Beer is priceless and coffee extremely expensive, but filling up a gas tank costs less than 20 euros
There are questions that are repeated from Spain (family, friends, work…) to which one does not yet know quite how to answer, although one strives to do so. One of the most common is whether Qatar is expensive. And of course people keep thinking about the song here. Depends. Beer is expensive, yes. You can’t find it for less than 12 euros. And it is also surprising, for the worse, what a coffee can cost, which never falls below 5 euros. Gasoline, on the other hand, is a bargain. Filling in a deposit costs less than 20 euros. A breath of fresh air for local wallets, who generally like loud engines, ‘pick-up’ and clunky SUV’s.
They are the most pronounced contrasts. For the rest, especially with food, there is not one Doha, as happens in every other part of the world. The Corniche is not the same as the Souk, nor is the Pearl residential area the same as Bin Mahmoud itself where we stay. The feeling is that Qatar is a place where you can eat cheaply, but where you can grab the same nails that occasionally sneak into your house.
Indian, Pakistani and Turkish restaurants are plentiful. They are the cheapest option. The large Western chains also offer cheaper menus than what can be found in Spain. For no more than 10 or 12 euros you are out of there and your hunger satisfied. On the other side are the restaurants of the large hotels. More elaborate recipes and more expensive prices. There has been the case of a chicken with potatoes, presented phenomenally, yes, which came out at 60 euros to change.
Here the large supermarket chain is called ‘Lulu’ and apart from the product catalog does not differ much from the Spanish one, not even in terms of prices. Bread, fruits, vegetables, turkey sausages and cheese. Only milk seems to have increased in price. Nothing we don’t know in Spain. They open very late and have more than one rush.
Few days are left here and there is much to explore and discover. Next is laundry, which will become an urgent matter in no time. We keep reporting.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
