Russ_Sarah

hi all,
i am curious to know if it is possible to buy a season pass or something for use of the facilities in the hotels in doha.
i know its what you make of it..but…i have been offered a post over in doha, i am married with 2 young kids…i have spent a bit of time this evening reading through all this section of BE and am just wondering if there are any people over there in a situation where they have 2 young kids..what do you do when its over 40 degrees celcius on the weekends..if only one parent works and the other is spending the week with the kids, come the weekend, what do you do??
early mornings at the beach, thats cool..but what else?

OriginalSunshine

most non working spouses with primary school aged kids bog off back to UK at the first opportunity. holidays are hell in the GCC for those of us who both work and have young kids.
I'm sure you'd be able to find a hotel season pass. But even spending the afternoon at the pool can get tedious after a while. Trick is to mix things up. Also buy lots of indoor toys (lego, playmobil), get your own paddling pool, water guns, nerf guns, trampoline etc.

Russ_Sarah

so you can buy a season pass for the posh hotels? how much does something like that cost? but yes, i guess qatar is not a holiday destination and so hanging out around the plush surroundings of a posh hotel can get a bit boring if there are no other kids to play with

OriginalSunshine

specifically for Qatar, I don't know. quite frankly, I try to avoid the place as much as possible.

Alexa

There are plenty of people with young kids here. You can get a membership at the hotels for the pool, gym, beach. at the Intercon, for example, there are lots of families with young kids at the weekend. No idea what it costs now though. Most people with young kids live in compounds. There is a pool, a playground, some have play groups arranged by the compounds or by a group of mums.
Depending on age, many kids go to nurseries in the morning.
during weekends, often families get together at the pool of the compound, for playdates with bbq etc.
The malls here have sections with stuff for kids to do, if that is your kind of thing.

Millhouse

early morning on beach, long lunch with board games or movie, bike ride in the afternoon. mix it up with the mall. F-all to do.

Look at it this way ... the pain lasts about 3 months - 12 weekends - 24 days. Embrace the boredom, it doesn't last.

JamesandTamsin

I’m fairly sure me and my wife will be in much the same boat - I have been here for three weeks and in the process of arranging my residency permit. My wife comes out in 8 days with my Son but only for one week - then back home and out full time at the beginning of June (just in time for the heat wave lol).

Keep in touch - my boy is 11 months so maybe we can meet up and all be bored together?!

Either way - good luck

James

Russ_Sarah

hey james, yes..will keep in touch..we are still in sydney, think i will be there from the end of may and the wife and kids will follow on after..i have an 8 yr old and 2 yr old…trying to get a school place sorted from this end is proving quite stressful!!