Al Zubara Fort, slightly inland from the city, was built in 1938 during the reign of Shiekh Abdullah Bin Qaassim al Thani and was used by the military until the mid-1980s.
-Marhaba 2008

See the map below for an idea where the Fort is located.

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National Day 08 Celebrations

This blog appears to document more of my miserable moments than the happier times. Unfortunately, as this has become a habit, it is hard to change.
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Life after work is more or less becoming mundane over here. We come home, we cook, we eat, we talk cock, we watch movie(s), we check our emails, then we go back to our villa to sleep.

Once in a while, we will venture out to find new places to eat, depending on our whims and whines. Our latest adventure is the steakhouse named Bennigan’s Grill and Tavern. I’ll let the photos tell the story.

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If we’re not outside in the very humid summer heat, we’re hiding inside our villa, sleeping, watching movies, tv dramas or chatting about everything.

In Singapore, if you buy things direct from the authorized distributor (e.g. Canon), the cost is usually higher than buying from 3rd party shops (like Cathay Photos or Song Brothers). Here in Qatar, the reverse is true: all 3rd party shops prices are at least 10% more than the authorized distributor. I don’t really understand why this happens, could it be:
1) Higher overheads of 3rd party companies,
2) The distributor selling to companies at the same price as to consumers,
3) 3rd party companies are giving themselves large profit margins?

Somehow, the last option seems to be the most viable: It is not surprising to find sub-contractors here marking up 200% of the cost price. Strange.

Despite planning for a return in early August, my plans have been scrapped due to certain changes in home air ticket policy. Because of this, it is extremely not economical for me to fly home in July or August. I will most probably fly home in October on the 5 or 6th.

From the absence of condensate on my window 3 weeks back, the same A/C settings now produces a steady stream of condensate which dries out in the morning around 7am. There is a reversal of water heater and cool water from the tap. We used to keep the heater on to allow to have a nice warm shower in the morning and afternoon, now, we have to keep the heater OFF to have a nice cool shower. The heater has become a water cooler. The cold water tap now produces water that is hot to the touch.

Some say the worst has yet to come. In Aug/September, it is actually possible to have 50 degrees C and close to 100% humidity. When that time comes, I might actually die…

We just returned from a trip to Souq where we had a apple-flavored sheesha and ice tea (Danny’s British) and Turkish coffee (that’s me).

We went to Al Khariss Lebanese restaurant after bumbling around looking for a sheesha place. We actually went inside a traditional sheesha joint where only the locals go for pure tobacco sheesha and escaped hastily after realising there are no flavored sheesha.

We didn’t take many photos, but Danny had taken a photo of me billowing smoke. I’ll post it once I get hold of the photo.