Today was my last day in Doha, Qatar.
Fridays in the Middle East are usually quiet…
I started the day with working on a few group cruise promotions, then had lunch in the City Center Mall. After lunch I embarked on a journey to purchase a new suitcase since either Eithad or Oman Air crushed my suitcase such that the plastic was cracked around the wheels so badly that it no longer rolled. I was going to replace it with a similar hard sided suitcase, but I found a decent lightweight spinner (I hate spinner bags) for a little cheaper. The wheels were recessed on this spinner so I think it will not be a one-time-use bag like the normal spinners. The airlines seem to play a game where they try to break as many wheels as possible…
Here are a few pictures from the Executive Lounge on the 42nd floor of the Marriott from my phone:
You can see part of the reason why I say “Doha” means construction. What you don’t see is that 50%+ of the roadways also seem to be under construction. Unlike Canada there is only 1 season in Doha – construction. (Canada has winter and construction). The art on the buildings is of the Prince. Apparently a famous Qatari artist drew his portrait and put it on social media and it became viral in the country (at least that is what I was told by the Qatari I asked). With the current GCC embargo on Qatar it grew to stickers on cars and big signs on buildings. Unlike America the countries in the Middle East are patriotic. You will see their flags everywhere and plenty of lights for their National Day.
And when I went through immigration they are playing a game to see how many stamps they can put on a single page…. so far 8. It’s not like I don’t have any empty pages. At least they didn’t stamp the amendment page like some other country….
My first flight was on Lufthansa, then I have several hours in Frankfurt before my United flight to Houston. My GDS console says that the United flight is a 787-800, so that makes me and my eyes happy. I still prefer the 747 to anything else that flies. Luckily I read that Turkish Airlines will buy 8 of the 747-8i’s, so she isn’t dead yet.
Seat map for the last flight:
