Le Mirage Executive Residence Doha

... I don’t know why these haven’t caught on in North America. With big hunks of processed, pressed chicken or beef rotating on a spit all day, they shave off some meat and serve it in a wrap (sandwich) or on a bed of rice or fries (plate). It would rival any hot dog stand or late night drive through for an after bar snack – though, not so much here what with the lack of bars. I think the shwarma may be Turkish and ...

The photos speak for themselves. Clayton decided one day to take the cat to the pool and see if he would 'freak out'.....well the cat liked it and actually knows how to doggy paddle.

So now just about every other day if not every day the cat goes for a swim with the kids.

... taxis, but they will stay with you. The problem in Doha is that there really are very few "normal" taxis, so hailing one outside the hotel to take us somewhere could have been difficult... Of course, when I asked at the front desk if we could get a "tour taxi" at around 11:30, I was told that most places of interest close each day from 12:00-4:00, when it is hotter than hot... That included many of the restaurants in Waqif Souq, which is the best ...

... home. The weather really good in Qatar. It was usually 33 degress in the day and 22 degress at night, so it was always shorts and T-shirt weather! However, in the summer it can get up to 50 degress, so it was just warming up. I got to see a few shopping malls, which were incredable. The Vilaggio mall had a Venice style river running through it, which you could ride a gondola down. The City mall was ...

... and video's of this but will post them at another time. Some cars we found out did not deflate their tires. In order for the tires to avoid conflicting with the sand you must deflate the tires significantly so that its easy and soft on the sand. After a few hurdles of cars getting stuck and having to be pulled out we finally got to our destination. There were a lot of new Armenians who hadn't ever driven in the dunes which delayed a 30 minute ...

... on a short flight with 144 people on it. The flight attendants hustled and I told one how awesome the flight was. She said it's stressful (no, really?) but it's worth it to make Qatar Airways a five star airline. Whatever they are doing is working. The flight was 98% Indian and Bangladeshi migrant workers returning home. The other 2% were me, a British military guy heading to Malaysia for fun and two Arab guys dressed in white gowns with ...

Hi everyone! Liz and I just arrived in Doha. We are well and the flight was good and uneventful. I will write more soon. Our plane leaves for New Delhi in two hours and Liz still wants to check her email. One thing this place has over the US is that the internet is free in the airport!!! Wooohooo Middle East!!!!!

... my Grandma's house on the way home for lunch. Definitely a good choice, especially because the malaria headaches are still happening (and will happen for another 3 months or so when they'll just go away on their own). So yeah, that's my sudden trip home. I've never done that big of an alteration to a trip, nor bought a plane ticket that last minute, but it all worked out. Off again on Feb 4th...this time, final destination Melbourne for sure!

... anglosaxon oriented and I get duped each time with questions on the topscorer in the 1967 US Icehockey league or the minister of health in the 4th UK government after WWII. I give up when they start interrogating me on cricket and finally fall asleep. To be oughly awoken again after 15 minutes when we land in Mumbai. There's some modest clapping when the plane touches land and somebody says: "Good morning, India", which has the whole plane in stitches and leaves only me and ...

... a comment about finally sitting next to a woman. I didn't notice until then but I was one of four women on the flight. Once I got to the terminal I was one of the first through the passport area, then once luggage started showing up, my luggage was the very first luggage off the rack! Once I had my bags I got through customs quickly and my car was waiting for me. It makes me giddy to have someone holding a sign with my name on it when ...