I thought I’d a start a new thing where I bring all the online bloggers, posters, tweeters, and tubers in Qatar together under one roof. I haven’t figured out a name for this yet so if you’ve got an idea for a catchy name, post in the comments below.

So I’ve been seeing loads of tweets about this guy who has a Cheetah and decided to do a bit of digging around to see what I could find.

@shivasingh first tweeted: Dudes got a cheetah in his car!! #WTF #awesome and shared this picture. http://twitpic.com/2vefh5

I assumed it was probably just some Bedouinne guy who decided that he wanted his own cheetah. Maybe he wanted to take a nude self portrait of himself sitting on a bear skin carpet in front of the fireplace while stroking a cheetah, I really don’t know.

Then @rachelannmorris tweets a couple of photos of her own a week later. http://twitpic.com/2x8sxf and http://twitpic.com/2x8xfh

So is this just some stuffed cheetah and some guy’s ingenious method of getting people’s attention and then offering them massages? If so, that person has taking viral marketing to a whole new level.

Turns out though that there are loads of people with Cheetahs!

One tourist(?) and ‘Elite cyclist’ who races for Team Garmin, named Steven Cozza was visiting Qatar way back in February and blogged:

“Its just been one great adventure already. Just five minutes after leaving the hotel parking lot, I sensed something was looking at me. I turned to my left and there, sticking its head out of an SUV like a dog, was a full-grown cheetah. I was so excited because a cheetah is my favorite animal and here it was, just inches from my face. I was so bummed I didn’t have my camera.” A cheetah Drive by

On youtube, anasthvega, posted a video of one at a petrol station in some guys patrol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaupWVsLgsk

On the 17th of July, the Peninsula posts this Cool Ride for Big Cat. Cheetah’s aren’t riding in cars anymore, they’re now on freaking jetboats! I don’t know why but I’m now thinking of a Saturday Night Live song called “I’m on a boat”

Now I have a few obvious questions…. 1) Do they bite? 2) Where can I get one?!

Well…. the Gulf Times posts that there are people breeding cheetahs since they’re becoming popular pets! Gulf-Time’s article via ILQ So I guess it means that you CAN go out and buy one… hmm…

In all seriousness though, this can’t be safe or legal right (in Qatar of course, as we’re aware that CITES says they’re endangered)?

I’ll leave you guys with a photo that Jasmir123 posted on Photobucket. Thundercats Go!

Here’s something funny (or perhaps not). I was driving from the Zig Zag off to work and there was this mini-van that was driving all over the place. No indicator. Going from the right lane to the left lane on the round-a-bout and back to the right (presumably because this person was either an idiot or did not have the ability to turn a steering wheel properly; those things are heavy!!).

It’s normal, we get people who don’t know how to drive everyday. (I wonder when the Police are going to start stopping people for using the slip lane or not indicating or not even staying in LANE correctly?) What got to me was that it was a Shafallah bus! On the side it said, ‘Special needs children’. For those who don’t know, Shafallah is one of the regions leading institutes for disabled or special needs children, it was set up by Sheikha Mozah and is definately something to be proud of. Seeing a driver not taking extra care in such a bus bothers me… I just had to post this… *sighs*

Ok, bullet mode. My mind was constantly mapping out the journey. Pack. Sleep. Put bags in boot. Work. Finish work. Meet Omar. Leave. Check boot. Buy some snacks (a.k.a snakes). Head for the border.

Driving there was pretty easy thanks to my navigation but I can tell you that the most difficulty you’ll face is in Saudi thanks to lack of signs.

While driving to the Qatar-Saudi border, Omar tells me to get ready, smile, don’t give any lip to the Saudies. I pass the Qatari side smoothly. It’s all very straight forward. Go to window one, show your ID and registration, get some Saudi insurance (daily or weekly) in case you break down in that country, and then get your car checked out (for smuggling and whatnot). It’s the same process once you reach the Saudi side. The difference? It looks like it’s been deserted. Glass if broken, the checkpoints aren’t all accessible and the men don’t smile. Luckily Qatar’s side had cute friendly girls that smiled and tried to make you feel relaxed. In fact, every single person I Read the rest of this entry »

So I had an accident yesterday. It’s inevitable in Qatar. As cautious as you are, there are just some idiots who do not pay attention. Just today on the roundabout, some Indian guy in a pick up went from the right lane to the left and almost hit me. It wasn’t intentional, he just was blissfully unaware that I was even on the road. They need to teach people to use their mirrors and turn their heads!

My accident was a stupid one as well. While at a round about, I was turning right and there was a car in front of me. The road was clear. He accelerated to turn right, I looked left to ensure there were no cars, he continues turning right and for NO REASON, he slams on his breaks! I bang into him unable to swerve. I even followed the two second distance rule.

His car looked scratched up from the back but no way I could have done that! He explains that it wasn’t me, in fact it was caused by bikes hitting the back of his car. Bikes!! Even BIKES crash into him. He must slam on the breaks for fun!

So the Indian guy apologizes and says that his foot slipped onto the break… fine… We move our cars to the side and I ask to speak to Read the rest of this entry »