My 2022 Middle East trip report is finally done…three months and 62 segments later. Whew. I want to take a few moments to reflect back on the trip itself and also reflect back on the process of blogging an extended trip report.
Blogging An Extended Trip Report + Final Reflections On Middle East Trip
I dragged out writing this trip report precisely because it was such a long trip and because with my subsequent travel schedule, a steady flow of fresher reports followed that I felt should take priority. But one thing this trip report taught me in terms of the blog is that I’ve got to move even quicker.
For example, I took a week off from this trip report to live blog my trip to Ukraine. No regrets there. In fact, that style of blogging not only proved excellent for reader engagement, but it was easier and more fun to write..and of course I did not have to refer to my notes because I was not writing notes first, then teaser posts, then the actual reviews…I was just blogging live.
I like that model. I don’t think I’m quite there yet for all my trip reports because those “teaser” posts take 1/10 the amount of time to write and often garner far more eyeballs than the full review.
But I also hate posting “old” reviews. I detest whining comments about how old a trip report is. Part of that is because I want all my writing to be beyond reproach and do not dismiss that such criticism is, at times, fair. In doing this for over a decade, though, I find that flight, hotel, and lounge review have remarkable resiliency. In this series of reports I updated several lounge reviews and most them, frankly, did not need much updating.
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In terms of the trip, it was amazing. Petra is truly amazing and I love the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for its warm hospitality and sumptuous cuisine. I branched out beyond my usual Hyatt hotels with a number of hotel chains including Four Seasons, Kempinski, Mövenpick, and St. Regis. This was great. I still find my Hyatt Globalist status too valuable to give up, but it is nice to branch out and the Four Seasons Doha was especially beautiful.
This trip included four flights on Qatar Airways (A350, 787, 777, and A330) and the more I fly Qatar Airways, the more I love it. I maintain that business class on Qatar Airways represents the overall best business class product in the world and I find both the Al Mourjan and Al Safwa lounges in Doha to be superb.
The biggest disappointment on the trip was Gulf Air and to a lesser degree Avianca. I did not expect much from Avianca and therefore the poor flight from London to Bogota was not a surprise. But I was saddened by the inconsistent and sloppy service on Gulf Air. That airline has such great potential and I hope to give it a try in another year or two and bring back a much-improved report (especially as my former boss, Jeffrey Goh, is now CEO).
Finally, this was an extensive trip, even though I went back home for “breaks” with my family in the middle (while my friend remained abroad the entire six weeks). But while I sincerely wish my family could accompany me on all my travels, I am beyond grateful to actually earn money traveling the world in style and writing about it. What a blessing. When you have the opportunity to travel, take it.
Now it’s on to my next trip report…a journey to the Faroe Islands. But for now, in case you missed any of the 62 segments you can review them below.
- American Airlines 787-9 Business Class Los Angeles – Dallas
- Thompson Dallas
- Four Seasons Dallas
- American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
- American Airlines Admirals Club DFW
- Qatar Airways A350-1000 Business Class Dallas – Doha
- Four Seasons Doha
- Park Hyatt Doha
- Great Coffee In Doha
- Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge DOH
- Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class Doha – Copenhagen
- Aviator Apartment Business Lounge CPH
- Finnair A321 Business Class Copenhagen – Helsinki
- Hotel St. George Helsinki (Marriott Design Hotels)
- Great Coffee In Helsinki
- Finnair “New” A330 Business Class Helsinki – London
- British Airways 787-10 Business Class London – Chicago
- Oneworld Lounge LAX
- JAL 777-300ER First Class Los Angeles – Tokyo
- JAL First Class Lounge Tokyo NRT
- Qatar Airways 777-300 Business Class Tokyo – Doha
- Al Safwa Lounge Doha
- Qatar Airways A330-300 “First” Class Doha – Amman
- How To Obtain A Visa On Arrival In Jordan
- Kempinski Dead Sea
- Visiting Mount Nebo In Jordan
- Visiting Al-Maghtas, The Jesus Baptism Site In Jordan
- Navigating The Touts Of Petra, Jordan
- How Long Should You Stay In Petra, Jordan?
- Mövenpick Petra
- I Got Waterboarded At A Turkish Bath In Jordan
- Roadside Dining In Jordan
- St. Regis Amman
- Why I Prioritize Flying Royal Jordanian Out Of Amman
- Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge AMM
- Royal Jordanian A319 Business Class Amman – Cairo
- Four Seasons Hotel Cairo At Nile Plaza
- The Drunk Woman From Alabama At The Four Seasons Bar In Cairo, Egypt
- Going To Church In The Muslim World: My Experiences In Doha And Cairo
- Genuine Egyptian Hospitality In Alexandria
- Four Seasons Alexandria
- Pearl Lounge Alexandria HBE
- Turkish Airlines 737 MAX 8 Business Class Alexandria – Istanbul
- IGA Lounge Istanbul
- Etihad Airways A350-1000 Business Class Istanbul – Abu Dhabi
- Al Dhabi Lounge AUH
- Gulf Air A320 Business Class Abu Dhabi – Bahrain
- Gulf Air Lounge Bahrain BAH
- Gulf Air 787-9 Business Class Bahrain – London
- United Club LHR
- Avianca 787-8 Business Class London – Bogota
- Great Coffee In Bogota Airport
- Avianca Lounge BOG
- Copa Lounge Bogota BOG
- United Airlines 737-700 Business Class Bogota – Houston
- United Polaris Lounge LAX
- Turkish Airlines 777-300 Business Class Los Angeles – Istanbul
- Lufthansa A320neo Business Class Istanbul – Frankfurt
- Hilton Frankfurt Airport
- Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Frankfurt – Chicago
image: Dead Sea mud, not Blackface…
Great report as always, regardless of the time I found it interesting and relevant. Nitpicking a little, isn’t this an Epilogue?
Ugh. You’re so right.
How are you getting to the Faroes? This is very high on my list. They just launched a NYC flight for the summer. Is this how you’re travelling?
I already went. Took SAS via CPH.
Ideally the caption would go right below the photo, but good you clarified the mud picture regardless!
I’m heading to Jordan next month but will probably opt for the Wadi Rum camps rather than Dead Sea resorts
I went into these recaps believing there wouldn’t be anything relevant to me personally in regards to something I would do, but I read much of it and appreciate everything you put into it. And I learned multiple things of use from the adventures.
Thanks for your dedication to your craft!
I’m currently in the air JNB-DOH over the northern tip of Somalia and I’ll cosign that QR is the best. I’ve been flying them for years, and every flight seems better than the last. Their consistency is just outstanding, though the business light fares are a bit of a drag while on the ground in DOH.
This trip report was fun. Nothing wrong with dragging out something like this, though 62 posts in, I’m amazed that you never managed to set foot on Oman Air.
I loved seeing your reviews again of your flight to Doha on QR and then your subsequent stay at the Four Seasons. I was just in Doha two weeks ago and flew Qatar Airways from Dulles. I was very excited for this trip as I had used AA miles for Q Suites. a few weeks prior the aircraft changed from a 777-200 with Q Suites to a 777-200 without Q Suites – it instead had the old 2-2-2 configuration. Though Qatar Airways has a policy that allows you to make changes to reservations if you book a Q Suite and it’s later changed, since it was booked with AA miles there was nothing that could be done. I was extremely upset. However, it ended up being great. Though I was seated next to a 10 year old (!!!! – huge Philipino family on their way to Manila) he was well behaved and didnt bother me. Service was flawless and the food delicious. So I was okay with it. Just be warned that pretty much every single variant of QR’s long haul fleet has variants without Q Suites, and they do show up from time to time on US routes, and if you’ve booked with AA miles there’s nothing you can do to change it unless AA has availability on other dates – they did not for me, sadly.
I stayed 4 nights on arrival at the Four Seasons Doha and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. Great hotel. Some nits, but overall I had a fine time there and visiting my friends in Doha.
On my return I flew Turkish Airlines business class and overall was underwhelmed. I was on the 787 in business from Istanbul to DC and honestly, it was uncomfortable That shell around the seat really was confining and uncomfortable. Service was so so – extremely slow, and the food was fine but not great. Actually preferred my non q suite QR 777-200 to the supposedly superior 787 on Turkish. just more spacious.
“But I also hate posting “old” reviews. I detest whining comments about how old a trip report is. Part of that is because I want all my writing to be beyond reproach and do not dismiss that such criticism is, at times, fair. In doing this for over a decade, though, I find that flight, hotel, and lounge review have remarkable resiliency. In this series of reports I updated several lounge reviews and most them, frankly, did not need much updating.?”
What a crock of horse shit. This report isn’t a few weeks or even months old. It’s a YEAR! You got called out on your failure to disclose this, and as normal with you, you can’t take criticism and therefore lash out on your commentators.
And your writing is hardly beyond reproach. And Kyle’s writing is embarrassingly bad, rife with errors and poor grammar.
And you are one odd dude. What is your thing about posting half clothed pictures of yourself?
Don’t hate b/c he looks good
I just wish there was a heading or some context to which trip you were on. Right amongst the ukraine posts you’d post about (for eg) a flight from say Istanbul to Frankfurt or wherever and it was hard to know which trip it was referring to. Knowing the context is important (eg you’d been travelling for 20 hours already of whatever).
Ps I’m a big fan of jordan too and think it would be a superb trip with the family.
I don’t think you can post those kinds of pictures anymore… :p