Ramblings of a world traveler

Bridge asked me to be a guest editor to talk about my trip to Doha, Qatar from two weeks ago. Since I have already been asked multiple times I will start with this, Burns and McDonnell employees pronounce it Kutter (rhymes with butter) and it is a peninsula on the Persian Gulf, East of Saudi Arabia.

I departed KC on September 17th at 12:30pm and landed in Doha on Sept 18 at 6:30pm. The flight alone was quite an experience flying business class, Qatar Airways provides complimentary pajamas. I found it comical that after dinner everyone just got up and put their new PJs on to get some sleep.

When I first got on the plane I still needed to get my power point presentation ready for the meeting on Monday. After takeoff I grabbed my laptop and the guy next to me who was a seasoned pro (Worker for Exxon said that flight put him over 120,000 miles for the year) said "you will want to put that away and enjoy dinner". Well dinner was multiple courses and took almost two hours to completely serve. So I kicked my feet up and took in dinner and a movie.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was simply going to the site. The building in the background is the GE Tech center, this was my first big project at Burns and Mac. Typically if we even get to go to a project site its during construction, I usually don't get to see the finished product in person, let alone when its on the other side of the globe. You can tell from the glass that's its just covered in dust. That is a difficult problem for them and one we are supposed to come up with a plan for, how do you clean certain aspects of these structures.
Where this photo is taken is roughly the edge of where the new Tech3 building will be. The structure in the photo is called the Incubator Center. The wavy system above it is called the "Veil". It goes over the buildings on this portion of the campus and is made entirely of stainless steel. They do not spare any expenses when it comes to finishes.
Same position just looking East.

This is the building just across the street from our hotel.
Another shot of the Veil and Tech2 building.
Burns and McDonnell has an office in Doha and this building sits adjacent to it.

I wanted to get a day and night shot of it.

My project manager has been doing work in Doha for multiple years, so riding in the car with him was like getting a personal tour everywhere we went. Pictured here is the Qatar National Mosque.

I had finished up my workshops on Monday and Tuesday so on Wednesday I went to our project site. This is called the Hear of Doha, BMcD did the design for Phase 1A, which is off to the left, and this massive hole in the Earth is Phase1B and 1C (I believe). This is the largest project that my division has taken on and I believe we are providing the design for 28 buildings. Its quite an impressive site.

Looking at West Bay.

Coming into West Bay, the amount of construction is unbelievable. Everywhere you look you see tower cranes and sky scrapers. Fifty years ago this place was one and two story buildings and farmland. Right now I would say the majority of buildings are still empty. I think the idea is "If you build it, they will come". It will be interesting to see how it progresses as they get everything ready for the World Cup in 2022.
You will notice no buildings look the same.
Heading to Pearl, Qatar. This city is on reclaimed land.

More unique looking structures.

High end retail. Across the street from this building is a Rolls Royce dealership.

The Pearl bay was lined with Yachts. I loved this one with his boat, inside the boat.

Another shot of the bay.
A fellow Burns and Macer raves about these tailor made shirts he gets while in Doha. So on Wednesday evening the Architect and I went to check it out. I only ordered one and will pick it up next time I am back, who knows maybe I will get some slacks to go with it next time. We left the tailor and went to The Souq. Picture the movie Aladdin with the peddlers on the street trying to get you to buy their stuff, but sprinkle in some nice restaurants. My favorite part was turning the corner to three guys yelling at me "Fake Watches!"

Thursday morning we flew back. Qatar Airlines in Doha has its own Business TERMINAL. It was over the top. You sat down at a nice leather chair to check in for your flight, just hand over the passport and they do the work. Then its off to the lounge that had multiple places to eat, and several bars to get a beverage. Grabbed some breakfast and a mimosa. Wasn't a fan but Bridge doesn't usually serve OJ and Champagne on the weekends so I need to take advantage when I can.

I worked quite a bit on the flight out but my laptop died on Tuesday so the flight home was nice, a combination of movies, magazines, books, and sleep. I must have done an ok job because I head back on October 16th.

I want to say thanks to those that kept us in your prayers while I traveled and B played the role of single mom. Also thanks to Patty for giving Bridge some help mid-week so that she could keep her sanity. And thank you to Bridge for taking care of the kids while I was off "working".