Didn't think I'd ever go here!

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I’m behind on the blogging and I don’t think I’m going to catch up before heading out tomorrow to Bangkok with Mom and Daryl. I returned from my holiday with Christine last Monday and two days later Mom and Daryl were here! We’ve had lots of fun, but for now I’m going to share some pics and an update on my trip to Doha, Qatar. (For those of you who haven’t already looked it up—it’s next to Saudi Arabia, to the east.)

My door to door traveling time from Seoul to Doha was about 16 hours; 11 of those hours being in flight. You’d think I would have known that before boarding the first plane, but nooo….no. In my mind my flight was going to be maybe 6 hours max. It wasn’t until the captain of my first flight said, “sit back and relax and try to enjoy this 9 hour and 45 min flight” that I actually really considered where it was that I was flying to. I fully admit that I thought that because I’m across the world from home in Seoul and that Christine was across the world from home in Doha, that we were somehow….close. Anyway, I was an idiot and the mental preparation that comes with knowing you are going to be traveling for a full day definitely wasn’t there.

As I waited in line to go through immigration with the other 200 or so men that were on my flight (seriously…I was one of 3 females on the flight—not including the flight attendants), I got excited to see a familiar face waiting for me. However, Christine still had a couple days of work until we were to leave for Turkey so my days in Doha were pretty laid back—which I enjoyed. There is less guilt about just lying around and reading in someone else’s home as opposed to your own when you could be doing stuff around the house. (She has cleaners AND people to do her laundry so that really wasn’t a concern.)So I read, we went for some nice dinners, and I even went to the Ritz Carlton one day and the Sheraton the other for a workout and pool lounging.

I must say that the white robes worn by the men and the black covers worn by the women were a little different for me. I’ve only ever seen that on TV. Doha seemed so spread out and quiet compared to Seoul, and I could see blue sky! The drivers, however, were just as crazy as Seoul and Christine was definitely able to give the locals a run for their money on the road. Jesu! We walked along the Corniche (path along the water) one night and I swear it was still 30 degrees Celsius at 10pm.

My favorite part of Doha was the souqs—these covered market areas where perfumes, spices, material, and most importantly, sweets can be found. It was there that I learned very quickly that Christine was going to be a great travel partner in that she does not hesitate to blurt out questions about anything. Before I could even formulate a sentence to ask what something is made out of or if there were nuts in some kind of treat or if something was edible/breakable/comfortable etc., she had already got that information AND a free sample! I swear I will forever hear Christine’s little voice: “What’s this?” and before the person can answer “What’s in that?” and so on. It was amazing how many free treats we got!

Next stop: Istanbul, Turkey, but I’m not sure how soon I’ll get those pics up. Peace out.

Kristy

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Photos

Too bad his eye are closed
We saw this guy both nights we went to the souqs, but at different shops. He ended up giving me a tin full of those treats for free.

Happy old men
Christine took this picture 'cause I was too shy to ask them. (Once again, the question asking comes in handy!)