Happy birthdays to us!

The last few weeks have been busy. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary on November 15th and both of our birthdays in the 2 weeks. There are some fantastic places to eat here and we've been making the most of them!

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.  I will add more from my birthday when I can.

We really had a wonderful time.  A big thanks to everyone who sent cards and presents!

Souq Waqif

There are things that I enjoy about living in Doha, but it can sometimes feel a bit samey.  Once you're inside one of the many shopping centres, you could be anywhere in the world and it sometimes feels as though I've never left the UK.

The things that I like most are the unique things and that's why I love Souq Waqif so much.  Could I be in Lincoln?  Oh no.  This is another world and despite the fact that this world is made up of 90% men who stare along as women wander down the street, I love it.

We first visited in May when we were in town for Rich's interview when his friend took us to a Moroccan restaurant for dinner.  I went back in my first week with my colleagues, but this was only Rich's second trip.  When we returned last weekend it was far busier than I'd seen it, due to the fact it was Eid and it seemed like the whole city had turned out.  

We enjoyed a wander round the various Eid attractions, found the animal Souq for the first time and then stumbled into the bird area which completely freaked me out.  If you know me, you'll know that a large bird flying straight for my head is my idea of hell on earth. I got out of there pretty quickly.

We ended our evening with a visit to Royal Tandoor, and I posted a review earlier on so have a little look here.  There are so many restaurants at the Souq that I want to try and the options are far more varied than I initially expected.  There are also a huge variety of shops selling everything from spices to clothes to fabric to hardware and at some point I'll have to pluck up the courage to go shopping there and haggle for some bargains.  

So aside from ensuring that I don't wander into the bird souq again, this is one place I'll keep visiting again and again. 

I want all the sparkly, pretty fabrics!

Absolutely packed.  All walking was at a shuffling pace.

Traditional and modern.  That's Doha.

Restaurant Review - Royal Tandoor

We had been looking to go for a curry for a week or two so when I found that there was one rated well on Tripadvisor in Souq Waqif, where I wanted to go back to, it seemed the perfect place to try.

The Souq was so busy when we went on Thursday evening as everyone was out for Eid celebrations, so we actually missed this small restaurant the first time we passed it.  I'm glad we came across it though.

Inside the restaurant there are only 10 or so tables, with about the same outside. The staff are efficient and the decor is nice but not showy.  This little spot is a world away from the plush hotel restaurants, but that was what we wanted.

We opted to share 6 Samosas to start which were delicious.  Lovely flaky pastry and just the right amount if spice for me.

We were advised the butter chicken would serve 2 so we ordered one portion, along with garlic rice and garlic naan. It suited us perfectly but would be on the small side for some people. I'm not an expert but this was the most delicious curry I could remember ever having.  Rich flavours and nice and mild for me.  The rice was perfect and the naan delicious too with plenty of each to share. We finished the naan, but not the rice. 

As the restaurant is located in the Souq you won't get a beer with your meal, so if a Cobra is an essential accompaniment to your curry, you'll need to look elsewhere. We stuck to water and this is how the meal works out.

Samosas  QR 20

Butter chicken. QR 40

Garlic rice. QR 22

Garlic naan QR 5

One large mineral water  QR 5

Total QR 92 which is currently £15.63

We will definitely head back to Royal Tandoor as we really couldn't fault it for the price.  We like to head out to eat at least once during the week so a reasonably priced curry is always a good option to have.

Royal Tandoor, Souq Waqif. Telephone 4444 3244 / 4432 3255 Delivery and delivery available.

This Weekend

This weekend we have been pretty chilled after a few days off work.  Of course weekend here are Frday and Saturday for anyone confused about why I'm posting this on a Saturday night.  Our weekend is almost over, but at least I have tomorrow off as well before I head back to school on Monday.

So this weekend has been spent...

Wandering round Damien Hirst's Relics exhibition and pondering what it all means.

Strolling round the adjacent park and enjoying the Museum of Islamic Art all lit up. 

Heading to the Souq for curry and watching men make tea over hot coals.  I plan on posting about the Souq and our curry later in the week as it deserves a post all to itself.

Beginning Friday by lazing by the pool and topping up my tan.

Spending Friday browsing at Landmark Mall and Ezdan Mall and wanting a large stuffed rhino. 

Falling in love with these glamorous glasses in the Charles and Keith sale.  I am being sensible with money until payday though, so these babies did not come home with me. 

Having a lazy stroll around Aspire Park as the sun set. 

Watching so much Breaking Bad I can barely believe how we fit it all in.  We are hooked. 

Doing our weekly shops on Saturday morning and then heading for a coffee.  I found out on Friday that Rich thought a cappucino had chocolate in it and had done for 5 years.  I have pointed out they don't (he feels this would explain why they don't taste like chocolate) so I've not introduced him to mochas.  He is now happy. 

Trying on these beauts in M&S of all places and letting my Mum know I'd like them for Christmas if possible.

Lounging by the pool and re-reading Revenge Wears Prada.

Giving myself a stomach ache from too much chilli con carne.  And moaning about it whilst watching more (yes more) Breaking Bad.

What have you been up to this weekend?  And, most importantly, do you watch Breaking Bad?

Damien Hirst's Relics Comes to Doha

We had a busy Thursday evening and I've decided to split the evening into 3 posts to give them all the attention they deserve.  First up is our visit to Damien Hirst's Relics exhibition.

The photos that accompany this post are a little grim.  After all, that's what Damien Hirst is known for so if you have a delicate stomach then you might not want to read on.

Still with me?  Well OK then.

The exhibition is being held in the Al Riwaq exhibition space next to the Museum of Islam Art park and you really can't miss it.

After this point I had to give my camera to security but luckily camera phones were allowed so Rich got plenty of snaps.

The exhibition was pretty much exactly what I expected, having read about the pieces in the media.  The works are provocative and centred around death so this isn't one to go to on a queasy stomach.  I also wouldn't recommend it for children, but there were an awful lot of little ones there.

Black Sun is an enormous circle comprised of dead flies and resin.  I wasn't sure what to make of this but you'll see that my combined feelings of confusion and distaste are a common theme. 

Faithless.  So beautiful but made up of hundreds of butterfly wings and so sad to look at.  

Mother and Child Divided which must be one of the most famous Damien Hurst pieces.  At first I found this totally disgusting, but as I walked through it and really fascinated me.  I think that's the common theme from the collection.  Disgusting and fascinating.  

As you can see, disgusted!

Despite the morbid curiosity towards them, the pieces that I enjoyed most were the non animal ones.  I loved this although I don't have the name.  The ball is supported by a steady stream of air and although you know it won't drop, it's compelling to watch it bob around over their knives.

The spots paintings are so beautiful and so interesting, but this one, with lines as well was mine and Rich's favourite. 

Rich wasn't overly bothered by the medicine cabinets and Pharmacy but I really liked the colours in these depicting the seasons.  This is Summer.

We also saw the diamond skulls but this was the one area in which we weren't allowed to take photos.  

Now I'm no art critic, as I'm sure you'll have gathered from this post, but I'd recommend that you go and see the exhibition if only for the chance to make your own mind up about the art.  It's a very different experience to seeing pictures online and in the papers and although I can't pretend to understand everything about the pieces, I certainly enjoyed it more than I had anticipated. 

The exhibition runs until 22nd January and opening hours are as follows.

Sunday 10.30am-5.30pm

Monday 10.30am-5.30pm

Tuesday Closed

Wednesday 10.30am-5.30pm

Thursday 12pm-8pm

Friday 2pm-8pm

Saturday 12pm-8pm

Entry is free.

Culture Shock

Until we visited Doha in May, I hadn't been anywhere in the Middle East before.  Neither had Rich.

My first impressions were that it was dusty, hot and basically a building site. Rich saw the positives in this. After all, his job is to sell equipment to the construction industry, but I wasn't sold at first. But nonetheless he was offered the job and we decided to take the plunge. 

It was almost 4 months between him getting that call and me finally stepping off that KLM flight so I had plenty of time to think about it and what we had decided to undertake.

I believe that any international move is difficult. That's not to say that there aren't positives. Obviously there are or we wouldn't do it, but it's difficult, especially at first. And I'm lucky because I've moved with Rich so I've not had to navigate all these changes on my own so it could be far harder. 

I struggled with the heat at first.  I mean this is the desert and it doesn't come much hotter than this, but 7 weeks in and I'm OK now. In fact I sometimes find a bit on the cool side, especially in the evenings and certainly in the crazy air conditioning of the malls.

I was also really wary of offending people at first.  I didn't really know how to greet people.  Was shaking hands going to be seen as a sign of affection that could get me in trouble?  And the mums in my class who wear the veil with only their eyes showing presented me with the difficulty of not having a clue whose parent they were when they came to collect at the end of the day.  I've gone from Spanish parents kissing me whenever they can, to being worried about offending with a handshake!  It's not too bad though.  even the children can't always spot their own mum so no one expects me to.

The city itself couldn't be more different to Valencia, or indeed anywhere else I've lived.  It's so modern and yet is holding on to traditions through areas like the Souqs and Katara, the cultural village, so you get a great mix of old and new.  It's just a shame you have to spend so long in a car to get around though, as I really miss walking and cycling around like we could in Valencia and now we spend so much more time indoors because of it.

Of course the biggest difference to our lives is how we can interact with each other.  We can't live together and Rich isn't allowed to enter our block of flats.  We can't hold hands in public or have a little cuddle and we do find that hard. I also wear far more covered clothes here.  I used to live in shorts and vest tops, but despite the heat, I'm in long skirts and trousers most of the time here.  You do see people showing their knees and shoulders, but it's not what I want to do when surrounded by local people, as the last thing I'd want to do is offend someone.

It's all manageable, and in the few weeks that I've been here, I have begun to get used to things and worry less about getting it wrong.  At least there are things that make it easier.  It's far easier to get hold of home comforts like Cadbury chocolate and they have Nandos here which is always a plus.  It does feel like a very different part of the world though, very far from home.  Time is helpful though.  What felt daunting 7 weeks ago is now becoming normal, so I'm sure that over the course of the next few weeks, months and years it will start to feel more like home.

This is definitely not Valencia.

Have you ever experienced a completely different culture? How did you find it?

Settling In

It was 1st September when I packed my bags again, ready to fly to Doha again. We were so lucky that we managed to visit in May.  It's not the kind of move that enables most people to do that, so despite the enormous expense at the time, it gave me a sense that I knew were I was going and that I would like it.

Rich had moved there in July so this flight was just me, via Amsterdam, and I was just relieved to get there and see his smiley face after a long day of travelling.

The first couple of weeks were a total whirlwind.  I landed at 7pm on the Sunday evening and was in work by 7am on the Monday morning.  Then I had a totally bare classroom to get ready for my class, although the children didn't start until the 10th so there was plenty of time.  It's just a daunting task when you're somewhere new (I found the same last year) although the second time around, I had a bit more of an idea of what I was aiming for. 

Luckily where I live is lovely.  It's school accommodation so I had no idea prior to moving in, but I've not been disappointed.  I share with 1 other girl and we share a huge lounge, dining room and kitchen area, with us each having our own bathroom and large bedroom.  All beds here seem to be Super King sized which is nice. The flats are brand new so everything's just so shiny.

I have plans to turn this into a proper girlie sanctuary, just as soon as the money starts rolling in.  Zara Home will not know what's hit it.

The one thing we lack at our block of flats is facilities.  Unfortunately we have no pool or gym, so I pop round to Rich's compound to use his.  I think I'd swelter if I didn't.  Rather brilliantly there's hardly anyone ever by his pool, especially after school (I finish at 2.15pm after being in school from 6.30am)so I love to go and relax in the blissful peace and quiet after a day of rowdy children. 

With temperatures like this, taken in my first week, you see why a dip was necessary. 

It's cooled down a bit now, especially in the evenings.  Back in September you barely noticed when the sun went down, it was so warm, but now evening swims aren't really possible as it's verging on chilly.  It's really pretty down there in the evenings though. 

So that was me really for the first few weeks.  In work early, away at 2.15 and off to the pool.  Then when Rich finished work we'd go to the shops for a wander around and some food before I'd have an early night and be up at 5.15am again.  

I'm getting used to the early starts and oddly I quite like it.  Starting and finishing early and having the afternoon to yourself is great as it gets dark early here ad I do love to laze by the pool.  Of course not living with Rich is very different and something to get used to, but I'm getting used to the limited time we have together in the evenings as well.  Otherwise I haven't found it too difficult. I was used to being away from my friends and family after a year in Spain so that side of things is just normal to me now.  That's not to say that there aren't days when I'd love to see people but between Skype, Facetime and Facebook, we manage. 

My class are just fantastic and I'm so lucky.  They're a Pre-School class (nursery age, like 3 years old) so it's a bit younger than I've been teaching, but they're such a great bunch.  I have quite a few English speakers as well which helps a lot and they're just really bright so I know we're going to have a great year.

I'll start to post about more specific things soon, but I hope this little post gives you an idea of where I am and what life's been like recently in case you're interested.

How do you think you'd find moving away from home? What do you think the challenges would be for you?