Yes, This Is Real Life Part 5: When You Layover During Ramadan....

The main lobby of the Grand Hyatt.  We've arrived.

The story so far:

Preview: Yes, This Is Real Life

Part 1: Location, Location, Location

Part 2: Brits In Beantown

Part 3: Shades On, Wheels Up

Part 4: Welcome to Ghostport

By way of disclaimer, I fully admit to knowing little to nothing about the tradition of Ramadan outside of some rudimentary comparative religion classes in college, and a couple of weeks of googling what it would be like to be a foreign traveler here during the holy month.  Any of my thoughts/observations are purely based on my outside perspective as a mileage runner spending a weekend bouncing around Middle East airports, and may be completely incorrect. 

On arrival in Doha, the flight crew made an announcement about the holiday, informing passengers against eating, drinking, or smoking in public spaces during the daylight hours.  The airport lounges also were not serving any alcohol at any time, though they did have their regular food service running during the daytime.  We didn't stop at the proper arrivals lounge though, since we had the Grand Hyatt waiting.

When in Doha- Ramadan tent.

Getting into town, the combination of the oppressive summer heat, political travel restrictions, and daytime fasting have made this city feel abandoned.  We checked at the Hyatt in before sundown, and the hotel was quiet.  What's more, almost all of the restaurants were closed.  They had one 'international' restaurant open called 'Santa Monica' which, to a Mileage Runner from LAX, just seems wrong.  However, there was another option....

Having realized about a month ago that we'd be doing our Doha layovers during Ramadan, we decided to make the best of it and take advantage of the lavish evening meals that the bigger hotels here in Doha hold nightly.  They put out huge banquet spreads- multiple salad bars, hot bars, carving stations, and especially over the top dessert bars.  Think 8 flavors of ice cream, pies 3ft across, and chocolate fountains.  They generally have two sittings- around 8pm, and a later time around 10 that goes until 1 or 2 am.  They set up special dining areas in a tent outside, complete with uplighting and music.  Needless to say, we each had several plates and made the most of the experience.

Needless to say, I was glad that the Hyatt also had an impressive gym and pools, both indoor and outside.  However, they were doing some promotional photo shoots of some kind outside, and so we were relegated indoors to swim.

Back up to the gym for a moment though.  I actually went on arrival and actually managed to make myself get a good workout.  (You may applaud here) This being Qatar, they have a separate gym and spa area reserved for women only.  Now, this isn't the norm in the west, but I will note that the other part of the gym was co-ed, so women weren't excluded.  I expected the ladies part to be small, or lacking in equipment, but OH MAN was I wrong.  It was full service, and as the rest of Doha was, empty.  There was even an expansive water spa with steam and sauna.  I could get used to this. 

After that, I felt pretty justified in enjoying my Iftar feast.  It was also fun to be out late (read all night) and to watch the city come alive (or as alive as it was going to get under the circumstances).  By the time we left the tent, the lobby area was full of people relaxing after the meal, and the hookah smoke was thick in the air.  We didn't' go that far down our 'when in Doha' path, have to leave something for the future. 

Up next- We stay up to see the sunrise, and the true meaning of mileage running is understood as we ask the existential question: Are there birds in Doha?

(With a hook like that, how can you not keep reading??)

~CruisingAltitude