Doha is a wonderful city. The Downtown is a cacophony of iconic buildings. More on that later. It is, however, a city under construction. New towers going up everywhere, simultaneously with major roadway and utility work. Consequently, rush hour traffic is a mess. I have moved from the Concorde to the upscale "West Bay" where my office is located for that reason. I am now staying at the Movenpick Tower. Also more about that to follow.
There are major improvements underway to Al Corniche Street, which rings around the Bay of Doha. The work must be complete before the Festival of Eid-al-Adha, which occurs later this month.
I was assigned to a company driver who on Monday picked me up at 8:15 (because of my late arrival) and also dropped me off that evening. On Tuesday, my first full day of work, The 8.3 kilometer trip, took more than one hour.
Shemeer, my driver, is a perfect gentleman and also extremely patient. During all of our trips I never sensed any tension or frustration. On that morning, just getting to "the Corniche" was the major part of the trip. Gridlock. At times a two-lane street became three or four. Space between cars is measured in paint thickness. Owing to the weather, no one drives with windows open, so there is no gesturing or verbalizing as is sometimes seen in the U.S. Everyone seems to accept that these conditions are a necessary part of the city's growth.
Road intersections in Doha feature "roundabouts" rather than traffic signals. Most of the time they are simple to navigate, but during peak traffic they can be exciting, to say the least. The required skill is to keep the vehicle moving while also weaving though, and sometimes dodging, the other cars.
I have seen some instances of driving over medians, sidewalks and curbs, and even driving on the opposite side of the road, but only one "fender bender". My new hotel is less than a mile from the office. I will be using taxis from now on, at least until I move into a permanent residence.
There are major improvements underway to Al Corniche Street, which rings around the Bay of Doha. The work must be complete before the Festival of Eid-al-Adha, which occurs later this month.
I was assigned to a company driver who on Monday picked me up at 8:15 (because of my late arrival) and also dropped me off that evening. On Tuesday, my first full day of work, The 8.3 kilometer trip, took more than one hour.
Shemeer, my driver, is a perfect gentleman and also extremely patient. During all of our trips I never sensed any tension or frustration. On that morning, just getting to "the Corniche" was the major part of the trip. Gridlock. At times a two-lane street became three or four. Space between cars is measured in paint thickness. Owing to the weather, no one drives with windows open, so there is no gesturing or verbalizing as is sometimes seen in the U.S. Everyone seems to accept that these conditions are a necessary part of the city's growth.
Road intersections in Doha feature "roundabouts" rather than traffic signals. Most of the time they are simple to navigate, but during peak traffic they can be exciting, to say the least. The required skill is to keep the vehicle moving while also weaving though, and sometimes dodging, the other cars.
I have seen some instances of driving over medians, sidewalks and curbs, and even driving on the opposite side of the road, but only one "fender bender". My new hotel is less than a mile from the office. I will be using taxis from now on, at least until I move into a permanent residence.
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