Catching up, April 4: Layover in Doha, Qatar

Since it may take me some time to finish a recap of the last few months, I'll throw in some more recent events, starting with a flight overseas to start off in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with a 9 hour layover in Doha, Qatar.

The flight from JFK to Doha would be my longest to date, at 13 hours. My first time flying on Qatar Airways and can only say great things. It's the most comfortable economy experience I've had so far with really solid meals (it was actually too much food!). I read about a city tour of Doha that is offered by Qatar Airways if you have a long enough layover (and needless to say, 9 hours was plenty). For 40 QAR or $11 USD, you get a 3 hour bus tour with 4 stops. And citizens of many countries get a free Visa on arrival. After landing, I signed up for the next available tour slot around 8pm local time. I had an hour or so before the tour would assemble, so I took a much needed nap. I also ended up chatting with a few others during the layover, so had some good company on the tour!

Maxine was headed off to Rwanda to do a couple week psychiatry rotation and Jimmy was going to Kathmandu for some trekking. The first and last stop on the tour were my favorites: an overlook of Doha at Corniche and the Souq Waqif market.

Overlook of downtown from Corniche. So many colors and some buildings changed colors!


Souq Waqif (the market), picture from Google maps by Swalih Thiruvallur

This was my first market in the Middle East and I loved it. The atmosphere, diversity, architecture (renovated recently, but maintains the traditional Qatari style) were just phenomenal. We got a quick meal here for a few dollars and a Karak Chai (a strong, sweet tea with some amazing spices). Wish I could have spent more time here, but that's for another time.

After getting back to the airport, the three of us shared a traditional Arabic coffee (complete with dates). It has a very unique flavor and very light in color that is paired really well with the dates.



Afterwards, the three of us parted ways. I headed to the lounge at the airport to get a shower (having access to lounges through the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card) and had a great conversation with a guy from Dublin over a few beers. Next up was my flight into Ho Chi Minh.

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