Istanbul - Delhi

Istanbul to Delhi was truly the most memorable air trip I've ever made. After saying our good-byes with the Foresmans we headed to Atuturk International Airport in Turkey. Anything related to transportation in Turkey has incredible security. The hotel we stayed at, a Courtyard by Marriott, has guards at the driveway to the hotel which stop every car has it enters the driveway and check for bombs under the car. Then, once you get inside the hotel you have to go through a metal detector, similar to an airport. At Istanbul airport you have to go through a security line before you even enter the airport, metal detectors and x-rays. Once you receive your boarding pass and check your bags you go through a second round of metal detectors and x-rays. We had to go through the same security precautions in the Izmir airport. It really makes you appreciate how safe America is, even though we think it isn't.

We boarded the plane, Qatar Airways, and went off to Doha, our transfer airport. Qatar Airways hypes itself up in its commercials as 'the world's only five star airline' so we were both excited to try it out. The flight attendants were no Agean Air flight attendants and there was nothing special about the cabin, but the food was awesome. I sampled the lamb and Lara had the default chicken. The lamb was exquisite and the pairing with the Hunter Valley syrah was like Sunny and Cher.

Our flight path from Istanbul to Doha was also extraordinary. We flew the complete length of Iraq, flying over Mosul, Kirkuk and Baghdad. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast and we couldn't see much. As the plane left Iraq we got to see a great sunset over the Tigris River delta. Amazing. We approached Qatar at night. As we flew in we could see oil rigs and refineries as far as the eye could see. The refineries of Richmond, California can't shake a stick at Qatar. The flames from the refineries and oil rigs literally illuminated the ground over what looked like the entire country.

We eventually made it to Doha Airport. We were both stoked about going through Doha Airport because you always hear about the incredible wealth and amount of money spent on infrastructure in the gulf and we figured Doha Airport would show it. Wrong. The airport is a glorified bus terminal. Planes land 1/4 mile away and a bus takes you to and from the terminal. We decided to sample the Doha Airport food court at what appeared to be an A&W. With some leftover GBPs (British pounds) we purchased two root beer floats and some onion rings, which came out to about $20. Without a doubt, they were the worst onion rings and root beer float I've ever had. Helping its case to being one of the worst airports the Doha International makes public announcements in English and Arabic for everything, loudly, everywhere. For the entire 2.5 hours we spent in the airport we never had silence from the PA. Then we went to the gate....... and got a free upgrade to business class. SCORE!!!!!

Business class isn't that great..... HAH! I couldn't kick the seat in front of me if I wanted to. My first decisions on the plane were what kind of beverage to have first (Laurent-Perrier Champagne) and what vibration setting to make for my seat massager. We tried to act cool and make it look like we fly business class all the time but utterly failed due to all the laughing and picture taking. A little after we left Doha we flew over Dubai and could see the palm tree-shaped peninsula that Dubai has created in the Persian Gulf. Another amazing site.

The flight lasted only 2.5 hours and we knew we were in for a complete change once we got off the plane.