It’s summer time! That means travel. After endless hours of cleaning and packing and repacking and repacking again, I was finally ready. At least as ready as I could be for this new amazing adventure.
I dropped off my sweet kitties and jumped on a quick flight to Texas. Unfortunately, Rebecca’s flight was no longer coming in the same time as mine. But this meant I could try out the Capital One Lounge. Now that was fun! So many food and drinks to try.
Luckily, Rebecca joined me right as our flight was boarding. We got ourselves situated for a delightful fourteen and a half hour flight. After catching up we found a bunch of movies to be ready. Thankfully I slept a bit and didn’t need all of the movies! Someday I hope to try out those fancy pods in business and first class. But for now we did the best with what we had.
We had a short drive to our beautiful hotel in Doha. The city at night was gorgeous. The skyscrapers were incredibly impressive and even featured videos on the sides. Our room was fantastic and the air conditioning was exactly what I needed.
Apparently in Doha the thing to do is go to the malls. We decided to walk to a close one and couldn’t believe how many people were there! It was packed with all sorts of people, families and kids playing in an incredible inflatable playground. We decided to grab some Nando’s since it was an old time favorite and then head back. That night I slept wonderfully in the chilly room.
In the morning we enjoyed a fancy buffet at the hotel and then head out to see the city. It was like a post apocalyptic zone! No one was outside. Clearly we were the crazy ones as the temperature was climbing above 100. We wandered through The Pearl, a manmade island with cute buildings and small lakes to play in and an adorable area which looked just like a little Venice. Still no people in sight! After one more quick stop at an amphitheater and golden mosque, we gave up on the heat and went to another mall. It had an amusement park and ice skating rink inside! Tons of American stores filled the space and we felt at home with each Baskin Robbin’s we passed.
After a quick nap we got ready for our food tour. We had a private tour lined up to try out foods around the city. I will say I was surprised when a Canadian woman came and picked us up. She was a great guide and gave us fun insights to living in Doha.
The best part of a food tour is going into places we never would have found on our own. The first few stops were in random places and back allies, but had incredible food! We tried a very yummy chai tea and finger foods to start. This was followed by fantastic chutneys and a dosa, an Indian style crepe. Each spot had something tasty. My favorite might have been the shawarma or a taco type creation or the best falafels I’ve ever had. I also really enjoyed watching cats run around the Souq. They were tiny and sweet just hoping for some food. I would have taken them all home, but we are at the start of our trip.
In most of the restaurants we sat and talked about travel and cats and our lives. Our guide, Colleen, told us about moving around and traveling to areas less known. She taught us about Qatar and we were able to ask any questions we could think of. We learned Doha is made up of a higher percentage of Indians than Qataris and there are lots of other cultures added in as well.
It was a great night of food and conversations and education. If ever in doubt about what to do in a new city, do a food tour!
That night I slept terribly. I don’t know if it was the time difference, the nap I took, or the caffeine, but it was a long night. And now I’m on a cramped airplane with 6 hours ahead of me to reach our next destination of Kigali, Rwanda. And let me just tell you, flights aren’t quite as organized as they are at home. Rebecca’s seat number was the same as someone else’s. Then I got trapped at the back of the plane trying to get a spot for my luggage. It was a bit chaotic with flight attendants just moving people around. Luckily the woman next to me was moved and Rebecca and I got to sit together. In the end it worked out and all will be well! Time for another country!
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