Since we weren't going to be spending Christmas at home, we had our usual Christmas get-together, just earlier.
We invited family and friends for a Christmas lunch in our patio on the Saturday 14th. I cooked 2 main dishes - Cod fish in cream and Chicken curry, and friends brought salads, a lasagna, and many delicious desserts.
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| Christmas lights in our neighbourhood |
Friday 20th - we had to be at the airport at 4am for our 7am Air Asia flight to Denpasar (Bali), so we didn't even sleep, but I managed a short nap on the 3,30h flight.
The Balinese decorations at the airport were beautiful...
Then came the long wait - we had an 8h layover, of which about 3 or 4 hours was spent with visas/passport control, luggage collection.... one of the most inefficient and frustrating airports...
The Denpasar Airport doesn't have a Transit option, so you actually collect your luggage, get out of the airport, take a lift to the first floor , queue again for luggage and passport control...
Because we had plenty of time, we stopped for lunch in one of the restaurants before going into the Departures area - I had chicken curry, Jose had prawn curry, and I drank a refreshing avocado juice and Jose a beer.
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| Looking from the top floor of the airport into the area where the taxi and uber drivers wait for incomers |
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| Looking towards a nearby temple |
After lunch and a bit of a wonder around the area, we queued up to go into the Departures area. After the usual controls, we were the first ones at the Qatar counter to dispatch our suitcase. After that we found some stretchers near our departure gate and tried not to fall asleep.
Finally, the call for our Qatar Airways flight departing at 18,55h, with a 9,45h flight time to Doha.
We landed at Hamad International Airport, Doha, close to midnight. Passport control and luggage collection was fast, our daughter was there to welcome us, and we took an Uber to her place in the Legtaifiya or West Bay Lagoon.
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| View over Doha |
Saturday 21st - suitably relaxed, we drove to Katara or Katara Cultural Village, just across the highway from West Bay Lagoon where Karina lives.
Katara was designed to be a place where people come together to experience the cultures of the world, designed around an amphitheatre, with concert halls, exhibition galleries, the Planetarium, quiet beaches, restaurants, cafes, a kids Museum (OliOli) and in the Katara Plaza are located the Galeries Lafayette, a luxury shopping mall with all the imaginable designer brands. Qataris have a love affair with French stuff.
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| Galeries Lafayette seen from the other side of the highway |
A few monsters were on top of the roof of the Galeries Lafayette, I think as an advert to the kids movie "Monsters". Towards the end of our trip I noticed they had disappeared.
And what about some Murano glass trees ? Lots of them in this pedestrian area. Only in Doha!
The Snan food hall next to the Galeries, where you can find exclusive international food products under a stained glass dome - cheeses, fruits, vegetables, tinned goodies....
On the other side of the Galeries Lafayette, looking like a red gift-wrapped box is the Children's Mall - while parent's shop, the kids can be entertained with fun and educational games.
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The amphitheatre
 | | Bronze statues in Katara |
 | Stairs to the amphitheatre
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We then walked along the seafront exploring the area, sat down for an ice-cream, and carried on to the local Mosque.
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| The nearby district of "Pearl" |
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| The beach |
We visited the Katara Mosque also known as the Blue Mosque as it is covered hand-painted blue tiles and mosaics.
Shoes left outside, Karina and I had to enter through a different door to the men. We were given an abaya (I probably just needed to cover my head with a scarf, but Karina was wearing knee length shorts - ankles, shoulders and heads have to be covered in mosques. And men...well Jose could go in in shorts!
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| The blue mosque and the Pigeon towers |
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| Me, Jose and Karina in the mosque |
And what about the pigeon towers below? Isn't this the most beautiful structure for birds ever?
A few metres away from the mosque stands this structure in the shape of a mosque minaret. Apparently pigeons are revered in Islam, therefore they are well cared for.
Unlike cats it seems.....I saw loads of stray cats, which highly upset me!
The 3 towers range from 10 to 22mt in diameter and are about 18mt tall and can house up to 14 thousand pigeons, with short projecting perches made of clay, with the walls slanted inwards to allow the pigeon dung to fall into the central collection pit at the foot of the tower.
The small size of the entrances for the birds deters predators such as hawks, owls or crows from entering the towers.
It was an exciting first day and I was looking forward to our visit to the "Pearl Island" the following day.
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| The Galleries Lafayette seen from the the other side of the freeway in the early evening |
