It's HOT in Doha

The Pearl Qatar at the Corniche, Doha (coastal causeway linking mainland Doha to the diplomatic area of West Bay)

For once the heat gush when the automatic doors opened at Changi Airport didn't hit me hard. In fact, I felt some relief. That was simply because I got back from a 45-degree (celcius!) weather in Doha, Qatar! Simply leave your face in front of a heated oven and that's what it feels like. And yet, the locals wrap themselves up in their khandura (for men) and black abaya (for the ladies) complete with a sheyla (head scarf that covers the face as well)! Despite the heat, don't forget a shawl when you're there 'cos the inside temperatures (where there's air-conditioning) are chilling to the bone. You just need to be in a shop for less than a minute to feel your brains freezing up - just like gulping 7-Eleven's Slurpee too quickly!

I was told that a holiday is declared when the temperature hits 50 degrees. So the government thermometer usually stops at 48 degrees - ha ha! Qatar is one of the richest nations in the world, with GDP per capita threatening to overtake Switzerland! With its abundance of oil and gas, is this any wonder?

My first encounter at the immigrations counter at the airport made me aware of how "forward" Qatar is. They accept ONLY credit card payments for Visas. And at the souq (market place), every shop accepted credit cards. In fact, I was told that at times, you are slapped with a "penalty" for paying cash!!! WOW!

And you know, they have a fetish for GLASS. All their buildings are clad in glass! Amidst the desert sand and heat, you can imagine keeping the glass buildings looking like... glass? But labour intensive tasks like cleaning of these buildings are not a problem. Qatar has a huge population of foreign workers (Indians, Indonesians etc) who are well-paid (supposedly) to do these tasks. We couldn't get off the car to take pictures so I got some of these beautiful buildings I saw, from the web. Will post the actual of Somerset West Bay, Doha when I get it from Andy :-)

The souq was an interesting place too. It is a marketplace filled with restaurants, cafes and shops, complete with a mosque and an art museum. We had a wonderful dinner at an Iranian restaurant which had the most gorgeous decor and yummy fresh breads and kebabs!

The Souq & The paper cone- like mosque in the middle of the Souq

Business centre services in a back alley at the Souq (in 45-degree heat!)

No back alley left wasted

Entrance to restaurant & Main hall of restaurant

The 'source' of our yummy bread...

Apart from the yucky flight to and from Qatar on Qatar Airways, my experience in Qatar was nothing short of amazing - the Heat, the skyscrapers, the $$$!