It’s a little bit sad but the thing I’ve been most excited about on this trip is the fancy flights and lounges, the flights in First Class in particular.
Things suddenly became real when I got the boarding pass
The glamorous first flight to Doha on BA First Class had a slightly unglamorous start because my luggage was meant to be checked in automatically all the way to Armenia but BA messed up and I had to wait around for 30 mins in Heathrow departures.
Anyway, it wasn’t long until I was in the fabled BA Concorde Room, sticking out like a sore thumb wearing flipflops, shorts and carrying a bike helmet.
The Concorde Room was pretty meh, it had a very fancy vibe to it but the food was pretty average, served on stupid shaped plates.
- Cheese and wine in the Cabana
- This confirmed to me that I do not belong in First class as I failed to appreciate the difference between a £150 champagne and whatever cheap stuff I’ve drunk in the past
But the slightly underwhelming experience in the Concorde Room did nothing to damped my excitement about getting on board. I was greeted on board by name and escorted to my seat. Not sure that was entirely necessary and my awkwardness at having so much attention did nothing to make it less awkward!
SOO COMFY
Due to still being uncomfortably full, I had to pass on breakfast
Time flew and I had landed in Doha before I knew it, ready for a 12+ hour layover of First Class frivolity.
The Al Safwa First Class lounge in Doha is INSANE. It is massive, eerily quiet and has everything from a jacuzzi to a nanny room. First order of business was to sleep more so I was given a really really comfy room with massive TV and jazzy ensuite.
After a few hours of sleep and 2 showers, I went about to explore all the facilities in the lounge, followed by a brief jaunt into Doha city centre (it’s a dump), followed by more lounging. The 13 hour layover FLEW by, although I’ll be back here for 17 hours on the way to Japan and that might get a little bit boring, its a tough life 😛
304 Degrees of Bike Faff 