Doha

Well, Italian Darryl and Aussie Marg are now in Doha, Qatar and wow - our first impressions are of a brand new city - a far cry from the  old Italy we have enjoyed! I doubt Darryl will be attempting to become a local here as I can't see him wearing sheets and tea towels! However, he did enjoy the complimentary drink on arrival which we were told later was strawberries and yoghurt! (He keeps saying he hates yoghurt!!) 

                 Night time view out our window.

           

Our last couple of days in Venice were pleasant (except it came in very humid and we were pretty hot until a thunderstorm cleared the air Monday night) A swim at the beach was beautiful! Anne went into uni for the last time and Greg Darryl and I pottered around Lido getting organised for our departure. Monday evening we tagged along with Anne and Greg for a farewell dinner with her colleagues - we were fortunate to see how Venetian homes differ from ours when we were invited for pre dinner drinks. I don't think I'd want to swap!

Yesterday was a transit day - after cleaning the flat we caught a car taxi to the waterfront where we caught the airport vaporetto which dropped us off at the airport - quite a different experience! Our flight was only 4.5 hrs so the time went quickly - seeing I watched 3 movies - including Pompeii - all the more relevant seeing we have been to the ruins. 

Doha's brand new 5 star airport is beautiful - but we landed away from the terminal and were bussed in - (most planes seemed to be at the terminal but maybe seeing ours was a small plane we missed out!) We manouvered our way through immigration, got transit visas and were out in no time. It was night time ( Doha is 1 hr ahead of Italy time so we are only 7 hrs behind you now) but we were blown away by the wide roads and massive buildings and building sites.  Our hotel is huge and very luxurious with more staff that guests it seems. All are very helpful and language isn't a problem. When we arrived though, a very loud pre wedding party was underway and that combined with blocked ears from the flight and softly spoken assistants, made checking in quite a challenge but we finally made it to our lovely rooms on the 13th floor!

Breakfast this morning was delightful - so many things to try and now we are going on a city tour. 

We booked a private tour as it wasn't much more than the hop on hop off bus and it was a very good decision. Our driver was actually Syrian and took us to many places and told us tit bits of information. The local Qatar people only make up 15% of the population but they live a very privileged life - no taxes, no utility  bills, half their house paid for, free education - including university and fuel is about 30c/litre!! The labourers are from Pakistan, Nepal, Shri Lanka and we have seen many Africans working at airport and in this hotel. I think one of the most amazing things we saw was a brand new Colosseum!! It's all marble and overlooks the sea and they hold concerts there.

           

After seeing the Roman ruins, it was delightful to see a brand new colosseum! This is built on reclaimed land near the Pearl Qatar which is a man made island for residents and Katara - a cultural village. 

The next amazing thing (well everything is really but I can't bore you with too much detail!) was the Souq - or market place. It looks very old but is only been built a few years ago but using traditional methods. Unfortunately we were there when it was siesta time so tomorrow plan to go back to explore some more. 

           

And the coup de gra has to be the falcons! (Not cars Dennis but the feathered ones!)  Most locals own falcons and the sport is big - so big that they have a Falcon Hospital - dedicated entirely to the birds! It's not the falcon season now so the hospital was quiet but we saw operating tables, dispensaries, waiting rooms with perches for the birds - our man said their medical care is better than for humans! We did see some inside the Souq resting!

         

     

This is the hospital waiting room!! Amazing!!

We also saw the pick of the Arabian racing horses and some camels. 

       

This was our drivers favourite as it's from Syria and very friendly. Each horse was in a beautifully clean stall with their own ceiling fan. 

We saw fishing and tourist boats and so many beautiful buildings - each unique and it seems to be a competition to see who can build the most elaborate building. We think it's also a competition with Dubai but wonder how sustainable it all is if oil runs out! 

 This is a large mosque.        

            

 We came back from our trip hot (it was predicted to be 43 and felt like it!) and hungry so had a bite of lunch and a swim ( lovely pool but it came up windy and unpleasant) Now we are off for happy hour!! 

Tonight is our last night here - we have a late check out as our flight is night time. So this will be my last blog probably. Darryl's a bit over lugging his camera around! 

So look forward to getting home - with all these wonderful memories.

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