Sunday, November 24, 2013

Exploring Lusail City

Among the numerous construction projects in Qatar is Lusail, an entire planned city emerging from the sand about 15km to the North of Doha. When this Future City is complete it is intended to be home to about a quarter of a million inhabitants living and working in a very advanced, green and sustainable environment. It is not so unusual even in more populous countries for a new urban area to be created - Milton Keynes, which only formally came into existence as a new town in 1967, has roughly that population today. However, whilst the English new town is built on an existing landscape with established sizeable populations and a long history, the transformation of the entire geography in Al Daayen looks set to be much more radical.

Curious to see what's actually there, on Friday I went with a colleague, Mohammad Jumah, to explore a little of the construction site. Care is needed because the whole place is usually reverberating to the sounds of construction, but Friday is the one day when it stops. We came up from Katara Cultural Village and followed the signs to Lusail, many of them are obviously temporary, but we reached the outskirts without much difficulty and very few vehicles in sight.

One day there will be grand avenues that stretch great distances, but for the moment you can expect the way to be not so straightforward:

Lusail City, Qatar

It feels strange to be navigating through junctions with fully-functioning sets of traffic lights.

Lusail City, Qatar

However, once in the more central area you can start to see it taking shape, even with wide pavements(!)

Lusail City, Qatar

On the right hand side there's a Katara Hospitality building, which looks fairly plain, but all eyes are on a future landmark that'll be next to the marina.

That is yet to ascend, but there's already a couple of interesting towers rising up on the left, their skeletal framework suggesting an organic design.

Lusail City, Qatar

Lusail Al Marina Twin Towers

Lusail Al Marina Twin Towers

These will form the Lusail Al Marina Twin Towers (not to be confused with the Lusail Twin Towers above) - identified thanks to a thread on SkyscraperCity.

We carried on to the marina, which is already up and running and was host to the Qatar International Boat Show a few days earlier.
On the approach to the marina, we found few vehicles, so parking was easy.

Car Park for Lusail Marina, looking inland from the marina with ZigZag towers on the right

Looking back towards the central area, we can see advertising boards on the left, displaying glossy images of a thriving commercial district. It boasts sustainable business and many other attractions, but for the moment look through the gaps and you'll see there's a long way to go

Lusail City, Qatar

Lusail City, Qatar

And reaching the end of the display opens up wide expanses that have been hardly touched:

Lusail City, Qatar

Lusail City, Qatar

Doha had heavy rain this past week and it's left some muddy pools. The cluster of towers in the distance are on The Pearl, another construction site, of course, but substantially complete.

The marina itself is up and running with a reception area nestling among avenues of palms with benches dotted around to relax at leisure.

Lusail Marina, Qatar

Lusail Marina

Around the corner (hidden from view) there was a small outlet selling snacks. The marina itself looks settled and quite pleasant.

Lusail Marina, Qatar

Lusail Marina, Qatar

Access is via a couple of entrances (only boat owners are allowed - Mohammad may be a prospective owner ... one day!)

Lusail Marina, Qatar

Saturday, November 23, 2013

First Draft of Fuengsin's Biography

I'm pleased to report that the first draft of a biography for Fuengsin Trafford, my mother, has materialised! It has been a long journey that has involved quite a lot of fieldwork in Thailand exploring family heritage, carrying out interviews, learning about her alma mater and workplace. There have been documents to scan relating to her meditation background and back in the UK I've really only dipped into her personal diary of daily life in the UK. My Thai language skills are still rudimentary, but I've received excellent help and advice from friends and made use of some impressive translation tools.

All of this, with contributions from many people, has resulted in a life story in 15 chapters:

  • Chapter 1: Breaking New Ground
  • Chapter 2: Fuengsin’s Childhood: From Wartime to Roaming Free…
  • Chapter 3: University Days and a Carefree Life
  • Chapter 4: Early Professional Life: Teaching and Meditation
  • Chapter 5: First Time Abroad: Whirlwind Activities
  • Chapter 6: Life in the Outer Reaches
  • Chapter 7: Varied Fruitfulness in The Garden of England
  • Chapter 8: Thailand and other Family Outings
  • Chapter 9: New Prospects in the Midlands
  • Chapter 10: Emergence
  • Chapter 11: Further Visits to Thailand
  • Chapter 12: Flourishing
  • Chapter 13: Transition and Further Projects
  • Chapter 14: Faltering Health and Grand Finale
  • Chapter 15: Fuengsin’s Legacies

I have been contacting a few family members and friends to check the content for accuracy and general tone as there are many events and people mentioned in the various accounts. I'll then make some further revisions in light of their comments and afterwards seek some editorial guidance with a view to publication (I hope!)...