"I worked my way up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty."- Groucho Marx
Time: July 19, 2016
Place: Starting in Ethiopia and flying to Qatar in the Persian Gulf
I awoke this morning to the smell of sewer gas in my 12 dollar a night guest house. It was nothing new. The water didn't work either. Bathing, flushing the toilet and washing some clothes in the room would all be done with buckets of cold water, water that I would have to go fetch from the cistern myself. I had a companion last night as well , I think.
A lizard, or more likely a mouse. I was too tired to investigate.
17 hours later, everything changed.
I found myself on board one of the most state of the art airlines, Qatar airways "Dream Liner". Somehow Karma struck quickly from this morning and I was asked to approach the flight desk where I was given a free upgrade to business class. I had gone from rank poverty to pure luxury in a single day, but always in the same dirty old construction boots and torn jeans. If I had a towel the size of a circus tent I couldn't have wiped the grin off of my face.
Business class on Qatar Airways has you blushing with embarrassment from the outstanding service. Champagne pre take off is served. Each passenger is given their own cubical with remote control chair which even reclines perfectly flat for sleeping. A dinner menu and all the drinks you can swallow accompanies a monitor with scores of movies to watch, internet and other bells and whistles to enjoy.
Stepping off the plane at Doha into the 110 degree heat is something that you can just never prepare enough for. From the cool 60 degree temperatures in the Addis mountain morning to now a scorching 110 was like walking into a blast furnace.
The second day I walked the 4 mile length of the Corniche. For an hour an a half the sun pummelled me in the 115 degree heat where there were no shadows or buildings to hide within. It drains you to walk under such condition. Yes, its nothing less than dangerous.
So I did what any other red blooded American would do. I spent the day in an air conditioned shopping mall and the attached cinema. It was bliss. Indeed, I spent the better part of 4 days rocking back and forth between the punishing heat and etherial air conditioning.
..........................................................................................................................................
This now concludes this trip and this blog. I hope it has given any followers deeper insights into Ethiopia, Somaliland and Qatar.
The world is a far safer place than many give it credit for as you hopefully seen by my venturing into northern Somalia. Media in the United States, inherently pro-American, paint a skewed picture of the world we live in. The world is filled with loving, kind people and arabs and muslims are no exception.
Remember, your mother had it all wrong. ALWAYS get into a strange vehicle with people you don't know. Because you just never know how far down the rabbit hole they will take you!
The End
Photos and Blog by Garrett Fulton
A view of the cubicles each person gets in business class on Qatar Airways.
My cubicle. Movies, laptop and Brut Champagne. I was so tired I fell asleep with a glass of Port wine in my hand.
Airplane engines??? Nooo...just me snoring...
The beautiful Qatar flag, like a saw blade, flutters on a Dow in the harbor of Doha.
I was blistering hot by 1 hour into my walk and snapped a quick shot of the north harbor skyline.
Arabic is a gorgeous language to see but horrible to listen to.
The Falcon Souk. Qataris take their falconeering seriously. This is a shop where they can see the birds and watch them perform.
