Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: American Double 2014
DOH! Are you sure we aren't lost?
(Link to flight log in side panel)
It
was approximately 0520 local time as we rather groggily walked up
the air bridge and into Hamad International Airport (IATA code:
DOH), the stunning new Qatar Airways hub in the city of Doha. Built
2.5 miles east of its predecessor, which I had passed through a few
times, it underwent a phased opening during May 2014. After passing
through Security, we soon found ourselves at the focal point of the
airside area, an unusual (to put it mildly) work of art. Weird and
even a little creepy, the work in question was a giant yellow teddy
bear that seemed to have undergone some sort of body-merge with a
black lamp. The sculpture was created by Urs Fischer - yes, his
given name is derived from the Latin word ursus (bear) -
and it could formerly be found on Park Avenue, Manhattan.
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LEFT: This very strange giant teddy bear provides a focal point for passengers at Doha's new airport |
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ABOVE and RIGHT: The lounge complex |
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| LEFT: Shower suite rest cabin |
We made our way to the vast lounge complex, occupying two levels and surely one of the largest such facilities anywhere. Designed for Business Class, it was currently also being used by First Class passengers, as the F lounge was not yet ready. In line with the airport's overall 'oasis' theme, an immediate talking point was its enormous, reflecting water feature. Our priority was to locate the shower suite, which turned out to have a bit of a queue. It was well worth the wait, though: it felt great to be able to freshen up and have a change of clothing for the remainder of the journey. I waited for Bruce in one of the little rest cabins in the quiet area. We then managed to find a seat in the TV section, but in what for us was the middle of the night, we didn't feel like eating anything.
It was soon time to head towards the gate for the next instalment of this unusual journey. Interestingly, two young Frenchmen, who had been sitting directly behind us on the Casablanca-Doha flight, were also boarding the New York service. They must have discovered the same fare! I had a brief chat with them and it transpired that they were bound for Los Angeles, which made our final short hop to Boston look like child's play!
(Link to flight log in side panel)
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| ABOVE: Apron view from the Admiral's Club at JFK Terminal 8 |
Passage through Immigration and Customs at JFK was mercifully quick and straightforward. After re-checking our luggage for the remaining sector, we made our way to the familiar territory of the main Terminal 8 Admiral's Club, where the 'secret door' slid open to admit us to the very pleasant First Class section, with its excellent apron views. In due course we went to the allocated gate, only to encounter the first hiccup of the journey: departure would be delayed due to adverse weather in Boston, which meant that Logan Airport was down to one usable runway. We passed some of the time in the 'local' Admiral's Club and were not surprised to find it less pleasant than the one we had recently left.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
We finally made it to Boston, where we collected our luggage, transferred to the rental car centre and picked up the red Dodge Avenger that I would be using for the next five days. Not expecting a vital turn-off to be located in the middle of a tunnel, I went a bit wrong in what should have been a short drive to the hotel, but we eventually made it. The Rumba bar in the lobby provided an attractive venue in which to end the day. We sampled deliciously sweet-and-sour 'Army & Navy' cocktails made with gin, lemon juice and almond syrup, while enjoying some tasty jumbo prawn cocktail and truffle fries. It was a suitably civilised conclusion to a long and far from commonplace journey to the USA.