I know, I’m running behind. I haven’t even talked about my flights and here I am with a picture from a rooftop bar from my first night in Namibia! It was an awesome bar, FWIW. Not only were the drinks good, but the views over downtown and to the mountains beyond were spectacular!
But, I’m ahead of myself! I’ll get back to my flights in the next post – but I had to skip to Doha. Why? Because this is, hands down, the most ostentatious airport in the World. Bar none. If you think differently, you’ve never been here. Fight me. I’ve been to some crazy fancy airports before (think new Istanbul, Singapore, Bangkok). I’ve been to efficient airports before (think Narita), and I’ve been to painfully inefficient airports (Heathrow, Atlanta). I’ve also been to some horribly outdated airports (I see you Dulles C/D concourse and Cairo). But, I’ve never been to an airport like this.
Start with getting off the plane for transfer and getting to the central atrium. The atrium was filled with every possible luxury brand you’ve ever heard of. And, an US18.5 million dollar bear.
But, it gets even more crazy. Meet the “Gold” store. It’s called GOLD. It sells gold and only gold.
And then there is the Saffron and Caviar store…which only sells Caviar and Saffron…in case you were wondering.
After somehow making it through the atrium without changing out my life savings to gold bars and sturgeon eggs, I made it to Qatar Airline’s Business Class Lounge, Al Mourjan. It is the largest airport lounge in the World, with nearly 3 acres of floor space over two floors. The first floor has quiet rooms, showers, tons of seating, multiple drink stations, a business center with state of the art Apple Computers, a Deli (24 hours a day with sandwiches/fruit/salads), and an infinity fountain.
And, just in case there wasn’t enough to keep you entertained on the first floor, there’s a full restaurant upstairs. Really a two-in-one where you can choose from a buffet or an Al la Carte menu. All free to business class passengers on Qatar.
Full Bar in the Restaurant 
One of 3 Buffet Areas
The dinner selection was insane with everything you could think of – even sushi made to order with fish flown in from Tokyo. I went with an Indian chicken dish, with a fantastic glass of Bordeaux. I followed that with a slice of Apple Cinnamon pie. I promise you I totally thought about having a salad. A fleeting thought, but a thought none the less. The next morning for breakfast, I had fresh squeezed orange juice (oranges flown in from Brazil), coffee, still water, yoghurt, fresh fruit and eggs benedict.
Now, if you’ve read this far, you’ve realized I had dinner and breakfast in the lounge. This is because I had a 14 hour layover. And, though the lounge is amazing, it would have been hard to spend 14 straight hours overnight in there. Fortunately, Doha airport has a hotel (the Oryx) inside the atrium. Literally. About 100 rooms + spa + pool. Inside the atrium. Unfortunately, the hotel was completely booked when I tried to book a room in advance. But, (pro-tip coming), I never trust a fully booked hotel at an airport. After all, people miss their connections, flights get cancelled. So after dinner I headed to the hotel – they had 2 rooms left. The cheapest was $375 a night and I took it (when you’re the only game in town you charge whatever you want).
The room was very comfortable, if utilitarian. Two really comfortable twin beds. Tv with nearly 100 channels from all over the world. Desk. Well-equipped bathroom. A very nice place to get my body-clock straightened out and free myself from my KN95 for a good 10 hours.
Until next post.
The Kahn Man 