Qatar Airways ~ Sky High Pricing?

Recently the hash tag #QatarAirwaysFail cascading on twitter got my attention and I wondered what all the hype was about. Then I ran across an article on Doha News’ tumblr, Qataris Renew Boycott Calls Against Qatar Airways, that really peaked my curiosity regarding the subject. Not being one to jump on the bandwagon without doing my own research, I found that the proof was indeed in the proverbial pudding. Perhaps locals and expats, alike, do have a little or a lot to be griping about. One return flight booked for the same city on the same day will cost you (and more importantly me!) 45% more on Qatar Airways as opposed to British Airways, if you’re going to London, anyway. That’s what I call a chunk of change, folks.

Here is another random search I did. Qatar Airways vs SriLankan Airlines with a Doha to Colombo return trip selected...

To be fair, the only other price I checked was a Lufthansa vs Qatar Airways flight to Frankfurt. Lufthansa beat out Qatar Airways by only a 10% savings, which I would have to opt for Qatar Airways in this case for the service alone.

The moral of the story here, check out the competition and decide where YOU want to spend your extra moolah...in the air or at your destination.

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Tsonga Reigns in Doha

It was a mysterious looking mist filled night at Khalifa stadium for the Qatar ExxonMobil Open when Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga approached the chair umpire and cried, "It's impossible!". I didn't know what he was referring to until a serve or two later when Gael Monfils stopped play to confer with the umpire, as well. Play ended abruptly and a barrage of workers took to the courts to rough up, what appeared to be slick paint brought on by the 100% humidity in the air. It was quite a spectacle, but with the latest technology in court grooming (steel brushes and towels?), play resumed. Despite the fact that the crowd pleasing Federer and Nadal were absent from the action (Federer due to injury, Nadal due to loss to Monfils), the French came through with finesse making our prime seats worth the money. After a crash and burn that looked to be tournament ending, Tsonga went on to take out fellow Frenchman, Monfils, in two sets. Qatar Tennis Federation closed out the 20th anniversary of the ATP World Tour in high fashion with a light show montage of past champions of the tournament, as well as presenting many of them live on the court afterward.

Tsonga celebrates his win at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Photos by me ;)

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Morning in Doha

I received an email a while back from an artist asking permission to put one of my snapshots of the Doha skyline to canvas. After a thoughtful period of, oh, maybe a half a second, I said YES! How cool is it to have a moment in time captured by moi hanging on someone's wall in a beautiful array of soft acrylics? VERY cool, from my perspective. The artist, Alena Carvalho, was kind enough to send me the lovely final result...

Morning in Doha

Here is the actual picture that I snapped this past summer. Upon request of Alena's client, the cranes that dot Doha's skyline were not included. I'm not sure how I feel about that, as the cranes in Doha represent the rapid growth that this desert city has experienced. You can check out this print along with other works by Alena at her website here.

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Squatters Beware

As I've been ignoring my blog and instead spending my days on Amazon for all my Christmas shopping needs, David did a little scouting for me while in Saudi Arabia. He's found that they don't take kindly to squatters in the Kingdom ...

I wonder what the penalty for illegal squatting is?

Please note the ✔ (Proper) and X (Improper) techniques

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Texas Twosome

Hmm, not so sure if Mickey D's serves coons...