Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

10:00 to 11 a.m. – We take Xiane to the dentist for her appointment. I finish all office necessities and handovers before leaving work early. We get home to make sure all appliances are turned-off and that we didn’t forget anything that should be included in our luggage.

11:00 to 12 noon – I bring down our baggage (all 7 of them!) from the 3 floor to the building door. Had to take a quick shower and change clothes. The airport taxi comes at exactly 30 minutes before 12 noon. Experienced no traffic delays going to the airport.

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. – We get to check in easily and bought some DV tapes in Duty Free. Was tempted to buy a ticket to win 1 Million Dollars but decided against it as the ticket costs 950QR. We got hungry and ate at the food center. Mavis bought water which was 10QR each! Check-in was at 1:45 and again, no delays.

2 p.m. to 3 p.m. - We had to ride a bus to get to our plane. We got seated on seats 18D (aisle), 18E, 18F which was close to the exit. Flight QR/PR644 took off on time.

3 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Xiane’s AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) remote was acting up. Took me some minutes before she got to watch Garfield. I looked at the other movies being shown but already watched most of them (jumper, 27 Dresses, Spiderwick Chronicles) so I settled to watching reruns of FRIENDS. Mavis slept as her AVOD system was not working properly. We’re really disappointed with Qatar Airways for not making sure their AVOD works properly.

Food is served! I had beef with rice while Xiane and Mavis had chicken. Food was ok as we were all hungry.

4 p.m. to 10 p.m. – After Xiane finishes her film in the AVOD and one from the Archos, we all slept. We woke up some hours later to pee and freshen up. My AVOD is now completely dead so no more FRIENDS for me. Xiane’s AVOD also conks out. We were faced with blank screens! So off to wonderland again hoping to forget the pain that I’m starting to feel on my butt.

10 p.m. (3 a.m. Manila Time) – We were served our breakfast of Fish Fillet and Garlic Rice. I kept asking Mavis the time and when we expect to land.

11:45 p.m. (4:45 a.m. Manila Time) – Our plane lands smoothly. We pass the immigration counter without hassle and wait for 30 minutes more to get our bags. We see my mom, dad and sis walking towards us as we descend the walkway towards the exit. We head off for breakfast again!

2 p.m. (7 a.m. Manila Time) - We went to Mavis’ aunt in JP Rizal to give her some dates the Mavs brought her. We went to Duty Free Fiesta to buy some stuff for my aunts in Makati as for our own family as well.

7 p.m. (12 noon Manila Time) -  We were eating (again) lunch at my grandfather’s (dad’s side) in Makati. We left at around 1:15 p.m. for our supposed to be 1 ½ hour trip to Angeles, a city north of Manila, where we will be staying with my parents for the next few weeks.