Grand Suite Hotel Doha

... I heard another call to prayer from a different sounding muzzein (I think that's the right term). My knowledge of Islam is limited but I thought that the times for calls to prayer were pretty universal throughout a country and maybe even throughout the Muslim world. So how is it that there were two calls only about 1 ...

... are Turkish, Iranian and Moroccan restaurants serving dishes like hummus, baba ghanoush, and similarly paste-y dishes eaten with flat bread. <br><br>Then, of course, you have the North American contribution. "The Doha 20&#8221; is what we expats fondly call to the 20 pounds one inevitably gains in their first couple of months here. I never had a scale back home and, though I often complained about my growing belly, was never ...

... rules&#8221; are different. However, even on the grounds of the spa I saw one women sunbathing on her stomach with her bikini top undone and a hundred metres away I saw another swimming in the pool in her abaya.<br><br>I realize that not all of that was interesting but hopefully it gives you a bit of a feel for the place. I&#8217;ll write more about the city and living here soon. <br><br>PS &#8211; the airline found my bag and i was able to get it after only a couple of days.

... in this part of the world before, so it was a shame it was dark when we landed, as it would have been good to see - maybe on the way back.<br><br>The plane journey was so smooth, and when we landed, the wheels practically kissed the tarmac - brilliant!<br><br>I only had to wait an hour in Doha for the connecting flight, and all there really is in the departure area is one massive duty free shop, so ...

... out a way to be more inefficient. I watched 4 episodes of Scrubs on the plane, in honor of Lloyd and the Wolverines. Qatar Airways is SO nice. And then we got to Doha. Holy ****, major culture/time/space continuum shock. Sweaty sticky Kathmandu to the desert. 41 degrees centigrade, 105 farenheight, the desert, no humidity. Wide open nearly empty streets in a city built on the sea but in the middle of nowhere desert essentially. It ...

... from the start of the dunes to the beach to an hour and a half. Nonetheless it was definitely a fun experience. We finally got there and set up the small bbq's (manghal) and they began to cook while we set up our chairs and dipped into the lukewarm salt water. The weather was perfect; not scorching hot but a beautiful strong sun fully visible with no clouds in sight. I think it was 29 degrees. I put some heavy spf because I knew my pasty white skin ...

... hatte ich mir rausgesucht, was in Doha sehenswert wäre. So richtig hitverdächtig war es leider nicht - nicht die Stadt, sondern meine Ideen. Doha ist ohne Auto wohl kaum zu erleben. Eine Infrastruktur für Fußgänger oder Radfahrer existiert nicht - aufgrund der Temperaturen würde aber wohl auch jeder nach einer Weile umfallen. Allerdings scheinen die Einheimischen Qatari (keine Ahnung, ob die wirklich im Deutschen so heißen) generell wenig von Sport zu halten. Ich ...

... another night in DC, and after another super comfortable night, I got on the last flight...next stop SF! I love Virgin America...live TV, good food, and empty planes...had an entire row to myself. Getting home was pretty surreal, but the 3 days of travel kind of tempered any culture shock I think. Driving home on 101 was weird, especially because I hadn't expected to be back for another year. But it was soooo nice to see family, and stop ...

... style fast-food joints. Oh yeah and the prayer rooms. Internet is for free though and there's a playstation3 on display on which I crash a few buggies into mountainridges to great hilarity of my Chinese audience. I'm determined to sleep all the way to Mumbai. Raquel has been sleeping everywhere but I've had about 5 hours of sleep in total over the last 4 nights. I just need to get the topscore on 'Who wants to be millionaire' and then I will get some sleep. The game is ...

... individual, to see it not as afraid of being lonely but proud of being alone.........." And the conversations continued between the three of us for over an hour, sometimes a stray person flaoting through, brave enough , with a contributing comment, sometimes a refreshing break for the toilet to think more thoughts to bring to this brilliant discussion. When the call came for our flight we parted. I do not know the names of those two people, I may never know. And we three parted ways ...