James & Clare, Coddiwomplers Inc: Doha, Qatar

Coming into land

We had a 10 day Christmas sit booked in Doha and even though the couple who booked us had a death in the family, meaning that they didn't really need us any longer, instead of cancelling (as they knew we had flights in and out of Doha), they reshuffled their own schedules to accommodate us. We could have been more grateful. Not only that, but they paid (by points) for a lovely hotel room on the night of our arrival. Extremely generous and warm invitation to an interesting city.

We took the Metro from the airport to our hotel. Couldn't have been easier! It is clean, well organised and very modern. The bus service is also very cheap and easy to use.

The views from our room

The next day, when we arrived at our sit and met the two pups we would be hanging out with, we couldn't have been happier. We really had no desire to go out in the heat of the day, except to take Bodhi for a couple of very short walks each day. He was very nervous of the environment even though there is not much happening in the neighbourhood. But we felt it was good for him to have the stimulation. And he took to asking to go out! Bella, on the other hand, was way to nervous to go out. They are both rescues and Bella definitely has more nervous issues than Bodhi so one of us was always happy to stay in and snuggle with her. In the height of summer they are bound to the air conditioned house as the ground is far to hot for their paws.

Bella and Bodhi

The view from our bedroom window

Our lane of houses

Here's the thing about Doha. Whoever thought it was a good idea to build a whole city in the middle of the desert? The city's development really only took off in 1971 when it became the capital of Qatar. This has it's benefits in some surprising ways. The infrastructure is very modern as the city has grown in the age of technology. There was a second wave of development when Qatar won the draw to host the 2023 World Footbal Cup. This is evident in things like the Metro. However, the development also relies on the hard work of imported labourers from countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh. Many of them are exploited (the minimum hourly rate is US$2.69), sending any money they earn home to their families. It is estimated that apporx 6,500 migrant workers died since the world cup was awarded to the city in 2020, during the buiding of new stadiums etc.

There is, of course, another side to Qatar, and these are the expats who are employed in more professional roles earning A LOT of tax free money. There is also a large extremely wealthy Arab community. The disparity is startling and unsettling. We found the place to be lacking in soul. We are grateful for the experience but feel no desire to repeat it.

Our local supermarket was an easy 5 minute walk from home in a huge mall housing something like 500 very high end shops. We were happy to be cooking for ourselves and you can buy absolutely ANYTHING you desire here!