My first visitor in Doha!!

Thursday was an exceptionally busy day starting at 4am and ending at the wee hours in Friday morning.  Was almost up for 24 hours and even though I was exhausted, I didn't manage to sleep very well.  


Fingerprinting was first up Thursday morning and that involved a 30 minute bus ride to the Criminal Evidence and Information Department.  The process was very quick and then we were back on the bus for the 30 minute ride back.


We passed Villagio Mall and the surrounding carpark was so quiet.  Still hard to believe the tragedy that unfolded there only a couple of weeks ago. So sad.


Anyway, back at work, I had to run around in the heat to get my Qatar ID organised and on one of my many trips back to Immigration, I took an embarrassing stumble and my poor knee landed on the gravel and loose stones. I didn't realise how bad it was until the blood started pouring down me leg!!  A guy who was standing close by came to ask if I was okay and I was mindful of hiking my skirt up too high so that it didn't get blood on it while trying to wipe the first stream of blood up before the second one started.  I was a real sad and sorry sight, but thankfully I am clever enough to carry bandaids with me.  I managed to stop the bleeding enough to get me back to work and cleaned up!!

Ouch!!

I didn't realise how deep the actual hole in my knee was until I got back to work and cleaned it up.  It looks much better in the picture above than it did in real life and the betadine swab was painful but a real necessity.  I sucked up the pain and patched myself up and just got on with my day.  


After work ended, I was off to the airport to pick up my first visitor to Doha.  So excited, but because of all the construction going on in and around the hospital, it took 20 minutes for me to get 100 metres away from the main entrance of the hospital.  I was so late...sorry Edwin!!  


We headed to the Souq Waqif for dinner and it was such a beautiful night!!  Great weather and the atmosphere at the Souq was much better than what it was when I first went.  We had dinner at a Moroccan restaurant and we all ate Camel for the first time.  Kind of tasted like a milder version of lamb.  Wouldn't have noticed the difference if I didn't have lamb to compare it to!  It was a very yummy dinner so will definitely go back there again!!

The "pretty" mirrors in the ladies room

Aaliyah and I at the Souq Waqif

Our Nutella crepe in the making

After dinner, and a walk around the Souq, we headed to the Corniche and nearly got killed crossing the road with cars coming at us at lightening speed.  Thankfully Edwin was there to stop the cars... not!!

Doha skyline

After the walk, it was back to the Souq for some Haagen Dazs ice cream and then home!!  What a day!!


The next day started off with a quick check of the knee and the healing process.  I was walking around like an invalid and trying not to bend the knee too much so that the hole would seal up and it looks like all the hard work paid off!!

The healing of my knee after one day.  Not bad considering all the walking I did!!

As it was a Friday morning, all shops were closed so we headed to the local grocery store to pick up some breakfast.  We managed to fill up our basket just before we were told that we had to leave the store as they were closing the shop for prayer time.  First time I have been kicked out of a shop...literally!!

Preparing breakfast

Breakfast...Edwin style!!

After breakfast, we headed to Landmark, the next best shopping centre after Villagio in my opinion, but not so in Edwin's opinion.  It doesn't help that he had just spent the last couple of days shopping up in Dubai!!  After a quick bite at Maccas, we heading to Katara, my favourite place in Doha!!

Lunch...chosen by my guest!!

This is my favourite place in Katara...the Amphitheatre.  Have never seen it in daylight before but it is just as beautiful during the day as it is at night.  The circle that Edwin is standing in is rather special but I'm not going to say why. You'll have to come and visit me to find out!

This is a very special spot in the amphitheatre

Amphitheatre by day

To escape the heat, we headed in to an Art Exhibition.  Not exactly what I would have called entertaining, but the air conditioning was a real blessing.  Oh and we had some footage taken of us admiring the works.  You might see us in some promotional material down the track!!

Zoe and mummy...but I'm not that scary looking really am I?

More art...or another place to prolong the air-conditioned comfort

The best art display by far

We all know someone who fits this cartoon, right?

One of my favourites!!

One of the entrances to the amphitheatre

The outside of the amphitheatre by daylight

After cooling off enough, we headed for coffee and cake at The Red Velvet Cupcakery.  

Pit stop

Yummy lemon cupcake and hot chocolate

Then it was back to the Amphitheatre at sunset for some better lighting for photos.  Shame there was a whole bunch of people there ruining the photos!!

Amphitheatre by sunset

Looking out from the amphitheatre towards the restaurants.  The Intercontinental and St Regis hotels are in the distance

So we took a stroll along the beach and right at the other end, we found an entrance that wasn't blocked off.  We took our shoes off and enjoyed the cool sand for about a minute before security came and told us to get off!!

Our short stroll along the beach.  That's our foot prints up along the wall.

Heading back to the Amphitheatre one more time.  This time we caught the little buggies.  It was a very bumpy ride!!

Riding the bumpy buggies to get us back to the Amphitheatre

The much needed "disabled" access ramp leading to the inside

Amphitheatre by night

Amphitheatre and restaurant

After a nice dinner, it was time to bid Edwin good bye.  It was so nice having a piece of home with me in Doha, even if it was only for a short while.
I wonder who I will be entertaining next?!

What a week...or two!!

What a week or two it has been!! So much has happened, I don't know where to begin.  The good, the bad and the ugly has all happened to me.


I must say though, that today has been an exceptional "good news" day.  So many good things have come my way today and I am so grateful for all those that have restored the good faith back in me.  I have found my laugh again and I must thank my beautiful Aamina for helping me find it <wink wink>


We have finally started coding in ICD 10 AM and my week has just flown by.  I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of the week.  It feels like the week just started yesterday.  It has been a slow and not so productive week.  What seemed like a possible task, has been a bit more impossible because of all the manual processes that come with coding.  It can only get better and I am just grateful that I have something to sink my teeth in to.


So my appointment at the Medical Commission was not as bad as I thought it would be.  I found out that I was not actually "in" Qatar as they didn't register me properly when i first arrived and I think that is why my medical was rejected the first time.  They told me to go back to immigration and get them to fix it, but I had waited this long for a repeat medical that I got it done just in case.  Didn't want to be told after that I would need to come back to get it done again.


Immigration was so helpful and Tahir in particular was a darling.  He got my passport issue sorted without me having to lift a finger and he even got me on the bus for fingerprinting tomorrow...yah!!  This means that I am another step closer to getting my Qatar ID which means another step closer to getting a visa for Zoe and another step closer to getting a car, villa and life sorted!!


So many things to be thankful for in life and meeting some beautiful people along the way just makes the journey all the more better!!


Tomorrow, I have my very first visitor from Australia.  Now I just have to think about what to do to help change his opinion of Qatar!!