I have been in Doha for almost 2 months. What an interesting place!

The weather was so intense to start with– it was like walking into a sauna. And apparently that was cool compared with when some people arrived! Some of the ceremonies team have been here 2 years with no rain!

My accommodation seemed lovely. A gihuge 3 bedroom apartment that I shared with Greg (Australian colleague). It was so new that we had to run the taps for a while to get rd of all the air in the pipes and wait for water to finally come through them. Our power was coming from a noisy generator outside. Thank goodness for air-conditioning though (not that it worked in every room) but it kept us cool.

The apartment got worse and worse and it began to seem more apparent how quickly they actually built the place. Air conditioners were leaking, sewage was going the wrong way back up the pipes etc. After a couple of weeks, we were moved to a lovely place. This time Greg and I were in a huge 5 bedroom house. Day 2, and we had to be moved again as I had somehow managed to flood my bathroom and bedroom. We moved a few doors down. The road/estate seemed like it was from Disney World! There was a communal (empty) swimming pool and mini gym etc. After a couple of weeks they finally filled the pool and a few days later we were allowed to swim in it after they had finished playing with chemicals etc.

So – eventually we are now very happy with our accommodation. We have new housemates, Mark, Matt & Andy who make fire. They are lovely and I will be sad to see them go as they are not working for the Closing Ceremony. Greg and I will be back to just the two of us in this huge house!

We arrived half way through Ramadan which is an experience in itself. I should probably give a crash course: Ramadan is the holy month. Muslims fast all day, then pray in the evening before feasting and partying until the morning prayer, when they have a nap, then go to work for 6 hours only (by order of the Ehmir) go home have a nap, get up, pray, and party all night again. Traffic gets nuts around 6pm, as everyone is rushing to the Mosque to get the praying over so they can eat something!! Apparently girls are supposed to be even more conservatively dressed than usual, which I found quite strange at first. Hot weather = vest top. But I have quickly adapted to wearing sleeves.

Alcohol (or lack of) has not been a problem. Alcohol is illegal over here but you can buy it in hotels and there are one or tow bars around. Other than that there is the QDC (Qatar Distribution Centre) that sells alcohol. You have to get an alcohol license and you are limited to what you can spend in there depending on your wage – there is a monthly limit. What you buy must be for your own personal consumption. During Ramadan, you can not buy alcohol AT ALL! So, the QDC very nicely allow you to buy two months worth of alcohol in the lead up to Ramadan. There were many people arriving during Ramadan, so there were a few very nice people stocking up on beer for people like me! Philby bought 200 crates of beer on his limit (remember now – personal consumption!) before Ramadan started as he had about 40 crew turn up during Ramadan (I am in the minority being a girl out here – in the Technical side of things anyway!)

Having drinks anywhere but your own place is something to pay attention to. You can’t obviously get flag down a taxi and request to be taken home. Apparently this happened to a bunch of Stage Managers and the taxi driver took them straight to the Police Station to be arrested for drinking! Walking home after drinking is also a big no no. You either need to stay the night there or order a special limousine taxi who are prepared to take you home!

The Qataris rarely use coins. OI have only been given one once as change. The rest of the time you need change that is less than the smallest note (about 15p) the shop keepers generally give you some sweets or chocolate to make it up! I always seem to get the sweets – not the chocolate damit!

We have been on a couple of desert trips, which have been amazing. 4WD through the desert up and down sand dunes! We left our accommodation at 2pm and headed out of Doha to the real sand. There was much squealing and laughing as we went down some huge dunes. Our driver was very good and it felt very safe (most of the time!!!) We stopped plenty of times along the way for photo opportunities. At one point you could look across the Gulf to Saudi Arabia. It was so excellent to see there was more to Qatar than just Doha!!!!! We stopped on a peak for a most glorious desert sunset, before travelling onto a camp for traditional dinner (lamb and chicken – basically kebabs cooked on the barbie with some salads – VERY TASTY!!!) We all gasped as we drove around the corner into the magical camp. There were a couple of canopies with cushions and rugs (like magic carpet rugs) to the side, then a square of rugs in the middle, some tables and chairs, and lanterns dotted around the place- very Bedouin. Finally, a taste of Arabia!!! We were near the sea, and went for a moonlight swim – and when you moved around it left a phosphorescent path. It was really cool!

So – the first trip we were back by 9pm. The second trip we actually stayed the night. It was amazing seeing the sunrise over the water and sleeping on the sand!

Driving - so, they drive on the wrong side of the road. Now, I use the term ‘road’ quite liberally here. The whole city is under construction, and a road you use one day can be in the process of being ripped up the next day. If you can see where you want to go – you can literally drive there in a straight line – forget the road – just drive over the dirt/sand to get there. The first accommodation we were in had no roads to get up close. It was as if we lived in a mini desert! Drivers are completely nuts – not quite as bad as India – but still pretty random. All the cars here have a warning alarm when you go over the speed limit. An interesting beeping noise. Very amusing!

People like to keep the plastic on the seats when they get a new car. You can even get your seats re plasticed to look good! People will even keep delivery stickers on their cars just to prove they have a new car!

So – randomly enough I met a girl from my school a few days ago! So I come to Qatar and still can’t get away from small world experiences. She was a couple of years below me – so I did not remember her but it was quite cool talking about people we knew!

The weather was really hot. Then it got cold. Ok – it is probably not as cold as England right now – but it is pretty cold and I did not pack sufficiently for these temperatures. Also – after no rain for months, we have had a week of constant rain. The worst – of course was the day of the Opening ceremony itself. What a nightmare.

Work – the Games! Opening Ceremony has been and gone. It was Friday 1st December and was amazing. Unfortunately the weather did ruin it somewhat – lots of automation and flying had to be cut due to the wind and rain. It was very sad to see all this hard work missed from the show. I think the show still came across well and has had amazing reports.

The cauldron being lit was amazing – The Emir’s son, whilst holding the torch, on a horse running up a ramp the height of the stadium. At the top the Torch lit a gold star, which turned upwards within revolving circles of the cauldron.

See the links below if you want to find out more.

http://www.dohaasiangames.org/gis/menuroot/news/article.aspx?id=1672

http://www.dohaasiangames.org/gis/menuroot/news/article.aspx?id=1682

Now sport (what is that?!!) has started. I am putting in the night shift at the Radio Shack whilst ceremonies are getting themselves out of the stadium to make room for what they call sport. I am hoping for some days off and even go and see some of the random sport they play here in Asia. Kabaddi – where players continuously chant ‘Kabaddi-Kabaddi’ to prove they are holding their breath (?). The other sport I shall try and see is Wushu. This is martial arts with swords and spears!

Anyway – I am not sure I will have time to email again. If you are interested check out my deserted website. I have been putting photos on their but I am feeling quite unloved by the lack of messages this time so please – keep them coming!

Hope you are well – will be home in less than 3 weeks now!

Tracey x