The logistics of living and working in Doha can be… how do we say… “challenging” at times. There are rules and procedures to follow to be able to live and work here legally. Basically, when we arrive, we need to have a sponsor. Bristol is Kelly’s sponsor. Among other things, this means that anytime Kelly wants to leave the country, Bristol has to give a written “ok”. Along with a lot of guidance from Osama – Bristol’s in-house “government relations” person, whose sole-job is to make sure everyone is legal for working here – Kelly went through the process of getting his residency permit. This involved blood tests (2 – one to determine blood-type and one to check for AIDS?!?), x-rays, and fingerprinting.
Bristol will not be my sponsor tho. KELLY will be my sponsor… which – among other things – means that he has to give written permission (!) that I can work outside of the home. Yeah. You’re right – I scoffed at that little detail a bit. Anyway, before we can start MY process of getting blood tests, x-rays, fingerprints, etc Kelly has to produce 3-months of bank statements. Which means it will be January before we can do that. Seems almost straight-forward, right? Wrong!
My visitor’s visa (which I came into the country with) is only good for 1 month. Osama gets a 1-month extension, but then I have to leave the country and come back to start the process all over again before 2 months is up. So – the solution: a “passport run” to Dubai for the day on Nov 4th! We picked the cheapest flights which meant : 10 hours in Dubai. And what is a girl to do in Dubai for 10 hours OTHER than shop!? I mean, seriously!
Here are some pics and video from the Dubai Mall (located at the base of the Burj Dubai – the tallest free-standing structure in the world now):
An ice skating rink in the mall. This is nothing new for me now - at least 2 of the malls in Doha also have rinks. HOWEVER, this one has stands and a huge screen at the end.
3-story waterfall, with sculptures of silver divers. There is a second waterfall area behind the balconys at the right of the pic.
In another area of the mall, there is a giant aquarium. There were all kinds of schools of fish, including these manta/sting rays doing laps, a couple of sharks and more stuff that Im sure you can see better if you pay to go inside/under the aquarium. Maybe I'll do that next time... (ignore the reflections from the shops behind me in the glass)
Yet another open area... 4 stories high... with hundreds of gold and silver stars. Those of you who know me well might realize how much I loved this area. I stood, captivated, for a good 20 minutes. Then went to the bottom and took some video.
Another uber-cool area with video screens... on the floor.
And, for those who want to know what SHOPS this mall has, I took a little video in the fashion avenue area. This is just one of at least 6 hallways/areas on each floor!
Whereas other parts of the mall had 3 or 4 levels, the high-end fashion area only had 2. It certainly added something to the grandeur!
Just for fun, the storefront for Agent Provacateur. I didn't go in.
Finally, I tried to get a shot of the city as we were taking off. This is the best I got. You can see the wing of the plane in the top-right corner of the pic.
Un-related to residency permit nonsense: Kelly and I are going to Dubai together at the end of the month for 3-days, 2-nights during the second Eid. I’ve negotiated 2 half-days of shopping and 1 full day of pool/beach-lounging with him.
Life is rough….!
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