The Orchard

After a wonderful stay in Qatar, it was time to fly back to Thailand.

A car, paid for by the same airline who had comped my hotel for three nights, picked me up before dawn to take me back to the airport.

Hamad International Airport in Doha is considered to be one of the very best in the world.

Built in 2014, the airport is praised for its state-of-the-art facilities, high-quality passenger experience, design, and passenger amenities (which includes a swimming pool, art installations, a gate-side hotel, prayer rooms, and more). It's also recognized as one of the cleanest and most comfortable hotels in the world.

A standout feature at Hamad is The Orchard, a stunning indoor tropical garden which is filled with lush greenery, tall trees, and natural light which streams in through a dramatically designed glass room. 

The Orchard offers a peaceful place to escape from the typical bustle of one of the world's major airports.

In a rare instance, this was an airport terminal in which I actually wished I had more time to enjoy.

I flew out of Doha in the late morning. I had had a wonderful trip to Qatar, but it was time to go back home.

It's nice to get an unexpected (and more or less expense-free) stopover, but I was missing my wife, my cat, and my condo, and I was really ready to get back to Bangkok.