Cost of Going to Qatar

[Bruce Parry]

You could get apartments for 2 for $85, these were widely available. All transport was free. Pint could be had in the fanzine for £11. I didn’t mind laying that as everything else was so cheap.

Food was around £5 a meal and a bottle of water around 17p. I was there for 8 days and spent £300 and that was mostly presents for the kids. Brilliant city and very cheap.

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

You could get apartments for 2 for $85, these were widely available. All transport was free. Pint could be had in the fanzine for £11. I didn’t mind laying that as everything else was so cheap.

Food was around £5 a meal and a bottle of water around 17p. I was there for 8 days and spent £300 and that was mostly presents for the kids. Brilliant city and very cheap.

That's great to hear that you were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as expensive as many had thought it would be.

If I may ask, what did you find brilliant about the city, aside from the atmosphere generated by a World Cup taking place there?

[cyril evans awaydays]

That's great to hear that you were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as expensive as many had thought it would be.

If I may ask, what did you find brilliant about the city, aside from the atmosphere generated by a World Cup taking place there?

Speaking personally, I think calling Doha a brilliant city was a bit strong.

It exceeded my expectations but they were admittedly low. The atmospheric Souk Watif and a couple of forts aside, you would be hard pressed to find a building less than 40 years old. West Bay and Lusail have sky lines similar to Chicago.

That said, the Corniche along the bay is attractive with some pretty parks and mooring areas. We were spoiled though as it was closed to traffic and the city is pedestrian unfriendly at the best of times where wide concentric highways through the centre dominate.

The modern metro is great, driverless and super swift and frequent. Most of all some of the civic buildings are truly fantastic inside and out. The Museum of Islamic Art, featuring artefacts from across the Islamic world was delightful. The National Museum of Qatar and the National Library are spectacular buildings. Though if money is no object and land is plentiful then you can buy the best architects in the world to deliver this.

To be honest we didn't see many Qataris. The place runs on immigrants from Bangladesh, India, Africa and the Phillipines. Some of these are obviously working for peanuts but many of the Indians we spoke to were working in a vibrant IT sector. As you would expect many immigrants have also set up restaurants and fast food outlets where as others have mentioned the food is both delicious and cheap as chips.
.

[Swiss Peter]

Speaking personally, I think calling Doha a brilliant city was a bit strong.

It exceeded my expectations but they were admittedly low. The atmospheric Souk Watif and a couple of forts aside, you would be hard pressed to find a building less than 40 years old. West Bay and Lusail have sky lines similar to Chicago.

That said, the Corniche along the bay is attractive with some pretty parks and mooring areas. We were spoiled though as it was closed to traffic and the city is pedestrian unfriendly at the best of times where wide concentric highways through the centre dominate.

The modern metro is great, driverless and super swift and frequent. Most of all some of the civic buildings are truly fantastic inside and out. The Museum of Islamic Art, featuring artefacts from across the Islamic world was delightful. The National Museum of Qatar and the National Library are spectacular buildings. Though if money is no object and land is plentiful then you can buy the best architects in the world to deliver this.

To be honest we didn't see many Qataris. The place runs on immigrants from Bangladesh, India, Africa and the Phillipines. Some of these are obviously working for peanuts but many of the Indians we spoke to were working in a vibrant IT sector. As you would expect many immigrants have also set up restaurants and fast food outlets where as others have mentioned the food is both delicious and cheap as chips.
.

Interesting to read that. I was going to post that if Doha is a 'brilliant city' then it must have changed out of recognition from how it was when I worked in West Bay. Admittedly that was a time when the Metro was still under construction and it was clear that a step change in public transport would help address some of the traffic issues, especially in areas such as the Corniche. Must say that the Museum of Islamic Art stood out as a beacon of beauty in a landscape of modern, ostentatious, willy-waving high-rises and shopping malls. Like you, I was also struck by how few native Qataris you actually come across - even in the working environment. I think they only represented less than 30% of the population back then. Possibly even less now.