Nepal, Tibet & Kerala Day Twenty-One: From Kovalam To Home Via Red Tape & Doha, 27 April 2002

There is a placeholder with links to the itinerary and all the photos from this trip – click here or below:

Rise early – 5:30, early breakfast 6 o’clock, depart 6:45.

Say goodbye to Lerhic and Sharji, to embark on one of the most bureaucratic check-ins we’ve ever had – business class or no!

Final straw – after being told to go through security before going to the Business Lounge, we were told that we should not have gone through security before the Business Lounge and were stuck.

First world probelm this, i do not need to be told, thank you.

Mr Anonymous-Officious really got my goat by pretending he would help and then obfuscating obstructing.

As I made increasing loud and threatening complaint, charming Kochi (Qatar’s answer to Mr Sharma) saved the day, so we spent 30 blissful minutes in the best Business Lounge this side of Bangalore.

That’s all I wrote, folks, so the rest of the journey home have passed incident free.

Nepal, Tibet & Kerala Days One & Two: Getting There, 7 & 8 April 2002

There is a placeholder with links to the itinerary and all the photos from this trip – click here or below:

Leave London late in day (7 pm) – hope the non-arrival of LA Cabs is not a bad omen! Park Royal cabs get us to airport with bags of time to spare.

We do our regular airport shopping and then enjoy Qatar Airways business class hospitality before and during flights.

Daisy weiring out in Doha hospitality lounge

All flights on time and event free – arrive Kathmandu late afternoon.

In stunning Dwarika Hotel – beautiful room and grounds…

…take a 12 course Nepalese feast in the Nepalese restaurant. Superb nibbles, mushroom and spinach with the roti, mutton kebabs, shredded chicken and rice pancakes and sticky sauce fish were the highlights. The late Mr Dwarika’s Mrs made an interesting interlude between courses.

Slept very well.