We visited Doha, Qatar as part of a layover on route back from Namibia. Our flight out was long, so it was nice to have broken this up for the return leg with a stop here.
The flight was also both very cheap and very empty due to the ongoing issues in the middle east between Qatar and the Arab League over the deals the royal family had made
with the Taliban for the return of members of Qatar's royal family.
Our experience at Qatar's airport was very strange, we were quite literally the only people entering the country except migrant workers from poorer neighbouring countries.
The passport control was very strict with men and women having to be processed separately, made even worse by the entire lack of women especially white women. We weren't sure
really what to expect visiting here but I think we had imagined it'd be more like Dubai. It wasn't. Even the hotel we were staying at had separated pools for men and women to use
with no mixed pools available. Thankfully we only wanted the beach which as it turned out was entirely unused by the more local guests. The majority of the guests here seemed to be
businessmen with their partners rather than anyone on actual holiday here.
Nonetheless it was very, very hot (around 49°C) and we were able to enjoy our time on the beach here for a day with some swimming in the sea before we continued on our journey home.
Qatar marked the end of our trip, and while we had had an amazing time the long flights via Qatar had taken there toll. Some rest would be needed.
