It is not considered acceptable for Qatari women to smoke. Shisha (see below) is generally considered more acceptable, but most Qatari women still do not smoke Shisha in public. Not all Arabs share this view, and it is common to see Lebanese families enjoying a shisha together after a pleasant meal in Souq Waqif!

Attitude

Qatar has an active anti-smoking policy in place, and an anti-smoking unit at the Supreme Council of Health to enforce it. Surgeries and hospitals are festooned with posters and images and there are strict anti-smoking laws in place.

Laws and Regulations

It is illegal to smoke in enclosed public places such as malls and most restaurants and cafes. While the law has at time been openly flouted, more recently very hefty fines have been handed out to people breaking the law; in April 2010 $14,000 in fines were handed out.

It is, however, legal to smoke outside at cafes and restaurants, and with its sunny climate that means the restriction is not a huge problem for most of the year. In some restaurants there are also completely enclosed areas where smokers can enjoy their cigarettes.

Despite the regulations on public places, it remains legal to smoke in bars, and the bars are just as smoky as the pubs and nightclubs of the UK and America in the past.

Taxes and prices

Despite the anti-smoking stance taken by the government, prices remain low when compared to the UK or the US. A pack of 20 Marlboro in a local shop will set you back around 7 or 8 riyals or around $2.

Shisha

Shisha is the local name for the  hookah or water pipe, also known as hubbly bubbly or the  narghile. It is commonly thought to be safer than smoking, with smokers believing that the water strains the impurities out of the smoke. This belief has survived for centuries, with legend stating that the physician Hakim Abul Fath invented the device for the Emperor Akbar in order to render the Emporer’s smoking habit ‘harmless’.

Whether it is safe or not remains controversial. Some anti-smoking groups maintain that it many times worse than smoking, and that the tin foil used may add carcinogens to the mix. In addition, if not properly cleaned water pipes at cafes may harbour harmful bacteria which can be passed from customer to customer. However, websites like the Sacred Nargile maintain this is pseudo science, denying that Shisha is more harmful than cigarettes.

Electronic Cigarettes

Although electronic cigarettes are banned in neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the UAE, there does not seem to be a strong policy on them in Qatar. While you can not buy the devices directly in Qatar, ECigaretteDirect, a British electronic cigarette company, supply the electronic cigarette directly to Qatar via Aramex.

Marijuana

While it is available, Cannabis is illegal and usage or drug dealing will lead to a prison sentence. We strongly recommend that you do not use cannabis during your stay in Qatar.

Nothing is clear and despite clear warnings by government officials and the general public around the world, Facebook seems to just ignore what’s right for people. Yes, they implement some security features here and there, but the fact of the matter is, it isn’t enough.

It’s not only the responsibility of FB though. Parents need to monitor their children and adults need to be weary about what they post online. What’s scary is that even if you don’t post a picture, you know that someone else is going to post something and tag you eventually.

Here are a couple of great videos, I’d love to create a Qatarized/Arabized version. If you need more tips and advice, ictQatar is here to help and be there for you! (probably the only authority that actively engages with the public so openly!)

Here’s a snippit:

“Back in the days before oil, Qataris made clever use of nature to aide them in keeping clean. They made soap out of the leaves of lotus trees, which they would dry and grind and mix with water to wash themselves with. They also used a soap-like substance called dhiyya, which was made of fats. Dhiyya was also used to wash clothes.”

Read more on what they had to say http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=412&pID=1665#ixzz0nekAxyFx It’s a very good read!

Limafoxtrot first made a post about the fact that Qatar was changing the rules so that everyone had to go and get visas from an embassy rather than on arrival at the airport. (New Visa Rules from 1st of May)

However it looks like things have changed again! Adam_new posted:

“Hi All

Am not sure if this is true and it would be useful if anyone else can either confirm or deny it but i have heard this morning from a reliable source that the introduction of the new visa regulations has been delayed for an indefinite period”

Lucky for everyone it IS true, read the Qatar News Agency article here (Visa on arrival rule for 33 countries stays)

To be honest, Qatar’s a neutral country. Just because there are other countries in the Middle East that might seem to have a bad image, the west has grouped the whole region as a ‘threat’. The Qatari population is around 250,000, getting into Qatar isn’t the easiest of things to do, and obtaining a Qatari passport is near impossible, so I don’t see a major threat from Qatar at all.

Let’s all pray that it’ll be easier for Qataris to travel I hated the fact that I had to go through so much paper work with the Japanese embassy. I’d like to pay for a visa on arrival please!

1) The menu bar on the left is now compact! We’ve added a cool accordian menu style that shrinks after 2-3 seconds of being expanded. If it detects that you like clicking around on links that are usually hidden, it’ll stay expanded. What’s better? iPhone friendly!

2) We’ve added a new list on the main page that shows you what the current events, latest news, latest threads, and guides are in Qatar! Now you can go clickity click and you’re there in a …. click..

If you’ve got your own ideas, share them with me! Now get going to http://www.iloveqatar.net

Ah how it was easy to please me. I remember hanging out, seeing children playing in the public pools, families chilaxing on the beach, and eating at a Pizza Hut that was open while seeing the ‘adults’ enjoying themselves at a coffee shop. It wasn’t big at all. To me , it was a perfect little island. I wish I owned it now in fact! I’ve got this perfect project!

Where IS Palm Tree Island you ask? Alas, ’tis no more. It’s the island with the lone tree on it in the center of the corniche. Although it used to be add to the view, its now just a place for stupid Tennis marketing and launching fireworks.

Why was it torn down? There’s a number of stories going around. The one I hear most often is that it was supposed to be the spot of the ‘World’s Largest Water Fountain’ and it was supposed to have been created for the Asian Games. Well the Asian Games were in 2006 so I think we can pretty much say that’s not going to happen.

What makes me sad is the fact that they didn’t even have a plan in place before getting rid of it. Why not raze it once you KNOW something’s going to happen.

Ah well…. enjoy some piccies I found from around the internets. (Various sources, Getty images, Qatar embassy, and Mary Steel)

Some people may not realize this, but the reason why Qataris don’t just chit chat with strangers usually, is because it’s out of respect. We believe in respecting personal boundaries (some are just shy despite the occasional serious look). However, many will find that once you kick start a conversation, it’ll be as if you’ve been friends for ages! I’d be surprised you didn’t end up BEING friends for ages.

Some people are naturally cautious though. In all honesty, there are many people who want to get to know you… for a short while… As I read from a post about a young boy who told a girl in his class [from one of my favourite blogs (Gaijin Smash)] ”I’ll love you only for today”.

You’ll want to stay away from those types of people.

As for places to go to meet people. That’s a tough one that even I haven’t been able to answer. However if you’re looking for online communities, of course there’s ILQ’s forums as a start, then there’s QFriends. I’d recommend QFriends for people who want to participate in Language Exchanges, find PenPals, or just make friends from all over!

That’s the beauty of Qatar. It’s a melting pot of nationalities!

Tags: Making friends in Qatar. Making friends with Qataris. Finding friends. How to get to know people.

Here are the names of some fish and their arabic names

Grouper – Hamour
White Sea bass – Karoos
Red Snapper – Nahash Ahmar
white Snapper – Nahash Abyadh
Red Tuna – Tuna
Sea Bream – Shiboot

Other tasty fish are:

Chanad
Safi (delicious but small)

What are your favourite fish in Qatar?

Fish in Qatar – Species and Names in Arabic (Original Thread)

At the moment, a couple of ways of searching for jobs on ILQ is through our Beta Classifieds or through the forum (Job Hunting). (That’s all changing to something fantastic).

However, I wanted to take the time to mention a great start-up Qatar Visitor Jobs. It’s still building up, but it’s growing at a great rate and I thought I’d share it with you.

Also, don’t forget that ILQ has some great quick guides.

See: Working in Qatar and Moving to Qatar and The Ultimate Expat Workers Guide

Tags: Getting a job in Qatar, Searching for a job in Doha Qatar, finding a job in Qatar

I have to admit that HongKong wasn’t as great as people made it out to be. I had a number of issues; a few of which were poor service and rudeness in shops. (I met some wonderful people too of course).

I had passed by Macau as well and stayed at the Wynn and to make a long story short, the lock in my room didn’t work, they had to fix the lock, the lock’s problem turned out to be bigger than they thought, I had to change my room, the room I was changed to was smaller, the lights stopped working at night, the ‘Tree of propserity” (which is one of the reasons I booked the Wynn), was down for maintanence, staff in the hotel were amazingly rude, and all I got at first was an apology and a bowl of fruit (two apples, an orange, a banana, and a guava….).

I told them that an apology means nothing and that I was going to write a letter to the management in US. After going out and coming back in, service was tremendously great… I was upgraded to an apartment suite, and even the managers carried my bags….  I was grateful… but still….

Having been upgraded on the final night pissed me off since all I got to enjoy was… well nothing much really since I went straight to bed.

HOWEVER, I have to say that the best hotel I’ve ever stayed in in my life is called The Mira. It’s amazing. Staff are fantastic and the design is gorgeous. It’s like the W Hotel, but it’s more stylish and you feel more personal. The staff go out of their way to make you feel at home. I wish we had a Mira in Qatar.

Anyway, going back go to Hong Kong. I had wanted to view some great fireworks and enjoy the new years, but sadly Hong Kong isn’t the place to go for new years. They don’t really have that much going on despite what some sites say. I’ve had first had experience (and so did a few others last year), and it’s nothing special. There are three places that have anything going on 1) The Harbour 2) TImes Square, and 3) Some park I forgot the name of.

The place to see fireworks is the harbour, so I went there to check it out. So I went ‘two hours’ in advance to get a good spot and the roads were already packed. As I was trying to pass through a mall entrance, staff stopped me and told me that I needed tickets… I asked how much and he told me $1,500. What?! No way! Then he told me they were sold out. “Screw that” I thought, and I decided to take another route. I asked a police man (from the many police there creating blockades) what was going to happen. He mentioned there would be a fireworks show that goes on for 4 minutes…..

Wait… 4 minutes… $1,500 dollars for 4 minutes. When I asked if I could go through, he said no because people have to pay. I was disappointed that it seemed that new years in HK was only for those willing to throw away money. New Years should be for everyone to rejoice…

“Screw that”, I thought again, I’m going to find another view since I don’t need to be so close to see the fireworks. Nope…. I was wrong.. Police had blocked every area where people could get a view of the fireworks. The streets were packed and full. It was an amazing sight. However many of them were very angry and I was worried for a moment there would be some sort of rebellion.

My lesson? HK is the last place to go for a New Year in Asia…

All in all though, I had a good time.