Anne's blog travel 06-07

Hi all,
I thought I'd update everyone interested on my travels and impressions while overseas. Those who are interested can read and those not so interested don't have to.
Phew...can't believe I got here.

Before I go any further I just want to tell those who don't know that I'm off to Doha (Qatar) for the 15th Asian Games. I'm working there from November 1st to December 21st and will leave the region on December 23rd for more travel in Asia. In Doha I am working for Rushmans the Uk company who has sub-contracted the Media Services for the Games. I'll be at the Main Press Centre were Press Agents work and send their stories to the world. The Main press Centre and the International Broadcast centre are always the nerve centres of such events. All that happens in the venues is relayed here before it is relayed to the rest of the world.

Before I left Byron Bay I was busy moving, getting ready and finishing all I had to do before I had to go. And then came the trip. A three hour shuttle ride to Brisbane airport where I had to wait a good three hours before my flight. My first flight was to Singapore and took just under 8 hours. Had a lovely Australian guy next to me, Danny, and we talked and watched the same movies and laughed at the same jokes.

Then in Singapore I had a 6 hour transit. I was tired by then as one can imagine and I had hoped to go to the transit hotel but it was full and so I lay down on a comfy seat under bright light, trying to keep my hand on my personal items. An Australian guy, who smelled like he had quite a few beers thought it best to slap me on the back to wake me to make sure I wasn't missing my flight. So that was the last of my attempts at sleeping. I managed to send some emails from the free internet stations.

Finally, I got on the flight and was so lucky to have four seats to myself in the middle row and the flight really wasn't empty. So I managed to sleep a few hours on that flight but not enough. Got into Doha at 6am local time. 28C. Didn't sound that hot but as I decended from the plane the thick humidity envelopped me. It felt a lot hotter than that.

Waiting in line to go through immigration I could see so many different races around. A man dressed in full Qatari attire (white Thobe with white headgear) is directing each person to the desks where Qatari women dressed in black from head to toe wait to process each arrival. Not a smile in sight. When I approach the desk and say hello (I hadn't learnt yet the arab way of saying it : marhaba), no acknowledgement, no look, no smile. The woman seems so dreadfully miserable.

Patsy from Rushmans is there to pick me up and drives me to her place. The media towers where I'll be staying from Wednesday are not ready until then. The scenery is quite unbelivable. Very flat, very white, sandy, dusty. Outside Patsy's home, workers are in the street digging/building. Air conditionning is quickly turned on upon arrival at the house and Patsy leaves me for the day. I try to sleep but to no avail. So I end up being picked up and driven to headquarters and meeting a few more people.

Later that night I talk with Patsy and Ralph both veterans from Games. I know Ralph from several events. They both seem very tired. I hear their stories of Qatar.

Wednesday is my first day and I also move into the Media towers. Michele Walker, a friend from many events has checked in and chosen a room for me as she was the second to check into these new accommodation. She has chosen for me a room which is more like a suite with Plasma screen (the only english channel is CNN) which is about 3-4 times as big as a normal hotel room. The view outside the windows may have been nice if the whole city wasn't in constructions. Litterally, there are huge holes where buildings will be constructed. The streets are a complete mess of sand, holes, barriers, truck. On the way Patsy points to the Sheraton, a pretty impressive looking building close to the water. "This is the oldest hotel in town and quite dated inside." How old is it I ask... "About twenty years old". That's how new the city is. Seems all the buildings are either being built, not quite finished or brand new. Cranes are everywhere in sight. I've never seen anything quite like this.

Of course if the suite looks impressive most of the lamps or equipment has no power outlets to be connected to. Maybe in a few days.

At work I go to meetings and get started on seeing what my project entails. My collegues here, old friends are all exhausted. This Asian games for the first time has been modeled on the Olympic format. Will it be Olympic standard? Absolutely not. Everything is so late. We are opening the Main Press Center in two weeks and it's still like a construction zone but my area, the Press work room is impressive and I'm happy with it. Having said all that and with all the challenges ahead, these will invariably be the best asian games ever.

There are many obstacles in the way of these games. One is the fact that every decision must go back up the chain to those in power positions (Qataris). These people have no experience in the field they are supposed to be in charge and the decisions taken are generally without logic nor common sense.

This rich country pays its citizens for the simple fact they exist. If Doha has about 775 000 people, only 200 000 (0r less) are Qatari. No one can become Qatari. You either are or you are not. They do not need to work. Their standard of living is very high. Drivers here are mad and one crosses the street at their own risk. Qataris are said to own cars and dispose of them within a few months. When buying a second hand car you will find plenty of this years model for sale. However, seeing how people drive here, I can't say it would be a good investment to buy second hand. I've heard stories of Qatari people blowing a tyre and abandoning the car rather than changing a tyre. It's a disposable world. Petrol is about US$0.20/litre.

I keep waking up in the night of Wednesday to Thursday. I haven't been able to sleep a full night yet. Construction is going on outside the hotel all night. The streets are illuminated almost as in daylight. Jackhammers still managed to be heard above the loud air conditioning of my room. This will take some getting used to.

I managed to stay in bed until about 4:15am reading and then decide to go for a run on the Corniche, a sort of Esplanade along the Gulf. I am told people exercise on the corniche and it is possible for women to run in shorts there. It's total darkness when I leave but with the light of the city at night, there is no problem. Despite all the rules of the muslim country I feel very safe. There is a Zero Tolerance on a lot of things here. Theft, aggression towards women, even giving someone the finger will result in being arrested. Workers watch me running past but no one says anything.

Most workers here are not Qataris. There are a lot of indians and other foreigners. Indians are apparently treated like second class citizens. They seem to me like the kindess people around.

The Corniche is a nice place to run or walk. It is about 26c but humid, very humid. I see many people up like me before the sun. I'm not sure if I should say hello and I refrain. I see only a few women and I am the only one running alone. Along the Corniche I pass a giant Oryx, the mascot of the Games holding a torch. Slowly the light starts filtering through. We are close to the equator here and we are coming into winter. The days are short. The sun doesn't rise from the gulf until about 5:50am.

Thursday was a full day's induction from Rushmans the company I am working with. Friday is a day off. We will be taking fridays off for the next few weeks until the venue opens on the 15th. Then it's seven days a week for the duration. Normally the weekend is Friday and Saturday but as we are approaching games Saturdays are no longer off. I never expect time off when i do such a short term event but I appreciate the morning off and have a leisurely breakfast at the accommodation with Michele. Breakfast in included at the hotel. Lunch and diner is provided on the venue. This saves us time, time of shopping and cooking and the food is plentiful, varied and good. I've done many events but the workforce food here is the best I've seen.

This afternoon we picked up our uniforms...I've seen some bad ones before but these one take the cake. Yellow pants (two pairs), light turquoise blue w/ one sleeve red and one sleeve yellow long sleeve tops (four tops), one jacket (mostly same color patterns) with fleece inside, three pairs of anckle socks with logo, a marroon quite bum bag, a marroon baseball cap with logo. I'll have to post a photo of this when we start wearing it on November 15th.

There is a mini gym at the hotel. Nothing really, a treadmill, a bike and a cross trainer and a few free weight. Like everything else, it's not finished or open yet. We have to move accommodation on the 15th to the building accross the no existant street. It was the original place we were to go to but it was not finished yet.

When I arrived, Lorraine the collegue who convinced me to come tells me Mat Peterson is here and is leaving in a couple of days. I've done a few events with Mat and he is a friend. I call him the night before he leaves. He is here as a consultant to run the Games Readiness exercise. "Mat, do you remember what you used to call Salt Lake City when we lived there?" And we both erupt in laughter. Mat used to call Salt Lake city , the Hell Hole as the summers were so long, dry and hot. Back to the Hell hole he used to say when he'd been away. Without words we've both acknowledge that Salt Lake city was an oasis compared to Doha. The accommodation manager, a Greek who worked in Athens comments to me: " When I worked Athens, I thought that no event I'd ever do would be as late and difficult in the future. How I was wrong!"

And despite all that I feel so privileged to be here. To have the life that I have, the opportunities, the experiences, the friends...
Bye for now