DAY 1

I turned down a job in Doha, Qatar because many people told me that it was the most underdeveloped country in the region but what put me off more was the fact of living in one of the hottest areas of the world – I pictured myself baking in the sun. Nevertheless, kismet took me there for two days and I had a chance to see what I missed out on.

I flew on Qatar Airways which took some six hours from London. It’s a fairly new national carrier and the network has expanded rapidly. It is a cool airline with multi-ethnic staff ranging from India, Pakistan, Russia and the Far East - English speaking of course.

We landed and the airport seemed to be partially under construction, ‘under developed’ were the words going through my mind. I alighted onto the tarmac and felt the slap of heat on my face, how was I going to tolerate the intense climate?

For those that don’t know, Doha is in Qatar, on the Arabian Peninsula, nicknamed the ‘Thumb of Asia’. Until recently it lived under the shadow of the United Arab Emirates but has made its mark on the international scene with the establishing of Qatar Airways, Al Jazeera and the Asian Games that took place in Doha in December 2006.

The Al Thani family have been ruling since the 18th century and signed a treaty in 1916 with the British and became a protectorate. When Britain announced it would withdraw all forces from the Gulf, Qatar decline to become part of either the United Arab Emirates or of Saudi Arabia and chose to become an absolute monarchy in 1970, and in 1971 gained full independence. After immigration I grabbed a taxi to my hotel, freshened up and put mind to matter by ignoring jet lag and ventured out into the city. I had no idea about the local demography but on embarking the hotel vicinity I noticed that most retailers were Iranian and most taxi drivers South Indian.

I whistled for a cab and asked for a quick tour of the city before attempting to cross off item-by-item on my long shopping list. I was instantly impressed that if this city was the least developed in the region, considering the staggering construction and a breathtaking coastline with shades of blue and green then the most developed would leave me lost for words.

We were driving along Al Corniche, which is the city’s waterfront. It is a palm-lined five mile stretch of sand and sea and is frequented by locals and tourists for jogging, strolling or picnicking. I noticed that the masjid were fairly simple and were only accompanied by one minaret. It was a good way of taking in the city and without knowing it, I had reached retail heaven, ‘City Doha Center’ to get all the tax-free retail therapy side of things done and dusted.

This is the largest shopping mall in the Middle East and apparently the 7th largest in the world. It is a city within a city with over 400 retail outlets representing top international and home-grown brands including Qatar’s first hypermarket, Carrefour and a slice of Oxford Street with Debenhams.

To me it was run-of-the-mill but I had to make use of the prices. The mall is a new concept in this part of the world but I wanted to experience local shopping so decided to go to the souk and hunt down exotic goods.

This was a different world altogether with outlets the size of a room, shop fronts displayed like landscaped hills made from spices and herbs.

I was after something that UK customs would not think looked dodgy i.e. coloured powders, then saw house accessories right up my alley. I was haggling for five minutes and helping myself to the shop owners calculator to agree a price, we were faced with linguistic challenges nevertheless we reached an agreement and I bought a couple typical Qatari cushions covers which were to look like giant sausages once filled in. Pleased with myself, I rewarded myself with some local cuisine.

Qatari cuisine originates from the nomad Bedouins who ate whatever was available in the desert, it developed uniquely into a menu of its own. Sea food dishes are finger licking, common dishes include shrimps, crab, tuna served with rice, on the meaty side of things there is ‘Match bous’ which is spiced lamb with rice or ‘Hareis’, slow cooked wheat with lamb.

Local desserts are truly mouth watering, there is a local version of the bread pudding called ‘Umm Ali’, ‘Mehalabia’ made with pistachios and rose-water or ‘Ash Asaraya’ which is like a cheesecake topped with cream, the alternative would be Baskin & Robbins but I stuck to Qatari desserts in Qatar.

DAY 2

I was over my jet lag and shopping spree but had more touring instore.

I had breakfast atthe hotel which was more or less continental as well as halal bacon which they confusingly named ‘fried strips of beef’, weird name! Don’t tell me they call the juice ‘wine’ here? I thought to myself. After an injection of brekkie fuel I walked along the long Corniche to the Qatar National Museum, a prominent landmark.

Built in 1912 as a palace for the ruler Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, it was rebuilt in 1972 to house the National Museum and opened to public 1975. It consists of the Old Palace, the State Museum, a lagoon, an aquarium containing diverse marine life and regal gardens. I was busy observing inch by inch of the architecture, it was pleasant to see that certain royalty were not ostentatious, the modesty was impressive by itself.

Being a building fanatic I could not miss out on other old buildings, for all I knew they could soon be overcasted or demolished for skyscrapers as has been the case in Dubai.

Al Kout Fort is one of Doha’s oldest military fortresses right in the centre of town. It gives you an insight to the country’s heritage, military history and passage of time. And Al Waibah built in 1882 is another fort of significance which witnessed famous battles against Ottoman rule in 1210Ah / 1893CE. Surprisingly this took most of the day but worth it.

The city is a melee of modern and traditional, Bedouin traits are ingrained in the culture with tents in the desert and skyscrapers in the cities. If I had stayed longer I would have tried falconry and desert safari.

One thing for sure, if I am offered a job there in Qatar again I’d seriously consider it, at least it doesn’t have winters.