My 1st (and hopefully last) Run-in with the Police

Sometimes this place can be so completely backwards. Just a routine trip to the grocery store has now ended up costing me an additional $137 for a traffic violation. Now I won't say that I'm innocent.... but I will say that the parking garages in Doha were neither designed nor built by the any of the sharpest tools in the shed. None of the signs make any sense, none of the lanes are pointing the right direction and the exit signs will only give you a nice lengthy tour of the entire lot if you actually follow them.


Today I went to the grocery store and unfortunately I was one ingredient short for my dinner after searching high and low. This happens pretty often since you're never guaranteed a specific item in any of the stores. Here one week, gone the next... never to be back again, or if you're lucky it'll be fully stocked on the shelf next week. It's a mystery. Either way, I had to run to another store before returning home. I pulled into the parking garage at the local mall, which is always a frustrating situation. People pulling out in front you, people strolling down the center of the road taking their good old time, and the parking spots always filled. After scouring the first few rows I finally eyed up an empty spot. I made a quick left and pulled into the 3rd spot on the right. At the end of the row I see a police officer writing another unhappy shopping customer a ticket. I thought to myself, "that's strange" because I see police all the time, but I never actually see them working. The police officer started to pull up to my car. I got out of my vehicle and walked over to the police car after they motioned me over and I was face to face with 2 uniformed Arab officers. They proceed to tell me that I pulled the wrong way into a one way lane of the parking garage. First off, I have NEVER EVER seen the "one way" lanes being observed in this parking garage or any for that matter. The signage is terrible, so it's practically impossible to even tell which way you're supposed to be going. It's usually every man for themselves, cars going every which direction, and complete chaos. This particular day, I needed one extra ingredient, and I end up with a ticket.


Now for those of you that know me.... you'll vouch for the fact that I have a panic attack if a medic speeds up behind me and just the thought of getting pulled over makes me breath funny. I tend to be a pretty safe driver and abide by the speed limit. I'm extra careful here because I watch way to much Locked Up Abroad on the Discovery Channel. And although I'm not attempting to smuggle drugs or engage in any other illegal activity, a run in with the police might throw me over the edge. So you can imagine my reaction when the cop asks for my license. Especially because I don't exactly have a valid Qatari drivers license yet. I check my pulse, I mean my purse.... and realize I don't even have my International Drivers License on me because I had just switched handbags a few days before. But to be honest, I'm not sure that it would have mattered. We're really not completely sure how long the International Drivers license is valid in Qatar. The expiration on the license gives me one year, but Qatar is constantly changing the rules and not really posting it anywhere. Some believe that the International license is only good for one week. I play a little dumb and hand him my passport, all the while I'm sweating profusely (it's 93 degrees out and I'm in a non-airconditioned parking garage...NOT HELPING). I'm also shaking like a leaf and probably wouldn't have known my name if they asked me. Am I Liz or Laura, Sinapi or Taylor.... Breeeaath!! Good thing they didn't ask. The officer looks at my passport and asks again for my license. I tell him that my resident's permit has not gone through yet, which would mean that I don't have my license yet. He shakes his head and looks a little disappointed, but hands my passport back. At this point, I'm considering making a run for it, but I know I wouldn't make it too far in my flip flops and this desert heat. So I stand there and wait, thinking of all the worst case scenarios. Me driving away in the back of the police car, deported for driving without a license. Or worse yet, thrown in jail. After what seems like an hour, but was probably just minutes, he hands over a ticket. I thank him (which was probably very confusing to both of the officers in the vehicle) and apologize a few times. I take my ticket and for all I know, it says I've been deported... because the whole thing is in Arabic (except the very clear "Traffic Violation" written at the bottom). I'm putting the ticket back into my car and realize that this whole scene was being witnessed by about 4 or 5 of the nice little car washing men. I'm shaking my head and one of them asks "How much is the ticket?" or at least that's what I've heard. We exchange a few words and realize neither of us are understanding the other. I show him the ticket and he looks at it, then flips it 180 degrees and takes another look. Then he laughs and says "Arabic". Obviously neither of us can read Arabic, so I'd have to wait until I got home to check the amount online.

The tickets here are actually written out to the vehicle, so he didn't have to collect any of my information. But the problem is that I was borrowing Kate's car because yesterday our car very conveniently had two of the back window motors die on us. So now I'm feeling even worse because this ticket will be attached to Kate's vehicle, name and ID# and if there are any points, she will get those as well. 


For my anxiety's sake, I'm very thankful that the ticket has been posted online very quickly. 500 QR or $137 seems a bit excessive, but the fact that that they didn't give me (or technically didn't give Kate) any points has me relieved!

Here's a snapshot of the website where we have to continuously check for tickets. We have speeding cameras that will snap your photo and issue a ticket without you ever knowing if you don't check online.

I have learned my lesson! You better believe that I never want to be face to face with the Doha Police ever again!

Cruising the Gulf

This weekend we had the opportunity to join friends on our first ever Dhow cruise on the Gulf. The wooden boats or dhows are traditional Arabic fishing boats and can be seen in all of the harbors in Doha.

As with most events in Qatar, we weren't really sure what to expect. The four of us have never been on a dhow cruise and we were only told 3 things. A BBQ dinner would be served, bring a bathing suit, and we're allowed to bring a cooler with booze since we'd be on international waters. That's all we needed to hear! 

There were over 30 of us total. We boarded the boat at around 3:00 pm and headed out onto open waters. We went straight to the top deck to enjoy the sunshine and the nice breeze. Traditional Arabic seating, which consists of cushions on the floor and pillows to lean against, were arranged the entire perimeter of the top deck. 

Our hostess very graciously brought tons of appetizers to hold us over since dinner wasn't served until much later in the evening. But the first line of business was serving margaritas! Always a good way to kick off a trip.

The 90+ degree weather quickly became bearable with the sea breeze. We sailed for about 25 minutes and pulled within 100 yards of a small island (made from reclaimed land). Since this was our first go, we weren't sure exactly what was going to happen next. So we just continued to enjoy the food, the drinks, the gorgeous view, and the company. Our crew had music playing continually and we enjoyed an eclectic mix of tunes. The waters were busy on Saturday. Jet skis, boats pulling tubes and water skiers, and other dhow boats filled the waters. The jet skiers took our presence as an opportunity to show off to the passengers, flying by us at top speeds and circling our boat. 

Here is another dhow boat which closely resembled the one that we were on.

The sun started to set and the crowds started to calm down. Our BBQ dinner was finally served! The crew cooked on deck and provided grilled chicken, beef and vegetable kabobs, lamb kabobs, hot dogs, salad, curried coleslaw, rice, pita bread and hummus, and an assortment of fresh fruit. 

We had the perfect seats to enjoy the gorgeous sunset.

The sun receded below the horizon, our belly's were full, and our coolers were starting to empty. The calm waters provided just the relaxation we were all looking for. Right about that time a few passengers thought it was the perfect opportunity to go for a swim. Kris and I were a bit hesitant, but as we watched the others jumping about 20 feet off of the top deck and into the waters below, we had the urge to join. It had been a while since I've had a proper dive (maybe even since my diving days in college), so I was pretty excited. My only fear was what's lurking below in those dark waters...

Our hostess handed out glow in the dark necklaces to ensure that no one was lost in the water. What a great idea?! Kris and I took the plunge together and cooled off with a bunch of others. I performed my best dive (thankfully it was dark) and we swam for a bit. Besides the warm and cool spots that faded in and out of the water (Kris promised it wasn't him), we thankfully didn't encounter any sea creatures. 

We were back to the dock around 8:30 pm, relaxed and well fed. A great experience all around and we would definitely do it again. I think we'll probably wait until next year because the heat is beginning to rise and I can't imagine being out there when it hits the 120's, 130's dare I say the 140's.

Till our next Blog, a belated Happy Easter to all and sending our Love from Qatar. 

An Eagle on the 18th???

Yes, you heard it correctly.... an Eagle on the 18th!! And I'm not talking about a "golden" or a "bald" eagle. I'm talking about 2 under on a par 5 to end the Qatar Masters Volunteers Tournament. Team Taylor along with our new friends Rob and Bob, had a successful run ending up at -15 on what some call the most difficult and longest course on the European Tour. 

The format was a modified Texas Scramble and we all had to contribute at least 3 drives. After each player hit their drive we selected best ball, but the person who hit the best ball was not permitted to take the next shot. Finishing up each round, we were all allowed to putt. 

There were around 160 volunteers playing in the tournament which took place over a morning and afternoon session. I had a bad case of the tournament jitters, especially because I've never played the beautiful but very difficult Championship Course. Thankfully, Kris was there to calm my nerves and coach me through each shot. Our team handicap was 8 with Kris contributing a very low 6 and me at the other end of the spectrum with a 36.

Our team started off ok... we birdied the 1st after selecting my drive (which was closest to the fairway) and a 25 foot putt off of the back off the green by my hubby. We also had a solid par on the 2nd. After a disappointing bogey on the 3rd hole we decided to just play and have fun. That strategy seemed to work for us and a collaborative effort began to take root. That was our first and last bogey as we started racking up the birdies. Bob started it off with the longest putt I've ever seen at about 50 feet. Kris picked up his game on the back 9 and drove the ball well over 300 yards down the fairway on every hole. I contributed on the front 9 with 3 drives and one putt and rounded it off on the back 9 with a few chips and 3 more putts topping off at about 20+ feet long.

There's no better way to end the tournament then with Kris hitting his 3 wood 266 yards onto the green for our second shot. We all took a stab at the 15 ft putt, but Kris ended up sinking it to clinch our win with an eagle on the 18th hole. Although I should mention that we swept first place by a landslide with the runners up more than 4 strokes behind us.

Later that evening we were treated to cocktails and a delicious buffet dinner before the awards ceremony took place. At this point we were feeling confident with our win, but not many players had shared their scores after the tournament was over. There were cheers (and boo's... some people just can't handle losing) when our team was called and our score was announced. Kris and I were extremely excited to clinch our first win in the first tournament we played together. Each person on our team was awarded a beautiful  watch (valued up to $800 each). Although I'll be trading mine in at some point to collect a women's watch. I'm not really sure how to take it that they must have anticipated an ALL MENS team to take first place. Either way it was a huge accomplishment for us all. We've also heard our picture will be featured in World Golf magazine. We'll make sure to get more than a few copies of that!! As if the night couldn't get any better, we ended up taking home 2 raffle prizes including a free round of golf and a bag of goodies including golf balls and a beer koozie.

All in all it was an absolutely wonderful day on the course and we'll be looking
for a repeat next year! =)