An Unplanned Trip To Qatar

Upon our departure from India, our flight was delayed for several hours, due to a medical emergency with a passenger, who subsequently died. Due to this misfortune, our flight out of India was delayed, and we missed our connecting flight to Atlanta, with Qatar Airways. After learning of the reason for the delay, we felt sad, but it truly put our delayed flight into perspective. Afterall, we were alive and we now had an all expenses paid, unplanned trip to Qatar!

Qatar was everything and more. The ground staff at Qatar Airways made us wish we missed more flights😜. They were outstanding. Someone was waiting to greet us as we disembarked, to put everything in place, and ensure we did not feel dislocated.

We decided to explore the city for the day. I wish we had more time, but one day was enough to impress us. The food was amazing. We visited the Villagio Mall, which gives you the feeling like you are shopping outdoors, with a majestic ceiling, that looks exactly like the sky. There is also a man made river with gondolas at The Villagio.

I also made a friend. I call her “my Qatar friend”, who took us to the Souk or Souq, where they make the finest gold jewelry on the spot. We were able to have them “custom make” a piece of jewelry for us in one hour!

There were other vendors selling art, fabric and clothing. I loved the late evening atmosphere at the Souk. We stopped for tea, as there are several tea shops and restaurants.

It was an unplanned trip to Qatar, but one we certainly would not forget . We missed a flight, made a friend, and discovered another culture, all in one day. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a billboard with one of our Caribbean track stars, Yohan Blake, plastered on Billboards around Qatar.

P.S. We quite enjoyed the early morning entertainment at the airport and we hope to be back soon. There is so much to explore in Qatar. Add this to your bucket list if you have not experienced Qatar as yet. Special thanks to the ground crew and amazing flight crew, Souha and Slyvia, who took care of us🤩✈.