Last night I had one of those “wow, technology!” moments.

Shortly after arriving in Doha last nigh, a colleague and I decided to go for a walk. It was a chance for me to use the Nokia N95’s GPS capability in a city which has a map (unlike Amman!).

I can tell you: having GPS in your hand while walking in a city is amazing. Just as mobile telephony makes you reachable wherever you are, mobile GPS gives you an amazing understanding of your location.

I am also really impressed that Doha has a GPS map. The information on it is not extensive (I could not use it to locate ATM machines) but many hotels and other landmarks are on it.

I was holding the N95 in my hand, tracking our progress along the 3.9 kilometers we walked from our hotel to the seaside Corniche street. It was just amazing to see one’s location in real time as we passed side streets and major intersections.

The only people on the road at 11 pm where construction workers (and a Canadian or American lady who was desperately looking for her friend’s house, dragging a suitcase behind her). Crossing the intersections was a pretty “fun” (as in “life threatening”) experience. Huge trucks where whizzing beside us as we walked towards the sea.

We finally caught a glimpse of urban life when we arrived at the Corniche, where, despite the late hour, families where still strolling along the shoreline.

I will continue playing with the N95’s GPS today as we drive and walk around the city.