Its been a while

So..its been a while... BUT again, the urge to write and tell you all everything has emerged. 

Brunching in Qatar

Over the past year or so we have brunched in some fabulous places, and tried some exquisite food... and some outright disgusting combinations

Recommendations:

For ease of access for us in the outback known as Mesaieed I recommend The Marriott. The service is good, the food is excellent and although the choice seems to have diminished  slightly, what is on offer is  well cooked and well presented.

W Hotel, Doha - the height of indulgence.  The W brunch is by far a must.  The variety of presentations from around the world is delightful. If you are a Sushi lover (which I am not) I am told its the best in the country!

The Oryx Rotana has a good selection of food from varies regions of the world, and is one of my favourites as its the only one so far I have found pickled herrings (rollmops)

Parking in all of the above is easy, if you cannot find a space, valet parking is readily available.



 

Qatar Zoo

Now I know its been a while, and I have to say that its just down to pure laziness that I have not written for such a long time. BUT..... I have to put today down in writing. I have been working at a fabulous school here in Qatar, with some wonderful children. However today was a bad day.

We took some of the children to the Zoo....... it was like a living hell,a and that was for me, it must be worse for hte poor animals that are trapped there. I have never seen such poor, miserable animals before. The elephant looked particularly poor, and to be honest, had I had a bolt gun with me I probably would have put it out of his misery. The cages for the big cats were small. If i take into account my en-suit, then my bedroom area was probably bigger! and there were 2 or 3 of each within the space provided. The crocodiles live in what we would call in england, and large puddle! I have seen bigger bodies of water when I forgot to turn the garden tap off whilst watering the back!

I am not an animal rights campaigner or anything so noble, just a person, like most of you reading this blog... but I was sickened and depressed at the condition of the animals and the living spaces / habitat they were provided. Given the space this country has, It beggers belief that they have cramed these poor creatures in such a small area. There was rotting food left in the baboons cage and, from what I saw, very few cages / enclosures had fresh water supplies.

The eating areas for people were bigger, but close to the cages, hence very smelly and, I can conclude, not very hygenic.

I love living here, and enjoy all that Qatar has to offer... but when ask about where to go and what to see..... I would recommend NOT EVER going to the zoo

Visiting the UK

So, its been a while, and I am sorry if you have come back time & time again and found nothing new... but basically, I have been to busy running here there and everywhere sorting out stuff for my sisters visit, and my return to the UK to see how everyone here is doing.

So, firstly Bradley, my eldest son.... he is fine, although really struggling to get any work at the moment, the UK job market is just getting harder and harder, and as he has a particularly strong idea as to what he wants to do, he cannot really find anything that will satisfy him... hopefully, he will lower his standards a bit and settle for anything that is going to bring the money in.

Nan- well she is still kicking strong. She has missed me, but is doing incredably well and seems to be enjoying her social club. We did have to take the cat to the vets, and sadly we have had to have her put to sleep, but i think this was a blessing in disguise, as she was not very well, and I am glad I was here to help out, rather than leave nan to deal with it alone. Nan was upset, but I dont think it was unexpected and she dealt with it really well.

The house - has a ceiling falling down! Brad had told me that the ceiling in the dining room looked a bit dodgy, but I did not really pay much attention to it, until I got back...I have now contacted the insurance company, and hopeful will have it sorted before I fly back to Qatar.

The weather here is really rough, and it so cold... bbbrrrrr

The swimming pool at Al Banush looks so inviting and I am so looking forward to getting back... see you all soon xx

Food from Al Banush

Eating out in Qatar is easy... there are restaurants everywhere. I have tried a variety of food I have not eaten before, I have tried foods from countries and cultures I have never heard of, and all in all I have enjoyed my experiences.

The restaurants here vary from dirty looking shanty buildings, but with amazing foods, to 5 star restaurants in the hotels and top class shopping centres in and around the Doha city centre.




Although all of the above is good for the palette and varied in portions, prices and appearance, I have yet to find anywhere that has the value for money that we get from Al Banush Club.

We eat there maybe twice a month, and I it never ceases to amaze me how they can serve delicious, top quality steaks, with fries, veg, and a variety of relishes for 20 QR, this is about £3.50!!!

We regular order a 2 course meal for 2, with soft drinks (non-alcohol allowed in the restaurant) dipping bread and sauces while you wait, and we get change from 70QR...Approx £12.00!!

The food is good, and cooked to perfection, the waiters are polite, friendly and attentive.... the wait maybe longer than we expect in the UK, but we are wrong to stamp out own standards on things when we are in another country. If you want food freshly cooked and served correctly sometimes you have to have a little patience.

We have family visiting over the xmas period and I think we will be eating there regularly....it will be cheaper to take them there for a meal then it would buying in enough food to feed them all!!

What to do on Friday evening??

So once again the weekend starts and we have Friday Champagne Lunch booked at the Marriott Hotel to celebrate a friends birthday!

That was great as usual, BUT, on this occassion, it was the after party that was worth the wait. We all headed back to Mesaieed, and (after a short afternoon nap) headed to Simon and Dawns (next door) for a "pool party". Si had managed to get his hands on a projector, and with some serious furniture moving, the book case ends up in the garden, our garden furniture ends up in their garden, we have a BIG screen movie night!

So 7pm and us ladies had patiently waited our turn, all the kids and men had been in and were now out of the pool..... in we get.. lilo chairs with cup holders (holding bottles) and for the next hour we are laughing out little heads off whilst drinking and bobbing around the pool. Only the delicious smell of BBQ was enough to tempt us out.

Then on goes the movie! projected onto the massive rear garden wall, we sit and watch "The A Team"

I dont know what you all did on Friday night, but I have to say there was very few places I would rather have been, and very few people I would rather have spent the evening with!

All in all an excellent night was had by all.... and it was enough to convince my hubbie we need a pool, so we are off shopping today!!

The Pearl Qatar Project

As everybody knows by now, the Middle-East is quickly becoming one of the biggest tourist attractions around, not only because of its warm climate and beautiful sights but also because of its boundary-pushing architecture.

They already have the recently opened Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the famous palm-tree island resort, dozens of jaw-dropping 5 and 6 star hotels, (with accompanying shopping malls and spas of course) and now, Qatar are in the final stages of their latest project, The Pearl Qatar project.

Standing at a staggering four million square metres, the Pearl Qatar project is set to be one of the biggest and most expensive Shopping, tourist and residential resorts any country has undertaken. Here's the clincher though; because it's built entirely on reclaimed land and is “owned” by several foreign entities, the Qatari ban on alcohol does not apply. (good news for it's foreign visitors and residents as alcohol is under strict laws throughout the rest of the Qatar).

Upon completion there will be over thirteen individual islands within The Pearl Qatar project, with the largest island featuring a host of luxurious villas, apartments, 5-star hotels as well as two million square metres of retail stores, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other entertainment outlets. Eight of the thirteen islands will eventually go up for sale to private buys, all of which can build whatever they please once they've signed the contract. That's not even including the myriad of schools, community facilities, yacht hubs, town houses, beaches and marinas that'll be there too!

Part of the Pearl Qatar Project has been completed with apartments already up for rent, shops are open and cafes along the marine open for business. Visitors can sit out on comfortable sofa’s with a glass of wine and watch enviously as the luxury yachts sail in and out of the marina.

Why name it the Pearl though? Well, it's all down to the part of sea that the entire resort actually sits on top of. Qatar was once known for their quality pearls and one of their most famous pearl spots sits directly under the nearly-completed project. Once complete and open the site will not only represent their rich history in the pearl industry but will also look like one giant string of pearls.

It's always exciting and refreshing to see new designs and ideas with architecture and The Pearl-Qatar looks likely to once again further push the envelope on whats possible to create with man-power. Though it's not doubt cost an untold amount of money to create, you can't help but be flawed at the intricate detail and work the people have put in to create such an unbelievable work of art.

Anyone visiting the middle east should, if possible, visit the exciting and extra-ordinary Pearl Qatar project and witness the growing culture that the country holds.

Click here for more infomation on the Offical Pearl Qatar Project website

Eating out at Souq Waqif

We have been to Souq Waqif for dinner several times now and have found a few amazing restaurants that have exquisite food, in fabulous environments.
Recently we went to the Chinese restaurant called "Soy", which sits above Souq Waqif. I have to say, it is by far, the biggest restaurant I have ever been in.

It sits above a complete section of the marketplace and has a mass of windows overlooking the streets below. People watching from here is fascinating, and amusing!

The Soy Restaurant is decorated, as you would expect, in brilliant Red's and gold's, with large traditional wall covering and luxurious curtains. Although the restaurant is extremely large, there is a definite cosy feel to it, with the curtains being tastefully used to section off areas, giving you a feeling of privacy.

The food was amazing, both in tastes and presentation.
Like all restaurants in Souq Waqif, and indeed all of Qatar, no alcohol is allowed, but they do have a great "mocktail" menu, with lots of different fruit flavours available.

The menu was impressive with food listed from China & Thailand with different meats, fish, rice's & noodle. The sweet & sour chicken is to die for! Unless you have a big appetite, I suggest you only order one rice or noodle between two people, the portions are large.

Desserts look good to. The fried banana was exceptional, as was the coconut ice-cream.... so my husband says!
Service here was outstanding, with the waiters far enough away not to bother you, but close enough to give you 5 star service.

It was a wee bit expensive compared to other places we have eaten, but, personally, I felt it was worth the bit extra and I will definitely be eating there again.