Doha, Qatar - Al Udied Air Base
Well, I'm a little over halfway through my deployment. Its been....interesting....Not really. Actually pretty boring. My schedule is awkward so I'm not on the same timeline with any of my friends. So I'm pretty much just a loner. But thats cool. I've been able to concentrate hard on studying german and hit the gym everyday.
I did run into an old West point friend of mine, Ryan Berdiner. He's been here for a year and is able to go downtown easily. So I went with him a couple times. Doha, is going to be an amazing city...GOING TO BE...Currently the entire place is underconstruction. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. There are new buildings going up everywhere. And all of the roads are being rerouted and worked on in someway. Its a real mess right now. They are also building infrastruce for the Aisan Games that are being held here in December. I picked up the brochure. Events include...chess, baseball???, basketball, and a bunch of other random things. Very strange. But they are building a nice new stadium. I haven't met to many middle eastern sports guru's, but maybe they get pumped up for this. I wonder if women are allowed in the sadium. But basically, in ten years, Doha will be the next Dubai. The Qataris are some of the few Arabs that realize they need to build an econmony thats based on something other than oil. If they all could be so wise...
The food has been very cheap and tastes really good. We just ordered the Mezzi plate. A large platter with lots of meats and dips for the bread they bring. We ate lunch one day are a restuarant out on the water. We decided to eat outside, temp was around 115 Farenheit. One night we went to a cigar bar these guys like, its at the Ritz Carlton outside of town. Very nice, but 2 scotches and a cigar ended being $100. But it was cool to see the alfuent Arabs in the spotless white robes driving up in Proches and BMWs and the like.
The also have a giant shopping cart in front of a shopping center on the outskirts of town. Its about 50 feet high.
I did run into an old West point friend of mine, Ryan Berdiner. He's been here for a year and is able to go downtown easily. So I went with him a couple times. Doha, is going to be an amazing city...GOING TO BE...Currently the entire place is underconstruction. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. There are new buildings going up everywhere. And all of the roads are being rerouted and worked on in someway. Its a real mess right now. They are also building infrastruce for the Aisan Games that are being held here in December. I picked up the brochure. Events include...chess, baseball???, basketball, and a bunch of other random things. Very strange. But they are building a nice new stadium. I haven't met to many middle eastern sports guru's, but maybe they get pumped up for this. I wonder if women are allowed in the sadium. But basically, in ten years, Doha will be the next Dubai. The Qataris are some of the few Arabs that realize they need to build an econmony thats based on something other than oil. If they all could be so wise...
The food has been very cheap and tastes really good. We just ordered the Mezzi plate. A large platter with lots of meats and dips for the bread they bring. We ate lunch one day are a restuarant out on the water. We decided to eat outside, temp was around 115 Farenheit. One night we went to a cigar bar these guys like, its at the Ritz Carlton outside of town. Very nice, but 2 scotches and a cigar ended being $100. But it was cool to see the alfuent Arabs in the spotless white robes driving up in Proches and BMWs and the like.
posted by Tuck at 9:55 AM
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