It felt like we spent too much time in the Emirates, so we got to continue our travel, because it was not working to directly go to India, the country we were thinking next to visit we took a flight to Doha, the capital of Qatar.
We arrived at night at the airport and left the airport walking along the street to the bay and walking along Al Corniche. From there we got a great view on the skyscrapers in the centre of the city.
There we got to take a look at a museum, might have been the national museum, which is still under construction. The building was already looking interesting, despite most of it were only steel girders.
As typical for Arabian countries in the park along the bay there were a lot of people sitting and enjoying the evening, in the park was a small tower for decoration, would be to small for a lighthouse and not the right spot, also not for defence.
At the end of our trip along there bay we arrived at a small fish market. There was no official sign for it, but the fishermen were selling the fishes they caught the day out of boxes. Bernd did not like the smell so we had to pass by at this area very quick.
The we left the bay to find a taxi, before we found one we saw a huge oyster with a huge pearl in it. We got the idea to take the pearl out of it and sell it later, but we were not strong enough to lift it, so we left it were it was.
Then it got time to get to our hostel, especially we did not want to get there too late, because we did not make any bookings online. So it was more like trying our luck to get a bed for the night. We got a cap to get there and after getting lost and taking some detours the driver was able to find the hostel after making several phone calls. It was quite good hidden, making it not easier that the name was not the same shown on the web page. For sure they should change that.
At least they had a place to stay for us for the next nights, so it was a good idea getting there.
Next day we decided to take the bus getting back to the centre and exploring the city. It's told that the bus goes every twenty minutes, but you cannot trust that, we tried our luck and waited a few minutes at the bus stop, telling taxi drivers passing by that we're not willing to take a ride and prefer waiting for the bus. Did take less then twenty minutes, seemed that we got the right information.
From the central bus station we first went to a an old fashioned bazaar, with a lot of shops, selling carpets, spices, birds and a lot more stuff.
Again we got to Al Corniche and walked along the bay, this time we had sun and could also take a look at the Dhows, looking similar to the ones in the Emirates, but still everyone different to each other.
We spent a lot of time at Al Corniche and when sunset came closer we were thinking of taking a boat to get on the other side of the bay directly to the skyscrapers. The idea only stood in our minds after hearing the price they charge for a single trip, unbelievable high. And it is not that far away, so absolutely not worth wasting money for a small passage. We waited until the sunset began and kept on walking along the bay getting closer to the centre.
The skyscrapers looked even more interesting when we got closer to them. Especially the black one with the big eye in front of it. Bernd did not stay there for long, he thought it might be the eye of a beholder and he would do something nasty to him.
Most of the skyscrapers are used for business, so it was only a business district we entered, we were expecting some hotels, bars and restaurants. We walked along the street to find some more interesting places and finally ended up in a mall.
It was not as amazing as in Dubai, the only thing they also have here was an ice rink, this time Bernd did not have to find his fears, because right now it was not possible to skate there, on top of the ice rink was a stage and we got to see an ice age show, quite entertaining, especially seeing Scrat hunting his hazel nut.
To be sure that the gates of the hostel will still be open we did not leave to late to get back, also because we had to take two buses not knowing the times they go. For the first one outside the mall we did not have to wait too long, also for the bus at the central bus station. Again we had to tell some taxi drivers that we are not willing to go with them, well the last one offered a real good price but we declined. Bus stop is close to the hostel so not that hard to miss the stop.
And then on the ride with the bus something unexpected happened, he did take a different route and did not get to our street, very strange. The stop was on the list and we also were talking with the driver were we wanted to get off the bus. So we were in the middle of nowhere, not knowing in which direction our hostel might be. But travelers are lucky, so are we. The bus driver was so friendly to help us with the way and after giving him the phone number of our hostel he offered us to take us there for free. That was so nice.
In time we made it back to the hostel, we decided to sit outside for a while and enjoy the evening when another traveler showed up, with him I had some things in common. We both have been to Turkey during the last weeks, we took the same bus from the centre to the central bus station, but not the same to the hostel and he had the same first name.
Next day we decided to go to the Qatar weapon museum which was only around the corner from our hostel. In front of the museum we already saw some old cannons. But we did not see any entrance or informations, so we got back to the hostel and wanted to try our luck later, there we met again with Simon. He told us that he also got there earlier that day and asked a guy sitting in a small shed outside. From the guy he got to know that it is only a warehouse for old cannons and not a museum, strange that they call it museum. Are should check if it would be the same with the other museums in Doha.
Lack of time did not make it possible doing that, we got to get to the airport too early, but we got some time to walk around the central bus station and take a look at some interesting buildings before leaving. Well we got even lesser times, because this time was no bus showing up and we got to take a taxi.
Again we took the bus, this time showing up to get to the airport, before entering we asked the driver if it was the correct bus, we checked the plan before but we wanted to be sure. He told us that it's the correct bus and we got on it. So far so good. It did not take too long to get to the airport and we got of the bus at the bus terminal. The terminal was a real new building and a lot of people were working here, not the typical employees you expect to see at an airport, a lot of people dressed like construction workers. Something was totally wrong. We went to the departure area when some guys showed up and told us that this is the new airport terminal and it will not be open till December. How should we now get to the correct airport ? Why didn't the bus driver say anything ? Seemed like we won't get our flight. Bernd was grumbling around and got a very bad mood, I ignored him and talked with the guys, it was very entertaining for them meeting us here. Also they were surprised that the public bus is going here, maybe in future some other travelers will show up. But we were the first one, yes we got the honour to be the first ones seeing the new terminal.
At the end the guys offered us a ride to the correct airport and we were able to get our flight. So remember do not trust the public transport in Doha.
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