Differences between Qatar and Egypt.

• Clean.

They get rain there. And they have money. So buildings and cars are new and kept clean. No trash on the streets.

• Few Taxis

Very few taxis, compared to Egypt. Much more money, most people own cars. We asked our hotel to call us a taxi and they said it would be a 30 minute wait. They suggested walking out to the traffic circle to try to flag one down. We had to wait 10 minutes for taxi to even go by! And that one was occupied. This is quite a bit of culture shock after spending time in Cairo, where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a taxi.

• Labor is imported

The labor force is imported. Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Phillipino etc. L

• Everybody speaks english

Lots of English spoken. I could see it being difficult to learn Arabic living in Doha.

• MONEY!!!!!!

Lot’s of money. Bentleys, Mercedes Benz, high end SUVs.

• No pedestrians

I didn’t even realize this until the 2nd or 3rd day when I saw someone trying to cross the street. It then occured to me that he was the first pedestrian I had seen. Everybody drives.