Asian Games

This entry is long over due but if your regular visitors to our sight then that won’t surprise you much. Doha was host to the 15th annual Asian Games which is basically the Olympics for everyone one on the east side of the globe. We’ve been hearing about these games ever since we arrived in Doha in April. The games were blamed for the awful construction which was to blame for the awful traffic; the delays at customs which meant sea and air shipments took longer then expected; employees were told to stock up on food in case there were shortages; schools were let out the last week of November so families could leave before they started; hotels were completely booked so the city had to bring in 3 cruise ships for the over flow; everyone was told to pack water and food in their vehicles in case they were stuck in traffic for hours – you get the idea, we were prepared to experience a minor apocalypse due to the games.

But it actually turned out to be very well planned and a lot of fun for the few of us who braved the potential chaos. Neither Steve nor I were ever stuck in traffic (that wasn’t already normal) the parking at events was easy and we even got tickets to a few events. The event that became the topic of conversations is called Sepaktrawa (sp?). It’s a cross between playing hackey sack, volleyball, and martial arts. If Bruce Lee had a sport it would be this (subtitles included). Same rules as volleyball, you serve to the other team, each team gets 3 hits to get it over the net but no hands – you can only use your feet, head, and back to volley the ball. It’s a great game to watch and the athletes are amazing – we got a few good pictures but if you ever come across the games I’d highly recommend watching it.

There was quite a bit of window dressing around the city as well. Here is a photo of the Emir's Palace with lights decorating it with the Qatar Flag. Kind of neat.

X-Mass Shopping In UAE

So Mariah had a business trip to Dubai recently followed by a conference in Abu Dhabi. I took a flight over the weekend to join her and make sure that she wasn't spending too much money X-Mas shopping. We had a good time hanging out at the bars with some of Mariah's colleagues. I did find it most intriguing that in a Muslim country, which most Westerners consider to be back woods and in-tolerant, we found more Christmas decorations than you would find in the US. I really got a kick out of the recent fuss in Seattle regarding X-Mas tress at the airport (http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_120906WABxmastreesEL.11b0d0cc.html). We see huge Christmas displays in all of the malls in the Middle East, yet people are constantly sued for such displays in the US. Really makes you think.

Thanksgiving In Doha

Well we had ourselves a Proper Thanksgiving dinner in Doha. We had a big event with about 16 people. I fired up the spit and rotisserie a 14lb bird on it. Let me tell you, grilling with Butane instead of propane is not easy. For those that don't know Butane burns considerably hotter than propane, something that I am sure Mariah could show in a chart or chemical breakdown or something. All I know is it is hot. The grill regularly goes from 350 to 550 in a matter of seconds if the wind happens to shift. In true Connor form after 5 hours of painstaking cooking, my picture perfect bird went from stunning to flambé in the last five minutes. We had a fire ball at least 15 feet high scorching the back of the house. After putting out the flames and pealing off the charcoal skin I was happy to find that the meat was still perfect. I had several comments that it was the best turkey ever, and I will ignore anyone who claims that those were sympathy votes.

We did have a good time none the less. Mariah pointed out that this was a typical Thanksgiving as after dinner all the women where in the kitchen, and all the men were watching the football game (UT vs. Aggies).