Al Khor

Just to make sure I hadn't missed ANYTHING in Qatar today we drove to another city Al Khor about 40 minutes through the desert. A friend wrote to me recently about how they hadn't realised what a vibrant and fascinating city Doha was until my blog but I must confess that I try to paint the most flattering portrait of Doha - more often it is dull, frustrating and even ruthless. Most likely Al Khor was just a small fishing village which has grown with the price of oil but it still retains its slightly old world feel about it and provides glimpses of early modern life in Qatar. We found an old abandoned village there which clearly exposes Qatar's limited colour palette or as one of my friend's charmingly put it "when God was handing out colours he forgot about Qatar".

Socceroos Final Sad Dance

Last night's Asian Cup final was a sad loss for the Socceroos and all its supporters. I was surprisingly disappointed as a non-sport watcher and with a particularly low level of interest in football (soccer). But, I had invested a lot of time in dragging 3 little girls to 6 evening matches at various venues around Doha. A particular highlight in last night's game which went into 30 minutes overtime was obviously not the 1-0 scoreboard but in seeing all the Australian supporters around. Just in the few rows around us we had people from Pakistan, India, Syria, Uzbekistan, American and Ethiopia all cheering for Australia. In fact it was the Syrian crew photographed that tried to lead the Australians around us in chants for the Socceroos.

Playful Props

We found a new favourite place in Doha - visiting the skate park at the Corniche where our friends just recently showed us where kids (and adults) can have so, so much fun sliding down the concrete bowl. (Yes, we are limited here for free and outdoor play ideas). I delighted in seeing my normally girly girls throwing themselves down this steep concrete incline head first, backwards and linking arms. We have already been three times this week so once we took our ball to introduce a new playful idea and we set up a somewhat successfully game of tunnel ball. I've always found it to be a good idea to introduce a new "prop" to old play ideas to help inspire, stir or extend children in their play. My friend K then discovered the random little kiosk which sells fairy floss and popcorn all day every day also sold irresistible masquerade masks for 10 riyal each (about $2). So we all had to try them on. And we discovered dress ups are fun anywhere, anytime and sparked our imagination and childish delight. K and I ended up with one each for ourselves they were so enticing.

Asian Cup 2011

It's a little strange being so far from home in the Middle East and following the regional teams play against each other in the Asian Cup alongside....Australia. We are playing Australia's neighbours - Iraq, Iran, Saudia Arabia, Uzbekistan....? I can tell that the local and visiting spectators are also a little bemused as to why we are here and where did these 100s of people wearing green and gold come from. Especially since our winning streak. This is only our second time in the Asian Cup and I guess we were included because we don't fit anywhere else - part of our Austrlaian story - it can be a little lonely being a whole continent all to yourself! These teams are certainly supported by passionate crowds with sometimes violent shared histories, and so passionate that at times the crowds have to be completely separated and there are security guards which take up the entire first row around the seating bowl. It was also amusing to see the North Korean spectators trying to look as natural and relaxed as possible in their complete matching attire. "And now look to the left......" Interestingly, the North Korean official representatives from Asian Cup have to be separated in the offices from officials from all other countries.

Happy Australia Day from Doha!

Australia Day overseas - interestingly it felt a little more meaningful and less tacky without the rowdy scenes of flag wearing drunks which make it to the nightly news at home every year. We spent the morning at the corniche riding scooters and playing at the park (a new one I just discovered - that brings the total to about 5). I went to visit the "Knowledge Enrichment Centre" a brand new museum about Qatar's past, present and future. Unfortunately, even though it is there to inspire and celebrate innovation and the future....children are not allowed in so I went alone whilst the girls played at the park. Then we went to the souqs (yes life here is interesting but predictable) for juice and our new favourite (and cheap) arabic bread with chocolate - a wonderful Arabian/European fusion. Then, I had a few cherished hours exploring the just opened Modern Museum of Islamic Art with a friend whilst the girls stayed at home. Later, we went and met up with Australian and American friends at the Asian Cup fan zone where we heard there was an Australian Day celebration. Well, it was very small but there was an indigenous band of dancers, didgeridoos and singers flewn in from far North Queensland as part of the cultural tribute to the nations of the Asian Cup, which was great. We all (a very, very small audience) sang along to "We are one, but we are many and from all the lands on earth we come"..... Of course, what festive experience could be without........face paiting, which momentarily I said no they couldn't get because even though it was free I thought that it would be annoying to take it off a few hours later at bedtime. Thankfully, my practical voice isn't very loud and I quickly relented as it really seems magical for children and they were absoultely delighted yet again by a few flowers painted on their faces. Interestingly, I discovered it is also National India day today too so we shared the celebration with the local Indian community here and enjoyed some national dances. To celebrate the multicultural aspect of Australia we finished with dinner at our favourite Turkey Central. No wonder my girls were tired tonight.

Go Socceroos

The girls and I have been having lots of fun following the Socceroos in the 2011 Asian Cup. We have been to 3 of the 5 stadiums here which are all coloured according to the brightly coloured "desert rat" mascots. So, Doha is suddenly very colourful with flags around the city highlighting the various venues. We started with Australia vs India, then Korea, Bahrain, Iraq and finally Uzbekistan in last night's semi final. We drew one match (Korea) but the girls have become very patriotic as we have won all our other matches. We particularly have enjoyed the dynamic and interesting crowds and the girls have loved feeling special as they interact with many spectators from around the world. I've discovered it's a great activity for kids here in the Middle East because no whinging or whining or screaming can be heard above the sound of the drums which are played every minute of the match. We have felt like celebrities as people have asked to photograph us. We have also been interviewed for several Arabic news networks - you can imagine my insightful and informed answers to the various commentatators' questions about my advice for the team! Thankfully, as the matches have progressed I have tried to have a few sayings up my sleeve that I picked up from A! A few of the stadiums even have their own mosques attached and some spectators and staff leave the match for prayer time. We were also amused by the Australian inspired thobe. Security is tight as you can see from the photos and it is frustrating that out of 10 aisles with several security guards I have to wait for the "ladies and families" aisle to get in. But we are all looking forward to the final against Japan on Saturday.