You’ve got mail!
The swine flu grounded me for a few days. I got out of house arrest just the other day. It’s such a pleasant feeling to breathe Doha’s fresh air (at least at five in the morning) again…
One of my favourite nieces sent me a packet from Istanbul. It reached Doha the other day. The people at the post office called to ask me if they should deliver it to my home. I refused for two reasons. Firstly, I had not been inside the Head Post Office for quite some time. I felt a bit nostalgic (the building has remained practically the same ever since I began to see it). Secondly, I had had enough of sitting on my old bottom at home. So I politely refused and said I would go and collect it myself.
So my trusty driver friend, who has been a part of most of my adventures in Doha, took the car and off we went. I once again felt like a little child, being taken out for her first picnic to the Dukhan beach.
We ascended through three (or was it four) levels of parking spaces until we reached the very top. I almost felt like being inside an Indiana Jones movie. I was accessing different levels of a mountain, climbing, climbing, climbing, trying to reach the pyramid-shaped building at the top which held so many dark secrets...
I should say the post office has lost none of its old world charm. It still is an imposing structure, one of the most distinguishable in the country (the other being the Doha Sheraton). The place was immaculately clean. I loved that fact about them. I could see cleaning men move among the relaxed crowd, trying to keep the place in shape. They’re doing quite a good job too.
There were signboards referring to the Doha Asian Games. And I can fully understand the sentiment Qataris have towards these signs. After all, it was one of the biggest and proudest moments in Qatar’s entire existence.
I proceeded to the counter which I’d been instructed to go to. A young, warmly smiling Qatari girl asked me for some details regarding the packet. I gave it to her and she asked me wait. From the signboard behind the seating area, I understood they were offering free internet. Unfortunately, none of the six terminals were working. Its restoration is one thing which the officials immediately need to work on.
I walked around and once again saw the familiar sight of rows upon rows of post boxes. Little boxes which once opened displayed cavernous cavities inside. I was told that it had a hi-tech card-based box system. Sure enough, I could see several people swiping cards to open their boxes. Tradition seamlessly blending with modernity, I was very impressed.
I enquired if I could open a post box there, but was informed that they were severely short and had been overbooked by at least a year. So I moved to specialised section for coins and stamps. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures. It’s a paradise for coin and stamp collecting enthusiasts.
Next time you’re on the Cocrniche and has a little time to kill, do drop in into the post office. If you don’t like the building, you will definitely like the interiors. If you don’t like both, then you’ll fall in love with the view of Doha from up there.
Go on, explore the Qatar Post Office… be enchanted!
im waiting for a parcel from UK,how long does qatar post deliver mails/parcels from UK royal mail?
Rules are a guideline for intelligent people, but they must be adhered to by idiots.
WHEN WILL MY MAILS EVER ARRIVE???
Hello there,
Next time you go there, can you please ask them when the 3no. letters (posted via air-mail from Hong Kong, Australia and UK) I have been expecting will arrive?
I have been waiting since early September 2009 (i.e. 10 weeks ago) and they still haven't arrive!!!! I wonder how long it would take for them to arrive if they were shipped by sea-mail??? Hmm....
And when I asked the incompetent staff behind the counter (after waited for 20mins for them to finish their meal first) and all they did was to point me to another counter, to another counter, to another counter.... in the end, no one could help me with the outstanding mails.
I guess this is what you meant by referring to Indiana Jones... it's like you are the RAIDERS guaranteed OF being LOST trying to find the ARK.....
very interesting. I have been inside the Post office. But I never noticed so many things about it. But it is really good inside!
ur writing about the Post office, but unfortunately most of us are interested about the Swine Flu experience,
Please do write about it and share with us the experience, how the hospital dealt with it, what you were given, etc...
WYSIWYG
Wanderer, did you just recover from swine flu? If yes, please tell us about the experience.
get a swine flu shot?
Did you say "Swine Flu"???
When the Post Office initially opened there were a number of accidents caused by vehicles rolling backwards into he car behind. The authorities then employed someone to ensure that no other vehicle proceeded onto the "slopes" until the car in front was onto the next level.
Neither was it appreciated that the roof on the final level is (or was at the time) lower than two preceeding levels. It will not (or certainly did not) accept a Land Cruiser with lights on the top. The first to discover this was a police Land Cruiser with lights atop who firmly wedged himself into the space.
you can expect the same kind of service when you go to MOFA and Ministry of Justice. In MOFA I ended up staring at the clerk for a long time while she was busy talking on the phone, tinkling her mobile etc etc
thanks for the interesting pictures.
truly said wanderer the Q-posts' Main office has been a landmark for many years. i remember while i was a kid being a bit nervous while dad drives up the tarmac... and again i was bit confused while i got the driving license wheather to drive up or not...
i feel those at the counter serving the customers and visitors should be more focussed and trained better in giving a better outlook to the visitors and custormers alike.
Wishing you Good Health Wanderer, and all the best for more Adventerous times.. :)
S.M.I.L.E
Simpleman is loving everyone
:):):)
building to be very impressive. Shame on me, havent been there but i promise myself to visit the place before i leave this beautiful place for good.
Thanks for additional motivation to visit the General Post Office.
"To err is human, to forgive is divine."
I was in there recently and wanted to get a post box. The guy there said there weren't any to be had there or in any outlet in Doha. I could get one in Umm Salal if I wanted, and it was 'possible' that one might become available by the end of the year.
What sort of postal system do they think they are running? They don't deliver mail and I can't get a post box in the city I live in. I don't see any evidence of a "Universal Service Obligation" on QPost.
So can't get any post here in Doha. What a farce!
Unfortuantely the staff in the Post Office do not know what customer service is. Staff behind the counter play with their mobiles whilst messing around with the computer.
If someone is not at their desk, then no one else can be bothered to help you. Staff will ignore you, far too busy on the mobile. They can't even be bothered to lend you a pen. I hate going to the post office.
nice photos
wish u had some from the top
did you mentioned, you had a swine flu?????
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"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small compared to what lies within us."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
commemorative stamps, first day covers, some souvenir sheets,post cards were avail. there
AKA as the "Egg Box".
Can the women in there still mult-task.
Listen to a walkman, speak on the telephone and serve customers all at the same time?