Qatar Living Books Group

This group can be found at Qatar Living Groups and just reading through a few of the posts I feel sure that you will pick up a few ideas about books in Doha. Also you can maybe meet a few people as well along the way.

Books and new friends seems like a winning combination to me.

Pop along to the link above and join up!!!!

Qatar Squash Federation

I used to love playing squash, a really good workout. You have to turn up once the court is booked with someone so that is a big plus (we can all talk ourselves out of going to the gym). Also it is a great time to make new friends on a one to one basis, then if you play in tournaments and leagues/ladders then more than one person at a time.

The Qatar Squash Federation has a great website that you should check out. There are links about history, championships, news, photo gallery, rules etc etc

Many thanks to my pal Dan for sending me the link.

Pakistanis in Doha

There seems to be a very well used and posted group within Qatar Living for Pakistanis. I know quite a few people in Doha from Pakistan and therefore I would suggest that you get along to this group so that you can meet up with your fellow country folk.

Has information on the Pakistan Embassy, Toastmasters, Cricket, Engineers and overseas employment.

The Qatar Living Pakistani Group

Talking Matters Toastmasters Next Meeting Monday 28 November 2011

The next meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, the details are:

Date: Monday 28 November 2011

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

Talking Matters Toastmasters New Website

I have been a member of Talking Matters Toastmasters Group since January 2011 and I thoroughly enjoy going along to the fortnightly meetings and listening to speeches and also overcoming my fears by making some speeches too or undertaking some of the roles there too.

Meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday of each month starting at 7pm at the Oryx Rotana Hotel that is near the Airport.

I am also on the Executive Committee (The Excom) as Secretary and we are proud to announce that Talking Matters now has a website too. Please click on the link below and check it out and make sure that you come along and join us too!!!

Talking Matters Website

Filipino Expats in Qatar Group

This appears to be the biggest and most posted group in Qatar Living, the Filipino group certainly seems to be a mine of useful information. If you want news from your homeland, or the Filipino slant on life in Qatar, then this is the group for you.

It is at the Qatar Living website.

Filipino Expats in Qatar Group

Ministry of Interior Website (Visas etc!!!)

The Qatar Ministry of Interior has a pretty informative website, called MOI

There is plenty of information there for residents, visitors and citizens. Sign up for Metrash and you can get text messages of traffic violations, reminders for visa renewals etc.

The site also gives details of visas, traffic violations and many procedures that you may have reason to know about.

Worth bookmarking the site for possible future use.

Talking Matters Toastmasters Next Meeting on Monday 28 November 2011

The next meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, the details are:

Date: Monday 28 November 2011

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

The Lighthouse Club in Doha (Construction Charity)

The Lighthouse Club is a construction charity that is just starting up in Doha, and had its first meeting on 01 November 2011 at the Rugby Club that is near Decoration Roundabout.

It is a good event in my experience (in Hong Kong) to support. You get to meet new people, have a drink and network in a convivial atmosphere. They also usually hold meals every so often and raise considerable funds for construction charity.

Construction is the world's most dangerous profession, causing death and injury. Your support is needed.

For more details contact in Doha: Richard Celand at rceland@gmail.com

For details of The Lighthouse Club use this link

Medical Insurance

Coming from the UK, we have the National Health Service so generally we do not have to pay for medical treatment or maybe a small fee.

As I understand it, in Qatar there is a public medical service and you can go to the Hamad Hospital. My wife has been there once for an out patients visit and this was pretty efficient (although the separation of the sexes was in place) and the prescription charge was on 2 Riyals.

However if you want the flexibility and comfort of more choice then please do some research on medical insurance if your company does not provide it for you. If you are from overseas and not used to the climate etc then you are at a higher risk than if you are in your home country. Also, your family too must be considered, a family policy should be purchased.

Check the cover very carefully to ensure that you know what you are covered for and what you are paying for. Monthly payments are usually allowed too.

I have cover through my company with Allianz and they have an office on the C Road down from Ramada Junction towards the airport, but there are obvioulsy other providers so please check them out.

Poets and Writers in Qatar

For those of you aspiring writers and poets out there, Qatar Living has a group especially for you. As at the time of posting it has 227 members so I am sure it will be a fountain of knowledge for you as well as some useful support to help you through the lonely hours of writing.

Check out the Qatar Living Group.

Magrabi Clinic on the D Road

Have been here a few times and the Magrabi Clinic is situated now on the D Road. From Airport Road get on to the D Road, pass the Harley Davidson showroom then take the slip road to your right, Magrabi is a little further up (about 200 metres or so).

Very charmingly they do valet parking and there is a waiter there to give you tea or coffee in a cup and saucer.

However, they also give medical treatment, specialising in eye complaints and ear/nose/throat as well. They also do dental treatment but we have not tried this.

The service has been very good and there is a small pharmacy on the ground floor to pick up your prescription  too.

You will need health insurance or payments will need to be made.

Magrabi Clinics Website

The Arab Museum of Modern Art

The Arab Museum of Modern Art (MATHAF) is located in a converted school building on the edge of Education City off Al-Luqta Street. I must confess I have not been there yet, I have only had a quick glance at the website.

It does not appear to be open all the time and at the time of writing (2 November 2011), it will be reopening on 05 December 2011.

However, the website looks good and you can get all the information that you need there I am sure.

Gulf Paradise Hotel

This hotel is situated in the heart of Doha. From the Ramada crossroads, head towards the flyover but go to the roundabout underneath this and turn left, the Gulf Paradise Hotel is on the right hand side.

The hotel in some ways is showing its age but I have been there for a couple of Toastmasters meetings and the staff were friendly and the snacks we had were nice too.

Worth considering for a budget hotel stay in Doha in one of the main areas.

Gulf Paradise Hotel

Christmas Cards in Doha

To be honest there is not a great selection of Christmas cards here, particularly the boxed variety. You can get Christmas cards from the usual places: supermarkets and Hallmark cards. Generally the stand alone single cards are fine and you will probably find what you want, however the boxed variety are not so good.

The Christmas cards that come in boxes will say have 24 cards but there may be as few as two designs, so maybe twelve of each cover.

Worth thinking about ordering these from the UK or having them sent over or brought over by someone for you? Or next time you visit home you could stock up, particularly if you are in the UK in January when they are in the sales.

Don't break your back looking for better boxed ones in the next shop, in my experience you are wasting your time in Doha.

Ritz Carlton Christmas Carols

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Ritz Carlton put on some Carols with the afternoon tea in the Reception Area and adjacent to the Lobby Lounge.

Best to book (unlike us, but some people kindly let us share their table!) first to be assured of your place. Contact the Hotel nearer the time or keep a look out in Time Out Doha magazine or website.


Contact details for the Hotel are:

P.O. Box 23400 Doha Qatar   

Phone:  +974 4484-8000  

Fax:  +974 4484-8484

The Ritz Carlton website is here

Panetone for Christmas anyone? This is where you need to go

One of the joys of the Christmas time is that the Italians bring out their pannetone that is a lovely rich moist cake with chocolate or plain. Often you can see these stacked up in supermarkets etc in November and December.

We have bought the mass produced ones from supermarkets in Dubai and we have been immensely disappointed. The boxes are generally big and expensive then the pannetone cake inside is much, much smaller than the box.

However, if you head along to Carluccio's on the Pearl they have a little shop next door to the restaurant so you can pick up a superb pannetone there. No small portion here and it is super tasty, the cake inside pretty much fills the box. They do two sizes, a family size one and a baby one person size one (or maybe it is for two people, I just have a big mouth!)

Talking Matters Toastmasters Club Next Meeting Monday 14 November 2011

The next meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, the details are:

Date: Monday 14 November 2011

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

Germans in Qatar

I have met a few Germans in Doha, including my dentist Sven! If you would like to meet up with fellow Germans or want to learn German (and you can tap up a German speaker) then I would suggest that you try the Qatar Living Group

This can be found by following this link. 

Arabic Sweets

There are many types of Arabic sweets around the Middle East and I imagine that most varieties are available in Doha.

You can purchase these in supermarkets but there are also stalls in the Malls, specialist independent shops etc. The sweets presentation can be basic or up market depending on your pocket. There is a big sweet shop opposite the Al Ahli Hospital.

I am not a big fan of Arabic sweets, I can take them or leave them but you should try them while you are here and maybe they will be right up your street.

I used the picture from the blog at Sonis' Kitchen

Al Jazeera News

This is the Arab News in English and the channel is called Al Jazeera News that is based in Qatar.

Sometimes it has some interesting news features and debates, these are generally worth tuning in for. Also, with current affairs and reporting, particularly with Arab area issues the journalism is often closer than Western media.

The only drawbacks that I find with Al Jazeera is that it can be a bit Middle East based in terms of coverage and for Arab issues it does tend to promote the Arab viewpoint. This latter issue can be overcome by watching other news channels and getting your balanced viewpoint from a number of sources. Try and sift the facts from the opinion then form your own opinion.  

Talking Matters Toastmasters Club Meeting on Monday 14 November 2011

The next meeting of the fantastic Talking Matters Toastmasters Club is being held next Monday, the details are:

Date: Monday 14 November 2011

Time: 7pm to 9.30pm

Venue: Oryx Rotana Hotel (near the Airport)

Come along as a guest and hear the wonderful prepared speeches from the P1 Ice Breaker to the more advanced speakers. Understand how the speeches are positively evaluated. Maybe you will get the chance to participate in the lively Table Topics session too?

As a guest you get in free, get a nice drink at the interval with biccie as well as getting the opportunity to network and make new friends.

Come along and join us!!!

An oasis or two in Al Wakrah

We were travelling to Messaied City for a Toastmasters evening and when we reached Al Wakrah that is the only sizeable town on the way from Doha my wife said that she fancied drinking a Costa Coffee. I nearly said to her "Yes, and I think it is going to snow too soon!" However, a very short way up the road we found a Costa Coffee.

The Costa Coffee is on the main road through Al Wakrah on the right hand side as you head out from Doha. The shop is quite big and has the usual Costa food and drinks. It also has clean toilets. Unfortunately, despite the entire shop being designated and clearly signposted no smoking some people still seem to violate this rule. What price some clean air when you drink your coffee or eat your snack.

Next door is a Pappa Johns that is a pizza joint so maybe you could get a more substantial meal in Al Wakrah as well too?

Book your Christmas Lunch early

Now is the time to book your Christmas lunch if you are going to a hotel for this. It may even be too late now to get the booking that you desire. We left it too late last year and ended up at our third choice place. Christmas lunch was a sort of Lebanese affair, hardly any vegetables, very dry turkey, no Brussel sprouts, no Cranberry sauce etc.

From my understanding the Christmas lunches in the hotels in Doha generally tend to be the buffet sort. Also, as we found out some of the trimmings were missing too.

Don't be caught out, if you are intending to have your Christmas lunch at a hotel, better to book right this minute.

Squash in Qatar

My knees gave up on squash a few years ago, but I used to love to play.

Judging by the website, squash seems to be alive and kicking in Qatar. From my brief look at the website there is plenty of opportunties to play at all levels. Run along to:

John Lord Duffers League

and get more information and join up as well as getting a few games under your belt, meet new friends etc.

Running in Doha in Qatar

If you are interested in running in Qatar, then there is a hash group for you. The contact details are at the website at:

Doha Hash House Harriers

If you are interested then you had better run along to the website right now and contact some people.

Qatar Football Association

The locals here in Qatar are very keen on football (or soccer!) and the Qatar Football Association has a very interesting and informative website for local football including local teams and the national team.

If you are interested in local football in Qatar then get along to:

Qatar Football Association Website

Portuguese in Qatar

My wife is Brazilian and hence she speaks Portuguese and not Spanish as many people think (although she does speak Spanish too). Qatar Living does have a group for Portuguese at:

Portuguese Qatar Living Group

Hurry along to this link if you are a Portuguese speaker and make some new friends in Doha and Qatar.

Attention all Urdu Speakers in Qatar

On the Qatar Living website there is a group for all people who speak Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. My knowledge of these languages is exactly zero but if this is your language then maybe you should check out the link below:

Qatar Living Urdu Hindi Punjabi Speakers Group

Avaiation Information in Qatar (Qatar General Avaition Club)

If you are interested in all things aviation in Qatar, there is good link at Qatar Living that may be able to assist you first hand or lead you to other websites to keep your interest going.

Qatar Living Avaiation Link