The Sounds of Qatar: Abba and Olivia Newton-John

 Let me start by saying when I will think back to our stay in Mesaieed one of my memories will be the sound of the chanting prayers sent over loud speakers in this small town 5 times a day.   Technically prayer is 6 times a day however the one at dawn is between 3 and 4am so I have never heard it.  The times change daily as they are all based on the sunrise and sunset. 

When I first heard the beautiful melodic sounds I was taken aback and startled- I looked around trying to figure out what was going on.   There are huge speaker towers throughout the town that project the chanting prayers for all to hear.   Not everyone stops to pray, but I can say that I use it as a few moments of reflection.   I am not a religious person however hearing the prayers throughout the day has become

something I look forward to and enjoy.   Everyone could use more calm and reflective moments in their life.

You ask- what does Abba have to do with the prayers?  Absolutely nothing, but it is yet another “sound” that surprised me.    Let me start by saying during this time of travel I have made a “Get My Butt in Shape” resolution.   With the hotel gyms that will be available to me and a work schedule that is nothing like my past life in hospitality I don’t have any excuses.   The club here has an amazing gym and I have been working out for 45-90 minutes a day, 6 days a week the last two weeks.   Of course I assumed my body would be instantly transformed into a size 6 after two weeks and  I haven’t dropped a pound- but I digress.    They have a variety of workout music blasting in the gym but 90% of the time it is cranking out 70’s and 80’s tunes.   During the Abba songs I think back to the nights  in Vermont dancing in the Gray Ghost Inn’s kitchen with Carina and crew.   When the Grease tracks start to play I channel my sister Lisa who knows every line to the soundtrack.    During a strong workout yesterday I was alone in the gym and on the treadmill attempting to put one more mile in and losing steam.  The Grease soundtrack comes on and I start singing along to “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightening”  as I distract myself trying to get the last bit of my jog in.  Next thing I know another guest climbs onto the treadmill at me and looks at me with a grin because I was belting it out loud.  I immediately shut my mouth  with an embarrassed laugh.   Now for those of you who don’t know me very well- I can’t sing to save my life.  A former co-worker, Stacy, compared my singing to a “wet cat trying to claw their way out of the water on a chalk board".  Oh well- I’ll never see this guy again so I jog on.   The song “You’re the One that I want” comes on next and he starts humming to the song and  starts singing along- and luckily for me his voice is as bad as mine!      I pick up singing Sandy’s lines and he keeps singing Danny’s lines and we make it about half way through the song before we both start laughing and admit we don’t know any more of the lines.

As Greg would say “People are People”.  It doesn't matter if you are jogging next to a local  in Qatar 7000+ miles away from home or dancing in a kitchen in Vermont .......everyone loves a good “Grease “ song.   

Cheers and Good Travel


Since I have been slacking on taking pictures, below are some images of local art that is in the hallways of our living quarters. 

That's Crap....

Mesaieed, Qatar

There so many great things about the guest quarters here, but internet and cable are not two of them and to quote my step-daughter “that’s crap”.     I have gotten used to not having email and internet on my phone and I am actually enjoying  not being tied to my phone, however I loved my cable fix as I  am easing  my way into international living.  The first few days we were here I found 6 channels out of the 200+ that spoke English.   BBC was a nice news update option along with the AlJazerah news channel and  but my favorite was the Kuwait 2 channel featuring the HGTV show Property Brothers every day at 10:45 and then a couple cooking shows.     Three days into our stay the cable goes down and is in need of  repair  so no more cable for a week.    In the US we get frustrated with  the cable guy showing up between 12pm-5pm, but here they show up sometime between Wednesday and Monday.  It’s really a small thing but getting to watch the news and get a little American TV was a fun little diversion and I miss it!    Wifi is sporadic and  Greg and I have to take turns getting on the internet in the only spot that has a decent signal- the corner of our kitchenette.   Every so often  the streaming is strong enough to listen to the radio on Margaritaville.com  for some nice background music .   I think it’s time to invest in more songs on our itunes account as we keep hearing the same songs over and over and over and over. 

The next excursion to Shoprite had me focused on all the fresh fish. In talking to the workers behind the fish counter they tried to explain  the 2 dozen kinds of whole fresh fish available to me.   They suggest grilling for almost all of them and I only have access to a couple small sauté pans and an oven so that won't work.     I really want to get a 2 foot long needle fish, but they talk me out of it and I end up with a jesh fish and a sardine to play with along with some fresh head on shrimp .  I buy a few more exotic fruits and vegetables for that night but don’t have a clue what most of it is and how it will taste.

That night I attempt to filet the jesh fish with a dull paring knife and butcher it , so I give up on  gutting and cleaning he sardine.   I start tasting the items I brought home to decide what to do with them.   The amla berry was very tart and I discover it is actually a goose berry. The gotokula leaf is a slightly bitter and bland  version of cilantro and the drumstick reminds me of a 2 foot long thin combination of  okra and celery.    For dinner I ended up with pan seared jesh fish  and shrimp with a spicy amla berry and mango compote paired with stewed drumstick and baby eggplant and  a gotokula leaf  salad/ tabouleh with citrus and onion.   It sounds much more exotic and tasty than it turned out but it was fun and different.   You will note there are no pictures as the plating really wasn’t that attractive at all..   

No wine, beer or anything fun  is an option here so our dinner drinks have been fresh juices mixed with soda water.   At the club they offer a fresh lemonade blended with a little ice and mint, absolutely wonderful!    Recently when we had breakfast in Dubai they made a fresh orange juice "icee" blended with basil that was out of this world.   I suggest all of you get your blender out and try these (and I imagine a little rum or vodka would also be a nice addition!) 

Cheers and Good Travel! 

Camel Crossings and Easter Bunnies

We have a forty –five minute drive from Doha to Mesaieed through the arid land, and we pass gorgeous buildings under construction along the desert.   The ocean isn’t far but not visible from the road and I see huge expanses of sand.    I catch a glimpse of camel crossing signs and keep my eye out for camels but no such luck.   Qatar’s development is amazing with their  economic and social growth as they are getting ready to be the first Arab state to host the World Cup in 2022.  The construction going on throughout Doha is jaw-droppingly intense. 

We arrive at the guest housing and are pleasantly surprised as we were not sure what to expect.   We have a mini kitchenette along with the ability to use the community kitchen to cook in as well.  The fridge is stocked with sodas, juice, soft cheese, jam and water ; the community kitchen has eggs and bread for toast as well.   

We are given the tour and they let us know there is a club just a short walk away where we can have dinner and they offer a small bowling lane, ping pong, billiards, indoor tennis,  a pool and a great work out facility.

After four days of travel  we start laundry and after the first load I realize I seriously miss having a dryer.  However, even in the AC it seems as if the clothes know it’s 110 outside and dry quickly but stiff like cardboard.  

As Greg is in meetings I fill my morning with work and then head on my first excursion to the local shops.   I check with the housing coordinator to find out what I can and can’t wear in town which is about a 10-15 minute walk.  Mesaieed is much smaller than Doha and I am not sure just how conservative it is- does my bedazzled abaya need to come out?  I wear capris and a summer long sleeve shirt which he assures me will be fine.  I head to Shoprite first and spend an hour walking from aisle to aisle examining all the different food available.    I don’t see any other women but everyone is extremely polite and accepting . I get many double takes  but all with a smile and multiple people offer to help me.  I can’t help but wonder  if a visitor from Qatar showed up in their traditional dress at an American small town grocery store what would happen.  I am sure they would get the same if not even more double takes.  

I  can’t get everything I want so I pick and choose some exotic fruits like custard apple, mangosteen, and sapodillas.   I keep asking the produce workers about what all the different things are for and they patiently answer me with a grin.  We actually travel with our breville  juicer  in our suitcase so I fill up bags of what I think are exotic greens but end up being red and green spinach.  

I laugh as I pass very Americanized foods such as Kraft cheese in a jar, Scooby-Do

shaped pasta and Squirt soda.    Qatar seems to be the land of  forgotten candy,  I pass by Christmas M&M’s , Chocolate Easter bunnies, Valentines chocolates and Halloween sweets as I wonder what they think of our American culture.

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We have an exotic fruit tasting that night- the custard apple had burst in the bag but the inside was  overly sweet with a texture of pudding, the mangosteen  was overripe and as I cut the fruit in  half to extract the jellybean sized seeds most of them were too soft but still tasty.   It is suggested the outside of the mangosteen is loaded with nutrients for juicing, but it's hard as a rock and pass so it doesn't tear up our blade. The sapodilla had a cloying sweet taste and was the color of sweet potato.   

Good  Fun and Good Travel……

My First Bedazzled Abaya

We arrive in Dubai  at the Sheraton Deira after midnight , wait forever for our luggage and we arrive at the hotel a jet lag mess but we are hungry.   Off to the Lindbergh Bar for some mezzeh and a drink.   We are too tired to wait for the food so they send it to the room…. Hummus, olives, nuts, pita,  and crash for the morning flight.    Breakfast consisted of leftover mezzeh to tide us over.   We arrive at the airport and not knowing how strict Qatar will be I purchase an abaya at one of the airport stores which is the long black robe that comes with a sheer black scarf to put over your head if needed.   Most of the abayas are seriously bedazzled with gold and silver sequins.   I find a simple one  with a small black sequin design and put it in the bag “just in case” .

Love business class!  It was a short one hour flight but because we were in business class we were issued the  blue “cards “ that allowed us to exit first (well actually after first class) .  We climb on a bus that shuttles us to the terminal for passport control , and the  lines are long but moving quickly.  I notice almost all the women had either long skirts or pants on with long sleeves and I am feeling self conscious in my shorts and short sleeve top so I toss the abaya scarf over my shoulders to try and blend in.  

Luggage was painless and someone comes up to us offering us a taxi.   He seems to be a private car  trying to bypass the taxi wait line but we say yes and head outside.   The doors open to 110 degree weather and we are hauling suitcases across two parking lots to where his black car has been parked in the sun, by the time we got to his car we were dripping sweat and the car is hotter than the outside.  Note to self- next time stand in the taxi line.

We make it to the Doha Sheraton and have a gorgeous room overlooking the Arabian Gulf.   Bathing suits on with a refreshing dip in the pool to cool us off.    The best spot is under the trees overlooking the ocean and we quickly relocate there entertaining ourselves feeding the birds the mixed nuts that come with our cocktails.   Dinner at the Irish Pub makes it an early night as we are fighting jet lag and we head to Mesaieed tomorrow.

 

Orlando to JFK to Amsterdam

We arrive at Amsterdam airport and hit the KLM lounge  after a long flight.  Who cares about  waiting when you have self service champagne, wine, beer, and all the food you can imagine.  We settle in and after an hour it was announced that our flight was cancelled.   It was the only one that day so they offered us a  night in Amsterdam.   Option 1  possible long travel with multiple stops on another airline….Option 2-  Airport hotel ……  Option 3 – hotel along the canals in the city   Option 3 won by a landslide.   We received our complimentary KLM overnight bag with toothbrush, socks, lotion and deodorant and off we go.   We stay at the Hotel Pulitzer which is a gorgeous  Sheraton hotel near the canals made up of twenty-five restored 17th and 18th century canal houses.   It was a rare 75 degree and sunny day so we stroll along the canals stopping  at random bistros for escargot, wine, and cheese.   As you walk along the canal ways you can’t help but notice the strong herbal smoke smell…. It’s Amsterdam!   The coffee shops were everywhere and  with them a very mellow crowd.    Per usual we see the famous tourist locations  with the long lines and by-pass them,  Anne Frank's house will have to wait for another visit. 

Why Good Travel?

 In searching for an easy way to keep everyone abreast of  our  work travels along with all the fun and trouble we will get into along the way I decided to catch up with the rest of the world and start a blog.   My goal was to stay in touch without having  to copy and paste the same email over and over again , or be completely obnoxious with posts on Facebook.  So a blog seemed the natural solution .    Please feel free to follow it , but don’t critique my grammar or look for any life changing or awe inspiring travel reviews….. this is just a simple journal of what we consider “Good Travel”.

This blog was originally titled “The Well Traveled Suitcase” in honor of  a gorgeous travel bag  I received as a going away gift from my friends; Lisa, Mallory, and Megan .  However, after  staying in 19 cities over 30 some days our motto of “Good Travel” was repeated over and over again which became the natural title for this blog.

What is Good Travel?   It is different for everyone.   To some people Good Travel is mapping out tours of  museums  and castles or hiking up the side of a mountain.  Our definition is a bit different  and it usually changes from day to day.  Yes, sometimes Good Travel is heading to Dubai on a business class flight with champagne in hand  before takeoff  (who wouldn't consider that Good Travel?) . Quite often it is much simpler like the time we pulled  into a Mississippi gas station on day 18 of our road trip looking for a simple biscuit for breakfast and finding the treasure trove of all breakfasts- homemade hot boudain sausages and pork tamales!    Good Travel can be driving 10 straight hours with movies to keep the kids distracted or stopping every couple of hours when the mood suits you to see the tacky souvenir shops. Good travel can be an amazing steak dinner at Dickie Brennan’s in New Orleans , or cooking hamburgers around a fire on Carters Lake.

Cheers and here is to your Good Travel!