The Adventures of 3 Stooks: Loving the Corniche

Well, we've been settled in our new villa for two weeks now. Hang on for the pictures! I'm waiting till we have stuff on the walls and it looks a little less sterile.

In the meantime, here are some pics of my usual 5k walk on the Corniche (since I talk about it so much), taken on my new Canon S95 (thanks Dad!).

This first pic is generally what I see when I first park. I start by walking towards the Sheraton (the pyramid building on the right) which is where the meter markers start. This also gives me a great view of West Bay as I'm finishing up.

The Corniche is full of dhow boats available for hire for short trips around the Bay. They blare Hindi music (I think) and are lit up with various neon colors at night. The water is an intense turquoise blue... very shallow and clear in spots.

Below are some of our favorite buildings at West Bay. On the left is Dubai Towers, which Kev has renamed MegaTron. Notice how there is only one tower. There are also only 20 or so floors, but the sign indicates there should be 90. We're guessing this one went bankrupt - it hasn't been touched in a while. Not sure of the name of the one second from the left. Second from the right is my favorite - it's got a crazy mosaic outer skeleton. I'd love to see what it looks like from the inside. This one is also a favorite with the tourists - you often see folks getting photographed trying to touch the point or hugging the building similar to what you see with photos from Pisa. The smaller building in that photo is the Tornado Tower, one of Kev's favorites.

Near the Sheraton you have the Q Bike stand. I've seen various iterations of these across the world, but never one so unused as here in Doha. I go to the Corniche almost every week and have only seen someone riding these bikes maybe one or two times. I always see folks stumped as to how to unlock the bikes. Add to that confusion that bikes aren't even allowed on the Corniche. They've created a meandering bike path through the little park in the background (maybe a mile or less) as the main location for you to bike on. Seems like such a waste. Here's a brief article about the launch.

I've included this next photo to show that even when weather is in the 90s°F (as it was when I was when I took this photo), it's accepted for Western men to be in shorts and a t-shirt. I'd say it's also accepted for a Western women to be in capris and a t-shirt... heck, I'm starting to see some tank tops. And while Westerners are in their garb, locals stay in theirs. Local men walk around in thobes and women are in abayas, though you'll see workout clothes and sneakers on under the abayas.

Below left is a mural that frames one of the roundabouts. It reminds me a lot of the murals from Pawnee on Parks & Recreation (right) which are campy and about as un-PC as it gets. In the Doha version you have an oil rig and natural gas flame right next to windsurfers and the beach.

Below left are some signs in place by the Qatar Foundation that say things like Think, Realize, Achieve. They're quite popular for tourist photos. To the right you see the view opposite West Bay, with the back of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), designed by I.M. Pei, on the far left. I've included a front view of the museum as well.

Next we come to the fish market, which I read about in another Doha expat blog. I drove further down the Corniche to grab these shots. The Think sign is around the 2500m mark, and the MIA is around 5300m. We think the fish market is around the 6500-7000m mark, quite close to the airport, pretty much around the end of the Corniche. There are a bunch of sellers that use old timey weights and small boats regularly bring more fish up for sale.