My Weekends in Qatar

In the course of employment I am staying in Qatar since October 2004. I work at the finance department of a private company in Doha. I have found my stay very interesting due to my collaborative colleagues, my friends, and the appreciable hospitality of Qatari citizens.







Doha looks like a huge ship over Arabian Sea.

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel


Friday is the beginning of the weekend for Qatar. It is denoted as a public holiday also. I enjoy weekends by gathering with friends and traveling.

By Thursday evening, my friends and I gather and get updates about each other. We also update and share the latest news, political movements, and other incidents. We collect different magazines and newspapers from each other and study by sharing.

Every Thursday a Nepalese weekly newspaper, Rajdhani Saptahik, is published in Qatar. It is very interesting to read a Nepalese newspaper published locally. It provides local news as well as national and international news.




A view of Doha city

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel






I have a bad habit that I cannot get to sleep early on Thursday evening and awake early on Friday. Mostly my friends and I watch movies together on Thursday night and get to sleep very late. For that reason I sleep until 10 or 11 a.m. on Friday.

My friends and I prepare our lunch together. It takes around two hours. I enjoy having lunch with friends. It's like a picnic.

After having lunch, we rest while enjoying music or a movie. Meanwhile we also continue reading and sharing news or open discussion on different issues.

Some of weekends I arrange travels with my friends to different locations of Qatar. My accommodation is in Al Khor City. It is 50 kilometers from Doha. Mostly we visit Doha Cornish. It takes around 30 minutes from my house.




Doha's modernization is evident

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel


Doha Cornish is a very beautiful location of Doha. It is known as the heart of Qatar. It is in the center of Doha. There are many beautiful parks at the sea shore and enough space for gathering, sight seeing or getting rest. Different types of flowers, greeneries and skillful architecture make it a wonderful tourist destination. Some of these parks are only for families. Many people come here for sightseeing of for their morning and evening walk. Boating and water sports facilities are also available here.




People enjoying the weekend at Doha Cornish

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel


Except in some old cities, Qatar has wide and smooth roads. The speed limit is 120 kilometer per hour for light vehicles in most of the main streets and highways; however there are frequent accidents due to breach of traffic rules or uncontrolled speed. Now most of the main streets and highways are under radar surveillance for speed control.

Qatar hosted the Asian Games 2006 in Doha. During the games period it was very difficult to travel to Doha because of the heavy traffic. But now it is quite easier; however it is still difficult to get parking on Friday late afternoon.




A sweet memory of the Doha Asian Games 2006

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel








In most places, Qatar has well-managed greeneries, but they are not easy to maintain. Most of the land is desert and hard rock. Also there is very little rain. But the Qatar Municipality has made strong efforts to maintain the greeneries. They have arranged each plant with drop irrigation and high care by professional gardeners. I was informed by a gardener that previously they brought quality mud from India and Saudi Arabia. I appreciate their effort and awareness for the environment.




Wonderful greeneries in desert land

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel







We can see numerous ongoing construction around Qatar. Many towers, streets, and flyovers are going up. Construction is a booming business in Qatar. Many workers of different nationality are engaged in it.




Growing towers in Qatar

©2007 Gopal Pandey


Roaming in Doha is very interesting, but the temperature gets very high during the summer.




A beautiful scene of Doha Cornish

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel



A combination of neutrality and modernization

©2007 Ram Raj Khakurel


It will be late evening by the time I return back to my accommodation. After preparing and having dinner, I go to my bed around 12 midnight. I enjoy recalling my day while lying in bed, and go to sleep at an unknown time. Thus my each weekend ends with a memorable day. I have a saying among my friends, "Every Friday comes late and ends early."

Note: This article is also available on Ohmy News International