Kyiv vs. Doha?

Being just a relative hop, skip and a jump away, our dear friends Sussie, Sam and kids came to visit from Doha, Qatar this past week.  For those geographically is challenged (like me) Qatar is a tiny little country in the Middle East, near Saudi.  Not a lot of people - but loads of oil $...


Anyhow, we had a fantastic week....and of course compared notes on our respective random locations overseas:




CLIMATE: Doha is too hot (reaches ~120 in the summer), Kiev is too cold.  It SNOWED TODAY in Kyiv!  Need I say more?!?  Snow in mid-November is totally unacceptable!  Winner = Doha 

(the houses across the street from us this morning)






















PERSONALITY & ATTIRE: Doha is full of Muslims, the local women are covered head to toe, except for small slits for their eyes.  There are prayer calls 5 times a day & planes land & take off at 'off peak' times like 2am to avoid traffic disrupting said prayers.  


Kyiv is full of 'assertive' (ok at times downright mean) people who tell you your child is not dressed warmly enough and scowl at you when you purchase things from them.  Meanwhile, the women look like they are going to the club pretty much all the time.   Winner = Kyiv (better entertainment value)

(a woman in the Metro during rush hour - presumably going to work)




BOOZE: In Qatar, there are 2 government run shops that sell hooch.  Each person is allocated a certain ration depending on their income.  In Kyiv, liquor is abundant.  They sell beer at corner stands everywhere, in the parks, on the street.  Open container laws don't exist.  Traditional Ukrainian restaurants hand out shots as you leave......the one we took S&S to even had a roving 'shot master' guy....Winner = Kyiv

GROCERIES: Doha is not much of a food producing country - so most groceries are imported.  Thus, they have an abundance of American staples we don't get.  Sussie brought us about a suitcase full of Mac N Cheese, Bisquick & Brownie / cake mix (THANKS to her, I no longer have to limit brownie making to only very special occasions!).  Kyiv, being the 'breadbasket of Europe' does not import much....thus, the stores here look more foreign.  One thing I still can't get used to is the open bulk foods.  Check out this freezer section!......

 (no wonder they cook the crap out of all of their food.....gotta kill the germs somehow!)


Given Sussie now uses my experience in Kyiv as a pep talk for complaining ex-pats in Doha ("While we may have to pay more here - at least we CAN get Brownie Mix, Mac n Cheese.....fill in the blank...unlike my friend in Kyiv"), even despite their lack of bacon (anti pork), I declare the Winner = Doha




KID DISTRACTIONS: Possibly due to the extreme climates, both cities excel in segregating kids from adults trying to enjoy leisurely meals / shopping.  Sussie spoke fondly of the kids areas & entertainment that make hotel brunches enjoyable in Doha (despite her 2 and 4 year old dining partners).  Kyiv is chop full of places like that too.....


...the play area in a nearby mass / grocery store...

....and a separate kids area in the Hyatt...

 ..you drop your kids off here and go up a level to a fantastic brunch...

...any guilt I had that the video games and crafts would not hold their interest were erased by the kids' spread.......

The bowl of M&Ms pictured was nearly drained when we picked the kids up a few hours later.  Given there were ~8 kids there, I estimate each child consumed roughly 300 M&Ms!

 Winner = draw (now how do we bring this to the US?!)




By my calculations, the 2 cities are tied till now......


ADULT DIVERSIONS:  Doha is a new city where the primary form of entertainment is the indoor mall amusement parks and their restaurants tend toward the mediocre-chain variety.  Plus, weekends have to work around forced down time (they lose about half of their Saturday due to prayer time shutting everything down).  


Kyiv is a pretty bustling city - with lots of entertainment.....We've enjoyed the circus, I was bored at a ballet (wow- those can be long!), and there are tons of operas, theater, puppet shows and concerts - like the Elton John concert we went to (A highlight!  He rocks even 40+ years into his touring!)

We lucked into fantastic seats not very far from the stage......

And loads of fantastic restaurants.  While the Ukrainian cuisine seems only designed to soak up liquor......

(Yep, that's bacon fat on a slice of fried potato.  They call it 'Salo' - which tricked Sam into eating 2 pieces and loving it until he realized what it was!)


..........we've found excellent Italian, German, sushi, steaks and even salads here.   

Net, net Winner = Kiev!!!!!




So next time you are debating whether to visit Kiev or Doha, you will know what to do!  (OK - I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a slight bias - but I won't make it through the winter here if I don't look on the bright side!)

THANK YOU Sussie and Sam, Teddy & Lucy for a fantastic visit.  The house is way too quite now...aside from the kids complaining they are bored now!