Delayed in Doha January 9th 2013

Doha City

Delayed in Doha...

Descending into Doha (the capital of Qatar) isn't doing my ears or nose any good whatsoever! It seems to be a rather steeper descent than normal. The first glimpse of dawn on the eastern horizon as the aircraft prepares to land - all the flaps hanging out and hopefully the wheels are pointing straight down, ah yes, the clunk. A bounce, maybe it was 2 and then the harshest braking I've experienced since the days of the old 737's! But we'er down and can walk away from this one, fully intact. The place is crowded with aeroplanes, all seemingly crammed onto a ramp far detached from any arrival terminal. Looks like we're all going on a bus ride - about 15 minutes to get off the plane.

Packed like a can of sardines, We'er taken to the arrivals building where 2 from our bus get off,  everyone else must be in transit then! At last the transit hall. About 1h20 before the next flight, time enough to have a poke around, get some nice photos and of course find Starbucks!

In Brief - no Starbucks, everyone you see looks totally knackered and the initial information board for onward connections is in Arabic! Actually, the staff are very helpful and soon I discover the best spots for looking out across the airport, where to get nice coffee and...oh yes, better find a loo.

Soon to learn of a delay - turns out to be a six hour estimated technical  issue. At best guess, they need to fly in a spare part from Rolls Royce! A food voucher is issued and gratefully accepted, access to the exclusive Oryx lounge is granted and, well, I can think of worst places to be delayed. Food on tap, hot and cold drinks till you drown and it's quiet, so time for a couple of hours sleep.

Tip: anyone planning a flight to Doha with a tight connection time might like to take into account that getting off the plane then having to be bus'd to the opposite side of the airport by indirect roads takes about 30 minutes.

And We're Off... Asia January 8th 2013

And we're Off...

Plenty of smiley faces at the aircraft door along with a trolley of British newspapers - plunder at will. Seat 50A is a window seat, carefully picked at the time of booking being a few rows behind the wing. Should be able to get some nice photos from this seat. The flight is full, flights from London usually are in my experience, but on the plus side the girl next door is on the petit side - plenty room for stretching out later! Drizzle sets in as the plane heads off towards runway 27L, not going to see much of nighttime London then.

The girl next door - well, she's sleeping, sleeping like a baby infact so I won't disturb the peace just yet! Dinner is served, she missis out and I can't taste any of it! This darn cold I thought was on the way out seems to be regenerating itself, oh well. The menu is quite tempting actually. Today's offerings consist of either, Stir fried Chicken with Lime, salmon risotto or a vegetarian pasta option. Chicken please, well at least it looked appetising enough.

Oh, I forgot to mention the little goody bag handed out. Ear plugs, a sleeping mask, a pair of socks and lastly a toothbrush that was packaged with a minuscule tube of toothpaste. Nothing like this from Emirates, or Jet Airways of India, my last two airlines of choice. I can use the toothbrush and ear plugs - the other stuff might come in handy later. 4 hours to go, routing down through Egypt then across Saudi Arabia and on into Doha.

Meandering towards Sri Lanka 8th January 2013

Some Iconic London Scenes...
as I meander towards London's Heathrow Airport en-route to Sri Lanka.

Going Intercontinental 8th January 2013

Norwich - London - Kuala Lumpur

Killing a few hours in London before making the onward journey to Heathrow and ultimately Kuala Lumpur. The journey down was uneventful under leaden skies - the forecast of drizzle making my getaway to warmer climes as sweet as a meringue covered in treacle. A walk along the entire length of Tottenham Court Road, over to Charing Cross Road, into Old Compton Street and the best little restaurant in London. The Stock Pot and their  Seafood Spaghetti is a hit every time. Around 6 pounds for a plateful - a big plateful at that, before heading off to the airport and commencing the real business intercontinental travel.

Checked in on-line last night and printed my boarding passes right through to Kuala Lumpur, so all I had to do was find the Qatar Airways baggage drop counter. Formalities completed, off to the immigration channels and security check. No interrogation, nothing beeping at me and they didn't even confiscate my shampoo this time! The whole procedure was over in a little under 15 minutes - a personal best. This of course leaves me with more spare time than anticipated. Not Hungry, don't need to shop, don't even want a coffee! Ah yes, let's try out the new camera and see how it performs at night - exceeds all my expectations for what really is a low end point and shoot pocket camera.

So, for the next 6 hours I shall be cocooned in rear of this steel tube called an Airbus A340. I have an indifferent attitude to economy class - get a small seat, get fed and watered mediocre offerings and of course depending on the age of the plane, a degree of entertainment. The rest is a mixture of luck and personal planning as to how comfortable a flight on the red eye can be.

Next...The flight, delays and getting fleeced at 4am

Titles...and Subtitles

A few weeks ago I declared to the world my intention to write a book, based on my travel adventures. Before anything else, I need a nice, catchy little title. So, here a few suggestions already and you can add to the mix. Just drop me a line here at paulholmes100@gmail.com, leave a suggestion in the comments box below, or try and track me down on facebook, this link might possibly do it - 

facebook.com/paul.holmes.1654 . I also have a twitter account but I shall salute anyone who can find me - I can't even figure it out :)

If your suggestion is good, good enough to use I mean, then of course you will be well credited, perhaps rewarded :)

Titles (and subtitles) should try to encompass 12 months of travelling around Asia - from Sri Lanka to New Zealand and points inbetween.

So far then...

From Norwich - A Travellers Tale

My View on Asia

A Few Nights in Bangkok

Norfolk - Above and Beyond

Random Jottings of a Norfolk Traveller

Knights of Bangkok!

My Asean Odyssey

Random and Informal - An Asian Adventure

The Jottings of Paul Globetrotter Holmes

Bangkok Never Sleeps...

Just for the Food