Blogs from Doha, Qatar, Middle East - page 3

Well, here we go. After an afternoon shopping in CapeTown’s upmarket waterfront last night, obviously punctuated by the odd glass of Paarl estate Sauvignon Blanc to ease the stress of parting with hard earned cash, we had our last African dinner in a sauve Belgian Restaurant (Den Anker) recommended by our Safari pals, Bruce and Nancy. And very nice it was too. Needless to say, on our taxi drive to the airport, the sun was shining again and we had a great view of table mountain from the taxi window!! Ah well, next time maybe. If we’re spared. So now writing this in the air somewhere over Mombassa, about an hour from crossing the equator and need to fill the sink to do the old down the plughole thing…..you know, south, anti-clockwise, north clockwise…..or is it ... read more

We arrived in Doha this morning, the capital of Qatar, at 1.30am, temperature hovering at around 30 degrees. Construction of Hamad International Airport was only completed in 2014, in a bid to solidify the city's diversification into the tourism industry, and away from it’s dependence on oil and gas. Hamad features two of the longest runways in the world. We were collected from the airport by our Hotel Shuttle service, arriving at the hotel at 2.45am. After setting the alarm for 8.30am, we crashed in bed. After enjoying a buffet breakfast at our Golden Ocean Hotel, we asked for a map of the city, and set out on our morning walk. We headed for the Corniche, the bay that Doha is located on, to take photos across to the West Bay area, where most of the ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! I started with a leisure pace today, taking a few laps in the pool of the compound that Kerry and Trudi live in. My plan for the day was to go to Katara, which is a really cool area currently being built that is sort of a mix between Islamic and Roman building influences. Since there are no bus going there Trudi actually arranged for an Uber to get me there, my very first Uber ride! At Katara there is still a lot of constructions going on so there are many areas that are off limits but even the areas that are open sort feel like and empty shell. It's grand and beautiful but it doesn't carry the same feeling as the old Roman structures of the mosques of old. There is ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! Late last night I took the train to Copenhagen airport to spend an uncomfortable night waiting for an early morning flight to Doha. My friend Marcus who lived in Malmö has moved to Västerås now so my days of cushy waiting in his apartment with home cinema are gone. So I settled in for the night on a two seat bench with tonne of anime shows at my disposal. Once I boarded the flight it was lights out pretty quickly for me and I pretty much just woke up to eat. But the flight with Qatar Airways was really comfortable even in economy class. Plenty of leg space, comfortable seats and lots of entertainment. When I arrived in Doha I bought a bus card, it cost 30 riyal and gave me 20 ... read more

Geo: 25.2819, 51.5175... read more