Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A festival of beer
It's October, people like drinking...why not celebrate the Oktoberfest? There's no breweries in Doha, and drinking isn't exactly encouraged here, but why would we let that stop us?
The night was put on by the Ramada Hotel. There wasn't much to it to be honest, but sometimes simplicity is the key to a successful night. There was a couple of German guest ales, a German band and a whole heap of streamers. What more do you need?
At first the band started off on stage...
...but quickly got bored of that...
Unfortunately I didn't have any lederhosen with me, but I entered into the spirit of things by wearing a tasty pretzel round my neck:
This served two purposes, as not only did it make a very attractive necklace, but it also came in very useful when I got a little peckish on the way home.
The night was put on by the Ramada Hotel. There wasn't much to it to be honest, but sometimes simplicity is the key to a successful night. There was a couple of German guest ales, a German band and a whole heap of streamers. What more do you need?
At first the band started off on stage...
...but quickly got bored of that...
Unfortunately I didn't have any lederhosen with me, but I entered into the spirit of things by wearing a tasty pretzel round my neck:
This served two purposes, as not only did it make a very attractive necklace, but it also came in very useful when I got a little peckish on the way home.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Forest Folk
It's ok, I've not fallen off the edge of the planet, I'm here! You can stop worrying, I just had a bit of an extended holiday. And now I'm here to tell you alllllll about it.
I realised that Doha is half way to Bali...so it seemed rude not to go and see it. And whilst I was there, someone mentioned Orangutans and Borneo...and again, I didn't want to offend, so off I went.
I did worry that it was just going to be a long and fruitless search for the orange hairy fellas, and I'd only see them in the distance. I expected to return to Bali wondering if I had seen an Orangutan, or whether it had actually been a bunch of dead leaves high up in the treetops, but I needn't have worried...
Here I am with my new bessie mates!
This is Tito and her little son. He's nearly 2 - they don't grow very fast. Frankly she scared the bajeebas out of me, with her super strong grip. Least there was only her little family around...unlike at dinner time, when there were lots of people (orang) of the forest (utans) about:
As it's not fruit season, a lot of the animals turned up for feeding. All of them had to navigate Tom, the big Alpha Male, who obviously got first dibs.
On the second day, Tom got 'friendly' with another female of the group. That big boy AND another full-sized ape in a little spindly tree?! No, it didn't work - the tree came crashing down. That's got to hurt!
Note to self: don't come back as an Orangutan.
I realised that Doha is half way to Bali...so it seemed rude not to go and see it. And whilst I was there, someone mentioned Orangutans and Borneo...and again, I didn't want to offend, so off I went.
I did worry that it was just going to be a long and fruitless search for the orange hairy fellas, and I'd only see them in the distance. I expected to return to Bali wondering if I had seen an Orangutan, or whether it had actually been a bunch of dead leaves high up in the treetops, but I needn't have worried...
Here I am with my new bessie mates!
This is Tito and her little son. He's nearly 2 - they don't grow very fast. Frankly she scared the bajeebas out of me, with her super strong grip. Least there was only her little family around...unlike at dinner time, when there were lots of people (orang) of the forest (utans) about:
As it's not fruit season, a lot of the animals turned up for feeding. All of them had to navigate Tom, the big Alpha Male, who obviously got first dibs.
On the second day, Tom got 'friendly' with another female of the group. That big boy AND another full-sized ape in a little spindly tree?! No, it didn't work - the tree came crashing down. That's got to hurt!
Note to self: don't come back as an Orangutan.
