TravelChick

10 Things I Like About Doha

Okay, it's not quite ten yet, but I'll keep adding to it. Recently when I saw one of my close friends for the first time after my move to Doha, she helped me start a list. Since I'm not in Doha at the moment, I thought I'd try to remember some nice things about it. I'm not sure I've remembered all the things I said when we brainstormed. In no particular order:

1) You can wear flip flops year-round.
I've discovered I really like that.

2) Qataris appreciate brunch*.
Most of the hotels, from the Movenpick to the Four Seasons, have slightly over-the-top and sterile but generally tasty brunches that feature sushi, mounds of fresh fruit, oysters, carvery stations, and rows and rows of desserts. The Movenpick has a chocolate fountain; the Four Seasons has individual chocolate souffles. The Four Seasons also has a bowl of marshmallows; the only thing missing is a fireplace to toast them in. This point gets an asterisk because all of the brunches feature some poor, non-pork imitation of bacon.

3) Doha is on the ocean
There's something nice and comforting about seeing a large body of water every day, and even though I don't take advantage of it as much as I should, going in the Gulf is great.

4) I have a rooftop pool
How sweet is that? I've lived in apartment buildings with pools before (in boozy, hazy Atlanta, of course. It's practically the law that apartment complexes have to have pools), but I'd never lived in an apartment building with a rooftop pool. Having said all this, the pool isn't large enough to do laps in, but at least it's big enough to jump around in.

5) There's a samosa store that sells good, crispy samosa
I've eaten enough doughy, chewy samosa. Bagels should be chewy; samosa should be crispy. This samosa place sells great samosa for something like 20 cents each. Maybe less. To top it off, the owner, a genial Indian guy, fries them fresh for me and often gives me a bag of homemade potato chips to eat while I'm waiting.

6) Okay, now I'm stuck. More to come.

posted by Travel Chick @ 11:53 PM