18 Hours in Doha

On our way back to Hong Kong from the Maldives we opted for a stop over in Doha. At Doha's airport there are different terminals depending on whether you are transiting to another flight or staying in Doha. Everyone gets crammed on the same bus after deboarding the airplane and the bus stops at both terminals. We started to question our logic in staying in Doha a little bit when departing the transit terminal and Melissa and I were the only two people left on the bus.

As soon as you step out of the terminal Doha's heat hits you and you begin to sweat if you don't find ac, fast. It was "only" 100 the taxi driver said, but that was hot enough for us!

Checking in we were informed that we had been upgraded to a W Suite! We have stayed at one when we were first visiting Hong Kong so we knew we were in for a real treat.

Multiple bathrooms, executive desk, dining area, the room was spectacular! As we arrived around noon and most places would be closing for afternoon prayer soon, we just decided to order room service - chicken shawarmas.. yum!

Over lunch, we signed up for the hop on hop off bus tour. After speaking with the concierge, he arranged for the tour bus to stop by our hotel and pick us up! We felt a bit sorry for the other tourists, but not that much - it was hot, hot!

As soon as you step on the bus you are handed a set of headphones and bottle of water and after 15 minutes in the heat we really needed it. We took some seats on the open air upper deck. The tour was advertised as two plus hours, but we could have driven the route in 45 minutes if the bus driver actually drove the speed limit.

The first thing we noticed was how clean and blue Qatar's waters were which were not at all what we were expecting.



Most of the sites were good enough just driving past or I didn't want to wait in the heat for 30 minutes for the next bus. Qatar's wealth comes from liquified natural gas or LNG, and they spare no expense on their buildings or city infrastructure! There is so much green grass and a skyline that's as unique as any modern city. It was like every building was a "special project".

Construction is everywhere and construction cranes dot the skyline. There seem to be more unfinished buildings in the central business district than finished ones!

Zig Zag Towers

After walking around the narrow alleys of Souq Waqif and doing some shopping, we decided it was time for dinner and we were not going to miss an opportunity to get some authentic Arabic food. We ended up at an Iraqi restaurant where we had hummus and chicken kabab. When I asked for the bill we were a bit puzzled when they came out with a plate of sweets and arabic sweet tea. We didn't really want it but tried the sweets and drank our tea to be polite.

On our way to the taxi stand we went to a Arabic pastry shop where we stocked up on various types of baklava. 

A few days prior to our departure we were emailed a great offer from Qatar Airlines to inexpensively upgrade to business class for our long haul flight back to Hong Kong. Just jokingly I mentioned it to Melissa, but with a big grin she was all over that! Qatar Airlines advertises itself as a 5 star airlines, and now we can truly testify to it. When we arrived at the airport the taxi dropped us off at the premium terminal where there were no lines and you sit while they check you in. Within 5 minutes we had checked in and were already past security making our way to the lounge where they had a huge buffet and even eggs made to order! This might be too much info but I even saw a staff member cleaning the mens toilets with fresh scent and tidying up after every use! On the plane the level of service was equally extraordinary. In business class you are presented not only with a toiletry kit, but also a full set of comfy pajamas to change into for the flight, and a Ferragamo gender specific perfume kit! The food was great as was the service, simply stated truly a 5 star airline. United Airlines economy plus leaves a lot to be desired after that experience!