Let's see if these next batch of images stay up this time...



I woke was woken up somewhere over Iraq, past the Turkish border, which meant I was officially flying over a part of the world I’d never been before. When I asked if I could have breakfast later, the FA told me “it is breakfast time right now” but then agreed to wake me up again in 30 minutes. She actually ended up giving me closer to 45, which I appreciated, but I could’ve sworn Qatar claimed they did Dine on Demand in Q Suites? How is there a designated “breakfast time”? I’m confused.



I asked if it was too late to change my breakfast order, and they checked for me and was able to make the swap. I originally ordered the omelet but I didn’t sleep too well and it felt way too heavy, so I went with the yogurt thing instead. It was pretty meh, but whatever, it did its job.



A piece of chocolate later, and we were on our final descent. It was at this point, looking out the window, that I finally remembered I was facing backwards – I had kind of forgotten during the flight. When I first glanced out the window, I was trying to figure out why the world was moving strange before it clicked.





And like that, we were on the ground in Doha.



So Q Suites. Where do I begin? I think I personally slept better in ANA’s The Room because of the wider upper area – if you haven’t seen The Room, it’s basically one massive right triangle with the footwell making up the tip. But because of that shape, I was able to sleep along the hypotenuse, giving myself a bit more length while still having plenty of space horizontally. I also prefer a firm mattress, and ANA has a firmer mattress pad. Also someone claimed that Q Suites don’t actually lie all the way flat. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it did feel like I was at a bit of an angle (no idea if that’s just me psyching myself out, or a byproduct of facing backwards, or both).

To Q Suite’s credit, its footwell was deeper, and the walls are taller. There's also a cute little storage space under the cushion next to the seat, giving it more storage than ANA. The door itself feels more legitimate when it actually stays closed, although the doors didn’t seem to want to do that too consistently this flight. Both I and my neighbor struggled mightily to keep the doors closed inflight; there was no magnet or latch or anything so they’d just slide themselves back open if the plane jostled even slightly.



Ultimately, I think I might give ANA the edge here but it’s real close. This seat is seriously impressive, and the fact they introduced it back in 2017 must have been truly revolutionary for the time, given how few airlines have even come close to catching up in the last… checks calendar… almost entire decade.



I took my first steps on Qatari soil, and as a transfer passenger was pointed straight into the secure area again, no security or anything.



I do regret not getting a clear photo of the plane anywhere. This was the best I got.



I stopped by the first service desk I saw to get my next boarding pass. They had to go into a cabinet to get the paper stock that said First Class on it.



I know exactly two facts about Qatar. First, that it borders Saudi Arabia. And second, that there is a big teddy bear in the airport. I set out to find that teddy bear.



No teddy bear here.




Cool looking orchard. Still no teddy bear.



Fancy thing on the ceiling. Still not a teddy bear.



Oh a train. I like trains. Not a bear, though.



Side note – this is the first train I’ve ever seen that has mesh seats. Feels like an office chair.



*gasp* is that a teddy bear I see?



Found it. Mission accomplished. Alright, now to find the Al Safwa Lounge.



There’s no way the lounge is inside the duty free shops, is there? That seems to be where this arrow is pointing.



It was indeed through the duty free shops.



They scanned my boarding pass, and then I took a long escalator up to the lounge.




This lounge is very… tall. I feel like the pictures speak more for themselves than anything I can say here.



First stop was to get a shower. Needed to wait around 30 minutes, but I got in eventually.



When they first led me into the room, I thought they took me to the wrong place, but no, the shower was just behind that door.





Next I requested a private room for a nap, but was told it too would be a bit of a wait. So I went over to the business center to do some work. I had really thought, looking at the pictures, that each office would be sealed off, so I could take a call. Turns out, they’re not. Also, when was the last time you saw a Windows 8 machine?



Soon my private room was ready, so I bunkered down to nap for a few hours.



When I woke up, I was feeling just a bit peckish, so I headed over to the dining area.




I wasn’t too hungry, so I just ordered a Hong Kong beef soup and a lobster appetizer. The beef soup was really really salty – worryingly so. The lobster sauce tasted… I’m not even sure how to describe it. Minty? Certainly wouldn’t have been my first choice of sauce.




I capped off the meal with a bit of tea.




After a bit more work in my private suite, I checked out of the lounge and headed to my gate.



Oh no, is this a bus gate?

For all of the US aviation system’s very real and very legitimate faults, it always takes me leaving the country to remember that bus gates exist. So at least we have that going for us.



Once again I showed up 15 minutes before the listed boarding time and boarding had already started. In fact I had already missed the first bus. Once again there was a bit of chaos at the gate as no one had a consistent answer on where business and first class guests should line up. Eventually I just walked up to the podium, a bunch of business class guests following me, and just asked them if they’d scan my boarding pass, which they did, and let me into the holding pen.