Two’s Company - Arrial in Doha, Qatar

The morning air in Manchester was crisp, carrying with it the quiet buzz of anticipation. It was 9 AM, and stepping just metres from our overnight stay to the terminal, oh the excitement, we were finally on our way to Istanbul, the first leg of our journey to Doha. 

High above Europe, much of the landscape spread out beneath us was a patchwork dusted in snow. Thanks to a surprising tailwind, our plane zipped through the sky, making up for a thirty minute delay at take-off, and we found ourselves arriving early.

Landing at Istanbul International was certainly an experience. The new runway was surrounded by what looked like housing, apartment blocks and construction sites, a slightly strange sight, especially as the sun had already dipped behind a thick, grey blanket of clouds. The air was unexpectedly chilly and a light rain began to fall as we dashed from the plane. The transfer bus was waiting, quickly filling up with us and a good number of Nottingham Forest fans, all being ferried to the terminal buildings.

Just a couple of hours later, "Two's Company" was settled into another plane, ready for flight two of the day. The pilot’s voice came over the intercom, a reassuring sound, promising clear skies and a lovely 22 degrees waiting for us on arrival in Qatar. The next adventure was officially underway.

Following a swift Uber ride from Doha International Airport, we finally pulled up to our hotel. Local time, 3 AM. It had taken a full two hours from landing to stepping into the lobby, mostly thanks to the surprising amount of time spent at immigration and that was with hardly anyone else there! We couldn't help but wonder what it would be like during a genuinely busy daytime rush. Still, this was to be our home for the next four nights, and despite the late hour, the thought of waking up to a relaxing first day was already pushing away any lingering tiredness.

Breakfast was a feast of everything you could imagine, from cereal to yoghurt to an almost traditional English breakfast along with a rather hot lime pickle which James couldn’t resist trying. The eggs Benedict with smoked salmon was put on hold until tomorrow. We were certainly spoilt for choice as we enjoyed our first experience of food in Doha. 

By 11am, we'd found the hotel pool and with it, at long last, the sunshine we'd so dearly missed since leaving Perth some two and a half months ago! Feet up, a refreshing swim and pure relaxation became the day's agenda. As we settled in, the call to prayer began to echo, a rhythmic, almost competitive, sound bouncing between the towering high-rises from the minarets of nearby mosques, gathering worshippers for midday and afternoon prayers. We knew Ramadan had just begun and we were already looking forward to experiencing the fast-breaking and seeing Doha truly come alive as the sun set around 5:30pm.