The Torch

Kristi's last meal request before heading back to Texas was to check out the newest and only revolving restaurant in Qatar, 360. Not only does it gives diners a 360˚view of the city, or as far as the haze will allow, it revolves so they don't have to. This fancy schmancy diner is located on the 47th floor of The Torch Hotel in Aspire Zone. Yeah, you didn't know that either, did you? That 2006 Asian Games torch has been converted to a 5-Star, 167 room luxury hotel. Now, who says Doha doesn't recycle? Be ready for some early bird specials, as they are hoping to be ready to take reservations November 1st. So if you haven't booked your Eid holiday, you may have a vacation option right here in your own backyard. Fast forward. After lunch, the manager gave Kristi and myself a grand tour of the facility. I wasn't prepared for pics, or rather I didn't want to pull my bazooka camera out of my purse and embarrass Kristi, so my limited mobile snaps will have to suffice. Each room and/or suite is equipped with "mood" lighting. So, what color are you? Just dial it up and voila. Cute, novel, but maybe a bit over the top. The pool is located on the umpteenth floor on that protruding platform in the tower. Hmm, I've been known to be a bit of a scaredy cat. I'll pass. They have great social gathering areas, very casual and chic, to munch on hors d'oeuvres and sip on juice. Mocktail zone only. This is not The Pearl, gang, and it is government owned. The spa and gym are state of the art with Internet browsing on the workout machines. Oh, and free Internet everywhere in the hotel, including the dining area even for non overnight guests. Score. My intention was to review the restaurant, but I've blabbed on too long. Another day. Inshallah.

This is the steam room in the spa. I had a flashback of our visit to The Golden Palace in Bangkok a few years back...Intense.

Birds eye view of Doha from 47 floors up

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Star Gazing

In my previous post, I made mention that Tahar Rahim, the heroic prince in Black Gold, "had me at hello". Well, he literally did today, as Kristi and I bumped into him at the Doha Ritz...

Jan Uddin, Me, Tahar Rahim, Kristi

He and fellow Black Gold cast member, Jan Uddin, were gracious enough to stop for a chat and pose for photo ops. If that wasn't enough, we also spoke with Robin Wright...you know, Jenny. No, not from the block, but from Forrest Gump fame. Ok, Sean Penn's ex, however you wish to remember her. I didn't ask her to ham it up for the camera, so I just chose the chicken shot.

You'll just have to trust me on this one. It's her
walking aside my friend, Nasser.

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Black Gold Delivers

At a film festival near me...

Kristi and I trekked over to Katara yesterday to check out the world premier of Black Gold at The Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Back up. On second thought, I'm not sure if we can really call it the world premier, since our tickets were for the second screening that started thirty minutes after the first. Just for posterity purposes, I'm going to say it qualified. We were in the beautiful Katara Opera House while the other screening was occurring at the open air theater at Katara, constructed just for the event. No complaints from me not being in the "open air". Our controlled temperature environment with red cushy velveteen seats suited me just fine. A pleasant surprise awaited us on our chairs in a black gold embossed envelope filled with umpteen Black Gold commemorative post cards. Nice touch DTFF. For me, the gift alone was well worth the 30QR ($8) admission fee. As for the movie itself, I found it enjoyable and entertaining, but remember I have somewhat of a skewed interest. Parts of it were filmed in the deserts of Qatar, where I, myself, have ridden the high dunes and faced those horrid desert winds. Ok, so maybe not while fighting off the enemy. Nonetheless, Antonio Banderas brings a bit of mirth to his royal emir self while struggling for power with the handsome rival emir payed by Mark Strong. And Tahar Rahim, well, he had me at hello. Freida Pinto, (Tahar's love interest in the movie) was just ok, seeming a bit awkward at times or maybe it was just her character. Who knows. The only drawback in the film, for me, was missing out on some of the conversation. The "English" speaking characters were pretty heavily accented at times and I could have used some English subtitles along with the Arabic ones that were displayed. Other than that, kudos to all involved for bringing film to the desert.

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Doha ~ It's a Small Small World

I don't think we shall ever again, live, in a such

a personable, small world as Doha

Funny story. Well, I think it's funny. My blog, I call the shots. In case you didn't know, Kristi is visiting us and on her "Last time I might get to visit Qatar to do list" is Oriental Carpet. Oriental Carpet is one of those must visit stores when in Doha. It has all your souvenir needs from beautiful Persian rugs to camel decorated Christmas ornaments. I bought a carpet there a few years back and usually take visitors there to peruse the eclectic selection of items. So, maybe I visit twice a year? Anyway, the moment we walked into the store, the welcoming gent that runs it looks at me and says, "Ohhhh, I've been waiting for you to come by. I have something for you!" I instantly think, sales pitch. He reaches behind the counter and pulls out the October issue of Qatar Happening magazine and says, "There is a picture of you and your husband in this magazine." Now I'm thinking, you are definitely mistaking me for someone else. I was already preparing myself for his impending embarrassment which would make me have to come up with something witty and nice to say for why he's got the wrong person. Then lo and behold, he points to a picture barely bigger than a postage stamp of mine and David's mugshots at a Doha Tweetup. Seriously, I could hardly tell it was us, even with my glasses that I had to whip out. Back to my first thought, what a sales pitch. I hope David likes the piece of furniture that I bought :)

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Street to Where?

Doha's street to nowhere

I find it a bit ironic that this street sign has been put up in a deserted area, in the most literal since of the word. It's just down the street from me. No, don't ask me my street name. I wouldn't get it right. Heck the city can't even get it right as it is spelled differently at the two nearest roundabouts. Even though, Qatar has made leaps and bounds in marking their roads and intersections these last few years, there is so much more ground to cover. Street names seem to be relatively new. No one in this country asks what street you live on. That tidbit seems to be irrelevant. Directions please. Area? Near what roundabout? How many slip roads down? Or you can always just give my favorite directions to the newbies, "take a right at the mosque". Yeah, good luck with that ;P;P

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