Share the Ride, Cut the Carbon? Yeah, right.

So way back at the end of November/ beginning of December, Doha welcomed over 15,000 participants to the UN Climate Change Conference www.cop18.qa.  I think Doha has forgotten. The global coverage of the conference was very complimentary and Qatar has been congratulated for its efforts and commitment to sustainability. But during the conference week, residents and conference attendees were wondering why this city was chosen to host. Their track record for environmentalism is not nearly as positive as the news coverage of the COP18 event. In fact, they have the worst per capita carbon dioxide emissions of any country in the world. Not exactly something to proud of. What wasn’t widely reported in the positive global news reports was the fleet of buses forever racing back and forth between the hotels and the convention centre with only a few passengers on them; even worse, the buses sat idling for hours with the AC on so that the six or eight passengers would ride in a comfortable temperature. 

Idling for hours...

As the richest country in the world, Qatar likes to spend money. On some worthwhile things and on lots of frivolous things. I am encouraged to know that money is being pumped into “green” projects here, but the everyday behaviours of residents is so far from green, that I predict that the new projects will struggle to succeed. It will take time to transform these behaviours.

Start with an easy one. Recycling. There is none. No pick up. No recycling bins at the ex-pat compounds. No recycling bins at our school. As a BC girl, I like to recycle. When we first arrived, we struggled to find any recycling bins, but we did eventually find some at Dahl Al Hamam Park, Katara and University of Calgary Qatar. We try to collect our recycling at home, load it into the car and drop it off at the bins. Sadly, the bins are often full and overflowing, so we have to bring it home again. But perhaps the most discouraging thing is the rumour that the “recycling” from the bins is just taken to the dump. 

Even worse, Qatar burns its garbage every evening (oh, except during the week they hosted COP 18). Check out this link:  Doha Burning

It will take a long time to change behaviours in Qatar, but in the meantime, we still make sure that our own boys remember to be green. Well, as green as is possible in the desert. 

It's Easy to be a Sports Fan in Doha

Hanging out with Andrew and Yahia

For a country with such a small population (~ 2 million, 75-80% of who are expats), there are a lot of major sporting events in Qatar. Tickets are very cheap to this events and sometimes even free! In the last few weeks, we have seen the Asia Qualifiers for the Beach Soccer World Cup and Spain vs Uruguay in a friendly soccer match. Next week we’ll see the Women’s Tennis Qatar Open tournament (we have tickets for the finals) and next month we’ll attend a soccer match between Canada and Japan. 

View from the stadium

We loved the beach soccer tournament; and it was free so we were happy to go back three days in a row! The teams were competing for a spot in the Beach Soccer World Cup in Tahiti later this year. The 3000 seat stadium was down at Katara Beach with a view out to the water and The Pearl. The games were fast paced and exciting. There was a kids area outside with a huge bouncy castle and a soccer pitch. The music and atmosphere were lively, all the seats were great, and there was plenty of entertainment at the half-times and in between the games. 

Cheering for Thailand

A few nights ago we saw the Battle of the Champions soccer match between Spain and Uruguay at Khalifa Stadium with 60,000 other fans. Tickets to see some of the best players in the world cost us about $30. There was a big fan zone set up outside the stadium, where the kids won hats and inflatable hands to cheer for Spain. The boys were mesmerized by the “heliosphere”, a huge helium balloon with a spiralling, spinning and seemingly weightless acrobat suspended underneath. 

Go Spain Go!

The Heliosphere

The game was exciting and the boys loved it. Spain won 3-1. The kickoff was at 9pm - pretty late for a school night, but the boys did really well only starting to slow down and yawn at about 11pm. What a great atmosphere inside the stadium!

Soccer fans: Ben, Isaiah, Will and Andy

If you had a million dollars, would you buy this camel? Or maybe some camel steroids?

On our first weekend back from New Zealand in January, Uncle Mike and Aunty Von came to visit us in Doha for a few days. We took them to the Singing Sand Dunes and to the camel races, both of which did not turn out how we’d expected. 

Race to the top!

In the middle of nowhere

The Singing Sand Dunes - the last time we were there, the sand was too hot to touch and we didn’t stay very long. This time, there were really high winds and so there was a big dust storm. Climbing up to the top was fine, but once we got up there, we could barely even open our eyes. Mike managed to get the sand to “sing” for a moment and then we moved along to the camel races. 

Aunty Von at the Dunes

Road Trip

We arrived a few minutes before the camel races were supposed to start, but the race track was close to empty. A few camel trainers were there training their young camels, but there was clearly no plan for races that day. We hoped that they’d be on the next day so we could take Mike and Von, so we stopped to check with a man who was driving along side his young camels and their trainers. He had about 6 or 7 kids in the back of his car as well as his elderly father in the front seat. The man, probably in his mid 30s, told us there was no racing that weekend and then kindly invited us to his house just down the road. We followed him there, he invited us in and the boys played soccer with all the boys outside. His English was quite good, although his father spoke none. He told us his story, showed us around and gave us coffee and dates.

Baby camels at feeding time

This young camel just sold for $1million

He was raised in a Qatari bedouin family and now owns several houses and many racing camels. He showed us one young camel that he just sold for 3 million QR (about $1 million Canadian dollars). When he found out that Andy was from New Zealand, he asked what Andy knew about race horses (not much really) and he told us that the “medicine” for race horses was very good for camels also. Naively, I thought that maybe pregnant camels or baby camels might need medicine and wondered about how the owners access medical care for their camels. Andy carried on the conversation with the man and turns out he was asking Andy to help him access steroids in New Zealand and bring that back to Qatar for his camels! “Can you help me with this?” he asked Andy. “Um, no.” 

Another Qatari man, probably around 40, arrived and joined the conversation. He told us he was worked as an Amiri Guard (the guards responsible for the protection of the royal family in Qatar), but that breeding camels to sell was his weekend hobby. The conversation led back to horses again, but this time the Amiri Guard wanted to know what experience Andy had riding horses (none, really). The man told Andy he had the right body shape for riding horses (whatever that means?!) and that he could get Andy a job with the Amiri Guard. While this is like getting the keys to the kingdom, Andy didn’t leave a CV (not that that would’ve mattered anyway). 

Meanwhile, the boys’ soccer game had ended and the young Qatari boys were showing Will and Ben around the property. The boys got to ride a camel and feed the baby camels. The young boys really wanted to ask Will and Ben questions but they only knew a few words of English. Since Will and Ben couldn’t understand much of what they were saying, they just decided to sing their Arabic counting song from school. The young Qatari boys loved it and clapped for them and then proceeded to proudly count in English. Then, as boys do, they ran around the property chasing each other, stopping every few minutes to count in each other’s language and high five each other. 

I was very proud of my boys that day. It takes a lot of energy to communicate with someone when they don’t speak your language. Then again, it didn’t actually look that hard for any of the kids. They just played. And chased each other. And sang. I’ve learned something from them. 

"Home" to Aotearoa

January 31, 2013

It’s not my home, but....both of my boys were born there, Andy’s entire family lives there, we owned our first house there, my iPod is full of old-school kiwi music, and some of the best friends I’ve ever made are there. My family even accuses me of sometimes having a slightly kiwi accent with some words. So, it’s not surprising that I always feel very “at home” in New Zealand. 

We have been fortunate enough to have had the last two Christmases in New Zealand with family and friends. Last year, we escaped rainy Vancouver for a summer Christmas in NZ. This year, we travelled from Doha to Bangkok to Auckland for another fun-filled three week adventure all around the North Island. 

Highlights of our Trip (in no particular order)

The farm in Taikorea. Will and Ben were in heaven on the farm - fresh air, running around, climbing trees, playing cricket, swimming, and of course, collecting the chicken eggs. Sam, Tom and Sophie were proud to introduce us to their new little brother Leo, the newest addition to the Mullin family. 

• Road trip to Rotorua - On our way back up to Auckland, we stopped for a night in Rotorua and to visit Whakarewarewa Thermal Village. Will and Ben were amazed by the geysers and all the thermal activity, but in the end, were most excited that our hotel pool was heated!

• Beachlands - staying with the Hydes in Beachlands was just like old times, like no time had passed. The kids got along famously. Ice creams at Maraetai (two for Andy). Robin taking the kids kayaking in gale force winds. Drinking wine with Kirsten and Nina. New Year’s Eve and Cranium. Swimming at Maraetai School. Cricket at Omana on New Year’s Day. Planning Will and Bethany’s wedding in 20 years time.

• Time in Auckland - catching up with the Stewarts, going to the zoo with Mike and Von, seeing Kristina and Amelia. The boys loved playing with Ronan, Mike and Von’s dog, in the back yard.

 Santa finding us at Grandma and Grandpat’s house in Ashhurst. Backyard cricket with Grandpat. Staying over at Steve’s house in Palmerston North. Seeing the look on Grandma’s face when she saw the wooden elephant we brought her from Sri Lanka. 

Thank-you, New Zealand, for another wonderful trip. We miss you and think of you often. 

The Kebab Kid - written entirely by Will Mullin

December 18, 2012

My favourite resaurant in doha is Shujaa restaurant. It is a small place near the bird souq in the Souq Waqif. There you can eat kebabs. 2 or 1 plates. Chickin or beef. The kebabs come on metel sqers. Be carefel not to poke yourself! 

If you visit Doha you HAVE to go to Shujaa Restaurant. 

I can’t wait to eat it again -  yummy!!!

Will, Age 6

Ahmed The Camel Has....One Hump.

Today we ventured off to find the camel races, which are rumoured to occur on Fridays and Saturdays at 6am and 2pm. Camel racing, “the Sport of Sheikhs” is an old Bedouin tradition in Qatar, but the races have changed in recent years...for the better. Before 2004, children as young as three, four and five were used as jockeys for the camel races. Most disturbing is that these children were kidnapped and stolen from Africa and Asia and their “owners” starved them of food to keep their weight down. There are some enlightening and very upsetting documentaries on YouTube about this topic; an HBO Real Sports story convinced the governments of Qatar and UAE to stop using children in this sport. In 2004, the Emir of Qatar followed UAE’s actions, and banned child jockeys. Robot jockeys are now used.  

The start

robot jockeys

When we arrived, we saw the camel owners, all Qatari men, and camel trainers, Indian and Pakistani men, getting their camels and robot jockeys all organized for the races. The robot jockeys are operated by remote control and are also outfitted with a walkie talkie. It’s quite funny to see fifty or sixty camels all sitting down with little tiny robots strapped to their backs. We saw the start of the race and were then ushered into a bus which drove along the inside of the track to watch the camels race along the 6km course. We drove alongside the camel owners in their Landcruisers and listened to the camel race commentary at full volume in Arabic. Camels are not very graceful runners, but they can maintain 40km/h for quite a distance.

Camel trainer chatting on his mobile phone

After two laps on the bus, we decided to give it a go in our own little Suzuki. So off we went - it was crazy!! The camel owners drive on the road beside their camels and yell into their walkie talkies and beep their horns incessantly. It’s amazing that the cars didn’t bump into each other the way they were driving! What a crazy experience!

Click here to see a video of the camel racing!

From the boys: 

• Ben thought that the best part of the day was cheering for the camels, but the worst part was getting camel poo on his flip flop. 
• Will thought the whole thing was “awesome” and “cool”. Usually not a man of so few words...

Go Camel Go!

Fun Facts about Camels:

• Camels can cost as much as 1 million QR ($360,000)
• One hump = dromedary and two humps = bactarian
• Camels can be white, black or beige
• Camels have excellent memories.
• They can travel up to 160km in the desert without water; a thirsty camel can drink 135 litres in less than 15 minutes!
• They can run at speeds up to 65km/h
• A camel’s hump is not filled with water; it is filled with fat that is metabolized for energy and water when needed. But when all the fat is used up, the hump will become flabby or even look non-existent.
• The word "camel" comes from an Arabic word meaning "beauty" (?!)
• There are 17 million camels in the world (90% of them are dromedaries)
• A camel can weigh up to 1600lbs!

Thumbs up for camel racing!