a waterway that is made to resemble a Venetian village - complete with gondolas that you are able to hire for a wee excursion! The facades of the upper stories of the shops also looked like a village street scene. The ceiling has a cloud theme! Quite impressive.
All the big name shops and the very expensive shops are here. Brian called into the Virgin Megastore but was less than impressed - saying it was 'rubbish' - and "very thinly stocked".


Not many people here at this end - the very exclusive end. We were also early - the place opened at 10.00am until 1.00pm - because of Ramadan. They open again around 7.00pm.
Ramadan has now finished so we are able to eat out during the day.

More apartment living

As you can see Brian has assumed his usual pose - Sudoku in hand. Brian has also set up the sound system, now that our carton has arrived safely. It only took a couple of hours for it to clear customs - mind you there was a lot of paper shuffling going on by the clearing clerks whom we had to pay an extra $60 - I did managed to haggle him down from his original price.

Inside our apartment

The front door opens straight into the lounge/dining area - openplan. We are on the second floor - one of 12. The walls are thick plastered concrete blocks and the floor is patterened tiles.

We had to put our touch of kiwiana up straight away - thank you to Fiona and the Team Solutions crew. We don't have a dishwasher - actually the bench looks a tad messy - no where to hide the dirty dishes!

We are happy with our tiny tiny outside 'courtyard'. Brian has his own smoking room - thats his smoking chair!!. There is a plant in one corner that I am trying to revive - a yukka. Note the high wall - over that wall is an unpleasant looking construction site with many hens and roosters running around crowing at odd times. That rack is how I dry my clothes. We went up onto the roof - it's quite a cool place with a view across the other places around. Very hot, dusty and sandy during the day - must check it out at night.
There are cockroaches!! - we saw a number of dead ones in the rubbish bin when we arrived - YUCK. Luckily there have not been any live ones so far - fingers crossed, as you know I hate them.
We have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and would welcome any visitors.