MALDIVES TO DOHA

Woke up at dawn and had breakfast and then it was time to head back to Hulhumale the airport island located next to Male for or flight out. Ibrahim docked the boat next to the Departure terminal:

Talk about convenience nothing like stepping off a boat and walking into the airport departure terminal. Not many places in the world where you can do that I imagine. We said our goodbyes to Ibrahim and Issac and sadly had to leave the beautiful Maldives. Getting some last looks at the reefs as our plane climbed into the sky:

It was about a four hour flight from the Maldives to Doha Qatar. I dozed off a little and as the plane was landing in Doha I had the sultan of swing, Frank Sinatra playing in my headphones as the wheels touched down. We had an overnight stay in Doha before our flight back to Washington D.C. the next morning. Checking into our hotel room near the airport I noticed this disk with an arrow in a corner of the room:

Qibla is the ahrab word for direction. The arrow in this points in the direction of Mecca. By the way there is a prayer rug in the room too.

Since it was early afternoon we decided to take a car and visit the waterfront of this desert city. We are a few miles away from the center city of Doha. But, the skyline of downtown Doha is pretty majestic from this location:

I'd say it rivals New York from this waterfront view. And like New York it is still growing as construction cranes are all over the city. Pretty impressive. I think an ad I saw in a magazine says it all:

"Without ambition this would all still be desert."

As we walked along the water front we came upon this giant Pearl monument:

Qatar was once known for it's pearls. Which were gathered from it's waters by free swimming divers. Of course that changed when oil was discovered in the country. Though there still seems to be a pretty robust fishing industry still operating here judging by the scene in this area:

Along with some boats that judging from their bright work look like they are more for pleasure than fishing:

Looks like there is some business being transacted on this boat too:

After spending some time on the waterfront we wandered across the street to a nearby Souk. The Souk is a fascinating place to wander around. It is the Arab version of a mall or probably I should say the mall is an westernized  version of a  souk. Personally I'd rather shop in a Souk. It's alleys are filled with delightful small shops.

If you just looked at some of the architecture of the buildings you might think you were in the desert southwest of the United States:

But you would be mistaken:

It looks like you can get just about anything  you would want here from rugs and carpets:

To pots and pans, spices, food and clothes:

To exotic pets a long way from home who seem to enjoy the passing scene too:

You could even find a dugout canoe or two (needs work):

If that's too much to carry home. The fellow working in the shop would be glad to build you a hand made model: 

Or something larger like a cross section of one of the dhows that sail these waters:

Since Capt, Mike likes things of a nautical nature I of course had to visit this shop. The owners proudly told me they had been here for twenty five years. They had just about everything a fisherman or sailor could need in their small shop: 

 Need some line they got it:

A hand line setup or fishing line? Sail twine? What color do you want?

Sinkers? Check! 

 Need a new bait net? Again what color? 

The Souk is a pretty overwhelming place and one could spend hours wandering all the little back allies looking at the small shops. Happily, there are many comfortable places to sit and relax too:

and enjoy a cup of tea or a hookah smoke if you want.

Well, that's about  it for Capt. Mike's adventure to the Maldives and Qatar. One of the top ten experiences in my travels. Now it's time to head back to the United States and rejoin the winter which is already in progress. Hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did.

CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES

Last year a European friend of ours said she thought of my girlfriend and I when she was snorkeling in the Maldives especially when she saw the turtle. Snorkeling with turtles is one of my girlfriends  passions. That comment was all my girlfriend had to hear and so she began to plan a trip for us to the Maldives.  The Maldives is a country  made up of 26 atolls which contain some 1200 islands located south of India and west of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.

There's lots of water and very little land most of it uninhabited. A Capt. Mike kind of place. The reality is I'd probably never get around to take BIANKA there in this lifetime. So it seems like a water vacation on a chartered boat might be the best way to see this area of the earth. When my girlfriend first started planning this trip it seemed our choices of where to stay were limited. We could stay at one of the myriad resorts that have sprung up on some of the islands.

 Another alternative is to book a cabin on one of the "Safari" boats that come in various sizes and itineraries some cater to divers others are more like small private yachts.  

Each of these choices did not appeal to us either because of the expense or the idea of being stuck on a boat full of people who may be more interested in partying all night long than waking up to watch the sun rise. That was a risk we'd rather not take. Those seemed to be the only two choices available. Until I found a 44 foot catamaran that could be chartered per person rather than by the boat which made it more affordable.  That sounded perfect for us. So with some trepidation we booked the boat from the owner. After getting some references we wire transferred a 50% deposit. Not being able to use a credit card made it a little bit of a leap of faith. But, it all went well. 
     With the boat booked the problem of getting to the Maldives became our focus. We could fly to Europe and transfer to a flight to Male (pronounced "mal lee") the capital of the Maldives. The other alternative was to fly to Male through the mid east.  The idea of taking a chance of flying through Europe in January sounded risky because it would not take much bad winter weather to shut things down as happened there recently. So we decided to try Qatar Airlines. They flew to Male via Doha, Qatar. This sounded like a better option than taking a chance transferring through Europe. I must say that our flight on Qatar was one of the most enjoyable airline experiences I've ever had. We flew business class as Capt. Mike's 6' 2" frame does not seem as comfortable in coach as it did in his younger days.    Especially since the flight from Washington D.C. to Doha is a 14 plus hour trip and the airplanes seem to have shrunk in size since my younger days. Though I suspect I have probably have gotten bigger. The service on board the flight was great but, what made the trip a real pleasure was the seat on this Boeing 777 converted to a flat bed with enough room for even Captain Mike to stretch out and sleep comfortably.  After boarding the plane at Dulles Airport outside Washington D.C. it was time for a cocktail, some wine with dinner and a melatonin before converting to seat to a flat bed for some sleep. I put on the noise cancelling headphones and put the soothing Albinoni: Oboe Concerti on a loop in the planes entertainment system and did not wake up until the plane was flying over Paris. We landed in Doha around sundown and were escorted through customs and immigration by Qatar Airlines representatives. What a pleasure that was too. If you are traveling through Doha on Qatar Airlines I recommend using their Al Maha service even if it is not included in your ticket price. After a 14 hour flight you'll thank Capt. Mike that you did. They escorted us all through immigration and customs to a car that took us to the Oryx Rotana hotel nearby the airport. We grabbed a quick dinner went to bed and awoke early the next morning to catch a flight to the Maldives. So come along as Capt. Mike takes you on a boating  journey through the Maldives starting with the next post.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES DAY ONE POST