Doha, Jakarta & Bali
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Qatar Airways Stopover Programme
A series of posts on my holiday to Doha, Jakarta and Bali which I visited in autumn 2019 and haven’t documented previously. I realise that we can’t travel right now but are all itching to leave our homes and start exploring again be it near or far, so for the time being why not sit…
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Exploring Doha, Qatar
We had slept for almost 11 hours managing to catch up on the lost sleep from our overnight flight. We woke refreshed at 8.00 a.m. and then enjoyed a long, relaxing breakfast on the terrace of the hotel’s Al Terrace restaurant enjoying the gentle breeze. I started the day with a glass of freshly squeezed…
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Visiting the Qatar National Library and Aspire Park, Doha
It was 8.00 a.m. by the time we managed to rouse ourselves from our luxuriously comfortable bed, and on opening the window blinds were pleased to note that weather in the Middle East had returned to normal, following the previous day’s heavy rain. After another leisurely breakfast on the Al Terrace balcony we sipped cappuccinos…
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Our final day in Doha
It was hard to believe that this was our final day in Doha, the time having passed by all too quickly. We’d arranged a late check out so set off on foot after our leisurely breakfast to take a look at the National Museum of Qatar which opened in Spring 2019. It took around 25…
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First impressions of Jakarta
Our overnight Qatar Airways flight had arrived into Jakarta’s new Terminal 3 which was spacious and very easy to navigate. Immigration was a speedy process as hardly any other passengers appeared to require the same queue but we did have to wait what seemed like ages for our luggage to appear with our two suitcases…
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Exploring Jakarta’s colonial heritage
It was 8.00 a.m. when we drew back the curtains after sleeping soundly for almost ten hours, catching up on deprived sleep from the previous night of travelling. Soon we were ready to experience breakfast in the Jakarta Novotel’s restaurant on the 6th floor. We found a vast array of cooked dishes under stainless steel…
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Ancol eco-park, Jakarta
For the first time this holiday it seemed a struggle getting out of bed, a sure sign that we must have adapted to the 8 hour time difference. Going down to breakfast the restaurant manager either had a good memory or maybe it was because we appeared to be the only European guests staying at…
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From Jakarta to Bali
For the first time this holiday we were both awake before our alarm went off. This wasn’t a bad thing though as the earlier start to the day enabled us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the Novotel. We kept with our selection from the previous days and munched our way through this whilst reading…
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Exploring Bali
It was still dark when we were wakened by the sounds of someone knocking on our bedroom door, and glancing at the time, wondered whatever it could be. My son went to open the door and was handed a morning newspaper. Apparently as IHG members we were entitled to a complimentary daily newspaper and the…
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A day tour of Bali’s top attractions
It was just as well that we had set our alarm for 7.00 a.m. as we once again received a knock on the door with our morning newspaper. After enjoying a large breakfast we returned to our room for our cameras, sunglasses and bottles of water then went down to the foyer to wait for…
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Exploring Seminyak, Bali
After such a hectic previous day we enjoyed a lie-in and didn’t venture down to breakfast until 9.00 a.m. when it was lovely and quiet with a good choice of tables. I diversified my breakfast choices with a bowl of butternut squash soup (yes, I realise it’s a strange choice for so early in the…
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The fishing village of Jimbaran, Bali
We slept soundly until 8.00 a.m. it being extremely quiet despite the airport’s close proximity. Breakfast was again a peaceful affair as, apart from our first morning (Saturday), few guests seemed to be around. JetStar cabin crew arrive daily on overnight stopovers and appeared friendly enjoying their mini-breaks in beautiful Bali. For our morning trip…
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Exploring Kuta, Bali
Unusually at breakfast this morning, all the staff were looking beautiful wearing traditional Balinese national dress rather than their uniforms. I commented how lovely they looked and enquired why they were dressed in this way. Apparently it was Prophet’s Day when it is customary to wear national dress. The entire team looked wonderful in their…
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The end of our Indonesian adventure
It was to be our final day in Bali and it began with a relaxing breakfast out on the hotel’s terrace. Our last opportunity to order from the egg station which had served up perfectly poached eggs for me each morning and delivered them to the table. As we’d arranged a late check-out until 3.00…
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