Qatar, Doha, 17-23 November 2012
The time zone has gone backwards another hour so it gets dark at 1730 and once the sun goes down it gets cold. There is always a breeze blowing which keeps things pleasant during the day.
This place is having a makeover, it looks like they want to be the Cultural Centre of the Gulf countries. The Museum of Islamic Art is new and quite impressive, the 5th Annual Doha Film Festival is on right now with the focus being on Muslim films, no expense spared and the National Museum is being rebuilt which means it’s not open at the moment.
Lots of new construction and lots of older buildings not well maintained.
Big SUV’s abound and Public Transport is by bus similar to Abu Dhabi but here you need a Smartcard no cash. Traffic is denser, less disciplined, running red lights is the norm and horns sound.
This time last year, I was crossing from Mexico into Belize on my bike, another world altogether.