On R & R

Ahhh...on my 4 day pass to Doha. It's very nice to be away from work and having to wear my uniform every day (I'm wearing PTs everyday instead). Had I known, I would have brought more civilian clothes with me from the States and I'd be wearing those instead, but that goes into the "things the never tell you" category. I was worried that this trip would be another exercise in military stupidity because our travel day was...longer than it should have been. We had to show up at BIAP 3 hours before our plane left. Luckily there is a new USO that just opened up, so there was at least shade to sit under while we waited in 110-degree weather for the flight. After our lovely C-130 flight into Al Udeid, we processed through customs and were told to wait in a tent while they called for a bus to take us over to the R&R camp.
So we went to the tent, which had no air conditioning. Now, the sun had gone down, so it was only about 100 degrees, and the breeze made it almost comfortable. After an hour and a half, we were asking where the bus was. The excuse we got was "there aren't enough of you here yet to warrant a bus, we're waiting on the next flight to get in." What? How stupid is that? Illogical yes, but I wouldn't put it past the Army to do something like that. So we grumbled and sweated and waited another hour. I finally found a set of empty pallets outside and laid down and went to sleep. After 4 hours, the bus pulled up and we all got on. No other flight came, in fact, the Army didn't even know our flight had arrived! So we waited for 4 hours for no reason. Lovely.
We finally got to the R&R location, and it's actually pretty nice. Aside from the repent all your wordly sins heat, it's pleasant. There's a pool, a decent little PX, and an R&R center with video games, a USO, restaurants, and an authorized 3 beers a day!
Porbably the best part of this is the outings the staff runs. There are trips into downtwon Doha for shopping, tours of the city, crusies on fishing dhows to go swim in the Persian Gulf, jet-ski trips, and even golf at a local course. Most cost money, but it's pretty inexpensive, sort of like the shore excursions when you're on a cruise.
Mostly though, I'm enjoying the free high-speed wireless and not having to keep a work schedule. I've got 2 days left and plan on enjoying myself to the utmost. I might as well, before I go back to the daily grind of Baghdad.
The new USO at BIAP. Makes you appreciate those fancy "indoor" airports in the U.S.

Me at dinner on one of the R&R trips. We went to the local "souqs" for some inexpensive jewelry and local culture. The food was excellent, and when you haggle the merchants down to half their original asking price or less, it makes you feel like you're getting a good deal. We didn't haggle over dinner though, I think that's frowned upon.

Another shopping trip for souveniers to bring back to Patti and Lorelei. This mall was built to immitate the Venetian casino in Vegas. It's pretty impressive, but having seen both, the Venetian hits the illusion of being outdoors much better. There's more shopping at the mall though, including a Tiffany & Co, Gucci, Luis Vuiton, Armani, and more. There was a Maserati and a Lambourghini parked outside when we drove up. Think about that next time you fill up your Honda for $3.50 a gallon.

On the street in the old souqs. It's sort of like an up-scale outdoor mall meets a street bazaar. You have 5-star Italian restaurants around the corner from the camel market. No kidding, the camel market. We were told not to buy any animals though. Come on, you can fit a camel on a 463L pallet right?