Hi All,
Well what a week! This has been one of the most horrific to one of the most enjoyable times of my life to date! Yeah only would the two occur in the same week over here...but that's just Qatar!
Well I think I will begin with the bad and get it over with up front....the bad being the medical! Now I'm sure you were probably thinking, like I was, that the medical would be in a hospital with a professional doctor in a one on one friendly environment...? Well WRONG!!!!! In fact that description could not be further away from the truth if it tried! In fact if you imagine a WWII German concentration camp, you probably have a closer description!
So just to clarify, to live over here you need a residence permit....an ID card; its used for everything and is basically a Big Brother style system. However to obtain this permit, you need to prove you don't have TB or HIV, hence the medical!
So you get invited to this medical...not in medical city...not in a hospital but at the government ministry of health, which is basically a sterile building in the middle of nowhere. Upon arrival there are armed guards who point you into a room where you register. Now this was where it began! Chris Evans....no not the radio 2 DJ....and myself walked to the guard at the door for our visa and passport check who then pointed to a window at the front of a room with people sat down, naturally we walked to the window. This is where we were then given some very annoyed evils by the people sat down and another guard shouting us to sit down at the back....even tho the initial guard said come here...OK OK so to the back we went and took a seat.
Now the system here was the most far fetched system I have seen in any medical facility! Basically the front row queues for the window, then as the next group of front rowers get up to go to the window, everybody else gets up and moves a row forward and so on and so on. Now any other city in the world would have some sort of ticket system or one on one PA but no, mass production was the goal here,,,at a very slow rate. After 30mins of seat shuffling we finally made it to the window just to receive a signed in stamp the be told to move on.
Now what? Looking at our sheet we could see the next stamp required was the blood test, so I guess we follow the arrows on the floor for 1....nope the order you required is 3, 1 , 2, exit......obviously! To make matters worse here is a plan of the Ministry of Health:
Having finally arrived at the blood test queue, this was like a blood giving production line. You queued outside, got called, got stabbed, and the next person was called as the needle was still sticking out of your arm.....no good day how are you, just in stab out! I had one thought on my mind after that....Evil Blood Stealing BITCH!!!! But meh, that was ok in comparison to the X-Ray!
Now this was the most degrading experience I have ever had. After a quick 10 minute tour of the facility looking for the X-Ray, upon arrival I was directed to a changing room where I had to remove my top. Quite literally as soon as that shirt was off I was then in a room, with about 30 half naked men, and just made to stand and wait. This room was about 4m x 4m with two doors in it, as you got near the front, a door would open, let one person in, take the next in lines paperwork then quite literally be slammed in your face! So here I was topless, in a crowed room, with two doors of no return, armed guards keeping everything in check.....yeah like I said, I felt like I was in a prison!
Eventually after 15mins in this hell I made it to the door, and after all that shit outside, the guy said "NAME", so I replied Good Afternoon, just hoping for a pleasant responce. Oh no again he repeated "NAME", and no sooner had I gave it I was physically forced against a big machine and the x-ray was done and another few seconds later I was thrown out the room! Now again I have never felt so much hatred for someone after so little time!
After that I got changed and proceeded to medical consultation after another brief tour to be told i didn't need that stamp! So yeah enough was enough I hurried to the exit and will NOT be going back to that joke of a medical institute!
The next day, arm still sore from the physical trauma the previous day, I had my first site visit in work and WOW!!!! Words cannot begin to describe the volume of wealth I experienced on that trip. Now, there was a report of flooding to investigate...so we turn up and the first thing we see is a Bentley on the drive! As we look around there are classic cars, more Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis in fact our attention was drawn to one old car that there was only 15 ever made and the base value was £1,2m!!!!
They had number plates that were 3 digits to all of one digit! Sorry don't wanna list them in case there is objection! It was unbelievable; furthermore, this complex had two incredible houses, swimming pool, two chill out out houses with rolex clocks, hand made tapestries....it was mind blowing!
After the investigation we were invited in for lunch and coffee....into the main family room. Just to clarify, over here that is something a privileged so few get, only important people and immediate family, not even the household staff are allowed in without consent! And the luxury of the place, chandeliers, grandfather clock, every piece of furniture hand crafted, even the cushions! It was a glimpse into a life I could only ever dream about and it was out of this world!!!!
Following this the next day was Qatar National Day! Again this was awesome..the people really do love their ruler! This was a day of celebrations and joy! Now what I didn't anticipate was the crowds....thinking i'd just nip up to the cornice to see the celebrations resulted in me being caught in a sea of people unable to get back! I ended up getting so squashed I bailed and watched the parade on TV.... however the journey back was eventful as believe it or not the driving got worse!!!! No kidding, there was 4 cars side by side on a duel lane street with people dancing on the roof!!!! It took me 2 hours to get back from the Souq...Madness!!
After the battle in the day I did venture out to watch the firework display and WOW....AMAZING!!!! Without question these were the best fireworks I have ever seen in my life....clearly no expense spared. If you wanna see just go to you tube and type Qatar National Day Fireworks 2012!
Anyway gotta go, its pool time ;-)
Goodbye
Sean
P.S. Xmas Party Tomorrow!!!!!
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