This is the first part of my trip report enroute to New York & Washington DC, USA. I was so excited as it was the first time that i'm going to set foot on North American soil, having travelled across Asia, Australasia and Europe.
Adding to the above, it was a bonus as well as our flight to NYC would be transiting in Doha, Qatar. Thus, ive got the chance to venture the Middle East as well. Here's the story of my 31 hours venture in Doha.............
We arrived in Doha from our 7 hours flight from KL in the afternoon heat of 41 celcius. Being a first timer in a middle -east country, the heat and the humid dessert wind brought stinging sensation to my body from head to toe.The landing pattern of our aircraft gave me the general view of Doha, whereby endless dessert field conquering the majority part of the city and here and there, scattered rectangle-shaped houses of the locals. The only fresh and "cool" view" was that of it sea.
Doha airport was a relatively simple and small affairs and the traffics are mainly for transit flights to Europe, North America and Africa due to its central location. Take note that passengers terminating in Doha and those having onwards transit flights will arrive at different terminals.For those staying in Doha, you need to have a visa which can be procured on arrival during your immigration check. Payment for visa is 90 Qatar Riyal or almost RM 90. Preferably payment is to be made with credit card.
Doha airport interior........
enroute to our hotel La Villa.........
view from our hotel............
and our room....
La Villa hotel is a budget hotel suitable for transit travellers like us.It's located near to a nearby souq and the main road and also just a mere 15 minutes taxi ride to the airport.
knowing that it's not easy that we have the chance to come to the Middle east, we braved the scorching hot sun and the dessert wind and ventured around the city. Mind you, we felt like we were the only ones walking around and taking pictures of the cities at that particular time as most people would prefer to stay indoors.
by wandering around the city, i noticed that Doha is having a massive development of its infrastructure in comparable with its neighbour the UAE.You would see that tall skyscrapers are being build in abundance and in different shapes and characteristics shaping the sky of Doha.
to tell you the truth, we surrendered half-way as we could not endure the afternoon heat any longer and found refuge in the city main shopping mall...thank God they have one nearby....i bought some cheap pre-packed baklava from Carrefour here.
as the dusk set in, we made our way to the famous bazaar, Souq al Waqif. It was like a giant maze in here as the rows of shops seemed to be never ending and offering arrays of goods ranging from cloth to foods, perfume, shoes, kitchenware...you name it and you might find it here. For us, we got ourselves some memoribilias and souveniers.
even at night the air was humid and hot.As we need to wake up early for our flight to NYC the next day, we called it a day early in Doha and head back to our hotel. Another note is that not only the air was warm, the water which comes from the piping was also like boiling hot...what a let down as we were hoping to have some nice cold shower after a day out in the desert sun.....
Doha at night...........
It was an experience on its own being in Doha, though short it may be. The atmosphere in the middle-east was totally different from that of my experience in other parts of the world. I was captivated by its modern skyscrapers and how the city is rapidly modernizing itself. Doha is an example of the new middle east and if you have never been to one, maybe now is the time to be there.
Wait for my next installment of my journey enroute to New York-Kay 2011
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