Dear Doha Diary

Ive been cycling in Qatar now for the last year - mainly short trips to work and back - 15 km a day - which for a hardened London cycle commuter and a trusty steed like Grey Legs is not too much of a challenge.  No hills,  stunning views and perfect weather apart from the heat, occasional strong winds and the odd dust storm.  But until recently I hadn't attempted anything longer - largely because the crazy driving is such that I'd been nervous to venture further out on any main roads. Then last December I heard news that some of my cycling chums at Al Jazeera were planning to join an organised 100km ride - so with only one weekend to get some training in, I decided to give it a go.  After all, it was an organised ride with support cars early on a Friday morning - the only time when traffic is limited. I was apprehensive, having never cycled 100km in one go before - despite using my bike as my main mode of transport for quite a few years in the UK - I'd always wanted t

It was Mark Twain who famously said "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness".  But does that quote stand up as well today as it did in his day?  There are few places one travels these days where we are forced to face our prejudices by integrating or otherwise suffering loneliness.  For goodness sake we don't even have to eat the local food ….. just as importing food from around the world has made us a little more adventurous in our tastes at home, this globalisation of all things has made us more comfortable overseas.  We no longer need to step out of our comfort zone when we travel - all our habits can accompany us. There are so many of us travelling, working and living abroad these days, we can always find those who share our background, nationality, values and opinions almost anywhere we go.   In 2015, UN statistics showed that 244 million people (3.3% of the world's population) lived outside their country of origin, as compared to 36 mil