The Center Mall behind the Ramada Hotel

This Mall in the centre seems to have lots of perfume counters that my wife enjoys going around. To the edges of the Mall there are clothes shops, a childrens furniture store etc. Also there is a Jumbo Electronics Store and Mega Mart that is a supermarket that for me seems to specialise in British type goods, but is also worth a visit to do your food shopping generally.

Outside and in the surrounding area where you can park is a Costa Coffee and other fast food stores around the place too.

Conveniently located behind the Ramada Hotel.

Alfardan Tower 39th floor Spa Chakra

There are two nearly identical towers about two streets away from City Center (the opposite side from the W Hotel/Kempinski Hotel) and on the 39th floor of one there is a spa.

I took my wife there for her birthday and we both were made very welcome and were given a nice spa treatment together. The views were spectacular and we had a nice time.

However, there were one or two matters that we did not think were up to scratch, some maintenance items (broken door etc) needed attention in the changing area. Also there were not many freebies of soap etc to be had, the spa charges high prices so we had expected something for us.

My wife and I then went to use the pool but I was not allowed in due to local women using the pool. However we were not told of this before we got changed. My wife was in the pool area enjoying herself, and I was sitting in the male changing room just waiting around getting bored.

We had quite a nice time on the day, but it was too expensive for what we got and the communication about the swimming pool was very poor and was a bit of a blot on things.

Qtel on Line

Qtel website

Qtel are the main telephone company here but they also do internet connections and cable TV services. They supply mobile lines as well as land line telephones.

On their website they have Epay where you can pay your bills to them by credit card (after you have set up an account with them) and you can also purchase credit to your mobile phone that pretty instantly gets added to your credit.

Qtel send your bill by text but unfortunately for me they do not send a pdf copy by email, however you can look on line at their website and log in to see your account details.

It is easy for me to top up my mobile from my desk rather than having to buy one of the prepaid cards in a shop, scrape off the pin number part and then dial up. Much less hassle on line.

The Coffee Bean Company

My wife and I have been to two of their branches, one in City Centre Mall and the other the Boulevard Mall (this is between Ramada Junction and La Cigale Hotel). This is a place to go and enjoy a relaxing time on the comfy sofas or enjoy the wi-fi facility on your laptop.

The service generally seems to be enthusiastic and efficient. I like the savoury snacks and they also do cakes etc.

My wife likes the coffee there but I must report that I am not a fan of their coffee and tend to purchase some other drink.

The Boulevard Shopping Mall at Al Mana Towers

This is a smaller shopping mall that is situated between Ramada Junction and La Cigale Hotel. There is parking there. It has a big British Home Stores (BHS) as well as two specialist chocolate shops on the first floor.

Downstairs there are two rival coffee shops next door to each other, Gloria Jeans and the Coffee Bean Company. They have lots of notices up about not smoking and on the day we visited thankfully people had obeyed these signs.

There is also a Krispy Kreme donuts stand there too. Worth popping in to this mall if you would like to get yourself a coffee and browse around the shops as well as enjoying the calming atmosphere.

Talking Matters Toastmasters Club Meeting on Saturday 27 August 2011 at 19.30

The Talking Matters Toastmasters Club continues it summer tour of other Doha Toastmasters Club and this next meeting will be held jointly with IEE-SQC Toastmasters Club. The details are:

Date: Saturday 27 August 2011

Time: 19.30 to 21.30

Venue: Shamriya Gardens Compound

The venue is located just off of Decoration Roundabout, turn right as you come from the Ramada crossroads and Shamriya Gardens Compound is on your right hand side about 100 metres from the roundabout. Turn into the slip road and go through into the compound.

Speeches will be given and evaluated. There will also be the fun table topics session too. Come along as a guest and see what goes on. Meet new people, join up and enjoy the fun. Free refreshments at the interval too!!!

We look forward to welcoming you

Doha Players

Doha Players are an amateur theatre group who are a bit nomadic I believe around Doha, and last played at the Doha Montessori and British School. They produce about five productions a year. Our friend badgers us to go and see some of their productions but to date we haven't.

The contact number for further details is: 4447 4911.

You can become an actor, behind the scenes person or just go along and watch a production.

Getting Your Bearings in Doha

Coming to a new town can be pretty daunting but Doha is fairly easy to get the basics.

From the airport turn right and right at the first major crossroads (that I call Toyota Crossroads as it has a big Toyota building on it) and this will take you onto the Corniche, this for me is the most beautiful drive in Doha. Follow this around and it will take you alongside the sea and across quite a few roundabouts. You will pass the Islamic Arts Museum on your right and then as you continue you will see a big skyline of new tower blocks and this is West Bay. If you generally continue around the coast from here you will pass the Exhibition Centre and get to the Pearl.

Back once again to the Toyota crossroads and instead of turning right when you come from the airport take a left and you will be on the C ring road. This, after a few crossroads will bring you to Ramada Junction where the Ramada Hotel is on one corner and a number of fast food restaurants on the other. If you continue on across the Ramada Crossroads then you will get to the main hospitals in Doha.

If you turn right at Ramada crossroads this takes you down towards the older area of Doha and the Souks. You will also get back towards the Corniche.

If you turn left at the Ramada crossroads this is the Salwa Road, another main artery and the main road to Saudi. The first roundabout underneath the Salwa Road that you come to (you have to turn off) will put you above the D Ring Road. If you go down to the D ring road, if you go right this will take you out towards the Landmark Shopping Mall, take the left and this will take you back to the Airport.

However, if you continue along the Salwa Road and the first main roundabout you get to (the D Ring Road one you have to turn off for) is called Decoration Roundabout. Unfortunately the Decoration shop that it is named after (this is just a nickname) is now gone. However, turn right at this roundabout and then at the first junction turn left. Continue down this boulevard and you will get to Villaggio Mall and Hyatt Mall on your right hand side just after the football stadium and the huge Aspire Tower.

When you have finished your shopping turn left and return along the road where you have just travelled on but carry straight on, cross all the roundabouts and junctions and you will end up back at the Corniche.

These for me are my skeleton roads and helped me to learn my way around Doha fairly quickly. You are bound to get lost occasionally but stick with it!!!

Talking Matters Toastmasters Club Meeting 19.30 on Saturday 27 August 2011

The Talking Matters Toastmasters Club continues it summer tour of other Doha Toastmasters Club and this next meeting will be held jointly with IEE-SQC Toastmasters Club. The details are:

Date: Saturday 27 August 2011

Time: 19.30 to 21.30

Venue: Shamriya Gardens Compound

The venue is located just off of Decoration Roundabout, turn right as you come from the Ramada crossroads and Shamriya Gardens Compound is on your right hand side about 100 metres from the roundabout. Turn into the slip road and go through into the compound.

Speeches will be given and evaluated. There will also be the fun table topics session too. Come along as a guest and see what goes on. Meet new people, join up and enjoy the fun. Free refreshments at the interval too!!!

We look forward to welcoming you.

Gloria Jeans Coffee Shop

This coffee shop is situated in the Boulevard shopping mall that is between Ramada Junction and La Cigale Hotel on the La Cigale side of the road. There is parking outside.

Gloria Jeans is a coffee shop chain and I like their coffee, having visited two of their branches in Dubai. This particular branch is situated on the right as you enter the mall. The seating overflows into the atrium where there is a Krispy Kreme donuts next door!

They do a nice selection of coffees, teas and snacks as well as newspapers to read. There are comfy sofas to sit on and of course wi-fi too.

Worth a trip inside to meet friends and to calm down!!!

Sheraton Hotel in 1982

How times have changed in West Bay since then!!! 

Latinos Restaurant in the Sheraton Hotel basement area

The Sheraton Hotel is in the West Bay area and was constucted sometime in the 1970's, it is on the Corniche. For me it looks like a piece of cheese. However, most of the hotel looks like it has been refurbished and we have been to Latinos once and we had a lovely time.

Just open in the evenings from 6pm to 2am and it does all manner of Latin food. The night we went it did a chuhaskaria that was pretty good (although no linguisa unfortunately - no pork here), this is when the waiters come round with skewers of meat and carve bits for you that you pick off with some tongs. You are also given a sign that says when you are full up or having a rest or you would like some more meat. There is also salad as well!!! And beer!!!!

Well worth a visit and the phone number is: 4485 4006

Latinos Website reviews from dining in Doha

The Dairy Queen by the Ramada Hotel

We have been here for a child's birthday party and for a couple of Toastmasters Club Committee meetings. The Dairy Queen is in the car park of the Ramada Hotel and right next to the busiest crossroads in Doha. You really cannot miss it and the parking is easy.

It is basically a hamburger joint and it certainly seems to be popular with children and with their parents wanting their kids to burn off a bit of steam. The play area seemed very good and the food was nicely served and the children had a great time. As to the adults, this adult enjoyed it but the food is what it is, fast food and this is generally only a last resort for me.

The Committee Meetings we attended were early (8am) on a Friday morning and it was adequate for us in that it was a central meeting place and we could get a coffee and hold our meetings too. Seemed quite busy even that early on a Friday so that must say something.

Worth popping in sometime if you want something quick.

Reviews at Qatar Living

KFC in Doha

I like the chicken sandwiches and I admire Colonel Sanders for the amount of restaurants he hiked his secret recipe round before someone finally took him up on his offer!

There are a few branches in Doha, the usual Kentucky Fried Chicken that I feel sure that you have had before. The stores generally have eat in, takeaway and home delivery.

The branches that I know of are on Airport Road, in City Centre food court and Landmark Mall. Feel sure that there are others around town so you are sure to find the place where you can get your KFC fix too.

The Doha Sailing Club

We went to a birthday celebration down at the Doha Sailing Club that is down near the Marriott Hotel off the Corniche. The club very conveniently has a waterfront view :-)

The birthday celebration was nice and there were quite a few club members at this. They made us very welcome and there is a big mixture of nationalities. If you are interested in sailing or would just like a few hours out on a boat I am sure that you will be made most welcome.

I get sea sick on a boating lake but if you are interested in more details, the Doha Sailing Club has a website and a Facebook page too.

The Italian Job Restaurant in the Ramada Hotel

The Italian Job restaurant is part of the Ramada Hotel, you need to go through the old building (left hand one) and the restaurant is in the garden area behind the swimming pool.

We have been there once and I enjoyed my food and the service was good. Unfortunately I had to drive and I looked enviously at other customers having a cold Peroni beer! The decor inside is a bit sort of rustic Italian farmhouse.

For me this is a good place to go to get pasta and pizza. The Ramada is generally easy to park too.

If you like Italian food then check this place out.

Trip Advisor reviews

Jumbo Electronics in the Center Mall behind the Ramada

This is the store to head to for your electronics and white goods. It is situated in the Center Mall that is behind the Ramada Hotel that is probably the place in Doha that everyone knows.

Worth popping in to the store for a browse around or for a definite item that you want before you go in. My pal Prasad works there so I like to pop in there occassionally and browse around too.

Check out your electronic and white goods at Jumbo!

Haagen-Dazs ice cream shops

I don't know anyone who doesn't like ice cream and Haagan Dazs has quite a few shops around Doha in the Malls. These can be found at:

• Villaggio Mall
• Landmark Mall
• The Mall (down in the Old Airport area)
• Souq Waqif

The sell, well ice cream! This you can eat in the shops or get a takeway cup or cone. They also do coffees and drinks too. They have an extensive menus of different concoctions so you can please yourself.

Haagan-Dazs website where you can search for other Haagan Dazs stores in Doha and look at all the flavours that they have.

Costa Coffee in the Exhibition Centre and at the Center Mall

Costa Coffee is one of my favourite coffee shops in the UK (Cafe Nero is better for me but I haven't found one in Doha!) and there are two branches that I have been to.

One is in the Exhibition Centre on the way out from City Centre Mall towards the Pearl. The Exhibition Centre is huge and inside the front there is a Costa. You can get your caffeine fix as well as being easy to park (provided that there is no exhibition on!). They also do snacks, teas, free newspapers to read and have wifi too.

The other branch I have been to is in the Center Mall area that is behind the Ramada Hotel. Just got a takeway coffee from here but this was good.

If you like Costa, then try these two out. They don't do the loyalty schemes here I don't think, but maybe you could start a demand?

There is also another Costa in Centre Point Mall as well.

Costa Coffee Doha on Facebook

Comfort Website - Stumble Upon

When you are not out and about in Doha or it is too hot, no doubt you will be spending lots of hours surfing the net. One way to refine your aimless wandering with the mouse is to use this website:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Basically you sign up for this website with a password and then you select as many of the generic interests that you have. There are about forty interests and these include photography, old movies, books, coffee etc, so there is quite a wide range.

Once you have selected your interests you can click the Stumble Upon button and the website will select a website related to your interest. You can also just Stumble using one of your interests.

In this way you can discover what is out there on the Web (OK only a small part) that is related to what you are interested in.

In this way you can while away hours on the web and also find out some interesting sites as you do so.

Admiral Club at the Ritz Carlton for breakfast

We telephoned beforehand and were told that no bookings were required for breakfast at the Admiral Club at the Ritz Carlton and we were informed that it opens at 10am. It was easy to park outside in the car park and we were the first people to arrive on a hot July morning for breakfast. The decor inside is nice and we were made to feel welcome.

We started off with the museli, yoghurts and cereal etc and this was fine. Unfortunately this was pretty much the last part that we enjoyed of our visit.

The place smells of stale cigarettes and then people arrived and were smoking in the bar area that just added to the unpleasantness. The coffee we had was not very nice and the prepared food was not good either.

It is such a shame as it has the potential to be really nice. The building is nice, the setting is wonderful but the majority of the tables for breakfast were empty, there was just one other couple there.

I really like parts of the Ritz Carlton (Porcinis, Bar 23, La Mer, the Christmas carols) but the smoking policy in the Admiral Club and in the Lobby Lounge that we have experienced means that we will not go back to those places.

LinkedIn Website

I thought that everyone knew about LinkedIn but apparently everyone doesn't!!!

If you are looking for a job in Qatar (or elsewhere) or you want to find people from past jobs or meet on line with people with similar interests then LinkedIn is for you.

Basically it is like Facebook for business. You sign up and then you can search for people that you know and link with them. Then you can look through their links and you will be able to network. Jobs are not guaranteed but it is a good source to supplement other areas where you may be looking (newspapers etc)

LinkedIn Website

Flowers in Dean and Deluca

Dean and Deluca is a New York based delicatessen with a branch in Villaggio Mall. For parking for this store you need to go out the back part of Villaggio.

In the entrance from inside the Mall they have a very nice flower stall and the flowers seem fresh and enticing. Generally the bunches are about 100 Riyals but they will make up arrangements to suit your budget.

While waiting for your bouquet to be made up you can wander round the store and eat the free cheese or maybe go to the cafe and have coffee, or maybe just do the rest of your shopping?

Dean and Deluca Website (US version)

Alishan Indian Restaurant

My wife and I went to a Toastmasters Club meeting in the room above the restaurant and quite a few people recommended the restaurant to us.

We therefore returned another day to have a meal. It is relatively easy to park outside as there is a rough area car park. The service was very good and the food was splendid. We had a nice table by the window to watch the world go by.

It is not licenced but the juices were very good and I also had a lassi as well.

We will definitely go back for a meal but the takeaway we had from there was not as good as other places.

Some reviews in Qatar Living

Talking Matters Toastmasters Club Meeting Monday 08 August 2011

The next Talking Matters Toastmasters Club will be a joint meeting with the QDC Toastmasters Club as per the following details:

Date: Monday 08 August 2011

Time: 19:00 (7pm)

Venue: QDC Offices Ras Abou Aboud Street

Come along and hear some prepared speeches and watch people overcome their fears and get encouragement from the audience and their peers. Enjoy the lively Table Topics session and maybe win a prize!

For guests it is free, so please come along and join with us and make some new friends.

Alison

Well it is mid summer now and Ramadan too this year (2011) and maybe you have a bit of spare time that could be put to good use?

One of the websites that I have discovered since I have been in Doha is http://www.alison.com/ and it has lots of FREE courses that you can do on line. These can vary quite a bit from web design, learning a Microsoft Office course, blogging etc.

I am currently going through the on line Microsoft Access course that I am finding really useful.

It is worth checking out the website and signing up for something and you can improve yourself too, all for free!!!

Alfardan Centre for Hamilton watches etc

The Alfardan Centre is situated near the Souq Waqif on a junction on Grand Hamad Street fairly near to the Corniche. On the first floor of this tower block is a shop that sells better quality watches.

My wife had bought me a Hamilton watch some time ago and the leather strap had worn through so we went to the Alfardan Centre to get a new one. It was nice to wander round and see the watches, a lot of them are to the local taste of being big and bold.

I got the replacement strap easily enough and we spent a pleasant time there. The strange thing for me was that they would not dispose of the old leather strap and were insistent that I took this away with me rather than put it in their rubbish bin. I still haven't quite worked that one out!

Al Jazeera Radio in Doha

Before I came to Doha I lived in Dubai and there were one or two reasonable western easy listening radio stations. I was a bit surprised that there was nothing similar to Virgin in Dubai etc.

However, in our early days in Doha (mid 2010), I did find Al Jazeera radio that for me was quite amusing on two levels for me.

Firstly what Al Jazeera have done is taken the voices from the TV programmes and put them on the radio. This is quite disconcerting as you will be driving along in your car and then the commentator will say something like "and as you can see there is snow driving down from the north west". In Doha? In August? It has you looking around a bit.

Another funny incident for me was that Europe was suffering from an ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland at the time. The commentator (straight from TV) had such a broad New Zealand accent that it took me some considerable time to work out what "Ayish" was.

If you like news type radio then maybe you may like to listen in. For me I lasted about 2 weeks.

Talking Matters Toastmasters Meeting on Monday 08 August 2011

The next Talking Matters Toastmasters Club will be a joint meeting with the QDC Toastmasters Club as per the following details:

Date: Monday 08 August 2011

Time: 19:00 (7pm)

Venue: QDC Offices Ras Abou Aboud Street

Come along and hear some prepared speeches and watch people overcome their fears and get encouragement from the audience and their peers. Enjoy the lively Table Topics session and maybe win a prize!

For guests it is free, so please come along and join with us and make some new friends.

Mega Mart Supermarket in the Mall (Behind the Ramada Hotel)

This supermarket has reasonable parking and is on one side of the Center shopping mall. The supermarket Mega Mart stocks a lot of British type goods and it is worth a visit to get the sort of foodstuffs that you have been missing from home.

For my wife and I it is not a place we would go to do our weekly shop, but some people obviuosly do. However we were able to discover yesterday Youngs fish products and good old British HP sauce (made in Holland now!) in a squeezy bottle. You can get HP elsewhere but not in the fun squeezy bottle.

For us it is probably worth popping in there once every two or three months to stock up on the bits we need. Having said that it also does have a nice fish and bread counter as well as a reasonable stack of western magazines.

Grand Regency Hotel Grand Gourmet Restaurant

We had passed, or more accurately been waiting at Sports Roundabout, the Grand Regency Hotel and one night in June 2011 we decided to give it a go. It is difficult to find the car park that is under the hotel and the entrance is round the back. The entrance and exit appear to be the wrong way round and you enter in the left lane and the car park is also laid out UK style rather than for the Doha traffic that drives on the right. The car park was baking hot too but there are lifts there into the hotel.

The receptionist was very helpful pointing out that there are three restaurants (a Moroccan and a Chinese as well as the Grand Gourmet we went to). The reception area and most of the hotel is dark brown marble and disappointingly in the cafe in reception they allow smoking and this goes into the Moroccan restaurant adjacent too.

The Grand Gourmet is on the first floor. The staff were very attentive and helpful, showing us all the dishes in the buffet (164 Riyals each) that was Arabian theme on Friday evenings. It is not licenced so we had water only. There was plenty of choice to eat and I had salad, some chicken and lamb (both a bit dry) and my favourite dessert, Umm Ali.

There was plenty of choice of where to sit as there was hardly anyone else in the restaurant.

We enjoyed our meal, but unfortunately there was little atmosphere to the place. We will only go once but cannot quite put our fingers on why?

Grand Regency Website