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

After our 2-month long holiday in the Philippines, we’re back here in Doha once again.  As we always say in Filipino “Tapos na ang maliligayang araw.”  To translate literally in English, “Happy days are over.”  Not that being back here is bad, it’s just that it’s always hard to be away from family once again, not be able to eat or enjoy the things you love, and most of all having to do everything (all the chores) once you’re back here.  Simply put, it’s back to reality once again.

We arrived on Thursday, August 28th.  This year has been a lot easier at the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) than last year.  I didn’t have to go through the same ordeal that I went through on my departure last year.  I also noticed some improvements at the NAIA.  There were younger, more friendly and helpful staff.  There were no long queues at the Immigration.  In general, everything had been really pleasant.  Congratulations for such improvements! We sure hope that NAIA Management will continue to find ways to make NAIA a better if not the best international airport in the world. But despite all these improvements, our departure from the Philippines was delayed by an hour because of the plane’s late arrival, the same plane that we boarded.  But lucky enough the pilot’s expertise made it possible for us to reach Doha just on time.  There was a long queue at the Immigration but people travelling with children get the utmost priority thus making things a whole lot easier for Xiane and me.  This only goes to show the influx of travelers coming to Doha, most of which are expats and their families coming to work.  Gladly, retrieving our baggages and getting through the xray was quite fast and easy.

Then there was Tian, waving at us among the pool of people also waiting for friends, families, relatives, what have you.  As soon as Xiane saw her dad, she started shouting “Dad! Dad!”  We met up at the exit and went straight to the parking lot.  We were almost at the end of the lane, only 3 cars left and I haven’t seen our aqua blue Citroen Picasso.  I was asking myself, “Where is the car?”  Then we suddenly stopped.  I saw this beautiful, no I mean gorgeous, black Mazda CX9.  I couldn’t help but notice it.  I even told Tian that it’s really nice.  Then he reached for his pocket and handed me what looked like a key.  It was then I realized that he already bought a car.  He intended it to be a surprise.  He’s been keeping it to himself since Monday of the same week we were going to arrive.  Well kudos to him because it was a pleasant surprise indeed.  Probably the best I’ve had in years.  Of course, both Xiane and I were excited to board the CX9.  We couldn’t help but smile.

When we got home, although tired from our flight we still didn’t sleep right away.  We took the time to chat and just savor the moment of being together again after a month of being apart although this is the only time we spend away from each other.