Discovered one of our favourite stores today. Actually don’t know what it is called, but to us it is the very cool cheap shop at Ramada Junction, or the “10 Riyal shop”! The reason for the name is so not to confuse it with the “6 Riyal shop” at Hyatt Plaza (which is actually called Daiso). It is big, poorly laid out and has lots of junk… But as with all junky shops it also has many not so junky things (well at least not to us). I think we only filled one trolley so we were doing well… but we still managed to leave with a couple of carpets and various other little bits and pieces.
Went to the Intercontinental Hotel with a few people from AJA to have dinner in the beachside Ramadan Tent tonight. Most of the major hotels have some form of Ramadan feast (buffet) set up for the major meal during the fasting month, which is at 8pm. After ringing around we found out the Intercontinental was one of the few that was actually set up on the beach (so we thought it would be a good pick).
Now while the food was great and surroundings palatial, the main thing we didn’t like was the lack of a genuine experience. The tent was huge, air-conditioned (of course) and they could seat about 500 people in there. Surrounding it was little markets and lots of advertising from their sponsors (which included strategically place BMWs, Range Rovers, and Ducatis). There was an endless array of food to choose from, lots of Shisha pipes, and guy walking around with the biggest Turkish coffee thing I had seen… service was first rate… BUT the whole thing (to us anyway) just didn’t have atmosphere and felt somewhat like being in a big cattle shed. There was no sense of being in anything that even remotely had a Bedouin atmosphere, which really was disappointing.
There was entertainment from a guy with a keyboard (set to the best Arabic sounds a cheap sounding keyboard can make), some violin player… a women who at times sounded like a cat stuck in a buzz saw… I will admit there was a man playing an Oud (the stringed instrument that looks a little like a Lute) as we were leaving which did sound rather nice though. There was even a Twirling Dervish but even that, while entertaining lacked the element of authenticity.
Went to the Intercontinental Hotel with a few people from AJA to have dinner in the beachside Ramadan Tent tonight. Most of the major hotels have some form of Ramadan feast (buffet) set up for the major meal during the fasting month, which is at 8pm. After ringing around we found out the Intercontinental was one of the few that was actually set up on the beach (so we thought it would be a good pick).
Now while the food was great and surroundings palatial, the main thing we didn’t like was the lack of a genuine experience. The tent was huge, air-conditioned (of course) and they could seat about 500 people in there. Surrounding it was little markets and lots of advertising from their sponsors (which included strategically place BMWs, Range Rovers, and Ducatis). There was an endless array of food to choose from, lots of Shisha pipes, and guy walking around with the biggest Turkish coffee thing I had seen… service was first rate… BUT the whole thing (to us anyway) just didn’t have atmosphere and felt somewhat like being in a big cattle shed. There was no sense of being in anything that even remotely had a Bedouin atmosphere, which really was disappointing.
There was entertainment from a guy with a keyboard (set to the best Arabic sounds a cheap sounding keyboard can make), some violin player… a women who at times sounded like a cat stuck in a buzz saw… I will admit there was a man playing an Oud (the stringed instrument that looks a little like a Lute) as we were leaving which did sound rather nice though. There was even a Twirling Dervish but even that, while entertaining lacked the element of authenticity. 
We ate well, we had an experience… it just wasn’t anything like the experience we were looking for. What they didn’t make from the food (overall the cost was quite reasonable), they made up for by over-pricing all the drinks (including the bottles of water which you normally get for free).Rather than focusing of the local rich Bedouin culture, it was far more a combination of Turkish, Moroccan or Tunisian… given that I think they really miss the point a little. People in Qatar (regardless of whether it is what they are looking for or not) should be experiencing Qatari culture… I think I would have enjoyed it more with something as simple as a couple of camels around, or at least using the standard black and red Bedouin fabrics. They should make the most out of what they have and differentiate themselves on that… I don’t really think they have got a grasp on the concept of authenticity yet, and unfortunately the end result is that you felt like you could be anywhere in the world rather than actually being immersed in the middle of the Arabian Gulf.
No comments:
Post a Comment