Three days in Doha, Qatar on our way back from Cape Town, South Africa in 2006.
Besides the soukh and shopping malls, we were a little bored. We did walk around but the place is not conducive to doing so and our daughter and I both felt really uncomfortable with all the staring.
But even so, we did explore as much as we could and then spent a great deal of time at the hotel by the pool and on the beach. Again, we felt rather uncomfortable as there were security guards dressed in black suits and dark glasses watching. As the hotel was pretty empty, there weren't many people at the pool.
The night we flew out was a bit of a disaster. Our flight was at 1am.
We arrived at the airport early but already the place was packed and there were no specific queues for check-in. It was pretty much a free for all and if you could rudely elbow your way to the front or persistently drive your trolley into the ankles of the person in front of you so that they moved, you could get to the front quickly to check in.
Being polite westerners we couldn't and as a result when the place miraculously emptied, there were 10 of us westerners left - there were no seats available.
We sat around for about an hour whilst the airline people ran around trying to figure out what to do with us.
Eventually we were given the option of going back to our hotels until the early morning flight at 6.30am or going to the first class lounge for the rest of the night. As it was 2 in the morning, we didn't want to traipse back for a few hours, so we opted for the first class lounge where we slept on the couches.
Not a trip that I would wish to repeat, but it was a good experience and I am very pleased to have been there although we do not have plans to return.
Anyways, the necessary energy was anchored and I understand that this was the reason for our delayed departure, although it would have been nice to have some sort of warning!
Besides the soukh and shopping malls, we were a little bored. We did walk around but the place is not conducive to doing so and our daughter and I both felt really uncomfortable with all the staring.
But even so, we did explore as much as we could and then spent a great deal of time at the hotel by the pool and on the beach. Again, we felt rather uncomfortable as there were security guards dressed in black suits and dark glasses watching. As the hotel was pretty empty, there weren't many people at the pool.
The night we flew out was a bit of a disaster. Our flight was at 1am.
We arrived at the airport early but already the place was packed and there were no specific queues for check-in. It was pretty much a free for all and if you could rudely elbow your way to the front or persistently drive your trolley into the ankles of the person in front of you so that they moved, you could get to the front quickly to check in.
Being polite westerners we couldn't and as a result when the place miraculously emptied, there were 10 of us westerners left - there were no seats available.
We sat around for about an hour whilst the airline people ran around trying to figure out what to do with us.
Eventually we were given the option of going back to our hotels until the early morning flight at 6.30am or going to the first class lounge for the rest of the night. As it was 2 in the morning, we didn't want to traipse back for a few hours, so we opted for the first class lounge where we slept on the couches.
Not a trip that I would wish to repeat, but it was a good experience and I am very pleased to have been there although we do not have plans to return.
Anyways, the necessary energy was anchored and I understand that this was the reason for our delayed departure, although it would have been nice to have some sort of warning!
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| View from our hotel room |
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| Traevis and I outside the hotel waiting for a taxi |
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| Traevis in front of oyster sculpture |
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| Ashlee |
