Who smokes?

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.

Al Dar frustrates the hell out of me and some of the other apartment owners. Not only is Zig Zag still not in the state that it was promised (underground parking has leaks and is filthy, ‘recreation’ area looks unfinished, the damn fire alarm still rings randomly, and elevator L1 is broken (door opens and shuts twice before allowing you to press the floor you want to go to), but now they think that they can do whatever they want in the building.

1) We’re supposed to vote for a new maintanence company and the owners/tenants still haven’t had a transfer yet (who wants to bet they want to try and keep the ownership? They’re making a fortune after all since they’re pocketing the money rather than actually spending it on the building).

2) They don’t do regular sweeps and companies keep putting their marking materials around

3) The security guards are just for show. They just sit there, allow cars to block the entrance and exits, and love just stare at you rather than greet you.

4) They cost cut at any chance they get! (all you have to freaking do is turn down the a/c by ONE degree Dar. ONE degree!

5) They think they actually have the right to tell owners how to live in the tower!

Let’s talk about my last point. I love rules that make sure that everyone’s happy but some of the things they do are ridiculous. I went to the pool today to be surprised at the fact that the filter isn’t on, the pool lights aren’t on (couldn’t find the switch), and was disgusted by the ugly flamingo peach walls they had painted as usual. On the door were a few notices by a company offering swimming lessons. At first I was annoyed that Dar allowed a company to advertise their services by sticking an A4 paper on the glass but then noticed another note by the same company. It was a list of rules for swimming in the pool. I agreed with many but a few just aggravated the hell out of me.

One rule said that guests had to get permission from the management before being allowed to use the pool. Wait what? I am expected to ask the management their permission if I have friends over? Screw that!

Another said that people with long hair (that’s relative but I’ll let it slide), have to wait bathing caps…

Another rule said that people were not allowed to swim solo…. So I guess if you’re living alone you’re pretty much screwed since you have to call the management and if they say no then the President has spoken.

Give us some damn seats to sit on by the pool! Give us some damn shade! Give us a tiny bit of quality!

Aha! So it’s Dar posing as another company? Did they set up another company just to make some MORE money by teaching swimming? PLUS they think that they own the pool? *sighs*

Anyway, I’m just biding me time. They’re not going to take over the building for another year. I’ll fight it with every bone in my body.

They already messed up a beautiful building and I can guarantee that I’ll never buy a property from Al Dar again. I advise you all not to either.

I’m not going insane. It’s something I’ve always wanted to talk about and a commenter on the “Qataris are Rich – The Myth” post had touched on taxes and brought this back on my mind.

I don’t want to be taxed like crazy (like how the UK does to its people) but maybe a slight tax would be a good thing. (I’m talking about income tax and none of that VAT stupidity!)

Imagine if Qatar taxed citizens 1-2% of their salary for example.

1) That should be enough to beautify the country, parks, water systems, lights, etc…

2) People would demand that the country does something with their tax money

3) People would start conciously thinking of their financial status

The government should also provide tax breaks.

1) If you build a garden or put grass outside of your house, you get a 50% tax break (this forces people to beautify Qatar to avoid paying tax)

2) If your organization (or even your household) does something charitable, you get a tax break

If you think about it, Qatar is the ‘perfect’ country to have tax.

1) The taxes aren’t ‘needed’ by the government, which means that it should remain stable.

2) The tax money they generate would be considered a ‘bonus’

Who can give me their views on tax?  Good? Bad? If you think it’s good, explain why? Remember, don’t just think of the economic impact, think of society, psychology, bureaucracy, etc..

If there’s one Arabic country that I have to choose as a country which I respect, it’s Bahrain. I love that country and its people. Quite recently it was ranked internationally as the world’s most friendliest country. I definately agree.

Put simply, if someone were to ask me why I love Bahrain, my list would be a page long. However in the interest of not boring you to death, I’ll list what makes them a great nation and a reason for why they turned out quite different from Qataris.

1) Bahrainis run their own country. No this isn’t a locals vs. expats comment. I feel that if all the expats left Bahrain, they’d be able to survive. You see Bahrainis working as taxi drivers, throughout the business hierarchical chain, and at your local cold store. There’s isn’t an exclusive dependancy on foreigners. Lets face it. If the expats dropped everything and moved out of Qatar, things would pretty much come to a stand-still.

2) Bahrainis work hard and they don’t act like anything is beneath them. You see them working at petrol stations or as security guards in the malls. This touches upon point one, but the reason for their motivation is because they’re hard workers. It’s obvious to me that the government recognizes this because Bahrainis are considered the ‘Golden Expat’ by Qatari companies. (The fact that they’re from the GCC, similar values to Qataris, and are hard workers).

3) They’re incredibly smart. The average Bahraini is very intelligent. They definitely have the entrepreneurial spirit. It all comes down to their education. Qatar only quite recently started putting an emphasis on education with, well… , with Education City. There’s been major changes in the government schooling as well, however Bahrain has a 20 year lead. One of the reasons why I moved to Qatar was because my family wanted a better education for me. I studied at a private school and ended up with an I.B. Diploma.

So why are they like this? They’re poorer. Seems a bit simplistic doesn’t it? Hear me out. As Qataris, we’re given quite a lot of opportunity. I’m priveledged and I’m trying to make the most of the fortunauate position that God put me in. However it seems that people have grown up where they think that government support (in its current form) is their ‘right’. Many people became too rich, too fast, and they forgot about the basics. The basics of raising their own kids, the basics of Islam (peace, respects and tolerance), and probably more importantly, they forgot how hard it was for Qataris two generations ago and aren’t greatful for that. This mentality has spread across to even the poorer Qataris.

If you’re the government of a poorer nation, you have to become more business centric. That’s why the market is open for advertisers (street ads) in Bahrain and we’ve got one company (QMedia) that has an unexplainable monopoly.

4) They don’t receive as much in terms of state support. The cost of living is lower and salaries are lower. So Bahrainis compete. They are forced to survive on their intellect. They are forced to be reasonable. They are forced to be more down to earth.

5) They’re forward thinkers. Their mentality is quite different. Their more open to the idea of being progressive. Qataris are getting there. My friends and the younger generation of Qataris are all working so very hard to prove that we’re not the lazy stereotype that people imagine.

Bahrain isn’t the best country in the world. They’ve got issues. Qatar also has some major pluses too! (The support for media freedom, a progressive Emir,  our strong Shaikha Moza, and of course, the fact that its a country that has so much opportunity come to mind). I just feel that I wish we learned a bit more from Bahrainis, thats all.

You want an ideal Arabic nation? Qatar’s wealth, opportunity, and leadership + Bahrainis mentality + Kuwait’s business focus + Emirates marketing team = the country I wish I could create.

Qatar’s still got a great shot at being something amazing! That’s why I (heart) Qatar Can’t wait for the bridge to be built. Lets see if they rub off on us.

I just wanted to let you guys know of a brand new site launched by H.U.G. called ShipMyPad.com

If you’re looking for an iPad to be delivered to Qatar (since Apple doesn’t allow shipping Aramex forwarders anymore), and you don’t want to pay extortionate prices (shops are selling them for 4,500 QR for a 32GB wifi iPad) and would prefer to pay something reasonable like 2,700 QR -3,300QR (depending on the model), then this is the site to get it from.

It’s also delivered via special delivery and insured so it’ll be received in 3-7 working days

Enjoy!

Ok not everyone… but there’s new news about the change to the Visa rules.

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!

Don’t forget that ILQ is sponsoring David Guetta’s event which is today!

Big stuff! Enjoy some fun, freebies, and more!

I was surprised today. While visiting one of my favourite sites www.autoblog.com , I saw the word ‘Qatar’. Yay, we’ve got a mention I thought. Sadly, it made me lower my head in shame.

Someone left their beautiful XJ220 to die. Autoblog got the article from CrankandPiston.com (article here), and by the looks of the photos, it looks like it’s a write-off in the Industrial area. For those that don’t know, the Industrial area is the equivelant of the rusty ship from the movie Waterworld. It’s a dump.

If I find this car, I’m going to chase down the owner and ask to buy it since he has no need for it. (Hopefully it can be restored!)

You heard me, there’s no excuse not to do something this Friday (unless you’re not in Qatar like me).

So what’s going on?

1) Red Bull’s Double Kick in partnership with Vodafone – Besides some great music, fun and games, you’ll also be able to grab some fantastic freebies! Be sure to stop by the Vodafone and ILQ booth!

2) Global DJs present DJ Goldfinger in partnership with iLoveQatar.net

3) Gold Circus

4) Got a few moments? Vote for Nouf and help support Qatar! Philadelphia Cheese has a small competition going and it would be great if you could help support Nouf! Visit http://www.spreadphiladelphia.com/story.php?id=98

If you’ve got something going on this Friday, let ILQ know!

So on February 21st, we mentioned that we’re working together with some very talented individuals in trying to create a great conference forum for those interested in developing the Arab online world. In case you didn’t already know by now, it’s called Arabnet (see info below). You can visit their website over at www.arabnet.me

So if you’re passionate of doing something worthwhile online, would like to meet some pretty talented people, or would like an excuse to visit Lebanon’s party central, then be sure to sign up on their site!

Our fantastic friends over at Qatar Visitor will also be covering the event, so be sure to click on over to their blog!