Safe driving or death by landcruiser?

Is it just me, or has driving in Qatar improved?

When I first arrived in Qatar, I used to reckon on about three scary incidents per trip. Now, while there is still plenty of bad driving going on, I often have trips where there are no scary incidents at all.

It is also possible that my driving has adapted to Qatar conditions. It’s certainly true that after a while here you seem to sense what cars are going to do. One handy tip that has helped me a lot is to rely on the position of cars on the road rather than their indicators to tell you whether they are going to turn or not.

However, I do think that driving has improved somewhat, and it seems to be backed up with statistics, with fewer road deaths last year.

When I asked Mike, a British expat who has been here for five years, he agreed with me.

“One thing that has happened since the new traffic laws have been brought in is a real fall in the speed of cars,” he said.

Thomas, a British man on his third visit to Qatar, also felt that the standard of driving had improved since his first visit two and a half years ago.

“Overall the standard of driving is better, although there are still some total idiots about.”

“People drive more carefully,” agreed Shinta, an Indonesian lady, “especially in regard to traffic lights. In fact, people will now stop at traffic lights at any cost.”

Another resident's memory stretches back a bit further:

"It's true people drove faster when I first came here 20 years ago," said Arun. "However, I believe that this is more to do with the fact that there is much traffic here now."

However, when I asked a Japanese lady whether she thought driving had improved, she shook her head firmly.

"Not at all. Not one bit."

"In fact," added her passenger, "I think it has got worse."

Also see our Ninety Second Guide to Driving in Qatar

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7tj Doha Cultural Festival

The 7th Doha Cultural Festival will be starting this week on Thursday 26th February, and will be opened by the Emir at the Sheraton Hotel. The opening will feature an operetta, Qatar, Land of Love and Peace (which it actually is in comparison to some of the neighboring countries!), a parade of dhows and fireworks on the Corniche.

The festival will feature a range of events, including folk shows, calligraphy, children's cinema, flamenco and a desert love exhibition (?!?)

The festival has a beautifully designed website (white doves fly across the background of Doha's bay). Unfortunately, especially after considering all the effort that has obviously gone into the website, many of the links don't work, but you can find the full schedule on DohaFestival.net.

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Al Dafna from the Sheraton Hotel

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Mobile Broadband Service for Qatar

Qtel have launched a new mobile broadband service which will enable users to access the internet via their laptop from anywhere in Doha, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan, Messaieed, Al Khor and Ras Laffan.

To use the service laptop users need to buy a USB modem and data only SIM card, and then subscribe to a price plan, which varies from QAR 100 - QAR 300.

The USB modem can be bought for QAR799, although laptop users who already have the appropriate devices will not need to purchase it.

Qtel has stated that speeds will be similar to home ADSL in Qatar - i.e. slow!

In other telecommunications news, eight companies have expressed an interest in bidding for a second fixed line licence. Whether this will make a huge difference to internet connection speeds remains to be seen - a Qtel engineer told me that internet problems were due to infrastructure problems caused by problems with poor quality material, and could not be easily solved.

Nevertheless, given the huge unpopularity of Qtel, when there are some competitors around I'd imagine some people will be saying, "Okay, let's connect - but not with Qtel."

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British Embassy Open for Business

The British embassy is now open for business again in its new location in West Bay. It’s actually the first embassy to open in the new diplomatic area, which is fitting as the British were also the first to establish an diplomatic presence in Qatar.

Surprisingly, given that Qatar was under the influence of the British government from the 19th century, and British policy effectively gave rise to the emergence of Qatar as an independent nation (see the Rise of the Qatar Ruling Family), this wasn’t until 1949, when a single political agent had to work and live in the same room.

The British Political Agency 1952

Just as the first diplomatic presence, built at the end of the pearl fishing era and shortly after the discovery of oil in Qatar (but before its production), reflected Qatar’s relative unimportance at the time, the new embassy now reflects the growing relevance this gas-rich country has.

The embassy is not only larger, but has increased facilities for businesses and conferences. Roddy Drummond, the head of Mission, has also promised that the embassy will be more involved in the community.

Flag Raising at the New Embassy
Although the flag has been raised and business is as normal, the official opening will not be held until the end of March. The visa section will not be included in the embassy, and will remain in Sherif Building opposite the Toyota Towers (tel: 4622159/4621544.)

Embassy Contact Details:
Tel: 496-2000
Fax: 496-2086

Getting There

To get to the embassy, head down to West Bay towards the new exhibition centre. At the roundabout just past the exhibition centre do a U-turn. You will then need to take the first left turning off the road - it's easy to miss as the road is not complete yet - you will drive over a dusty ramp. Drive straight ahead, over the first roundabout, and take the third exit off the second roundabout you come to. Drive to the end of the next road and take a left. You will see the embassy to your left, and there is parking available to your right.

Map

The British embassy has also provided a map, which we have included below - click on it for the full-sized image.

British Embassy Map

Registration

The British Embassy encourages British residents in Qatar to register with them. If you haven't already done so you can enter your details on-line via the Locate service.

Also see our Full List of Embassies in Qatar

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World superbike racing returns to Qatar

The World Superbike Championships returns to Qatar this weekend, with races being held at Losail International Circuit from 21st to the 22nd February. Unlike the Moto GP, which also comes to Qatar and may this year feature a night race, the Superbike races features tuned versions of actual production models - which can, of course, be seen on display at the races. For more information about the races telephone 4729151/ 4379761.

Also see: Qatar Moto GP

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Eating Out: Breakfast at the Sandwich Cellar

If you fancy a slap-up English breakfast for a change, you could do worse than visit the sandwich cellar on Ras Abu Aboud Road.

Don't make the same mistake we made - when we first arrived we thought the place was shut, as, from the outside, it looked dark. Perhaps they need a sandwich board outside!

Inside the cafe is cheerfully decorated with all sorts of odds and ends calculated to make you homesick for the England of yesteryear: a sort of greasy spoon with attitude.

For breakfast we settled for the full monty: sausage, bacon, eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and hot toast, all served with freshly made orange juice and a huge pot of tea.

Obviously, the bacon and sausages will be made with pork substitutes, but while scoffing away with an appetite honed by months without an unhealthy British breakfast, we didn't notice.

While we didn't try any of the other items (we were too full), there are a number of other dishes on the menu. These included some British stalwarts: Bangers n' Mash, Ploughmans and Steak and Kidney pie.

Given the name of the place, it is not surprising that the Sandwich Cellar do sandwiches which they will, upon request, deliver to your office. Sandwiches on offer include Zorba the Greek (feta cheese, sliced black olives, low fat yoghurt and salad), You Must Be Smoking (smoked salmon, smoked cheese, scrambled eggs, lettuce and cucumber) and Down Mexico Way (chicken, tomato salsa, guacamole, sour cream and lettuce).

The only thing they didn't have was some Qatar sandwiches. Perhaps they could introduce a few local specialities - we thought, given the importance of gas to Qatar, that the QP Gas Monster (baked beans on wholemeal bread - perhaps sprinkled with bran?) would go down well.

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Tennis: Qatar Total Open

The Qatar Total Open will start on February 18th, and will be held until the 24th of February at the Khalifa Tennis Complex. The competition has come a long way from when it started in 2001 with prize money of $170,000 - it is now a tier 1 event, with some of the world's top players competing for a total of $2.5 million in prize money.

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Qatar Government: Hukoomi

Qatar E-government has recently been revamped - and renamed. It's now known as Hookomi, which means government. The revamp has introduced a range of additional services, with the aim of streamlining government and enabling residents to do more without having to make the dreaded trip to government departments.

Hookomi now provides 57 e-services, from getting an exit permit to obtaining a post box online. There are also plans to add many more services in the future, until the website, in its own words, "becomes your chief connection with the government of Qatar and all that it offers."

To use the website, you can either select e-services - or if you just want information you can select view all services - or you can choose which category of user you are: visitor, citizens and residents or business. Each category will provide you with a range of relevant options.

To use the service you may need to register, either with a smart card or with a personal registration. Smart card registration can be completed on-line, after which a smart card will be issued.

On a brief survey, Hookomi was both attractive and easy to navigate and use. I only wish my own country had a central website that was as easy to use.

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Qatar Travel: An Easy Ride

A combination of superb service from Gulf Air and the excellent Al-Maha service made one disabled traveller's trip an easy ride.

This was my first visit to beautiful Qatar, to visit my daughter and her family, but I was rather apprehensive about the journey and the whole transit process! I usually travel with my able bodied husband, and as I am slightly disabled and unable to walk very far, I was worried about changing planes, finding the correct departure point at the various airports and then actually managing to deal with the visa process and with finding my luggage, (and my family), at the final destination of Doha!

I need not have been concerned. From the point of checking in with the charming Gulf Air staff at Heathrow, and admiring the elegant uniform too, I was looked after so well all the way that I was amazed! I was taken to a waiting area, and then transported by wheelchair down seemingly miles of corridor and moving walkways to the boarding where I was able to walk on board and was seated in an aisle seat to make me more comfortable. After an excellent flight (good movies, good food and good staff too) we landed early at Bahrain, where I was taken by ambilift to the terminal and then escorted with wheelchair to the correct departure gate by a charming porter (although he did get lost initially!)

We took off again and shortly landed at Doha, where again the ambilift took me to the terminal, and there a member of the Al Maha staff was waiting to accompany us to their lounge area, where they took possession of my passport and processed the visa, whilst I sat in comfort with a complementary glass of orange juice! No stress here...

Then the beautiful girl from Al Maha escorted me and the pre-booked porter to baggage reclaim where they located my bag, loaded it onto a trolley and took me to the door of the building, where my daughter was waiting! The airline staff member then wheeled me out to the waiting car - and we set off to see the rest of my family! I have travelled a great deal in my life, and this was one of the easiest journeys I have undertaken - looking forward to visiting again, without any qualms now.

(Note - the Al Maha meet and greet service can be booked at any Qatar Airways outlet or at Doha airport.)

Jean Rasbridge is the owner of a disability business supplying power wheelchairs and other disabled equipment as well as the author of numerous articles on disability.

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Qatar Internet: Another Internet Cable Goes

According to the National Terrorist Alert, yet another internet cable has been broken - this time between the Qatari island of Al Haloul and the UAE.

While two and even three damaged cables could be coincidence, with a fourth going we can’t help wondering if there has been sabotage.

It has certainly been a frustrating time, both for us and other internet users, despite Qtel claims to have minimised problems in Qatar.

While we have been able to access our blog (obviously) we have been unable to update the website from Qatar for several days. That’s been particularly annoying, as we have two pages on the website which have a problem with code.

On our QP jobs page the jobs are not showing, and on our Arab currencies pages only half of the currencies are showing. Unfortunately, until the internet is back to normal, we can’t do anything about them.

Other internet users are having similar problems. One business woman, on a trip to Qatar, is having difficulty keeping up with work from home, complaining that it took 30 minutes to complete work on-line that would have taken taken just ten minutes at home.

Meanwhile, many internet users in a far poorer country can surf without a problem. In third-world Sudan computer owners just stick in an aerial, buy a scratch card and surf without a problem.

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Cormorants

Cormorants dry their wings at the harbor by Doha's Corniche.


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Lulu Hypermarket Attempts to Detain Blogger

Life on the Spot reports that Lulu Hypermarket tried to detain Mavis, one of the two writers who maintain the blog, for writing down the prices of products at the shop. The long running Doha blog produces a yearly cost of living list, but this time Mavis was told that noting down prices was not allowed, and that she could not leave the shop. The head of security for the hypermarket was also called. The blogger was eventually released after her husband had placed a call to the police.

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