Thinking of doing a 2-day stopover in Qatar on route to Europe.
I have no idea what to expect — looking to see if the community has any experiences they'd like to share.
Qatar airlines make it easy to book a stopover with accommodation in the booking process (which seems way easier than other airlines). I just don't want to be stuck for a few days looking at a glut of massive glass buildings if there isn't anything intriguing to do.
Lazy ask, I get it.
Ah, interesting. I read that it was 'safest Arabic country'… but also know that might not be a great measure.
Any specifics? Other than not drinking or banging willy-nilly.
No kissing your wife (or partner) in public.
No swearing.
Flipping the bird is a jailable offence.
No G-strings at the beach…
Hmmm. On one hand —- seems like a silly risk. On the other hand — fascinating cultural experience.
I'd be interested in knowing if the sights and experiences in any way good enough to offset said risk? Could be a subjective call though.
On the other hand — fascinating cultural experience.
We have different opinions on what a fascinating cultural experience would mean….
@pharkurnell: Beating gays and stoning women isn't a fascinating cultural experience for you? How strange.
@pharkurnell: The stones are provided free of charge, which is very thoughtful of them, image the cost in excess luggage!
@brendanm: nobody is to stone anybody until I blow this whistle… am I allowed to blow it?
should be a good one… local boy
My ass isn't g-string ready after the cold start to summer, so that one's not a deal breaker.
unpacks thongs
it seems you've never been, been many times aswell as dubai and doha, go to the beach and youll see many girls barely wearing anything, white folks holding hands.. its not as strict as you think
@Nitrollparty: So it's one of those places where they have laws on the books, that they don't enforce if it suits them. but they can bring the hammer down whenever they feel like it.
Damn no G-strings is the deal breaker for me
Spare me your G-strings mate
David Beckham has. He reckons he enjoyed it, and can't wait to go back with his kids
I'm pretty sick of seeing that smug prick in those YouTube ads.
David Beckham is not smug. Source: Bend it like Beckham
why? because he visited Qatar?
@subwoofer: No, I couldn't care less where he vists. It is that he is shilling Qatar, and that he is a snug prick, you would have to ask him why that is.
Sounds amazing.
Risk aside there is not much worth seeing or visiting in Qatar
Thanks. Starting to paint a clearer picture.
Went through there about 6 months ago but didn't leave the airport, didn't seem like much myself of family wanted to see there.
had a 12 hour stop over through the night. misses went to bed, i went had pizza and beer, and walked aimlessly around anywhere, was pretty dull but everything closed so can expect that
Yeah my then girlfriend (now wife) had a stopover for 12 hours on way to london.
They offered a free bus tour of the city so we went on it and it was interesting to see but you it just had an off vibe and very noticeable class divide (they took us to the a ferrari dealership as part of the tour).
Wife covered herself basically head to toe just in case. We saw a couple of trucks with machine guns outside the palace, and one bloke with a revolver in a snakeskin holster just strolling around a market.
We were very happy to leave.
holy sh!t. sounds awful. haha. thanks for replying.
It's a well-known racket. The tour operator gets a cut out of every Ferrari sale they happen to bring to the dealership /s
LOL machine guns I don't believe it but cool story bro
Look up the Emiri Guard Brigade mate. They stand out the front and gaurd the leader. If you google them, the trucks im talking about pop up in Google images.
I stayed a couple of nights about 3 years ago, when they giving free accommodation for stop overs.
The souq is quite nice, especially if you have seen one. The city centre feels kind of small, and it didn't feel like there was much going on. The Pearl is about further out from the centre, so we didn't go as we were told finding a taxi to get back could be an issue.
I am in the same boat. I have a 12 hour layover en route to London in December. They usually run free city tours though they are not running in early Dec because of the WC.
they are not running in early Dec because of the WC.
Is it still blocked?
Do they have shortage of plumbers there?
I don't think you can even get into the country (ie. leave the airport) in early December unless you have WC tickets. I believe they have also stopped the on-arrival tourist visa until after the WC.
unless you have WC tickets.
The ones at Maccas are free.
You are right! I guess I'll just have to spend those 12 hours at the airport.
Been there (Qatar). Done that (36hr stop-over).
Loved it.
I would like to visit again and spend a couple of days. A few friends who left the Australian telco/tech space live over there now and are living their best life - art, Islamic culture, adventure sports (especially buggy racing in the desert dunes!)
Like any country, respect local laws and customs and you can have a good time. I found the locals (including the HUGE ex-pat communities from around the world) super-friendly and welcoming.
respect local laws and customs and you can have a good time.
What about human rights violations?
You must respect those as well, it's part of the culture.
what human rights violations? How about denouncing the US for killing two million Iraqis and looting the oil and their resources? Your history is full genocides, ethnic cleansing and colonialism, do not lecture us about human rights mate
Your history is full genocides, ethnic cleansing and colonialism, do not lecture us about human rights mate
I'm confused. Who are you referring to as "You" and "Us" in this context? Or are you one of those ungrateful human beings who decided to trade "your amazing country" for this "hellhole" with a history full of genocides, ethnic cleansing and colonialism but would still dare to criticize/belittle/ridicule the country your chose to live in?
Pretty sure Iraq launched some scud missiles at Israel in the early 90s and had sort of got everyone off side like that. Invading Kuwait was also a pretty bad idea. Discriminate murdering of Christians never seems to be regarded too highly by the west either…
Suddam sorta sealed Iraq's fate but blaming america is an easier path to take I guess.
I suspect your male friends.
They still have slaves in Qatar. I bet they aren’t living their best lives.
Thanks Captain Obvious.
Cheap propaganda, but Australia treated the Aboriginal people worse than slaves.
Australia stole 60000 slaves from the pacific islands to work here too
Mate if you love to experience other cultures and seeing their way of life then you will love it. If you go in expecting everyone to conform to the cultural norms of Australia then you might want to skip it.
'Cultural norms' like freedom - such as in freedom to not be a slave, freedom to have a beer, freedom to kiss your partner, freedom to eat bacon and eggs, freedom to be not be raped and then jailed for adultery?
Yeah, if you're happy to 'conform' to all those and more, I'm sure you'll find it a wonderful place!
Tell that to many Moslem girls in Australia who are afraid to travel alone outside of the areas they live in for fear of being verbally or physically abused. I know many women who are afraid to go to a beach suburb because of the abuse they get mainly from middle aged white men, because they are wearing a scarf.
Yes, those things are obviously equivalent.
Flying MEL-DOH-MXP next year.
Have booked a 10 hour layover but will just go to the airport's transit hotel given the flight from Melbourne gets in at 10.35PM Doha time (5.35AM Melbourne time), and the flight to Milan leaves at 8.35AM the next morning, giving me the chance to catch up on sleep and start acclimatising to European time (DOH is one hour ahead of MXP)…
DOH is one of the best airports, and city is far more developed than many capitals in the world. A whole heap of high rise buildings and beautiful architecture, big shopping malls but don't expect to find bargains. But worth a trip if it's been bundled in for free. Why not?
Those migrants workers building Qatar do quality work. The Qataris use a carrot and stick labour management style to get the best out of them.
"Supervisors would hit us in front of other workers to pressure us to work faster and complete our work on time," one Kenyan worker employed by HBK said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-10/fifa-world-cup-qatar-…
There are migrant workers that get exploited even worse here in Australia, hundreds of thousands of workers are being underpaid and below minimum wage as we speak
Why not?
How much time you got?
I did 2-3 hours in Bahrain International airport over 20 yrs ago, does that count?
I remember LOTS AND LOTS of gold shops, shops selling GOLD, LOTS OF GOLD.
Did you see any shops selling gold?
Stayed in Doha a couple of nights and we enjoyed the experience. Souq Waqif is nice with traditional buildings whilst the other side over is your modern area. The locals were great, friendly and accommodating. Someone paid for our meal because we went to their small local restaurant.
My partner was dressed respectfully but not fully covered "head to toe" and it's fine.
Just like any country, do your research, respect the laws and you'll be fine. Overall an enjoyable experience.
Ever since that report about those Australian women who were forced to get vaginal exams on the Doha Airport tarmac, I promised myself I would never go through that country.
I'd go through Singapore or Tokyo, at least your wife won't get fîngered by some random Qatari baggage handler in a doctor's costume.
We haven’t done Qatar but we did do Dubai for a couple of days. We ended up there in Ramadan, which wasn’t ideal. I was never, really, comfortable; partly because my man and I never bothered to get married. My concern would be if you do manage to run foul of the law over there it could get pretty uncomfortable. You need to be cognisant of what is considered acceptable and keep your head down.
The issue with the Qatar flight shows they really aren’t that fussed what Westerners think; particularly women.
I would prefer to go to somewhere like Istanbul or Morocco for the architecture.
Hi. I spent about 16 hours there. It was May if I recall…it was so hot it was a killer. I hadnt planned to spend any time there..my plane was late arriving so I missed connecting flight. So I did zero research. I wore shorts and am not sure if I should have….no one hassled me about it but in hindsight. I only went to the market/souq and wandered around the corniche on that side of the harbour…got some great shots.
Corrupt government, would never entertain a stop over let alone visiting. There human rights is enough to make me sick.
There are hundreds of thousands of westerners living and working in Qatar and have no issues. It seems everyone suddenly woke up and decided they are Anti whatever. It all started when Qatar refused to recognize Israel, it's all about politics and you are being manipulated on what to think
Nothing to do with Israel other than the fact Israel is probably the most progressive country in the middle east. Qatar has an atrociuos human rights record, especially like many other arab states and their treatment of foreign workers.
Not to say Israel doesn't have issues of it's own e.g. apartheid treatment of palestinian civilians. But every country has flaws… look at Aus with our detention of legitimate refugees offshore.
progressive hahaha, Gaza is an open-air prison where the Israelis count the number of calories entering the strip (2000 max) the same cap they place on cattle. Palestinian children are kidnapped and placed in prison and charged with terrorism then sexually abused in prison. They are not allowed to use Ben Gurion airport, instead they must travel via Jordan or Syria to enter the occupied territories. Israeli settlers patrolling Palestinian areas with machine guns, if you look at them the wrong way, you risk your life, and they will get away with it. Israeli Jews only highways alongside road gravel reserved for Palestinians only. Then people here wine because they can't get drunk in public in Qatar.
@subwoofer: Mate in Qatar if you're gay and a Muslim you can be sentenced to death, what are you on about…
@Deals For Days: Mate it's cheap propaganda, if you're gay and Moslem you'll be ok, just don't have sx in public places and even then you won't get the 'death penalty' geeez. And don't preach to them when gay sex was illegal here in Australia as late as 1970s. It's a concept that even the west just accepted in recent times.
@subwoofer: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/24/qatar-security-forces-ar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_for_homosex…
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12742403/qatar…
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-qatar#socials-ethics-a…
I'd give more, but I didn't want to spend more than 60 seconds on it.
@McFly: Did you read the links before posting it because it's proving my point? Maybe you should spent more than 60 seconds, from wiki:
"there is no evidence that the death penalty has been applied for consensual same-sex relations in private taking place between adults"
@subwoofer: lol So the state probably won't kill people for people gay.
Because that's the test for whether a country allows people their basic human rights.
@McFly: 'probably won't kill people for people gay'
lol you're not making sense, mate the fact is the west hate Moslems and they will do anything to attack and discredit a Moslem country and cannot fathom or accept that an Arab country is hosting a world cup. Islamophobia is a disease that we must fight. Qatar is the richest country in the world with zero income tax. Over 75% of the population are migrants who would love to stay there indefinitely including hundreds of thousands of westerners.
In the end the hypocrisy of condoning the atrocities Israel is inflicting on the Palestinians while whining you can't have your beer in a Qatari stadium is pitiful. It's their culture, their traditions and they have nothing to apologize for. Considering the white man history of ethnic cleansing, genocide and inflicted famine on people of colour, you have no moral compass to preach to them, you only become 'civilized' in the last 30 years
Go Qatar :-)
Jokes on you, I don't care about Qatar or Israel.
Surprised nobody had mentioned when a baby was found abandoned so Qatar officials decided to forcibly examine the vaginas of travellers on Qatar airways (including an Australian).
No way I’d stop over there.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-30/qatar-female-passenge…
Doha and Dubai have the same rules, yet I don't see this propaganda against UAE.
Surprised I had to scroll this far to find this. It's amazing how much fear a comment section can amass.
Fear and hate albeit more disguised
But the root cause usually tends to be ignorance. People should look more into vloggers like Luke Damant and experience things more with an open mind.
Propaganda… facts… tomayto… tomahto.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/645548
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/259358
Book via Singapore or Dubai if you want to have a stopover, you'll have a far better experience and more things to do.
The answer is that if you are expecting Doha to have the same laws and customs as Sydney, then do not visit Doha.
If you are happy to follow their laws and customs, then it is worth a stop for a few days.
Stopped there once overnight. I think its pretty expensive/overpriced and I didn't find it particularly interesting myself but Doha city seemed safe enough. Hot though so don't recommend walking very far - ask the hotel staff about transport. The hotel booked with Qatar was nice and included hassle free airport transfers.
Are you a ranga? I'd steer clear of the area.
My hair says I'm not a ranga… but then my beard comes through and brings that in to question.
Bit late to the conversation, but I've visited Qatar a few times as a solo traveller and with my wife. Not a tonne to do, but plenty to keep you busy for a couple of days. If you're confident driving overseas, rent a car (if they haven't changed the rules) so you can get around a bit more freely. Visit the Pearl, Souk Waqif (market), Falconry shops, Museum of Islamic Art is a bit interesting,
Katara Cultural Village, Katara Beach, take a dhow boat ride around the harbour (about $30-40aud if you haggle - the turquoise water is beautiful), one of the Marriott's have a beach if that's of interest.
In terms of safety, I walked around by myself at night in a non tourist area and never felt unsafe, so I'm not sure why everyone is so wound up. My wife never felt unsafe and never got leered at (unlike our next stop, Egypt which was basically hell on earth…)
I agree with everything you said and had the same pleasant experience there, on a 21 hour stopover. In one day, we were able to see the Museum of Islamic Art, visit and had a nice Arabic lunch at Souk Waqif, stroll along the shore and took a dhow boat around the harbour for about an hour. It was hot, but wasn't too unpleasant as there was a cool breeze. If we had another day, we would've signed up to go on a tour to the sand dunes or camel ride.
I'm actually travelling via Qatar again next month and would've loved to see whats changed post-covid, but unfortunately I won't have the time on this occasion. Sand dunes and camel rides will have to wait until next trip!
Interesting that vstratosphere "it just had an off vibe and very noticeable class divide" had the same feeling as myself.
We had a thirty hour stopover, so stayed in town and looked around. The Souq Waqif was okay, but it has been rebuilt in 2006, so it's not an original building. The Museum of Islamic Art was the highlight of Qatar for us and we spent several hours in there.
Step back from the Cornishe a little and it's pretty average development wise. Roads are appalling, rubbish/ building materials everywhere.The temperature was just blazing hot, 40+ degrees.
The main issue we had was the class divide,it really made us feel uncomfortable. The hired help are just terrified of the overlords.
We won't be going back.
Make sure it's not ramadan as no eating and drinking during the day
Not worth the risk.