Trip report - QR and DOH April 2018
TRIP REPORT
QATAR AIRWAYS (zed tickets) and DOHA
Without wishing to discuss politics – readers will need to know something of the current political climate in which Qatar finds itself (use google if you don’t keep up with the news !). This may currently be of benefit to the non-rev traveller for reasons that may be obvious after reading the next paragraph.
The result of the current situation, at least for Qatar Airways, is that instead of reducing their operations to match a theoretically expected downturn in passenger loads, they have maintained their extensive routes and operations. They therefore are continuing their efforts to make Doha an attractive transit point (in competition with hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and at the same time showing Doha as a competitive business destination – again competing with places such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
My recent visit has convinced me that they are succeeding in their efforts.
This has been helped, not least by the government of Qatar, who has introduced a visa waiver programme for a huge number of nationalities, to permit short stays in Qatar, especially as a break in a longer journey. Persons who are not eligible for this visa waiver can usually obtain visas before travel or even at the airport upon arrival. In order to control the visa waiver facility, the authorities need to be reasonably certain that the visitor intends to leave Qatar. Readers will better understand their need in this regard from my remarks in the next paragraph. The authorities currently rely on the incoming carrier to assist in determining the visitor’s intention, by means of discreet information transfer similar to the APIS scheme. The vast majority of passengers travelling to Doha at present arrive by Qatar Airways, who work hand in hand with the Qatar authorities. Flying as a non rev on Qatar Airways presents no problems with the visa waiver scheme, providing you are otherwise eligible, and providing you hold a ticket and are listed on an onward or return flight on Qatar Airways. I have no information on arrival departure on the very few other airlines operating to Doha.
When you visit Qatar, you will not see a country full of Qatari people. Qatar’s 2.6 million inhabitants are made up primarily of foreign workers – in fact 88%. Qatar, like other States in this area, is an attractive place for nationalities from other countries to come and earn some relatively high income.
The head of State for Qatar is a very likeable and well respected Emir - Sheikh Thamim bin Hamad Al Thani. His picture is evident everywhere and can be seen on many buildings especially lit up at night.
The laws in Qatar are very strict. It is one of the dozen or so countries in the world where the laws are based on Sharia law. (Again – google if you are not aware). But visitors should of course respect not only the Qatari laws when visiting the country, but also the feelings of the Qataris themselves. For this reason visitors should consult google and other sources to see what is permissible, what is strictly not allowed, or what is just frowned upon. For example, the law on dressing decently would suggest that men should always dress in long trousers or robes. During my visit I did notice a male tourist wearing short trousers on one occasion. Although not indecent to my way of thinking, it may be to Qataris, and I would hope that a friendly Qatari would have mentioned something to that visitor, who obviously had not done his homework before visiting Doha.
I decided to stop in Doha for a few days on a trip from the UK to Vietnam. QR run six flights a day between LHR and DOH, including two A380s, and although there are some periods when all the flights are pretty full, I chose a time when loads were expected to be light. I flew on an A380 to DOH and on a B787 to HAN.
Seating on QR is comparatively spacious, both in width and pitch. The service and food on QR is adequate but not, in my view, anything exceptional. Some alcohol is discreetly available - for example if you were to ask for a Gin & Tonic, they would mix one in the galley for you. Wine is freely available to drink with the meal, and is not considered in the same light as hard liquor. But you only get the one glass of wine (no top ups normally). The entertainment system is very good and with extensive choice.
The airport at DOH is impressive. It was completed four years ago to accommodate many more passengers than they are currently experiencing. Upon arrival, the majority of passengers from LHR went to the transfer area, and a small handful of us made the long, but leisurely walk to the immigration area. There were no forms to complete, the immigration officer simply consulted his computer and without a word, stuck a visa waiver sticker in my passport with thirty days validity.
After retrieving my bag and walking through customs, I headed for the ‘bus pavilion’ where I caught a number 109 bus into town. For anyone visiting Doha, I would recommend doing what I did. I purchased a 24 hour bus ticket from the driver for 20 Riyals, (about US$ 5.50) which allows unlimited travel in Doha and all of Qatar for 24 hours from when first used.
I stayed in the K108 hotel which is in the ‘old’ part of Doha. Explained simply, Doha is on a ‘C’ shaped bay, with the ‘city’, the business area comprising skyscrapers and numerous new buildings at the northern end, and the ‘old’ part of the town at the southern end. Also in the ‘old’ part of town is the old market (Souq Waqif) and the bus station (Al Ghanin). The K108 hotel is just 10 minutes’ walk to the bus station and then it’s a further five minutes’ walk to the Souq. The Souq here, and the one at Al Wakra, are disappointing if you are expecting an old bazaar. They are both renovated markets, made to preserve the original layouts of the old markets. Beyond the Souq – another 5 to 10 minutes; walk and you come to the Pearl Monument and the sea. The approximately 3 mile long, fast road that runs between the old part of town and the city is called the Corniche. From the old part of town, the skyscrapers on the other side of the bay form an interesting array of lights at night which reminded me of the Hong Kong skyline.
If you do visit Doha, look out for the Hamali in the Souq. The Hamali is a porter, wearing a distinctive red jacket, who carries your purchases for you in a wheelbarrow !
On the second day, having explored the Souq and some of the Corniche on foot, I made use of my bus ticket to go to Al Wakra, which originally was a fishing village, to the south of Doha. The Souq sits between the main road and the sea, and the day and time I was there, it was more or less empty, with very few people around. I did find, by chance, a Yemeni restaurant, where I enjoyed a Yemeni dish of chicken and rice, consumed without cutlery (wash fingers first !) which was very tasty.
Along the road to Al Wakra, they are building the elevated section of one of the lines of the new metro which is planned to become operational next year. The stations have a shapes that incorporate the style of the Dhow (boat) and the project is a huge undertaking that is taking shape quite rapidly.
In the evening, I went for a short ride into the bay on a Dhow. I had not planned to do so, but as I strolled along the southern part of the Corniche where the Dhows are moored, I was ‘hassled’ quite a lot by many people to go for a trip on their Dhow. The going rate seemed to be 40 to 50 Riyals. I kept refusing and said maybe tomorrow. Until one chap kept dropping the price and eventually offered to take me on his boat that already had four people, for just 20 Riyals, so I jumped on.
On the following day, availing myself of another 24 hour bus ticket, I took the bus across the desert to the town of Al Ruwais, a small town some 70 miles north of Doha, at the northern tip of Qatar. After exploring the area on foot, I returned to Doha in time to get a different bus to the city before dark, to explore that area into the evening when the skyscrapers, of all different shapes and sizes, became a beautiful concoction of interesting and ever changing colours.
On my last day, the hotel kindly extended my check out time so I had much of the day to do some further exploring. I returned to the road to Al Wakra, as I wanted to stop off at a couple of places to get some photos of buildings I had seen en route, - especially of the Qatar Airways building in the shape of a gigantic letter “Q”. I left just before 5pm and took the bus to the airport.
Qatar Airways have a separate ‘staff desk’ for non-revs at Doha, where there was no queue and I was soon checked in for my flight to HAN. The QR flights both to and from DOH left early or on time and arrived early.
It was a similar story on the return, and my QR flight from HAN to DOH (a B 777) made a scheduled stop in BKK. When I checked in at HAN, they checked my bags all the way to LHR, but could only give me a boarding pass for the short HAN-BKK sector. At BKK, when I got off to make my way to the transfer desk, I was met by a QR representative in the gate area, who had my BKK-DOH boarding pass, and who was able to escort me back onto the plane. My plane had a number of seats available out of BKK, but in any event I was not concerned about getting offloaded in BKK, as QR actually have THREE flights BKK-DOH, including an A380, that all leave within 30 minutes of each other, and I believe that they all had a lot of seats available.
At DOH, I made my way with the majority of other passengers from the BKK flight, to the transfer area. I was immediately given a boarding pass for the LHR flight, and then proceeded through security. It is amazing that they have 28 lanes going through security, just for transfer passengers, and all lanes were active (at midnight). They can certainly process a lot of transfer passengers at any one time. I then had a five hour wait and found a comfy seat to have a couple of hours snoozing. The flight back to LHR was an A380 which was barely 20% full so every passenger was able to lay down if they wished. So I got home quite refreshed !
A handful of photos can be found here…….
https://www.flickr.com/gp/75686213@N06/0oSfsb
Lee
