It's weird being back at Doha aiport. I wonder how many hours I have spent here in total over the year, in reality it only equates to 3 visits, but still, with there being such long waits between international connections its a fair chunk of my life. I know pretty much every inch of the place. I know where to get the best coffee, which seats offer the best views whilst still being able to see the departure board, where the UK mains sockets are, and even which toilets don't run out of loo paper. Yet when having just got off an 8 hour flight with no sleep, even the simplest tasks seem overly complex.
I find myself once again at my prefered coffee outlet. Whilst the coffee is very good there is something strange about ordering a latte from a saudi arabian at a costa coffee in the desert. Even looking down the menu board in front of me there seem to be more options than I would expect; I certainly don't recall a 'massimo' being a size option on an english menu. Perhaps I need to visit more coffee houses at home. Now comes the challenge of acquiring a suitably caffinated beverage to keep me going till its time to start on the next leg of my travels. How do I order this? Do I ask for a 'massimo latte' in english with an italian accent or should I try to put a saudi slant on it to help the server understand me? Of course, there is no problem as she is accustomed to dealing with dissoriented travellers every day, and my coffee arrives with her being blissfully unaware of my plight.
Now for the real problem. I have a wallet which contains euros, pound notes and rupees; here everything is in riyals. I gladly hand over my euros and receive an unrecognisable pile of notes as change with no idea as to whether I have bagged a bargain or bought the most expensive coffee on the planet. I then remember the exchange rate when I acquired my Euros and am glad the coffee tastes good.
The remainder of the stop over passes surprisingly quickly as I wander around the shops, take the odd photo and watch people who look considerably more tired than I feel trying to stay awake. I also get a chance to catch up on the second series of the big bang theory, which I have been really enjoying.
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