Dragon Mart Doha

A few days ago I decided to visit Dragon Mart, a new(ish) collection of stores where everything is imported from Asia.  In typical Doha fashion, despite having had a soft opening in June or July and a grand opening in October, I had heard from multiple sources that the place really wasn't up and running yet.  However, after seeing someone post a picture of cheap fabric for sale and being in the market for some fabric for a Thanksgiving table cloth, I decided to give it a go.

And so began the usual Doha errand: first, the place didn't come up on an map, but I had seen a pin dropped on a fuzzy map in a newspaper story, so I tracked down the story and strained to see the crossroads and eventually figured out more or less where I thought I was going.  I set off with three hours before the kids got home from school, plenty of time for even the most disastrous of Doha days.  

It's a good thing I gave myself those three hours.

First, this place is out in the "industrial area," part of a complex called the 8 Mile Mall.  And yes, it's 8 miles long, though much of it is uninhabited and/or unfinished at the moment and there is some residential space in there as well (I think).  And all the major roads going in and out of the industrial area are under construction, so getting to the right intersection was tricky and took much longer than the 17 minutes my map program estimated.  Eventually, I did make it to the right intersection, though of course that intersection was now a roundabout, meaning I drove right past where I wanted to go and then much farther down the road as I looked for a place to make a U-turn.  And when I made the U-turn, I ran smack into a huge traffic jam of unmoving cars.

Now, traffic in Doha is the norm, but this was unusual, given that is was the middle of the day and this was a huge three land road out in the middle of nowhere, but I patiently sat in the barely moving traffic for a long, long, longlonglong time...until I started to see people driving past me on the right over the shoulder and into the desert to skirt the traffic.  Normally, I don't ever do this, but what happened when these people went off-roading, as I could see by craning my neck and looking waaaay down the road, if that eventually then ended up in the parking lot for Dragon Mart, exactly where I wanted to be!  Now most of the drivers, of course, were just using that parking lot as a means to an end, but I actually wanted to be right there so I finally steeled my nerves, thanked the husband again for our four wheel drive, and headed off road myself.

Only this time, I was deathly afraid while doing so, because just last week, the Qatari government passed a law outlawing passing on the right in an attempt to stop the rampant disregard of driving laws around here.  The penalty, if you are caught, is...wait for it...seven days in jail and your car is impounded for seven days.  You read that right: SEVEN DAYS IN JAIL!  I justified my actions by saying I really and truly wasn't trying to pass all these people but just get to my destination that just happened to be to the right, but I was driving as fast as I could and scanning the road for police as I did so, just in case.  Admittedly, I was one of about 30 people who were doing the same thing, so there was safety in numbers and the police here are not very proactive about stopping anyone at all usually, but I worried that their enthusiasm for the new law might spur them to action all of the sudden.  

(As I made it to the parking lot, I saw that the trouble ahead was actually an enormous dump truck on its side they were trying to get upright again, hence the huge traffic jam.)

So, once I parked, took a few deep breaths to calm back down, and collected myself, I entered Dragon Mart, just an hour and a half after I set out on my journey!  Happily, my trip was not a waste of time.  Dragon Mart turns out to be a million little storefronts, like an indoor flea market, selling all kinds of things from Asia, many of which were fun and useful, some of which were incredibly over the top.  For example...

this vendor is selling astroturf...in your choice of colors!

This is wall paper made to look like stone tile.  Because of COURSE it is! 

I don't think this picture does these tile samples justice,
because all that glittering is not the flash; they really were that sparkly!

I did finally find the fabric, but there were a bunch of stores
selling dresses like these and leggings in every print imaginable
...and many I had never imagined!

Oh, I was just looking for a HUGE ornate mirror!  Lucky me!
(Notice the now righted dump truck in the background!)

In the end, Dragon Mart sells lots of cheap toys, women's clothes, home decor, accessories, and a little smattering of everything else, including dresses for women and girls in the Qatari national colors (useful if they ask you to dress up for National Day), abayas, outdoor furniture and playground equipment, and kids' clothes.  There are many stalls yet to open downstairs and a whole upper floor that is completely uninhabited, but even in its current unfinished state, it was worth a trip.  any of The prices are cheaper than most of the other places in Doha and it's always helpful to know where such bargains can be found.  Doha friends, be warned: the air conditioning is weak, so I would plan on visiting only during the winter months for the time being.  And there is nowhere to eat on the premises and no restaurants close by yet, so you will need to head back to Salwa Road for that.