Wow, it has been some time since my last post, the reason being I have had the most hectic two weeks of my life!
On the 25th, I travelled to Qatar for the first time ever, what an adventure!
Qatar airways is amazing, the whole printing of the boarding pass and express check in is a life-saver! Also, it is the easiest thing to pass thru Qatar customs, you merely pay 100 Qatari Riyals at the desk, unlike the horrid, disgusting and terrible treatment at Dubai Airport (last weekend) where they make you jump through several hoops and delay you for an hour before letting you pass...
Anyhoo, whilst cruising around in Qatar, I realised how different and similar it is to Kuwait, and how Kuwait should Aspire to be better.
First off, due to the fact that Qatar will be hosting the world cup in 2022, major renovations are taking place all over, in preparation for the influx of visitors and tourists by then. Roads are being widened, tunnels are being dug etc.
How has the Kuwaiti infrastructure changed since, 20 years? We have a partially completed "thing" on the first ring road. Everything else is EXACTLY the same, and that is the main reason why we have such deadlock traffic, the population is rising, and yet the infrastructure is stagnant. The greedy are building higher buildings with more apartments, and there is virtually no planning for parking.
And unlike in Kuwait where every plot of land is razed and a commercial complex is erected, Qatar actually has Gardens! Open gardens mind you, not like Salmiya Park which is fenced. Aspire Park, right next to the Villagio Mall, was a wonder to walk through, vast, open expanses of land, man-made hills etc. and all for the jogging/ exercising pleasure of everyone.
Traffic lights; the blinking greens, afterwhich nobody dares to cross for fear of a traffic violation of 6,000QR.
No littering, or minimal, as that is also punishable by threat of monetary penalities.
No spitting in the street too.
We rode by 2 bikers on the road at like, 4am, and we asked them to do a stunt (after giving them the thumbs up), they reciprocated and actually did a stunt!
Whilst cruising in our 6-Cylinder Hyundai Santa Fe, my cousin came up behind an Audi A8, for fun, he flashed him, the Audi did not take offence, or pull over and come out to hash it out with us, he merely tapped the gas and flew farther than my cousins kick down could ever get us.
The Corniche in Qatar is soo wide, and it has not been turned into a commercial property for restaurants, people want to walk on the beach, enjoy the water and the air, but here in Kuwait, the beachfront is littered with restaurants.
Souq Waqef, the old market of Qatar, has that cool system for parking where theres a light above each parking space, and if its green the area is free, if its red its occupied.
It was truly an amazing weekend, and definitely not the last time I visit Qatar!
No comments:
Post a Comment