"Land Cruisers and Gold" a Qatar Travel Page by hjohnso4

UPDATE: I recently returned to Doha after a three year absence and was amazed by the changes. In anticipation of the 2006 Asian Games Qatar is suffering a building boom as hasn't been since the 1970s. The New Doha is quite remarkable: a few nightclubs and bars have opened; traffic has increased threefold; the number of namebrand shops has doubled. I could go on. Having recently completed a multi-billion dollar natural gas infrastructure project, the money is rolling into the country and the air is heavy with the sound of 'investment.' A downside is that whatever traditional architecture has survived the wrecking crane so far will likely disapear.

Qatar is a fascinatingly dull country. Unless your idea of a good time is lounging about 5-star hotel lobbies, or driving Land Cruisers to the mall, you shouldn't visit.

Little known fact: Qatar has a 'slave' economy. Workers are 'imported' from India. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Phillipines, to name a few, are paid perhaps $200/month and are housed, worked and treated rather poorly, to say the least. This is the case in all of the Petroleum States of the Arabian Gulf. Building booms are not possible without cheap labor.

Even the Desert, which covers the entire country, is marginal and unexceptional. Go to the UAE or Oman if desert adventure and impressive sand dunes are what you are after.

Qatar is sitting on the largest known natural gas deposit and will sooun be wealthier than Kuwait. The gilded, nouveau-riche, vulgarity will only spread...