Beer in Qatar
Still playing catch up with my writing but that’s the norm when I’m on these whirlwind trips . It’s just constant hustle to do and see things and this day was just that ! When I woke up it was go time to get to the English pub and get myself prepped for the England vs USA match . There is an English pub here called the Red Lion that sounds amazing and I need to be there for opening to try to squeeze in .
Kathleen is not coming to this game as I could only get one ticket with my buddy Patrick Stewart , and no he is not Professor X hahaha . It’s gonna be a boys night out and we plan on getting on the piss, so a lot of coordinating started in the day and next thing you know we are in an Uber heading to the pub . When we arrived (Kathleen did join for pub) we found a small crowd of English supporters and they were total wankers ! Yup I said it , these guys were dickheads and were not friendly at all :( they were very selfish so I was skeptical and then the owner of the establishment walked out and said im sorry but we can’t get you in today :( the place was fully booked weeks in advance but he suggested a place called Street 22 which is in the Mansour Hotel . So we hopped in another Uber and had to message Patrick to change his course and come there instead .
I know you’re wondering why I would say they were wankers , when I arrived they eyeballed me and I said hello and they just didn’t want to talk to me . They were one of the unfriendliest groups of people we have met here in Qatar and it was quite disappointing . It was as if they knew we were not from England and they looked down their noses at us . Now when we arrived at the next bar they were there also and I tried to wave hello to them and said hi again with no response once again . So we did not sit beside them .
Instead we grabbed our own booth and I put the word out to my fellow Voyageurs fans that are going to the same match to meet us at this pub and a whole bunch came out to have fun with us . Beer is not quite as expensive as one would think with specials like a bucket of beer which has 6 bottles and a personal pizza for the equivalent of $65 CDN so we had buckets and buckets that day . Kathleen left on her day excursion and we carried on drinking . There were 7 of us Canadians in total at the booth and over the time we spent there, we drank around 72 beers 🍺
When it was time to head out to the game we called an Uber and piled all 7 of us in the van and of course our buddy Dorian took over the tunes and we honestly had a blast driving to the stadium which was Al Bayt …. It’s far ! Toilets were our first stop and then we headed to the stadium and had no problems getting in . We were all having such a good time . I couldn’t have asked for a better group to have drinks with and go to the game with .
Now in typical fashion the lead up to the game was the highlight as the game itself was a snooze fest . We found out Americans can spell the name of their country and the English had more chants and more organized . I mean USA USA had got to be the lamest chants ever ? Anyways …. We had nosebleeds as I sat with Patrick, but the game was boring . At halftime I found out how disorganized the concessions are here , my lineup barely moved and when I got to the front of the queue there was no food left so I just grabbed a Fanta, then I was asked multiple times if I want water too or a coke . Worst upsell in history and quite annoying …. Got back to my seats 8 minutes after kickoff and I missed absolutely nothing . Zzzz
Game ended and we managed to all gather outside a gate and head to the bus to get us to the closest metro station . It took one hour to get to the bus , then the bus took about 30 minutes to metro and by that point it was already 1:30 am and I had to be up early the next day so I thought it would be a good idea to catch an Uber so I said bye to everyone and tried my luck . At this point I found at least another 500 people trying to get rides so its not gonna happen and my Uber app said there were no rides . The Uber ride would gave got me home an hour earlier . So back to the metro I went to get a train to Al Bidda then hop on the green line out to Mall of Qatar which is end of the line and walk to my humble abode for my trip .
The game ended at midnight and I got back to my room at 3:30 am . Yeah that sucked big time . Not sure if I have tickets out that way again but I sure as heck hope I don’t . All in all it was a good day and I’m still cheering for England as I always have and always will, I have a special place in my heart for them, but those fans we met can sit and spin if you know what I mean . Anyways time to head to my next adventure .
