Westerners care for animals, not pets?

Our most recent article is a piece about pets in Qatar.

In it Fiona Murray questions Qataris about why dogs - with the exception of Salukis - are considered dirty in Qatar, and takes a trip to the Qatar Animal Welfare Society, recently devestated by fire.

The idea for the article was sparked off by an conversation I had with a Qatar Sheikh I met in the falcon souq.

He was sitting there, a hooded bird perched on a thick glove.

He was a friendly gentleman, but got quite angry over the issue of animal rights, especially where it concerned hunting.

"You Westerners care more about animals than people," he complained. "When there are people starving to death all over the world, why are you fussing about a few animals?"

Like many people in Qatar, he can not understand Westerners' fuss over animals.

But does he have a point? Are we more concerned about animals than people?

Qatar 2022 - First Ad

This is the first ad of the Qatar 2022 bid (which I found on Naz Qatar's twitter feed.) You can also follow the bid team's effort on Twitter at (or should I say @) Qatar2022Bid.

Job Interviews: Just how useful are they?

Talking the Talk Versus Walking the Walk

We're currently interviewing interviewers about job interviews (I really wanted to say that!), and are coming up with lots of interesting material for our next website article. (Favourite interview questions in Qatar, for our Qatar jobs section!)

However, to me it seems there is a fundamental problem with interviews. Essentially, that you are always testing what people can say as opposed to what people can actually do.

Like me, you probably know people who can really talk the talk - people who sound like experts, but who are completely useless at their job.

You may also know people who aren't the best talkers, but who do quietly get on with their job - and produce really good work.

Personally, I am far more interested in what people can do than what people can say.

We only employ freelancers to work on the websites, but I recently chatted to one of these freelancers before giving her an assignment.

She really had absolutely nothing to say. She said so little, I barely knew she could speak English. She had, however, sent in a really good piece of work as an example, so I took her a risk and gave her a piece of writing to do.

She's done about eight articles for us since then, and they have all been excellent.

Which makes me wonder - just how useful are interviews?

Win a Ticket to the "After Shows Party"

I Love Qatar are running a competition to win two tickets to the After Shows Party on December 3rd in The Majlis Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel Doha.

It's a competition with a difference, as to enter you have to suggest the theme of the next competition.

Check out The Competition Competition for details.

Do you interview people in Qatar?

Qatar Visitor is collecting popular job interview questions in Qatar.

We are also interested in whether different nationalities are looking for different things in interviews.

Essentially we want to know:

What are your favourite questions in an interview?
What are you looking for in an answer?
Your nationality.
Your company.

If you want to let us know please email us on admin [at] QatarVisitor.com, direct message us via twitter (@qatarvisitor) or leave a message on Facebook. We'll include a link to your company website with any interview questions/answers we publish.

A Test for England - and Qatar!

Also see: Qatar 2022 Bid on the website.

The football match between England and Brazil will be a test not just for England but for the tiny Gulf country of Qatar too.

It's the biggest match ever held here, and Qatar has no experience of England fans.

Journalists are here to cover the match, and are already impressed with the sporting infrastructure.

One wrote:

"This correspondent was left slack-jawed after being shown around one of its incredible sport development institutes earlier on Friday."

The country has also won praise for its sports academy.

From buying talent from abroad, Qatar has changed to recruiting the best talent, training and nurturing them, and returning them to their home country.

One thing Qatar can't do anything mcuh is the heat, at least outside the stadiums.

It's in the cool season, though unusually warm compared to previous years, yet Fabio has already joked that the best place to hold the match would be in an air-conditioned hotel.

There's also the reaction of the fans to consider when they realise they can only celebrate/commiserate the end of a match in expensive bars, where the price of a beer can sometimes approach ten pounds a pint!

She knew that they might take him!

The British community has been keenly following the heartbreaking case of the British mother whose son was abducted in Qatar.

Tricked into signing a custody form, she has now lost her young son to the family of her deceased husband.

One friend, who has lived in the Gulf for many years, tells me that the British embassy often warn British nationals seeking to get married of the possible consequences of divorce.

"You realise that if you ever separate, you may never see your child again," is the stark warning he said British nationals were given.

Unfortunately, when you are young and in love you are generally prepared to risk the consequences - if you can envision there will ever be any.

This case was slightly different, of course - it was not even the father claiming custody, but his family. Specifically, I believe, his grandmother.

Now one Qatari, though not wholly unsympathetic, writes:

"I think the mother is to be blamed. She was married to a Qatari for god sake. She knows our laws. She knew that they might take him."

You've been warned!

Qatar Martial Arts Actor

Aukment is a film starring Qatar martial arts actor, Ahmad Al-Suilaiti. I didn't actually know there was a Qatar martial arts actor, but I followed the link from Mr Q's blog post on Celebrity Qataris.

The film is actually based on Ahmad's own story. According to an interview on Qatar Happening, Ahmad ran away to Thailand to become a proffessional fighter and, as in the story, ended up joining a martial arts camp.

We're fascinated, and will try to find out more. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer below...

Qatar Visitor Friends


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film

Qatar Bloggers Event

ICT Qatar is holding an event for bloggers on Saturday 12th December.

The event will be held at ICT Qatar, and if past events there are anything to go by the food will be fabulous!

The event seems partly aimed at the corporate world, although I think they'll have a hard time getting the majority of Qatar companies into blogging. (And when they do they will probably be the boring company blogs no-one wants to read!)

However, the invitation does say bloggers, and even "individuals interested in blogging" should attend.

Apparently there are also some well known bloggers attending, although the flyer I have been sent doesn't say who. (I have tweeted and emailed for more info.) It could be some big names, as they had some impressive people speaking at their media conference - Darren Rowse? Shoemoey? (Update - speakers include Jeremiah Owyang, Ahmed Hamzawi, Ammar Mohamed & more - check out this page on ICT Qatar for more info.)

I think I'll do a John Chow, and just blog about the food...

Fourteen Reasons why you should leave Qatar

Before anyone accuses me of being overly negative, check out my 10 reasons to stay in Qatar. Although, worryingly, I can think of 4 more reasons to leave than to stay. Then again, I am British, and we are very good at moaning!

1. With a maid to clean and cook, you are becoming spoilt.

Or, instead of thinking how unfair it is that maids have to do all your cooking and cleaning, you spend all that valuable new free time you have moaning about servant problems.

2. You should also consider leaving if you are the maid doing the housework, and you are getting sick of spoilt expats.

3. Your children are growing up here. When you go home, it will not be their home, but at the same time they can never truly belong to Qatar. They will grow up without ever truly belonging to one place.

4. The driving and the drivers are nuts.

5. You are becoming racist. It's a strange thing, a thing which my wife pointed out to me, but many people seem to become racist here. Perhaps its human nature that a melting pot of human culture can lead more often to mutual disrespect than to mutual understanding.

6. You are sick of living by the sea but having no decent beach to visit. And while the Corniche is lovely, it drives you mad that you can't dive into that gorgous sea.

7. The weather may be okay now, but in the summer it is just way too hot.

8. If you could make as much money, or even nearly as much money, at home. Alternatively, you would make less money, but when you figure in living costs it would be the same.

9. The H Tax - (housing, according to Johnson) - the large amount of their pay some employees have to spend on housing. Although, to be fair, this is coming down.

10. The traffic is going to get worse - much worse! Did you realise that there are ten thousand new cars being added a month to the roads? Expect gridlock well before Qatar's planned train system arrives. And expect road chaos while the train system is being built.

11. If someone else with the same (or fewer) skills and the same (or less) experience as you is getting paid more because they are a different nationality.

12. If you are an Asian man and are sick of being turned away from malls because of the colour of your skin.

13. English breakfast...

14. QBS.

News Flash: Junk Food Good For Kids!!!

Brillant news broke out from Qatar, and will cause celebrations around the world.

McDonalds is healthy - especially for children!

According to the Peninsula article, an outstanding (and, of course, independent) piece of journalism in its own right, Mc Donalds:

" is a leader in promoting healthy lifestyle for children and their happy meals are enjoyed by children and adults alike. McDonald’s always pay attention to their young customers and make sure to provide them with nutritious meals and toys to simulate their imagination, in addition to play areas for them to exercise and play. "

Here's one person who will be pleased:

Spurlock, author of:



And director of Supersize Me.

He used to think Mac Donalds was unhealthy (check out the trailer below), and will no doubt be relieved to know that the opposite is in fact the case.

Shameful!

Despite this revelation, many parents are still insisting on feeding their children at home, and forcing salad, vegetables and fruit down the protesting victims' throats.

Some try to force their children to appreciate the food and recipies built up in their cultures over hundreds of years.

To which we say - Shame on You!

No doubt it's parents like you who are the reason why Qatar has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world.

Throw out the vegetables. Flush the juice down the toilet. And pack your kids into your Landcruiser and take them for a nice health meal of coke, big mac and chips.

And Ignore This Rubbish Below!

Also check out: Krispey Kreme Invade Qatar

Qatar Visitor Friends



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Mc Donalds Doha

The Best Blogs in Qatar

It's time for another update on our favourite Qatar blogs. We've done this before, but sadly many of our favourite blogs have disappeared or been abandoned. In the meantime new ones have risen up to take their place. And, of course, there are some which have just passed us by before...

Mimiz Qatar: Diary of a Qatari Girl

This is a new blog for us which has just been pointed out by Dohanews. However, from a first reading it looks awesome. Recent posts talk about life in Qatar, a visit to Mecca spoiled by the religious police, and her thoughts and feelings in London. Check out Are You Really that Racist? for a heart wrenching story of what life is really like in Qatar

A Day in Qatar

Follow the life of writer Mohana as she struggles with learning Arabic - and having a year with no new clothes. (She'll get no sympathy from me, as a year without clothes shopping sounds like heaven...) Read for long thoughtful posts on life in Qatar and in general.

Hack the Bone

Meredith (is this Meredith from Twitter?) and DKM blog about various topics - idiotic Americans making fools themselves on Twitter, the Tribeca film festival, getting tipsy at a party, puppies - basically, anything they feel like. Read for fun, lighthearted posts.


Moz Boondoggle

A little bit of nepotism, as Shabina does a monthly article for us. She's (obviously) a superb writer, and probably keeps up with Qatar affairs more than anyone else in Doha via her twitter feed. (You can keep up with her twitter feed via the rss feed on her blog or follow here.) On her blog she links to or posts her latest articles, including those on Qatar Visitor (okay, we said this was a bit nepotistic!) and Global Voices online.

Amal Al-Malki

This is a very different blog from most of those listed here. Beautifully designed, the blog is intended as a forum for creative writing, both in English and in Arabic. Read it for thoughtful writing, or get involved and do some writing yourself.

Mr Q

Mr Q, who runs I Love Qatar, gives us the Qatari perspective on events in Qatar. Despite the name of his website, he's not always positive. Read for the (male) Qatari viewpoint.

Ummon

A Qatar based magazine editor blogs about her children, Qatar, Arabs (and how their achievements compare to India) and many other things. Read for a feel of a Qatari lady's life.

Aisha's blog

Aisha is another Qatari (I think) who blogs away on Qatar Living. Her blog is more of a traditional weblog than one focussed on Qatar Happenings. Read to follow the life and musings of a Qatari lady.

Marjorie in Qatar

Marjorie in Qatar continues to blog strongly, and from the many comments on her blog it seems that she has many loyal followers. Read for good and sometimes amusing posts on life/ society in Qatar.

Mohammed N

Mohammed N keeps us updated with his work for Al Jazeera. Read for the latest news on Qatar's homegrown international news network.

Sybils and Krit's Qatari Adventures

The adventures of an American expat adjusting to life in Qatar. Has lots of pictures of Qatar, with some great ones of the recent tennis. Read for a personal view of Qatar. (Whatever you do, don't insult the Hello Kitty pics.)

Off the Press

From the struggles of the staff to survive in Qatar to the details of what's behind Qatar's events, Off the Press is a blog by the Doha What's On guide Qatar Happening. Read for recipies, recommends and the stories connected to the happenings.

Qatar Skeptic

This is an interesting blog by a sceptic in Qatar. Keen to meet Qataris - he even goes on holiday with his Qatari buddy - he blogs about what he finds strange in Qatar as well as personal matters (wisdom teeth!).

Please let us know in the comments if there are any blogs that we have missed...

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blogs

Let's Pick on Maids

It seems to be pick on maids time in Qatar at the moment.

Background

If you are visiting from the West, you have to understand that it is normal for families, both Qatar and expat, to hire a 'maid' in Qatar.

These maids can be paid as little as QAR600 or 700 riyals a month (about a hundred English pounds).

For this they frequently work six days a week.

Some maids are treated badly. Maids in Qatar have been tortured, raped and murdered.

I think this is probably the minority, though - speaking a couple of Asian languages, I have chatted to quite a few maids and most are miserable because they are desperately lonely and homesick, and sick of dealing with badly behaved children.

(One maid said to me, after one of her little charges had bitten the other: "If I was back in my village, we would give this little brat a good thrashing".)

The happiest seem to be those working with families of their own nationalities, or those working on a part time basis for several different families.

A Wonderful Woman

We had a maid for a while.

Originating from India, she had originally been a school teacher, but events had conspired against her.

She was hardworking, intelligent and caring. Our children adored her, and we trust her to this day.

She still does a little work us, but even when she is not working she will often drop in to see the children.

Our only complaint is that she spoils the children rotten.

Kick Them While They are Down

A common conversation topic in Qatar is "servant problems".

Perhaps because of a desire to assuage guilt, it's also a common story in the Gulf Times.

One Gulf Times story reported that, in reaction to concern about maids, some researchers went and interviewed many domestic employers.

They came back with horror stories about the maids. No-one, however, thought to ask the maids how they felt or what they had experienced.

Now a new horror story in the Gulf Times covers a maid who rented out a baby to beggars.

The story occurred in India, not Qatar.

'Shocking Business'

Immediate condemnation followed in Qatar Living.

Said one:

"every local over here hired housemaids... are they aware of the fact...or the laws here are strict enough so no maid have the courage to behave bad towards the kid."

Another writer complained:

It is not all that easy to find a trustworthy maid nowadays. Even if you think you have a good caring maid, you need to be right on top of them to monitor their freedom, activities and local connections. A surprise visit at times and continuous monitoring would allow you to assess the situation and act accordingly.

Another advised:

once in a while it is wise to come home early or un-scheduled. This way a parent could catch a maid off-guard should she be doing something fishy.

Any truth?

We hire servants for pennies and expect them to be wonderful people.

And sometimes they are. I know of one who is holding a whole family together.

(She prepares food, picks the children up and gives them the love and attention they need while the mother gads about town.)

However, these child carers are, for the most part, unvetted and untrained. Incidents and problems are inevitable.

At the moment, though, only one side of the story is being told...

WeirdWeb

On Twitter, Nigel Gourlay complains:

"How poorly people treat those who care for their children. In previous compound, one maid was being starved by employers."

He went on to describe how the other maids bought food and vitamins for her, before describing how another servant was being beaten by her employers.

Nigel ended up putting that one in a taxi to her embassy.

I suspect there are many other maids' stories out there which are not being told...

Update: Get the other side of the story with our article, Servant's Stories.

Messenger of Peace

A scene from the original film

During the ground breaking Tribeca festival recently held in Doha an astonishing announcement was made.

The story of Islam and the life of Mohammed, if current plans are to go ahead, are to be made into a film.

Astonishing because, according to Islamic law, neither Mohammed nor his direct family may be represented in film.

Making a film about a Mohammed without Mohammed appearing can be done. The 1970's film The Messenger managed a whole film about the Prophet without us hearing his voice or seeing his face. (His staff does, though, appear at the end, smashing the false idols in the Kaaba.)

To help them produce a film worthy of the Prophet and the huge potential audience it would have, the Qatari company commissioning it hope to enlist Barri Osbourne, who has previously worked on the Matrix and Lord of the Rings.

For our take on the film and its implications check out The Messenger meets Lord of the Rings.

10 Reasons to Stay in Qatar

You're spending way too much time waiting in traffic, your salary is worth half what it was a few years ago and you've just had a bad day at work.

We all have those times when we start wondering if it's time to go home.

Here's ten reasons to stay...

1. It's cold, wet and miserable at home, everyone's moaning about the recesssion and you've forgotten what its like to go weeks without seeing the sunshine. (Only valid if you are from England or some equally grey place.)

2. So the traffic is bad. It's bad everywhere, in fact it's worse in many places - and at least Doha is small!

3. There's no work back home.

4. Even though your salary may not be worth as much as it used to be, chances are it is still better than you would get back home - and it's tax free.

5. It's true that it's hard to get a drink - but on the plus side there's no fighting in the street, there are no violent yobs puking outside pub doors and you can go out any place in the city at any time of night and feel safe.

6. There are loads of great places to eat, and while the pricey is getting pricier you can still get great nosh for a few bucks.

7. The shopping is amazing, and it is getting better all the time. (Actually, I hate shopping, but it makes my wife happy.)

8. You live by the sea, and the Corniche and the view from the Corniche is beautiful. (Unfortunately, you can't swim in that tempting sea.)

9. It's winter, and you can still swim in the pool.

10. You are living in a dynamic country which is changing probably more rapidly than any other country in the world. Its changing economically, its changing culturally, its changing architecturally. You may have no idea where it is going to end up - but that's is precisely why its worth hanging around to find out.

I ran out of positive reasons at ten, but let us know in the comments if you can think of any more.

And just to balance things out, next week we'll look at ten reasons to leave Qatar...

Tags

Qatar Doha

German Festival

The German embassy is holding a five week long German-Arab culture festival.

The festival actually started a couple of days ago, but we have only just heard about it now!

The festival features music, architectural exhibitions, photography and much more.

For more information on the festival check out their website, Hiwaruna.

Our 2008 Predictions - Two True Already!

I came across an old post today - 10 predictions for Qatar's future.

And two have come true already. They are:

5. The real estate bubble will pop. People always say a bubble is not going to pop, and it always pops. There will be another bubble a few years later.

6. Inflation will decrease - in the short term. However, this will be associated with recession, which may be milder than the rest of the world due to Qatar's oil and gas reserves. After a while inflation will rise again, and after five years an apple will cost one hundred million riyals.

Well, we will have to wait to see what happens to the apples, but the rest seems to have happened.

The post got picked up on Qatar Living, and a number of people came up with their own predictions, which included:

11. Roads in Industrial Area can be used for F1 Racing :)

12. No more Exit Permits.
13. Motorist are well educated of Road Ethics and Zero Road rage cases.

I particularly liked this one:

23. There will be Country wide refrigeration during summer.

You can find all the predictions here (on this blog) and here (on Qatar Living). Which do you think will come true?

16 Tips to Help You Win Telephone Interviews

Telephone interviews can be tricky.

Although you may feel relaxed, research shows that the informal settings and distractions of home can lead to really bad interviews.

One friend of mine, wrongly assuming that an interview wasn't serious because it was on the telephone, actually remembers hearing the interviewers laugh in the background because his answers were so bad.

You also have to connect with your employer - without the advantage of eye contact and body language.

In our latest article on the website Mariam Nonha deals with all these issues and more.

Check out 16 Tips to Help You Master Telephone Interviews for the full article.


Qatar Jobs

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jobs

Food Mission Impossible

As old timers will tell you until you start to sleep, Qatar is becoming more and more expensive.

It is now impossible to imagine having even a fish and chips on anything less than a Sheikh's salary.

That's why we were suprised when Shabina Khatri accepted our challenge to find ten places in Qatar where you can eat for less than QAR 15.

Putting her weight on the line, Shabina rose to the challenge, and find them she did - although judge for yourselves whether she cheated with one of our own favourites, Thai Snack...

The article, which is accompanied by great photos, covers loads of places where you can both have a good meal and stay within your budget, and is especially handy when you are a bit broke. (We should really be putting this out towards the end of the month, not the start!)

Check out Cheap Eats in Doha for the full article.

Also lots of thanks to Omar Chatriwala for the great images of the naurah and the roasting chicken.

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Population Increase Only Good For Business

When I first arrived in Qatar I could never dream that the population of Qatar would reach over one and a half million.

Yet according to the Gulf Times it now stands at 1.67 million, a 3% increase over the previous month.

Looking back at our old blog posts, I can see that I reported that the population of Qatar had been estimated at 400,000 in 2004.

When I joined this blog, I remember working with another writer to estimate that at the then current rate of growth Qatar would overtake the world's population in about 100 years.

Good for Business - and Websites

Back then no-one really read us - I remember being very pleased when we had 30 people visit the blog in one day.

Now we get 500 people to the blog - and often well over 3000 visitors and 6000 page views on the website - on a daily basis.

A major part of the reason for our success, and the success of Qatar Living, has been the phenomonal growth of Qatar.

More people means more readers for our posts, and more customers for businesses and shops.

It's also great for job seekers all over the world - there is at least one place which is still hiring!

Bad for Everyone Else

I also remember being able to drive to work in ten minutes.

And having a wage which is worth, in real terms, probably twice what it is today.

Meanwhile, the rapid growth in population is a logistical nightmare for hospitals and services.

Huge money is being poured into Hamed Hospital, and my son's life was saved by some first rate doctors in the children's hospital.

But it can't be easy dealing with a quadrupling of the population...

What about Qataris?

People in the UK feel threatened by immigration, although the influx is a fraction of that in Qatar.

Qataris could not be blamed for feeling swamped by the massive amount of people coming into the country.

As a result, tensions can and do arise - although despite some evident racism (not just from Qataris!), to the country's credit I have never seen anything approaching the British Nationalist Party party in the UK.

Yet.

Qatar Jobs

Qatar Job Search

We've recently launched a new website called Qatar Job Search, which enables job seekers to search thousands of Qatar vacancies.

The site utilises a custom google search index to search numerous sites which list Qatar jobs.

Sites indexed include local jobs sites such as All Qatar Jobs, websites with a jobs classifieds section such as Qatar Living and large jobs websites such as Bayt.com.

We've tweaked the code to try and ensure it returns only jobs in Qatar, that the most recent jobs are weighted first and that posts older than one month are not indexed.

So please check it out - we'd love to hear any feedback!

Qatar Jobs


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jobs

Who to follow on Twitter, Qatar?

I follow about 70 or so people on Twitter, but I have been cutting quite a few people out recently as not much of what they have to say applies to Qatar. Either that, or they are only there to try and sell something. Or they are boring.

(I know Twitter says "What are you doing?" but truth is, unless you are doing something really, really exciting, I just don't want to know.)

Basically, I have worked out there is one person I have to follow to find everything of any possible interest in Qatar, and that is DohaNews.

I don't know how she does it, but every interesting news item, blog post and forum discussion is covered on her feed, while all the boring stuff is cut out.

And it's all done with a sense of humour.

One recent exchange went:

dohanews Education City's upcoming million-volume library project will 're-empower books,' cover 2 football field lengths (awesome) http://u.nu/83qn3

IvanGiesbrecht @dohanews Great news about the library. But who will read all these books? 6 days ago from TweetDeck

dohanews @IvanGiesbrecht Not to read, silly. To sit there and look pretty :) 6 days ago from web

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Twitter

100% Ownership for IT Companies in Qatar

We are very impressed with the most recent change in Qatar's foreign ownership laws, which now allows 100% foreign ownership of Information and Technology companies.

Of course, you would still have to cough up QAR200,000 for a company here, and rent an office, but then Qatar is looking for serious investors in the country.

This is one of three sectors which have been thrown open to full foreign ownership - the other sectors being distribution services and consultative and technical work services. These join a number of existing areas where this is already allowed.

Giving up 51% of your business, even with a revenue sharing agreeement which allows you to keep the bulk of the profits, puts off some investors, and it's a smart move to remove this obligation from areas of the economy which could do with a boost - or which could boost other industries in Qatar.

We also suspect that ICT Qatar, a fairly forward thinking organisation which seems faster on its feet than some Qatar beaurocracy, may be behind the move to encourage IT investment.

You can read the original article in the Peninsula. You can also read David Chaddock's article on How to Set Up a Business in Qatar.

Qatar Jobs

Behind the Ghutra

Marjorie in Qatar has an excellent post today on the discrimination faced by men in Qatar.

Many of us Westerners are apalled by the subjegation of men in Qatar (only the other day I saw an angry Qatari woman berate her obviously intimidated husband in public), and it is great that finally an expat woman has the courage to speak out about it.

As Marjorie writes:

Since it would be preposterous to believe any person would choose to wear an item of clothing that I personally don't wear, I am led to the self-evident conclusion that the men of the Gulf region are being forced to wear the ghutra by their oppressive female overlords.

Check out the full post here: Behind the Ghutra

Villagio Cinema

While everyone cultured went to see Amelia, my wife and I went off to check out the new cinema at Villagio.

A few people complained that the entrance to the cinema and the foam seats looked cheap and tacky. I can't say I particularly noticed that, although it didn't look anything special.

To be honest, I don't care. This is an IMAX 3D cinema, and I wanted to see a 3D film, not gaze at cinema architecture.

We went to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Given the title, it's not the sort of film I would usually choose (sounds too cultured, though as it turned out it wasn't), but was the only 3D option available.

The 3d effects were just awesome. At the start of the film you are sailing through clouds before you sudddenly dive and race towards the ground. That's pretty impressive in 3D - in fact, everyone in the cinema gasped.

At times, I was also struck by how realistic, apart from the actual characters, the sets were.

And at the end, the water in the film seems to lap out of the screen and up over the seats.

The film was also good - imaginative, funny and touching. I'll have to make more effort in future not to judge books by their covers...

Qatar Visitor Friends

Vodafone Scores a Point

I think a lot of us have been surprised by how well Qtel has responded to competition.

From a fairly lackadaisical organisation, (one friend in Qtel remembers going to seminars to teach employees the meaning of competition, and described the employees as bewildered at the concept), Qtel have become much more aggressive at marketing.

One huge advantage they have got is a captive market.

After years of dominating the market, most customers have Qtel accounts - meaning that Qtel can and does bombard them with text marketing, whereas Vodafone has to go all out to reach the same people.

Nevertheless, Vodafone has scored a point today.

On twitter and elsewhere users are pointing out that while Qtel has texted users telling them to use up their free minutes by Sunday, Vodafone have just extended their mobile phone promotion till December, giving Red and Freedom users 300MB of free internet usage.

Qatar Book Competition

Our latest competition is a really easy one to enter. All you have to do is visit our book competition page, and choose the book you would most like to read. If you get picked in our prize draw you'll win the book!

Check out our Qatar Book Competition for details.

Qatar's Increasing Conservatism

When I first moved here I thought Qatar was becoming more liberal.

Head scarves seemed to be moving back, the Ministry of Information had been abolished and expats could dance the night away at numerous clubs.

More recently the establishment of a church in Qatar, despite some loud local opposition, was a brave and tolerant move by the administration.

Slowly, things seem to be changing.

Dress Code

It's perhaps inevitable that the dress code should be tightened up.

Some people were taking advantage of the relative freedom of the country to wear clothes that were offensive to local people.

A tightening up started with the publication of a dress code, although at the time this sounded more like a guideline than a rule.

Now, though, a strict dress code is imposed upon clubbers and bar goers. Knees and shoulders must be covered by clothes, and dresses should not expose too much flesh, either at the front or at the back.

Drinking

The first rule I noticed regarding alcohol was an edict banning drinking by swimming pools.

The number of bars have also shrunk, with Garvies losing its licence, two hotels with bars closing down and the old... also shutting.

There are also plans to shut down the cheaper alternatives.

Those remaining are increasingly hard to get into.

You now need an id card to enter into a bar, and you have to have membership of the bar or club before you are allowed to drink.

Some visitors have been turned away from bars on the basis that their visa was not sufficient. It seems that if you have a tourist visa you may be turned away unless you are in your own hotel, whereas if you have a business visa you have a licence to drink.

The Future

So far, most of these changes do not impact too much upon our lives.

These edicts are likely to continue, though.

The crucial point for most expats is alcohol.

Currently, whereas a sojurn in Saudi Arabia is often viewed as an ordeal to be undergone for some specific financial goal, Qatar is still considered a pleasant, if expensive, place to live.

A ban on alcohol would leave to many Western expats leaving, or demanding a premium on their salaries.

A Choice Only Qataris Can Make

Of course, the direction Qataris take Qatar is a decision that only Qataris can make.

We and most of our readers are visitors in a place which is not our country and is not our culture.

And, at the end of the day, we are free to leave if things become too conservative for our liking.

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Indonesian Breakfast

Those Indonesian ladies are at it again!

Classy are holding their famous Indonesian Breakfast again next month, where Qatar's Mums can indulge themselves in traditional Indonsian cookery and enjoy a collection of traditional batik garments and furnishings.

The event, which is for Mums and Kids only (blast!) will be held at Al Waab 2 Gardens on Thursday 12 November from 10.00 am to 12 noon. Tickets, which are limited, will cost QAR40 and to buy them you will need to ring Sisca on 5634649.

Enjoy, and don't forget to bring some leftovers for the poor husbands left behind at home...

England Brazil Football Tickets Now On Sale

Also checkout: Qatar 2022 Bid: Qatar's not fooling around

Tickets for the England Brazil football match to be held in Qatar have finally gone on sale.

A friend saw a booth for the tickets yesterday - only to find that yesterday's batch had been sold out in three major malls.

Apparently, tickets will start at QAR100, not QAR50 as noted in our previous post.

Update: Football Qatar also points out that you buy the tickets via the Al Jazeera website, while there is a comment below with another website retailer.

2nd Update: According to Qatari Adventures you can now buy the tickets online via the Qatar Football Association.

Marhaba

A comment I noticed on recently on the books section of our website asked us which was the most comprehensive guide book, Marhaba or Qatar Explorer.

There's just no doubt about it - Marhaba, though poorly marketed outside Qatar, is head and shoulders above any other print guide to Qatar.

It's not perfect. My main complaint about is that everything it writes about does have to be perfect. A couple of years back (or is it three or four?) I read a description of Al Wakra and they made it sound like Las Vegas. (Allow for a little exaggeration on my part, of course.) I went to visit the town and, well, it was quite nice (the beach and the mangrove swamps were lovely before they were dug up), but a little bit boring.

Still, the book is absolutely crammed full of information about Qatar, and is very comprehensive. It is carefully and lovingly updated three times a year, and each publication has more information than the last.

The writing is often of an extremely high quality (anyone who can make Al Wakra sound exciting has got to be talented) and there are often some excellent features included.

There's also the price - a ridiculously low QAR20 (it's worth at least five times that.) Obviously, the book is paid for by advertising, but it's the type of advertising (schools, nurseries e.t.c.) that is pretty useful for expats, at least when they are new in town. We, at least, buy a new copy every time it's out, and we recommend new expats do the same.

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Dinner by the Canal

In Dinner by the Canal we enjoy a romantic candle-lit meal for two at the Grand Hyatt's latest restaurant, Rocca. A superb ambience by the water and the swimming pools, with a view of the Pearl development in front, makes this a great place to relax after the hustle and bustle of the city. Read Dinner by the Canal for our full review.

Also see: Qatar Restaurants

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Does anyone know where Doha is?

That's what Serena Williams tweeted when she got to Doha Airport.

It seems like a bit of a kick in the teeth for the country hosting her.

Certainly Serena knows where Doha is, as she has been here before. In fact, any big tennis fan will, and soon every England and Brazil fan will.

However, I don't think I did before I found a job here. I had heard of Qatar, but only because of the bombing that had been here.

When I tried to do some internet research on Qatar, I could find very little. The one website with useful information was a blog by an expatriate housewife, and its probably part of the reason why I decided to come here.

Living here several years later, things seem very different.

One thing you notice is the extraordinary lengths Qatar goes to in order to promote itself.

Currently we have the Tribeca film festival, the Qatar women's tennis championships and, next month, the England Brazil football match.

In the Arab world Al Jazeera has put Qatar firmly on the map while much of Asia will have watched the Asian Games.

The net is also a very different place, with Qatar Living users posting, it seems, thousands of times a day, blogs, facebook and twitters users springing up everywhere and websites such as our own, Qatar Happening and I Love Qatar all providing information about the country.

(One thing I have never managed to find is that first blog. Perhaps deleted, or perhaps just buried under the mountain of material published since then.)

Of course, what you forget is while you and I are at the center of our world, Qatar is not at the center of the world, even if it is winning a little more recognition.

Given that Qatar is such a small , though rich, country, perhaps the best answer is the one given by Qatar Airways, and one which Serena must have seen on her way here:

Doha is half way to anywhere.

Which, coincidentally, makes it a great place to stop off and spend your money!

Qatar Visa Confusion

The Qatar embassy in London used to be one of the most helpful places when finding out visa information for Qatar.

Whereas immigration would say "No English" and slam the phone down, the embassy would answer the phone, provide information and, upon sending an SAE, send out a visa form.

That sadly seems to have changed.

One Qatar Visitor reader from the UK wrote to us saying that previously she got a six month visa from the London embassy, but can now no longer get in contact with them.

Another said that he finally managed to get through on his 17th call, but was told he could no longer have a three month visa.

Now he wants to know if he can renew his one month visa on arrival.

Unfortunately, information is contradictory.

You certainly could in the past, and according to the official Hukoomi website you can renew your visa at the airport.

However, Qatar Airways, who are normally very up-to-date on these issues, had no knowledge of this.

We haven't managed to get through to immigration or the Qatar embassy in the UK, but will continue to investigate!

Qatar's Venemous Sea Snakes

Beached Sea Snake:

Sea snakes have deadly venom, and a bite from a sea snake can kill fast.

They also inhabit the sea of Qatar, and can even be seen beached on the country's shores.

Despite this, their usually passive nature means they are just not very dangerous.

An exception can be when they are in an amourous mood, and fall in love with the pipes connecting your mouth to your scuba equipment!

For a deeper look at this fascinating creature, check out Fran Gillespie's latest article, Qatar Sea Snakes, accompanied by vivid photographs and a Steve Irwin movie showing him swimming with the creatures.

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Qatar Visitor Ramadan Competition Winners

With over 90 images submitted by contestants from around the world, photography judge Abigail Harman had a hard time selecting the winners for our Ramadan Photography competition. Select them she did, though, and both winning images as well as the special mentions can be seen here: Qatar Comp Winners.

The winning images have also been published in The Gulf Times Time Out. You can find them on page 12 and 13 - click here to view a PDF version.

Make sure to sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with all Qatar Visitor's competitions.

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Exploding Petrol Stations

Last week the local papers and the forums were full of the recent fire in a Doha souq.

Less well noticed (although it did get some attention) was the exploding petrol station in Al Hilal.

Now, I have absolutely no idea why the petrol station exploded.

However, when I first came here I was surprised that when cars entered petrol stations they always left the engine running.

In the UK we are always taught to turn off our cars and even our mobile phones when filling up.

As months and then years went past, I took up the lazy local habit of lounging in my comfortable car, cooled by the soft breeze of my engine powered AC, while a poorly paid Asian sweated in the Doha heat to fill up my car.

A couple of riyals tip would assuage my conscience almost as well as the AC assuaged the heat.

And when guests from the UK came and remarked upon cars running in garages, I would laugh, and say:

"It can't be that dangerous - after all, it's not as if the country suffers from exploding petrol stations!"

The Desert Roars Again

The desert will indeed roar again in the Gulf - this time on the island of Yas as Formula One returns to the Gulf. November sees Abu Dhabi hosting its first Formula One in what will be the last race of the season. Check out our website guide to the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix for more information on the race.

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Road Rage

I'm often asked about safety in Qatar, and I always say that it is a safe place. But in the back of my mind there is a little nagging thought which says: "Except for the roads."

One of the most worrying aspects of driving in Qatar is road rage.

Stone Throwing

One time, when I was coming off a roundabout I noticed a Landcruiser veering towards me. I sounded the horn long and hard. The landcruiser ducked behind me for a moment, then came alongside me, opened the window and threw something hard and heavy at me which struck my car.

That's seems to be a fairly unusual occurence - I have only heard of it a couple of times.

Backslamming

However, there is a more sinister form of road rage here which is far more common. I have heard friends tell stories of this, I've heard Arabs talk about this, I've had it done to me and I've seen it done to other people.

What generally happens is this: a driver loses his temper, often because you don't move out of the way within miliseconds of him driving inches away from your bumper.

When you do move out of the way, he accelerates, changes lane so that he is in front of you, and slams on his brakes - or, should he be driving a manual car, changes down through the gears so that you don't see his brake lights.

Of course, if you do not have your wits about you (after hearing the story from my friend, I was lucky enough to anticipate the move both times it happened to me) the resulting accident would be regarded as your fault, as you are hitting the back of his car.

Not Always Anger

According to one person I met, this is not always done in anger.

An Arab girl I met through work told me that her brother's hobby was doing this to women drivers.

Stressed

Of course, these things don't happen to you every day.

However, it is something to be aware of when you are driving.

People stressed by the explosion of traffic in a formerly quiet city can snap easily.

When it happens, it is best not to respond to anger with anger.

If you are not Arab, remember that you are not in your own country, you are not in your own culture and chances are you don't speak the language, so forget your pride and get yourself out of the situation as quickly and as calmly as possible.

More? Check out Qatar Visitor's 90 second guide to driving in Qatar (Podcast)

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Qatar Football Update

There's a lot happening with Qatar Football at present, with everything from a major upcoming football tournament to a bid for the World Cup.

Brazil- England Tickets Update

Tickets for the match still seem unavailable in Qatar, although as we noted in Where in Doha are the Brazil England Football Tickets you can buy them via Fifa if you have a fan number.

Our latest understanding is that tickets will be available from 20th October, with basic tickets costing between QAR200 and 250. There is also a thread on Qatar Living which suggests tickets will be sold in all malls which have a Carrefour.

You can check out our comparison of the teams in Tim Sturbridges article on the Brazil England game or check our guide to the game in Doha (ticket info to be added as soon as we have something concrete!)

World Cup FA Bid - but will the heat defeat Qatar?

Still smarting from its failed bid for the World Olympics, Qatar is now bidding for the World Football Cup in 2022.

While England's bid has been slammed as 'light-weight', Qatar apparently impressed officials with their presentation.

However, Soccer America believes Qatar's biggest obstacle will be the heat. Apparantly Qatar has now ruled out building indoor stadiums, as originally planned, but is considering use solar energy to power cooling equipment.

Umm Salal to face Phang Stealers - chance to appear in Club World Cup

Pohang Steelers, third in the K-League, take on Umm Salal of Qatar in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League on the 21st October. Umm Salal sit near the bottom of the Stars League with only one win out of 3 games played so far.

Pohang Steelers have won the Asian Champions League twice in 1997 and 1998 and are favorites to make it a hat-trick of titles this year.

Both teams have much-traveled Brazilian forwards, Magno Alves for the Qataris and Denilson for the Korean club. Both players have played in the Middle East and in East Asia.

The other semifinal features Nagoya Grampus against Saudi outfit Al Ittihad.

The winner of the competition will appear in the Club World Cup in Dubai in December.

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