On the way from Atlanta, Georgia to Kathmandu, Nepal, we ended up with a long layover in Doha, Qatar, since we flew Qatar Airways. I was thrilled since I had never been to the Middle East, and a long layover would give us time to leave the airport! After doing some online searching, I learned that Qatar Airways offers free city tours of Doha during long layovers. These tours include a visa, transportation, and a variety of city sights. I thought, "Perfect. We won't have to worry about making arrangements ourselves." So, when our flight landed, Ciara, Rachel, and I hustled through the sparkling clean Hammad International Airport to the city tours desk.. They were full. No spots left. Now, what were we supposed to do for 8 hours? We waited for the tour to actually meet, just in case someone who had signed up didn't show. But, when the last name had been read off the list and all tickets had been given out, we realized that a free city tour wasn't an option. "What if we just went into Doha ourselves?" asked my friend Ciara. We hadn't really done any research, since we had been counting on the free tour, but a quick Google search told us that Americans can get a visa upon arrival at the airport. We approached the information desk and asked the nice man about what to do in Doha. He recommended that we visit Souk Waqif and gave us some tips on getting a taxi. Going into Doha was unbelievably easy. We breezed through security and passport control. Since we had checked our bags, there was no luggage to worry about on the layover. At the passport control station, I walked up, paid for my visa, and walked out. We made a brief stop at the money exchange counter. I've always heard to avoid changing money at the airport because the rates are worse than in the city, but we needed cash for the taxi and ultimately only had to change a small amount for our few hours in Doha. There was a line of taxis waiting outside the airport. We found one, discussed the rate, and confirmed before hopping in. Within 20 minutes of making the decision to take a taxi into Doha, we had navigated security, changed money, secured a taxi, and driven to Souk Waqif. Souk WaqifRather than try to zip around the city in a limited amount of time, we decided to pick one spot to explore, and that spot was Souk Waqif. A souk is a marketplace. Souk Waqif is comprised of a number of beautiful stone buildings and labrinythine alleyways filled with fabrics, spices, and even pets. It was renovated in 2006, so, while the stone looks old, it is very clean and well-preserved. As we wandered through the souk, we came upon a stand selling traditional Middle Eastern food - meat skewers, hummus, pita. Having not eaten dinner, we ordered a little of each to share. Everyone around us was eating with their hands, tearing off pieces of pita and using the pita to get meat off the skewers or scoop up hummus, so we ripped off pieces of pita and dug in. This food was perfection. I could have eaten five more orders. Without trying, we stumbled into the Souk Waqif Art Center, a building with stunning architecture, colorful lanterns, and intricate tile. Vendors inside this building displyed paintings for sale. When we came to a dead end or a turn, we just picked a direction, wandering without direction but taking in all of the sights and sounds. Different parts of the souk had their own personalities. We rounded the corner into a noisy area filled with animal smells and sounds, where vendor after vender was selling pets. We walked past shops with beautiful and colorful bolts of fabric and tailors who would make custom clothing. We entered a pottery shop with hand made mugs and vases. We turned the corner and saw a wide path lined with hookah cafes and nice restaurants. Parts of the souk were almost deserted, maybe due to the time of night. After all, how many people go fabric shopping at 8:30pm on Saturday nights? While other parts of the souk were bustling with families and groups of people sitting at outdoor tables, enjoying a meal. Doha CornicheAfter exploring the Souk Waqif for a couple of hours, we walked down to the Corniche, a waterfront promenade in Doha that begins not far from the Souk Waqif. Like everything else we encountered in Doha, the Corniche was super clean and well maintained, lined by palm trees. From the Corniche, we had a view of the Doha nighttime skyline across Doha Bay. Between us and the skyline were tons of what looked like fishing boats, along with some boats lit up by neon lights, clearly catering to tourists wanting a nighttime ride on Doha Bay. The temperature was just right and the night was so pleasant that we sat on the wall bordering Doha Bay for a long time, staring at the skyline and watching the tourist boats dock. We mused over the fact that we were in one of the richest countries in the world, but we were soon headed to one of the poorest. We exclaimed over the various colors of lights in the Doha skyline and hypothesized what each building could be. We watched an almost full moon rise over the Museum of Islamic Art, and we wished that we had more time to spend in Doha. Final Thoughts about DohaThe most common question that I get from people who learn that we went to Doha is "Did you feel weird walking around in your Western clothes?" The answer to that is no! While Qatar is situated in the Middle East, a very conservative part of the world, Doha is a super modern city and an emerging financial center in the world, so you see a mix of all different types of people and dress. We walked by men in long white tunics and traditional white and red head coverings, but we also walked by men in jeans and t-shirts. Some women covered just their hair with a hijab, some women wore a full black abaya, some women covered their whole body except their eyes. I dressed modestly in a long sleeved black shirt with a crew neck and loose fitting black hiking pants, and I never once felt uncomfortable with what I was wearing. I also wore a scarf around my neck because I wasn't sure exactly where we would go and wanted to be ready in case a head covering was required.
Once we returned to the airport at about 10:30pm, I looked up information about Doha on wikitravel and found this tidbit about the free city tour offered by Qatar Airways: "Also note that the this tour is fast paced with only one ~30 minute stop at the Souk and just quick 5-10 minute stops in other places to take pictures (ie no admission to the museum, etc)." Upon reading that, I definitely think that we got lucky by missing out on the tour. Rather than jumping from place to place to place and spending the majority of our time on a bus, we were able to focus on just a couple of places in the city and explore at our own pace. By taking taxis, we chatted with people who live and work in Doha, who were friendly and told us about their city. We spent about 2 hours wandering through the souk and stopped for amazing food. We were able to walk along Doha Bay and take in the skyline on a beautiful night. We decided when to return to the airport on our own time, when we were ready. A free tour like that seemed so appealing online because they take care of all visas, transportation, etc., but nothing about leaving the airport on our long layover was hard. From the visa process to getting a cab to deciding where to go, the whole excusion was easy to navigate on our own. I am SO GLAD that we left the airport to explore Doha! It is unbelievably easy to see at least part of the city on a long layover, and my only regret is that we didn't have more time! I am left dreaming about the delicious food we sampled at Souk Waqif and all the unseen places like the Museum of Islamic Art and the Pearl. I guess I will have to book another flight on Qatar Airways (and, lets be real, it's a really nice airline to fly) to get that long layover. Or maybe I'll just book a separate trip to do some in depth exploration of this intriguing area of the world!
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AuthorMy name is Alyssa Good and I have a passion for travel, adventure, culture, and new experiences! I focus on budget friendly travel, trip planning resources, and seeking out new experiences. Archives
December 2017
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