My Travel to Qatar

I decided to visit Qatar because I have a cousin and some friends who are working there and I haven't seen them for quite some time. So when we got a two-day holiday for the UAE National Day, what better time then to take this trip than now.
Day 1: November 29, 2013
Staying overnight at my friend Raquel Gamicera Mayo's place in Dubai, I woke up early so I can catch my Gulf Air flight from the Dubai International Airport. I left my car with Raquel as I took a taxicab to the airport. Checking in was very easy because it was really still very early. After having a quick breakfast of masala dosa at an Indian stall in the food court, I was on my way to Doha with a brief stopover at Bahrain.

Arriving at Doha International Airport, my cousin was already waiting for me at the arrival area and we took a ride with his friend on our way to the city proper. I checked in at Fuda Hotel in the Doha Corniche area and then freshing up, my old college friend Engr Rafael Centino showed up to take me and my cousin to lunch at the Katara Village.

The lunch was sumptuous: grilled salmon, baked green mussels, fried calamari, deep fried fish and grilled shrimps. It was a great way to start my tour of Doha.

It was time to catch up with news regarding our classmates back in college and it was from Paeng that I've learned another friend of mine in college, Engr. Pepito Buhawe passed away a couple of years ago.

Katara is a cultural village located just outside of Doha city proper. It is supposed to be a recreation of a typical Qatari village which they would have been really successful if not for their open-air auditorium which was clearly out of place. My first impression was the architect was watching too much "Triumph of the Will" if you know what I mean.

After visiting Katara Village, Paeng was kind enough to drive me and my cousin to the Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral to fullfill my pledge of visiting all the Catholic churches in Arabia. The cathedral is the largest of the churches that I have visited around Arabia so far. As per instruction from the ruler of Qatar, the church is not displaying any Christian icons outside.

Beside the building housing the convent, me and Paeng found our classmate Engr Tito Bontilao supervising the choir practice for the mass next morning. Tito is still active in church activities same as he was back in college. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of all three of us but then again it would be awful for me since I will be the only non engineer in that photo. Back in college, there was only two of us senior physics students (me and Janites Gonzaga who ended up going to a convent to become a nun as soon as she got her Physics degree) so most of my college buddies are from the Engineering department.

After visiting the church, me and my cousin took a cab to the Industrial Area of Doha where most of the foreign labor force are living. I got a first-hand look of the miserable living conditions in this part of Doha but suprisingly, the Filipinos will always find a way to make life bearable. I got to watch my cousin play basketball in a league the Filipino community organized among themselves. Never really like basketball so after a few minutes, I told my cousin I have to go, took a cab, and I am off to the opulent Villagio Mall. Outside the mall is the Aspire Tower, which was designed to look like a giant torch for the 15th Asian Games held in Doha.

At 300 m, the Aspire Tower is currently the tallest building in all of Qatar (but not for long).

The Villagio Mall itself is designed to look like an Italian village with the ceiling painted to look like the sky. In the middle of the mall is a canal where mall shoppers can ride a gondola for that added Italian experience.

Watching a movie in a city that I've visited is a tradition for me and here at the Villagio, my movie selection for the evening is the new adaptation of a Stephen King novel "Carrie".

After the movie, it was time to go back to the hotel since another friend of mine was already waiting to take me to dinner. I haven't seen Norman Lluisma since 1995 when he left IIT to transfer to Cebu for his studies. He is now working as an aeronautical technician for Qatar Airways. He took me to Ponderosa for dinner which was pricey for me (grilled salmon for 62 rials) but with the main course comes unlimited side dishes buffet style.

After dinner, Norman took me to the corniche area to get a good view of the architectural designs of the building in Doha. I have a passion for unique architectural building designs and Doha has a lot to offer. In one section is the WTC building which looks like a giant condom and behind it is the Tornado tower, designed to look like a twister with a slender middle section.

After having some nice evening breeze at the Corniche area, it was time for Norman to drive me back to the hotel so that I can have a rest from a very long day. He promised to return tomorrow morning so that he can drive me to some of the places that I still need to visit. But along the way, I got a glimpse of Fanar (Doha Islamic Cultural Center) and its unique watchtower.

Day 2: November 30, 2013

Norman was on time when he showed up outside the hotel at exactly 8 AM. First stop in our destination is the Museum of Islamic Art.  I know the museum is still closed but I really need to get a picture of the building which was designed by master of modern architecture I.M. Pei.

While driving along the Corniche, I asked Norman to stop for just a minute so I can take this photo of the Doha skyline on a hazy morning.

Next stop is to visit Qatar's largest mosque: the Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahad Mosque, named after a famous scholar of Islam. It is unique in the sense that it is one of the very large mosque in the world with only one minaret (but it has 32 domes).

 It was not time for me to be at the airport since my flight is around 11:20 AM so Norman drove me to the airport but along the way, I got a glimpse of a place I was planning to visit the day before: Souk Waqif, Doha's largest traditional marketplace. So I asked Norman for a quick stopover so I can take this photo.

The flight back home was uneventful except for the first few hours of my 5-hour layover in Bahrain. I got to scout for some banknotes, postcards, FDC, and other souvenirs. 

I have to come here in Bahrain since it is where St. Christopher Cathedral (headquarters of the Catholic Apostolic Diocese of Northern Arabia) is located.