Quirky Qatar

How do I begin to describe Qatar ... For starters, there seem to be very few Qataris in Qatar!

In fact, the tour guide who showed me around one day was not a local but instead hailed from the Philippines!

This was a first time in all my travels as any guides I enlisted in other countries had been from the very place they operated in.

The upshot of this is, I didn't get to learn about Qatari society, local traditions etc.

Uber was my travel pal once more and I was also fortunate to have a dear friend residing in Doha who drove me around as well.

Public transport is available but as I had foolishly caught a cold upon arrival, the thought of spending any time roasting outside was unbearable.

As my hotel room only had a coffee machine and no kettle, I wondered what I should do for water because I'd usually make myself a cup or two of tea in addition to coffee and drink the remaining boiled water once any complimentary bottled water ran out. I was warned however to stick entirely to bottled water as the tap water is questionable, boiled or otherwise.

My quest for local food took me to Souq Waqif because it turns out Qatari fare is rare with just the one restaurant known to offer local cuisine! I had no luck here either because it was siesta time.

This did give me the opportunity to observe incredible discipline and trust. Shops in the souq are left open and unattended for a couple of hours. An unusual sight for someone hailing from a country where anything that isn't nailed down runs the risk of changing ownership rapidly!

Goods both inside and outside unmanned shops in Souq Waqif

More than 90% of the population resides in Doha, which was apparent as I ventured out of the city. Pretty much dessert and nothing else out there apart from a few settlements.

Al Zubarah Fort

The mosque in Al Jumail, a 19th century pearling and fishing village abandoned before Qatar's economic boom

The opulence in parts of Qatar - for example in Pearl-Qatar - was therefore quite fascinating in comparison.

There is no lack of malls to escape into to beat the heat but apart from shopping and a bit of sightseeing, with nothing much else to do, this is another destination that can be covered in a week.