Notices
General Trip Reports Reports that don't fit in to the other categories

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 19 Dec 18, 09:27 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
BONZO
Imagineer
 
BONZO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 02
Reef, Rivers and Rainforests – September/October 2018 - Day 18 - Doha (again)

Day 18 – Tuesday 9th October 2018 – Doha

Reef, Rivers and Rainforests – September/October 2018

Link to trip report index – including pre trip report:
Here

Right then, what day is it? What time is it? What country are we in? What time zone is this?

I haven’t the foggiest idea and for some reason or a combination of the above I somehow didn’t write any notes for today. Luckily enough, Alison has some notes and we have shared photographs so I can kind of figure things out.

We both enjoyed the journey from Adelaide to Doha (on Qatar’s A350 – a lovely plane!). We both did a mixture of sleeping, watching films, eating, drinking, reading, listening to music etc! (Alison said she watched Avatar and the Greatest Showman – I’ve no idea what I watched!) We had breakfast before landing - cereal, pastries, fruits etc.








We touched down at Doha at the D gates and and made our way through the eerily quiet airport to the A gates part of the terminal. There was no one around apart from a couple of cleaners going through the motions of sweeping the floor.



We were the only ones at the hotel transit desk and then we looked around for the arrival lounge that we’d missed on a previous trip. Luckily before we’d left Adelaide we read up on Doha airport from Flyer Talk and had printed off a note as to where the arrivals lounge was as we’d missed it before.

We found the lounge and stopped for a coffee and had the whole place to ourselves and one on one service for hot drinks from the lounge staff.









We had a couple of snacks before leaving to go landside to get our transport back to the Oryx Rotana.



Armed with our knowledge of how the transport back to the hotel works we told the staff that we’d rather wait for the car transfer as opposed to the mini bus, just because we can. We chatted to our Indian driver about life in Oman, politics, and conditions for the locals and migrant workers which was all very interesting.

We checked into the hotel which was pretty much the same experience on the way out and with almost exactly the same room as before. This time we had vouchers for more (can’t remember how much but enough to cover 2 meals in the hotel, as we were there for 18 hours).

Clean, comfortable, functional but possibly a bit too corporate for my liking but hey! – It’s free!





Once settled in we grabbed our swimming costumes and went downstairs for a refreshing dip in the pool. At 6.40am it was 35 degrees!



Just the job to freshen up and feel a bit more human again especially coupled with the lovely hot sun beating down. After showering we dressed and had breakfast in the buffet area that went down a treat.

We had a relax and sleep in the room before another swim and sunbathe in the afternoon.







We then had to decide what to have for dinner - after reviewing the options in the hotel we decided on a Lebanese supper in the Al Nafourah Lebanese restaurant and Shisha garden, always wonderful eating in the heat al fresco. The food was tasty and not too heavy.






Now that we had some time to kill we could actually do a little bit of exploring Doha proper as we’d never had the time due to shorter connections before.

We ordered an uber and waited inside because it was extremely hot and humid outside, too humid for me and I was glad to get into the air-conditioned car. The driver dropped us off at the start of the 7 kilometre Corniche so that we could wander along.

The Corniche was a really pleasant promenade area with lots of people strolling along in the evening taking in the views over Doha bay. The views of Doha's business heart, West Bay, are stunning by day, but by night it’s dazzling. Dhow boat ferries ply their trade by having music blaring out a maximum volume on the onboard PA systems – what a racket!

By now I was melting in the night time humidity and laughed at a group of people jogging past!

Madness!

Eventually we made it to the air-conditioned comfort of the Museum of Islamic Art.




It is the first of its kind to feature over 14 centuries of Islamic art and represents Islamic art from three continents. Its collection includes metal work, ceramics, jewellery, wood work, textiles and glass obtained from three continents and dating from the 7th to the 19th century. The museum houses a collection of work gathered since the late 1980's including manuscripts, textiles and ceramics. It is one of the world’s most complete collections of Islamic artefacts, with items originating in Spain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, India, and Central Asia.





Wow!

Breathtakingly beautiful architecture and some of the most breath-taking artefacts I’ve ever seen and all so well presented in their displays. The meaning and relevance of these objects to people’s faith was lost on me but you could really admire the beauty and craftsmanship involved.




It was getting near closing time and people were beginning to leave the building now but I really fancied a coffee. Luckily the downstairs café was open so I ordered an Americano and sat down for a bit whilst the café closed up for the night. I started to sip the coffee and realised I hadn’t asked for milk and it was so damn hot. Anyway, after a couple of sips it was time to leave and in the end I just had to chuck it all away as I couldn’t take drinking it in the outside humidity.










We walked down to the Pearl Monument and fountain then took the obligatory selfie after queuing for a while as it seemed to be a popular thing to do.




Apparently, before Qatar found oil, pearling was one of its main industries, and pearls are still a significant emblem for the country today.

Across the busy road was the Souk Waqif, although it dates back at least a hundred years, it was renovated in 2006 to conserve its traditional Qatari architectural style. It is often perceived to be the only lasting area in Doha that retains an authentic feel notably in reference to its commerce, architecture and culture.



Once inside there are a number of places selling jewellery, carpets, trinkets, clothing etc. As souks go this was the most clean, tidy, organised and westernised I’ve ever been in and a compact size as well so there’s only a small chance of getting lost.

We stopped in a small local supermarket and bought a couple of soft drinks and chatted to the store keeper for a while before getting a taxi back to the hotel.

We freshened up and packed our bags and checked out. We waited in the lobby for a short while for the shuttle to the airport for our late night flight to Stockholm.





The airport was really quiet – we headed though security with no wait, and into the lounge where we relaxed with soft drinks. Finally it was time to head to the gate – where it turned out to be a bus gate (fairly unusual for Doha). No matter – the plane wouldn't go without us! Finally we were settled in our seats with a drink.

Next stop Stockholm!


Transport count (running total!):

Flights: 8
Ferries/boats: 5
Trains: 13
Trams: 4
Tubes: 1
Ubers/Taxis: 7
Coaches/Buses/shuttles: 11
Step Count today:10405
Total step count for the trip: 159832
__________________
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif

1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon
1989 ~ Off site
1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe
1999 ~ Off site
2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti)
2003 ~ WL & HRH
2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary
2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay
2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF
2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL
2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL
2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL

Edited at 09:35 PM.
BONZO is offline Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 20 Dec 18, 10:06 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
Melbatb
Imagineer
 
Melbatb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 13
Looks like you managed to make the most of the stopover! The museum sounds really interesting.
__________________

Index of my trip reports
2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
Melbatb is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 21 Dec 18, 12:48 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
BONZO
Thread Starter
Imagineer
 
BONZO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 02
Hi,

It was really good to actually see a bit of Doha for a change rather than just transiting through as we normally do when flying East.

They are not quite geared up for Western Tourism at the moment but there's a lot of building work going on at the moment.

It was a bit too humid for me in the evening to be honest.

It'll be interesting to see how people get on with the World cup later.

One last report to post and then I can start the pre-trip report for the next trip.
__________________
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif

1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon
1989 ~ Off site
1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe
1999 ~ Off site
2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti)
2003 ~ WL & HRH
2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary
2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay
2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF
2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL
2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL
2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL
BONZO is offline Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:20 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
Aquatica Orlando announce the grand opening of its newest attraction, Tassie’s Underwater Twist, on 15... Read More »
Starting April 5, 2024, at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris, the... Read More »
With spring breezes already gently blowing across Walt Disney World, it is time to welcome... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2418
CaxtonFX  $1.2364
Covent Garden FX  $1.2600
FAIRFX  $1.2430
John Lewis  $1.2461
M&S  $1.2258
Sainsburys  $1.2399
TESCO  $1.2432
Travelex  $1.2442
Updated: 11:00 19/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1452
CaxtonFX  €1.1402
Covent Garden FX  €1.1556
FAIRFX  €1.1449
John Lewis  €1.1471
M&S  €1.1284
Sainsburys  €1.1444
TESCO  €1.1449
Travelex  €1.1452
Updated: 11:00 19/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X