MAA to DOH

Doha in Qatar was my newest destination. The country which would be my home until the spouse decides to jump ship. Having resided in the Gulf for a few years, I had no qualms in declaring to admire the Arab culture and trust my ability to survive in the harsh summer,  and am habituated to hearing the adhaan and adhering to the rules during Ramadan. Some of my friends who have lived in the Islamic countries for a long duration even practice the fast during the holy month.  A bonus, the foodie in me was fond of the Levantine cuisine!

I looked forward to my journey to Doha. It was almost three months since I came to Chennai while the spouse had taken up his new job in Qatar. My last month of sales and packing madness at Dubai is known to all of you already(you would if you DID read my blog). Now with my flight booked, I have been relentlessly and sleeplessly packing unpacking and repacking my luggage for the past few weeks. My mom, who initially helped me in this endeavor has abandoned me. She will come around eventually, I am sure. I Shipped the heavy stuff through the postal service to Qatar. The private packers wanted me to sell my apartment to do the same.

I was jittery, to travel alone and the butterflies and the birds and the bees all fought in my stomach to tear out as I was to fly to Colombo change over and onwards to Doha. The Chennai international airport was calm and quiet as always, and I was seated comfortably in the Srilankan airline. No glitches encountered so far. The plane was crowded, but my luck, the next seat was vacant. It was my first time with the Srilankan airlines; the air hostesses were voluptuous and sexy in their traditional sari, exposing a lot of midriff. As soon as we were airborne, they served a tough, rubbery veg roll and coffee. As I managed to swallow a piece and washed it down with black coffee, the sexy lady generously offered everyone another helping of the same; my eyes were popping out as the bread was wedged between my throat and stomach, and I vehemently shook my head.

Just an hours layover, at Colombo and the city, appeared very green from above as I peered through the window, it was almost sunset and eerily gloomy.  I had to walk 500 metres from the plane to the gate for my next trip. This part of the Colombo airport was overcrowded, and my antennae were whirring -I felt like a refugee hoarded along with the multitude of Sri Lankans and a few Indians and Europeans. The security guards looked ominous, I almost expected them to say "No you are not allowed to take one step further", and border police would whisk me away, and I would never see the daylights again.

With these disturbing thoughts, I trudged along. I visibly trembled when a dark, lanky guard ordered me to open my carry on box. I expected to find packets of the white powder to appear mysteriously in my possession. Its the effect of watching all the episodes of crime cartels on Netflix. I hurriedly opened and showed the contents. Nothing dangerous was detected, and I was ushered into a glass enclosure.

I found a place next to a SriLankan with a bright lipstick and the psychedelic colours on her shirt blinded my eye. It irked to see every other person busy on their mobiles while neither my network connected nor the airport wifi worked for me. So I engaged in observing the many faces that surrounded me — heard tidbits of conversation in various languages.

A group of men behind me were conversing in Tamil. They were travelling to Qatar to join back on the lowly paid job. The point of discussion was working conditions, the inhuman bosses and their living accommodations. I curbed my urge to turn back and look at the faces. Liked the mystery behind the unknown faces and eavesdropping on the conversation...in my defense, they were very loud. At last, we were called to board, and everyone seemed to jump and scramble. I was wary of the unruly crowd and waited patiently.

The seats were quite comfortable, in fact, spacious. I watched two movies gobbled up my dinner of rice and curry sitting next to a guy from Hyderabad on his way back from his annual vacation. Before the flight took off, he was on a call with his family and secretly captured me on the video for his family. I was seemingly irritated and turned away. Luckily he dozed off the rest of the flight.

The torch tower stood tall and bright (not to be compared with the Burj Khalifa) with the decorative lights was what my eyes first glimpsed in Qatar. After the glittering Dubai airport, the Doha airport was small and cosy. None of the flashy duty-free shops (What?! Not allowed to carry liquor to the country, so only chocolates to buy) the whole area was dimly lit creating an aura of mystery and intrigue, quite deserted too - where did the people from my flight disappear?! Instantly got connected to the free airport wifi and texted the spouse...my mom..and family and friends. There were some 50 people in the queue, but within minutes I was handing over my passport to the immigration. The guy in a khaki uniform looked bored, and I peered at his name tag, it was a lengthy 4 part name. He lifted his head, took my passport stuck some sticker scribbled something. I was again trembling and rehearsing my answers. (The ticket clerk and the immigration clerk at Chennai had grilled me with a few questions). He gestured me to look at the camera. I stood in attention and blinked then realized he was gesturing something again, hah to remove my spectacles. Ok got it, done. No questions asked not a word uttered I was welcomed to the country of Qatar. I gave him a big smile which was received with apathy, and I proceeded to the carousel to pick my luggage.

I was thrilled to see the spouse after months; both of us smiled till our jaws hurt. With "love u and miss u" uttered copiously he took the trolley, and I linked my hands to his elbows and walked out.

The tall street lights had Arabic calligraphy on the colourfully lit poles right outside the airport. I was excited to see the weirdly shaped building the national museum of Qatar, designed on the Desert rose (French Architect Jean Nouvel). It looked fabulous. We drove along the corniche (beach) road that had tall lit-up buildings lining up the other side.  The spouse was trying hard to show me the best sights; I assured him that my happiness was to be with him (yeah too mushy!) It's tough leaving the flashy Dubai to a culturally and religiously inclined Doha (Qatar), but then this country is the richest in the world!

The West bay area, the place that's cluttered with tall skyscrapers, was a concrete jungle. The architecture around looked artistic and unique (compared to UAE) to my eyes. I was already biased! 

Some of the buildings had the Emirs face on them. What a handsome face! The sketch of his face is the new symbol of unity adopted after the 2017 embargo issues. When some of the other Arab countries cut ties quoting Qatar was funding terrorism, and the import of essential commodities took a hit. The Emir flew in thousands of Argentinian cows in AC cargo flights and began growing their own vegetables and fruits. A friend described the celebration on the roads when people gathered to see the cows being transported in open trucks from the airport to the farms.
Since then slowly, this country became self-reliant.  There's a lot of construction happening- sprucing up the landscape with iconic towers and massive stadiums for FIFA WC in 2022.

Our residence was on the pearl, the area developed on the sea (reclaimed land) lit up palm trees, and ornamental fountains lined the roads. The apartment balcony overlooks the marina, the boats and the calm water.

My favourite pastime has been clicking pictures from the balcony of the glorious Sunrise and the glistening green water dotted with boats that are mesmerizing any time of the day!

I am officially now a resident of Qatar with my resident card in hand.
Totally in love with the laid back life!!!
Ps. Some tidbits-1.The Qatari flag is unique as in its the only national flag whose width is more than twice its height. 2. Initially, when the malls were built, if any person was inappropriately dressed, the security personnel would remind them to adhere and respect the sentiments of the country.