The return trip is the goal

It's Tuesday morning, I'm lying on the couch, and I'm starting the last entry all over again. I fear I fell asleep at the keyboard yesterday, and of course the browser didn't save the draft this time. Okay, maybe it thought it was better this way and I should start fresh today. Yesterday was a day between worlds: not quite away from Laos yet, but certainly not really there in Stuttgart.

There are two types of return trips: the one that goes directly - fast, convenient, but usually expensive. And then the one with one to two, up to three layovers, which takes several days and is relatively 'cheap'. I opted (of course) for the latter and left the airline lottery to choose which cities I might discover as a bonus during the layovers. It was more or less clear to me that the first stop would be Bangkok. I spent an evening there enjoying delicious Pad Thai, a Thai massage (which still has me sore), and bubble tea. After a very short night in the hostel, early in the morning I continued to the next stop.

This second stop was Doha in Qatar. Many years ago I had been at the airport there but didn't leave. This time, with just over 14 hours of layover, I finally made up for it. The immigration process went smoothly. Unlike in Shanghai, I felt welcome here and not like the intruder that needs to be viewed as an enemy and gotten rid of as quickly as possible. I got to the city relatively quickly via the metro in just 20 minutes ('...you'll be in 20 minutes!...' ;-)). For the metro day pass, I paid about €1.50 and I've rarely seen such a clean and nice metro. I viewed the National Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art from the outside (great architecture!) and then took the metro further towards The Pearl, an artificially created island off the coast of Doha. The paths and distances should not be underestimated, so I couldn't make it to the island itself. I had booked a free walking tour of the Souq for late afternoon, so I had to head back.

Which was definitely worth it! Because Angie from Australia and I had what felt like a private tour with Hussain, a Pakistani who has lived in Doha for over 10 years. He loves his job and the city and showed us the Souq Waqif, the sprawling marketplace in Doha, explaining everything and taking us to corners and buildings that I would never have ventured into, despite my curiosity. We met people I would never have encountered or talked to otherwise. For example, we sat in 2 Majlis, which means 'place of sitting' or 'room of gathering'. Traditionally, these are places where men and women (!) meet, exchange information and stories, drink coffee together, and eat dates and pastries. It’s like social media in earlier times. Here, Arab hospitality is truly lived. No one asks where you come from, what you do, who you are; instead, you are first offered a coffee. However, the coffee served there doesn’t quite resemble our coffee. It’s called Gahwa and looks more like tea. It doesn't taste much like coffee either but rather has flavors of various oriental spices like saffron, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and rosewater.

We also visited a falcon shop, where one can buy falcons worth the price of small and luxury cars. The animals have great significance throughout the Gulf region and represent the connection between traditional culture and modern times. Even small children (boys) receive their 'own' falcon, which is trained, taken to the falcon hospital to have a lost feather transplanted, and then wins prizes in falcon races or participates in hunting or beauty competitions.

We also stopped by the small animal market and checked out the camels in the Camel Pen, an outdoor exhibition area for desert animals. Let’s just say: Doha may have developed significantly over the last decades. However, in terms of animal husbandry, there’s still a lot to be desired from our Western perspective.

We also met a man who is a celebrity in Doha and today owns a small pearl shop: Saad Ismail Khalifa al-Jassim, who at 89 years old is considered the oldest pearl diver in Qatar. Pearl diving started everything in Qatar when the oil and gas reserves had not yet been discovered. David Beckham has already been to his shop, along with many politicians and show stars.

After the tour, Angie and I made a quick stop at the harbor and took the obligatory photo of the skyline before I once again made my way back to the airport, feeling quite overwhelmed by all the impressions.

After Laos and Bangkok, Doha was a leap into another world. A traditional world of the Thawb (long garment for men), Ghutra (head covering for men), Abbajas (long women's garments), and Hijabs (face veils for women). I myself was accordingly dressed in long, airy pants and a t-shirt - for Qatari conditions, it felt relatively cool at 29 degrees, which is why I also saw some Western-clad residents in jeans and sweaters. On my way through the city, I was approached several times, asked if I wanted to take a city tour, or if I wanted to go somewhere by taxi. A 'No, thank you' on my part was not accepted; they continued to press or accompanied me some steps further. I wouldn’t say that I felt uncomfortable. Still, it’s a country and a culture that doesn’t particularly attract me to explore in the near future.

The remaining hours until my departure were spent at the airport, after which I landed in Frankfurt after another 6.5-hour flight. Since Luang Prabang, I had been on the return journey by tuktuk taxi, airplane, public bus, taxi, another airplane, and metro. Everything went, really everything, smoothly. Until I arrived in Frankfurt:

• about an hour waiting for luggage
• the originally planned train had already left
• further convenient and fast ICE trains could not be booked with the free ride (BahnBonus reward) - paying for it was out of the question; for that money, I could have almost flown back to Bangkok
  
• the selected and booked alternative, affordable connection failed at the stop Mainz-Römisches Theater because the train was over 20 minutes late
• I boldly sat on the ICE in Mainz Hbf for which I had a ticket from Mannheim
• luckily I wasn’t checked, but I would have let it come to a discussion with the conductor

I don't want to get upset about this (I didn’t either), because I am grateful for everything we have here that others can only dream of. However, we should slowly get down from our high horse and stop looking down on other countries. There are indeed things that an developing country does better than we do.

Then yesterday, I unpacked my suitcase and indulged in jetlag on the couch. Now I am starting to find my way back into everyday life. Until the day I start my next journey. When, where, and at all? Who knows! Until then, stay strong, dear ones!

PS: Once I have sorted all the photos, I will also upload some in the previous entries. So to speak, as documentation. I'll let you know.