A bit of a misnomer, as the weather continues as before: temperatures between 24 and 31 on a regular basis. There have been a few rainstorms ( the last one being about 6mm wo
rth and considered a veritable deluge, warranting photos and front page news in the Gulf Times). The rain provides a welcome relief as it settles the dust for a time, but hardly appears to make a dent in the relentless heat. I think the drivers have the hardest time in the rain - there are no storm sewers so the water sits in puddles and ponds in roads, that create huge water features as cars plough through them, and watch out if you are the unsuspecting pedestrian! A lot of drivers are unpracticed in the art of hydroplaning which causes some hair raising spectacles as well.
The dust storms are a conversation piece - not anything like I imagined - more like a fine mist or fog that rolls over the city, with the sun looking as if it is an eclipse. Leaving windows open at such times are guaranteed to cost you hours of effort - more like a clean-up after a drywall project. It seeps into the car while driving, making one reach compulsively for bottled water all the time. We are currently having the car washed every few days. We have the same black car that we were using in Calgary, the only difference in the dirt is that in Calgary it was due to gravel and wet snow build up, and here it is pockmarked with a liberal coating of desert sand.
Food has been an interesting commodity - just about everything is flown in: milk, eggs and yoghurt from Saudi or Egypt, fruit and vegetables from India, Turkey and Asia, meat from Australia and NZ, dry goods from Europe. Fish appears to be the only product that is local - although there is also plenty of international fish catches as well. The fresh produce market usually has a good variety to choose from and mostly fresh looking. The prices are substantial: I have seen tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflowers for $7 per kg, one sweet potato of very medium size $2.50, cucumbers up to $3 or $4 dollars depending what you buy. Meat - if you stick to premium - will not cost under $20-25 per kg (and you will not! find real bacon anywhere!) I had the pleasure of buying about 1/2 kg of grapes for the terrifying price of $12. The one difficulty I have is that I have had to play Sherlock amongst the shelves and aisles, taking me back to our first months in Canada again - I know what I want, but the labels have all changed on me. Nonetheless, it has been easy to keep up with my usual cooking style, eating much the same as we did back home, albeit more expensively.
We are, unfortunately, inundated with the usual lineup of suspects in terms of restaurant choices - Chili's, MacD, DQ, Applebees, BK, Pizza Hut, TGIF's, and a food court here is essentially a carbon copy of a food court anywhere else. There are also plenty of good restaurants offering great fine dining experiences, but they are not cheap. However, we have found some great alternatives - sampling authentic meals at Middle Eastern locales. One lucky find was the Starbucks cafe just up the road from us - I had my first Doha latte - and didn't even blink at the $7 I anted up. (Can't always knock the home town favourites - they do come in useful sometimes.)
The most unusual phenomena is the exchange of money after a purchase - coins are a rarity and no store appears to have any, although I have seen an occasional 50 cent piece. Anyway, you approach the cashier who scans the product, and looks up with a smile and announces "that will QR103.55", at which time you hand over QR104, and keep your hand hovering for the 45 dirhams. She looks perplexed...and waves you on. One hopes that the law of averages works out, as I have found that the next time if it is 30 dirhams that I owe, the store has gracefully ignored the small matter of change.
Until next time,
Salaam and best wishes.
rth and considered a veritable deluge, warranting photos and front page news in the Gulf Times). The rain provides a welcome relief as it settles the dust for a time, but hardly appears to make a dent in the relentless heat. I think the drivers have the hardest time in the rain - there are no storm sewers so the water sits in puddles and ponds in roads, that create huge water features as cars plough through them, and watch out if you are the unsuspecting pedestrian! A lot of drivers are unpracticed in the art of hydroplaning which causes some hair raising spectacles as well.The dust storms are a conversation piece - not anything like I imagined - more like a fine mist or fog that rolls over the city, with the sun looking as if it is an eclipse. Leaving windows open at such times are guaranteed to cost you hours of effort - more like a clean-up after a drywall project. It seeps into the car while driving, making one reach compulsively for bottled water all the time. We are currently having the car washed every few days. We have the same black car that we were using in Calgary, the only difference in the dirt is that in Calgary it was due to gravel and wet snow build up, and here it is pockmarked with a liberal coating of desert sand.
Food has been an interesting commodity - just about everything is flown in: milk, eggs and yoghurt from Saudi or Egypt, fruit and vegetables from India, Turkey and Asia, meat from Australia and NZ, dry goods from Europe. Fish appears to be the only product that is local - although there is also plenty of international fish catches as well. The fresh produce market usually has a good variety to choose from and mostly fresh looking. The prices are substantial: I have seen tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflowers for $7 per kg, one sweet potato of very medium size $2.50, cucumbers up to $3 or $4 dollars depending what you buy. Meat - if you stick to premium - will not cost under $20-25 per kg (and you will not! find real bacon anywhere!) I had the pleasure of buying about 1/2 kg of grapes for the terrifying price of $12. The one difficulty I have is that I have had to play Sherlock amongst the shelves and aisles, taking me back to our first months in Canada again - I know what I want, but the labels have all changed on me. Nonetheless, it has been easy to keep up with my usual cooking style, eating much the same as we did back home, albeit more expensively.
We are, unfortunately, inundated with the usual lineup of suspects in terms of restaurant choices - Chili's, MacD, DQ, Applebees, BK, Pizza Hut, TGIF's, and a food court here is essentially a carbon copy of a food court anywhere else. There are also plenty of good restaurants offering great fine dining experiences, but they are not cheap. However, we have found some great alternatives - sampling authentic meals at Middle Eastern locales. One lucky find was the Starbucks cafe just up the road from us - I had my first Doha latte - and didn't even blink at the $7 I anted up. (Can't always knock the home town favourites - they do come in useful sometimes.)
The most unusual phenomena is the exchange of money after a purchase - coins are a rarity and no store appears to have any, although I have seen an occasional 50 cent piece. Anyway, you approach the cashier who scans the product, and looks up with a smile and announces "that will QR103.55", at which time you hand over QR104, and keep your hand hovering for the 45 dirhams. She looks perplexed...and waves you on. One hopes that the law of averages works out, as I have found that the next time if it is 30 dirhams that I owe, the store has gracefully ignored the small matter of change.
Until next time,
Salaam and best wishes.
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