I always make it a goal to never return to the same country twice, but when work makes you travel (and you make the most of that paid for travel) you get to live in the city of Doha for another 6 month stint. I was last here 4 years ago (see 2015 first impressions here) with time in-between spent finishing out my time in Europe, and moving to a small island in the Pacific (Guam). 

I thought the last time I left, that I had left no-stone-unturned, that I had seen everything, but coming back for a second time has allowed me to see this international city in a completely new light. I have a new found appreciation for what the country has come from (literally nothing) to the vision it is building for the future.

While my recap of 48 hours in Doha still holds true as some of the best things to do in this city, the continuous construction project that is Doha means it is ever growing — starting with the 2022 World Cup.  I had the opportunity to take a personal tour of one of the stadiums purpose built but for the occasion, Al Wakrah stadium.

Al Wakrah is just one of 9 new stadiums being built by Qatar. The whole complex is state of the art with a/c ventilation coming from each of the stadium seats, fresh grass specially designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the country and rows of seats that not only resemble the waves of the Gulf, but are removable. As a part of the bid to win the world cup, Qatar proposed to make the top half of the stadium movable. This portion of the stadium will be donated to less developed countries, furthering the international sport.

If you have read anything about the bid for Qatar to host the world cup, you are intimately familiar with the human rights accusations (violations) that country has been caught up in. In fact, I myself was surprised by all of the ‘other country national’ labor in 2015. Qataris, making only 10% of their own country, could not sustain all the construction – or any service for that matter – without all of their imported labor. There is certainly an obvious hierarchy that is extremely noticeable and unlike any I have experienced in the western world.

Questionable work force aside – I have been pleasantly surprised by the concerted effort in Qatar to make changes to their health and safety standards as a result of all the negative press.  The tour we took of the stadium was lead by ‘the’ health and safety guy who explained that their are now strict rules on not working 1000-1400 (hottest parts of the day) and continuous tracking on construction mishaps. Better, but still Middle Eastern labor rights standards.

90% of the population of Qatar come from 100 different nations. Doha is such an international mix of people that you get a completely different vantage point on the world. Texas Roadhouse sits right next to Papparoti (Malaysian bun bakery) across from Top Shop (British clothing company), juxtaposed to Zawaya (UAE perfume) all bundled up in one massive mall. In those malls, beautiful women clad in all black Hajibs shop for the latest fashion all the while leaving the air with the most wonderful scents. Nepal is a 4 hour $400 flight as is Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India. Arabic is spoken, but so is English, Tagali and French. It is everywhere, but still somehow Arabian at the same time.

Knowing what to expect out of the Gulf states (new money over historical artifacts), I feel like I am seeing Doha for the first time — rediscovering a place I have been before only to find that I have never actually seen it.

Let’s redux this adventure.