I did manage to go to Doha and visit the City Center. This is a huge mall, and I mean huge. It is five stories high and has three wings. The middle of the mall even has an ice rink! Parking is insane, but after Thailand all drivers seem calm anywhere else.
While at the mall I did a lot of people watching. Qataris wear their traditional dress in their daily lives. For men, this is a long white shirt that reaches their ankles, called a thobe, and is worn over short trousers. A head covering, the gutra, is secured with four black tasseled cords, which have been braided. They can wear two different clothes for the gutra. The first one is a pure white sheet, this one is the more formal one. It would be the equivalent of wearing a business suit. The second is a white and red-checkered gutra, this one being more informal like a pair of jeans with a t-shirt. Women wear an abayah, a long black flowing dress over their clothes and are mostly veiled. Some women have their face covered with only their eyes showing and their abayah's are solid black. Then there are woman who choose to reveal their face. Their abayah's are often embellished with gold or silver embroidery. Some even have rhinestones embellished in the abayah's...just show everyone can enjoy a little bling. They wear clothing that I would wear under their abayah's. And this was very evident in the high quality of shoes you could see peeking out. Also I say more name brand purses on the arms of these women, they could rival Michigan Ave in Chicago.
The mall seemed to be a hot spot for people to visit on their days off. Weekends here are Thursday and Friday. The ice rink was always hopping and the mall had a 10-screen cinema in it. It plays 8 American movies and two Arabic. The teens grouped together and shopped just like anywhere else. The families were packed in the food court. The women were in droves in the high-end clothing stores. And I didn't see many men. So very typical of every mall I have ever been to, only larger.
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day from Italy
We made it safe and sound to the Italian Island of Sardegna. We are staying at the Nora Club Hotel www.noraclubhotel.it , it's a small family owned hotel. The island is beautiful. We have a beach just a quick bike ride away from our hotel. The hotel has free bikes that we can use to travel around. Which is good because troy isn't that great with a small 6 speed clutch. The petals are so close that he has problems driving it. Which leaves me to drive and I don't have an international drivers license yet. I can't until my passport has the same last name as my driver's license. Which isn't looking like anytime soon. The weather here is perfect for winter. It runs in the 60's with some 40's at night. This is a sweater or light jacket weather. So we have been going to the beaches to walk around. But it's not warm enough to go swimming in the ocean. The beaches are white sand and the water is so clear!
A different way of life. People here are very relaxed. They work 8-5 like most places but then when they get home they go to sleep. They wake up a couple hours later to eat dinner. So the restaurants don't open until 7:30pm, and don't get busy until 8:30pm. So for Valentine's Day we were the first people at the restaurant, which worked out fine since the place was packed within the hour. The wine here is wonderful also. They have their own vineyards so we have been drinking plenty of local wine.
A different way of life. People here are very relaxed. They work 8-5 like most places but then when they get home they go to sleep. They wake up a couple hours later to eat dinner. So the restaurants don't open until 7:30pm, and don't get busy until 8:30pm. So for Valentine's Day we were the first people at the restaurant, which worked out fine since the place was packed within the hour. The wine here is wonderful also. They have their own vineyards so we have been drinking plenty of local wine.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Spijkenisse Again
Troy and I got back into the Netherlands last night. So we are back to driving on the right side of the road, which is a big switch for us after Thailand/England were its left. They speak Dutch here however about 90% of the people also speak English so its easy to communicate here. We are staying at the same hotel as last time the Carlton Oasis but we did get a suite this time. Its like a little apartment. We are tenativly here until Dec. 26th so we will not be at anyone's Christmas celebrations this year. Sorry. Once he find out when he is officially done we will decided if we will go back to the states or do some traveling around here. Maybe some New Years Eve in Paris. I will keep you posted. Otherwise nothing interesting happening here. Spijkenisse is a small town so not alot of activity. We are hoping to get some time up in Amsterdam before we leave, i guess we will see.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Visa Run
Today we headed out to Singapore. We flew out of the brand new Bangkok airport. It was much nicer than the old airport, of course since it is new it had its bugs-so we left an hour past schedule. We flew on Thai Airlines, which as of right now is my favorite airline. There is about one flight attendant to every 25 people. They wore beautiful silk uniforms and everything was decorated beautifully. But by having so many staff on board- I had a hot washcloth to wash my hands and face with in the first 10min after take off. Then we were feed with in the first 30 min, all you wanted to drink (alcohol, sodas, tea, etc), and there was a pillow for everyone, and blankets for all who wanted one. They also made sure you had enough to drink the whole time. We got a movie with headphones for free. Now if you have been flying lately you will know that they nickel and dime you for everything these days so it was refreshing to just get what you needed or wanted. And no this flight we did not fly business class this was the wonderful service in economy seating. Ok enough with the free advertisement for Thai Airlines.
Once we got into Singapore we got a taxi to our new hotel called the Meritus Mandarin Hotel http://www.mandarin-singapore.com/accommodation/premier_room .htm and it is amazing. It is about $400 dollars a night for just the premier room. It has a lot nicer rooms than that. I loved our room because it came with those really nicer leather reclining massage chairs. Which is good since I am not getting my Thai massage every night here.
The city its self is so clean. It does have few strict rules- (the below are 1st offenses!)
1. No chewing non-prescription gum ($500/fine)
2. Not flushing a public toilet ($750/fine)
3. Swearing ($1000/fine)
4. Vandalism (fine to fix damage and public caning)
5. Homosexual acts (life in prison-doesn't this seem a little strange that all the men who like men get put in small cells together!)-Only men as of now Singapore doesn't acknowledge girl on girl action as being a bad thing.
6. Owning/taking/selling drugs (death)
7. Murder (death)
They do one execution a week! So we were on our best behavior. It was a nice change not having to worry about carrying a purse or walking late at night. There are no bad areas of town. We were thinking this would be a good place to move once kids are almost teens some day!
Once we got into Singapore we got a taxi to our new hotel called the Meritus Mandarin Hotel http://www.mandarin-singapore.com/accommodation/premier_room .htm and it is amazing. It is about $400 dollars a night for just the premier room. It has a lot nicer rooms than that. I loved our room because it came with those really nicer leather reclining massage chairs. Which is good since I am not getting my Thai massage every night here.
The city its self is so clean. It does have few strict rules- (the below are 1st offenses!)
1. No chewing non-prescription gum ($500/fine)
2. Not flushing a public toilet ($750/fine)
3. Swearing ($1000/fine)
4. Vandalism (fine to fix damage and public caning)
5. Homosexual acts (life in prison-doesn't this seem a little strange that all the men who like men get put in small cells together!)-Only men as of now Singapore doesn't acknowledge girl on girl action as being a bad thing.
6. Owning/taking/selling drugs (death)
7. Murder (death)
They do one execution a week! So we were on our best behavior. It was a nice change not having to worry about carrying a purse or walking late at night. There are no bad areas of town. We were thinking this would be a good place to move once kids are almost teens some day!
Friday, September 29, 2006
The first week
This week has been very rejuvenating! My life consisted of waking up for my free breakfast, which is wonderful. I have tried more fruits this week than ever in my life. I am still trying to figure out what they all are and how to eat them! I usually got on to the computer by 8:30am so that I could IM on MSN Messenger with anyone wanting to talk. Then I had many options- I could shop, read, explore, lay by the pool, watch movies or go to the spa. Those are some of the things I did this week at least. Troy gets home between 6-10pm. So I have lots of time to myself. David, Greg, Troy and I all went and got foot massages after work. I have learned that there are two types of massages really. There is a regular massage and then there is one with a "happy ending" as they call it. The regular ones are incredible cheap here, I spent $6/hr and that includes a tip. And these women are good at massages!
For lunch the hotel has free lite meals with fruit, sandwiches and deserts. For dinner they have a free "dinners from around the world", which means they pick a country the serve food from there. So meals are pretty easy for me to find! If troy gets home late we all go out to eat. We are about three blocks from "walking street". It's a street made famous by the Vietnam Conflict. All the soldiers would come to Pattaya for their R&R. That's really how this city got started. They have an amazingly high amount of "working girls" here. The go-go bar is where you can pick and choice the one you want. So for all those who want to know how it works here you go...
So you go into one of these Go-Go bars and it has tables that all the girls are standing on. I would like to say they are dancing but its more a swaying or jiggle that they do. Since in Thailand nudity is forbidden (and that is a very unenforced law!) the girls where clothes. Imagine a 6 year old's skirt and shirt on a 100lb Asian person. They do not wear bras or underwear with the clothing, now remember they are up on tables so you can see everything anyway. The shirts are usually a button down shirt with one button actually working. Now that you have a mental picture this is how it works. The girls come up to talk to you and its polite to offer them a drink. Now its never one girl but usually 5-10 girls. A drink is about $1.50 each so it's not really expensive to buy one for each girl. If you find one you are interested in you can take them home (or whereever) for the price of a bar fine (600 baht=$15/per girl). Now that's just the price to get them to leave with you. You and the girl determine a price for the activities you would like preformed. Now since I haven't actually went so far to see what activity costs how much you are free to imagine, but I can tell you it's a lot less that you would ever think (that's what I am told). Now I personally would never partake in these prostitution events but part of me was thinking....for $15/night I could have them clean/laundry/etc. and I guess i could have her do it topless so my husband would pay for it!
They have a variety of bars. This explanation is just the Go-Go bars. I was told about a BJ bar, where the men just sit down at a table with this curtain around the table and they get a BJ while sitting there. This is weirder to me because you don't get to see who did the BJ when its time to pay them, my thought is how do you know if its not an 80 woman without teeth or a woman at all? They also have these "shows" which have a variety of acts that include girls "hiding" objects, or shooting objects, or even catching objects with their nether regions. I haven't seen one yet, but I am sure I will have a more detailed story of one of these shows before I leave.
Everyone here is Khun _____. So if you name is paul. You would be addresses as Khun Paul. This goes for boys and girls.
For lunch the hotel has free lite meals with fruit, sandwiches and deserts. For dinner they have a free "dinners from around the world", which means they pick a country the serve food from there. So meals are pretty easy for me to find! If troy gets home late we all go out to eat. We are about three blocks from "walking street". It's a street made famous by the Vietnam Conflict. All the soldiers would come to Pattaya for their R&R. That's really how this city got started. They have an amazingly high amount of "working girls" here. The go-go bar is where you can pick and choice the one you want. So for all those who want to know how it works here you go...
So you go into one of these Go-Go bars and it has tables that all the girls are standing on. I would like to say they are dancing but its more a swaying or jiggle that they do. Since in Thailand nudity is forbidden (and that is a very unenforced law!) the girls where clothes. Imagine a 6 year old's skirt and shirt on a 100lb Asian person. They do not wear bras or underwear with the clothing, now remember they are up on tables so you can see everything anyway. The shirts are usually a button down shirt with one button actually working. Now that you have a mental picture this is how it works. The girls come up to talk to you and its polite to offer them a drink. Now its never one girl but usually 5-10 girls. A drink is about $1.50 each so it's not really expensive to buy one for each girl. If you find one you are interested in you can take them home (or whereever) for the price of a bar fine (600 baht=$15/per girl). Now that's just the price to get them to leave with you. You and the girl determine a price for the activities you would like preformed. Now since I haven't actually went so far to see what activity costs how much you are free to imagine, but I can tell you it's a lot less that you would ever think (that's what I am told). Now I personally would never partake in these prostitution events but part of me was thinking....for $15/night I could have them clean/laundry/etc. and I guess i could have her do it topless so my husband would pay for it!
They have a variety of bars. This explanation is just the Go-Go bars. I was told about a BJ bar, where the men just sit down at a table with this curtain around the table and they get a BJ while sitting there. This is weirder to me because you don't get to see who did the BJ when its time to pay them, my thought is how do you know if its not an 80 woman without teeth or a woman at all? They also have these "shows" which have a variety of acts that include girls "hiding" objects, or shooting objects, or even catching objects with their nether regions. I haven't seen one yet, but I am sure I will have a more detailed story of one of these shows before I leave.
Everyone here is Khun _____. So if you name is paul. You would be addresses as Khun Paul. This goes for boys and girls.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Driving in Thailand
Driving in Thailand... Besides the steering wheels being on the wrong side of the car, and you should be driving on the left of the road, there are some other tricks to driving in Thailand. For anyone who may be thinking of visiting, here are some simple "rules" of the road.
1.) Roads are for pedestrians/animals, and anything with wheels.
-Expect to find cars, trucks, buses, taxis, dogs, bicycles, wheelchairs, vendors, elephants, and worst of all, motor scooters on the road. These can be in either lane (see rule #2), going in any direction (see rule #3). Pedestrians are allowed to enter traffic at any time as long as they put their arm out and signal that you are supposed to stop. Dogs they just go and hope the other people on the street stop or only lightly graze them.
2.) Lanes, signs, and signals, are only there as mere suggestions not rules.
-Red lights, stop signs, one way signs, yield signs, no U-turn signs, and lane lines are all optional. While some people think that two lanes means two cars sit next to each other in traffic. Here, people feel there is enough room for two cars, a taxi or Baht Bus (See rule #4), 12 motor scooters, 2 bikes, and a lady driving her flaming grill and selling squid. And if traffic is actually stopped then there are also the random dogs that try to make a run for it and the people walking kindly to your car to sell you stuff so you don't have to get out of the car to shop. What a life saver! If you have a car, those side-view mirrors will be pressed against the car, as they take up room that could be used for another motor scooter.
3.) Any vehicle with wheels will go any direction at any time.
-Most common occurrences involve one way streets. There is an unwritten rule that you are allowed to go backwards on a "one way" if you are only going a little ways (less than 10 km), or it would be more convenient than going around the block. Buses can take up four lanes if they need to turn, and vehicles will turn any direction, from either lane, and so will anyone who realizes they may miss their turn.
4.) Baht buses will take the right of way.
- A Baht bus is a nickname for a taxi consisting of a pickup truck with two benches in the back end. The bus will circle the downtown, and it is 10 baht (about 25 cents) to ride on the bench for as long as you need to get where you are going. If you want them to stop you hit their buzzer and they stop no matter where they are at in the street and you jump off the back.
If pedestrians are in sight, the bus will speed up to them, then slow down and travel next to them, honking to make sure the person on foot knows that they could get ride if they desired. If the person shakes the bus off, they will speed up to the next set of pedestrians or, if a rider wants off, they will stop to collect their money. They do not have mirrors, and will run anything over to get to the next pedestrian.
5.) Parking is allowed anywhere, at any time, as long as you turn on your hazards.
-This includes the fast lane, slow lane, sidewalk, other driveways, facing backwards, or behind other cars in the parking lots. In parking garages, triple or quadruple parking is fine, but you must leave your car in neutral so when the trapped car needs to get out, they can push you someplace else. Also, do not expect your car to be where you left it. Since you need to leave your car in neutral, it will be pushed to whichever corner is most convenient. Imagine Tetrus with cars!
With no speed limits enforced, the traffic can go from 150 km/hr to stopped because someone is buying a flower from the vendor in the middle of the road. Apparently flower vendors have little to live for here. In short, I recommend driving in Thailand, as it will make you appreciate that boring commute to work a little more.
1.) Roads are for pedestrians/animals, and anything with wheels.
-Expect to find cars, trucks, buses, taxis, dogs, bicycles, wheelchairs, vendors, elephants, and worst of all, motor scooters on the road. These can be in either lane (see rule #2), going in any direction (see rule #3). Pedestrians are allowed to enter traffic at any time as long as they put their arm out and signal that you are supposed to stop. Dogs they just go and hope the other people on the street stop or only lightly graze them.
2.) Lanes, signs, and signals, are only there as mere suggestions not rules.
-Red lights, stop signs, one way signs, yield signs, no U-turn signs, and lane lines are all optional. While some people think that two lanes means two cars sit next to each other in traffic. Here, people feel there is enough room for two cars, a taxi or Baht Bus (See rule #4), 12 motor scooters, 2 bikes, and a lady driving her flaming grill and selling squid. And if traffic is actually stopped then there are also the random dogs that try to make a run for it and the people walking kindly to your car to sell you stuff so you don't have to get out of the car to shop. What a life saver! If you have a car, those side-view mirrors will be pressed against the car, as they take up room that could be used for another motor scooter.
3.) Any vehicle with wheels will go any direction at any time.
-Most common occurrences involve one way streets. There is an unwritten rule that you are allowed to go backwards on a "one way" if you are only going a little ways (less than 10 km), or it would be more convenient than going around the block. Buses can take up four lanes if they need to turn, and vehicles will turn any direction, from either lane, and so will anyone who realizes they may miss their turn.
4.) Baht buses will take the right of way.
- A Baht bus is a nickname for a taxi consisting of a pickup truck with two benches in the back end. The bus will circle the downtown, and it is 10 baht (about 25 cents) to ride on the bench for as long as you need to get where you are going. If you want them to stop you hit their buzzer and they stop no matter where they are at in the street and you jump off the back.
If pedestrians are in sight, the bus will speed up to them, then slow down and travel next to them, honking to make sure the person on foot knows that they could get ride if they desired. If the person shakes the bus off, they will speed up to the next set of pedestrians or, if a rider wants off, they will stop to collect their money. They do not have mirrors, and will run anything over to get to the next pedestrian.
5.) Parking is allowed anywhere, at any time, as long as you turn on your hazards.
-This includes the fast lane, slow lane, sidewalk, other driveways, facing backwards, or behind other cars in the parking lots. In parking garages, triple or quadruple parking is fine, but you must leave your car in neutral so when the trapped car needs to get out, they can push you someplace else. Also, do not expect your car to be where you left it. Since you need to leave your car in neutral, it will be pushed to whichever corner is most convenient. Imagine Tetrus with cars!
With no speed limits enforced, the traffic can go from 150 km/hr to stopped because someone is buying a flower from the vendor in the middle of the road. Apparently flower vendors have little to live for here. In short, I recommend driving in Thailand, as it will make you appreciate that boring commute to work a little more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)