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.

Qatar Jobs

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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