Doha - part 1
Preamble… (such a weird word)
I’ve been home a week and two days… last night I finished savouring my coveted last pod of Tim Horton’s hot chocolate and have been mourning the fact that it’s all gone.
For those that don’t know, Tim Horton’s is a chain a bit like Starbucks, but with - in my mind better coffee and they make a delicious chicken noodle soup, served with a fresh bun and butter, that I ate quite a bit while in Canada. Their hot chocolate is also delicious! But I digress….
I’m allowing and encouraging myself to continue to bathe in the glow of the memories and reflections of my trip… it was a pretty huge deal personally. I’ve never taken a month off that I can remember, and never travelled like I did on this trip. It’s all still swirling around in my mind and I love that.
It does however make it …interesting, challenging and a bit perplexing when trying to pick what aspect to write about each week.
Before I left, I had a neat and tidy calendar of what my blog topics would focus on each week but… in reality it kind of flew out the window. Should it be chronological, should it be whatever aspect is in my head or heart at the time, will it be confusing for you, the reader, if I dart about from this topic to that, then back again?
Do I really want to give you a glimpse of the unruliness or chaos inside my mind in relation to this trip?
It was huge! It was massively impactful, full of adventures, experiences and hilarious moments, and deep personal learnings, and navigating the reconnecting of a personal relationship with my mother. It has many facets.
I’m mindful too that long wordy tomes can be a bit of a turn off for some, yet writing with too much brevity leaves a lot of context and the emotion of the experience on the cutting room floor, so to speak. I recently read a book which was a collection of short stories - experiences of the writer’s, that l felt left some of these aspects out.
Anyway….I appreciate you bearing with me while I navigate the delicacies of painting enough of a picture to take you with me on the journey, without putting you to sleep or sending you screaming in the opposite direction. I’ll be adding different types of content over the next few weeks too, I hope you enjoy it :)
I’m always curious about how you find these weekly writings of mine, so please feel free to let me know in the comments section below 😉
And now to this week’s blog post….
Doha…
The best laid plans, right? Hop on a plane, have a good sleep, arrive at the first stop and, with a long layover period, get out and explore!
I first passed through Doha on my way to Dallas, which was the start of my epic North American trip. I had initially thought I would book a tour of Doha through the Hamad International Airport website, but later decided just to wing it and see how I felt on arrival. I was feeling comfortable enough through a number of talks with a work colleague who had over in Qatar for several years. I had been assured that it was a safe place for a solo traveler, particularly for a woman to explore alone, obviously within reason.
As I was arriving on a Friday we had spoken about the fact that as a Moslem country, everywhere in the city would be shut until around 1pm, which I was fine with. In theory.
I hopped on the plane, slept a bit thanks to the travel accessories I’d purchased for the trip, landed in Doha and prepared to go off and explore. While my luggage had been checked through to Dallas, my final destination, due to system issues in Perth on leaving I only had a boarding pass to get me to Doha.
Arriving at sunrise and being able to see the sun actually rise through the haze in the air around Doha was pretty special. We had a fantastic view while exiting the plane and walking down the hallway from our debarking gate.
I tried to pick up my next boarding pass but found it somewhat challenging with minimal staffing of airline information desks and, after waiting around for a couple of hours, decided just to get moving and go explore. I was certain I could sort it easily when I returned to the airport later.
So off I went to find a taxi to take me into the city. A guy intercepted me on my way towards the taxis, and, saying he was a taxi driver and would take me to the city, took me up to where his car was. I queried his taxi status again and he assured me he was legit. So off we went.
I had some trepidation about his legitimacy so pretended to be videoing out the window, ensuring I caught him on camera, and recorded his phone discussion. I figured if things went sideways at least whoever found my phone could track down whoever my potential assailant was and bring them to justice. Crikey, sounds like something out of a B grade movie!
I got him to drop me off along the road where I saw some camels all together in a pen. They were beside the Souq Waqif which he then told me would be shut for the whole day, being Ramadan. Of course.
The whole city was going to be shut for the whole day. At that stage I didn’t much care I just wanted out of his vehicle. Now in retrospect I can see I was pretty tired and wired. He was likely truly authentic and just trying to make money for his family, but my overtired spidey senses had me parting ways with him anyway.
Sitting in his car I had been kicking myself for getting in, in the first place, but it is what it is, right? Lesson learned - follow your plan even when tired and a little off balance.
The Souq was of course shut so the camels all had a day off and were enjoying munching on hay and rolling around in the dust. There were a number of street cats wandering around, greeting the few visitors that were wandering around, begging for attention and affection, and returning that attention a hundred times over when they got it.
A very pregnant calico coloured cat was very affectionate and indicated she would be happy to accompany me anywhere, and the proud daddy cat tried to climb up onto my camera bag, and grabbing my hand when I went to move on.
Around the corner another street kitty greeted me, revelling in a big patting. I figured living around the Souq that they’re likely pretty well fed, they just maybe needed a good bath to clear the dust and dirt from their coats.
Wandering through the mostly deserted Souq I found one shop open selling birds and bird food and luckily for me, nice cold bottles of water.
I ran into a tour guide - legit this time, who drove me around the city and waterfront to see some of the sights, but with everything shut and the sun glaring overhead I decided it would be better to explore further on my way back from Canada, given another extended layover period scheduled. My guide gave me his contact details, so he could give me a tour on my return.
It took a little while to be able to get back into the airport, waiting for the US gate to open, and issue my boarding pass for the next flight, allowing me into the main section of the airport. Of course the stores were all shut but one, so I was able to buy a snack and another bottle of water.
Back into the main part of the airport an hour or so later, everything was open and I was able to wander freely within a sparkling clean and most importantly air conditioned airport, where I could eat, sleep, charge my devices and relax before my next flight.
I was pretty happy to be back inside and explored the airport during the rest of my layover window, availing myself of one of the lounges that provided showers, quiet rooms and food and drink to transiting travellers. it was definitely time for a nap…