I’ve been to 50 countries — there’s only one I’ll never return to

Growing up an lone child, my favourite artifact was a cerulean globe that spoke to maine astir our immense and wondrous world.

With the interaction of a button, my prized possession sprang to beingness and demanded I find far-flung cities with an interactive pen, my stubby seven-year-old fingers feverishly flitting crossed the Earth to stab Antananarivo (Madagascar’s capital) and Mongolia’s Ulaanbataar earlier the timer ran out.

It outgo my parents the present-day equivalent of £30, but that globe sparked a passionateness for travel that would enrich my beingness successful ways wealth cannot buy. Before I could spell galore of their names, I vowed that I would sojourn each state successful the world.

I haven’t won the lottery successful the intervening years. And so, allowing for fund constraints and having conscionable turned 31, my tally sits astatine 50 of the 195 presently recognised countries. My addiction to exploration has taken maine to bonzer places, from the turquoise-domed mosques of Uzbekistan to Australia’s reddish centre. Along this journey, there’s lone 1 state I person nary tendency to instrumentality to: Qatar.

Why I’ll ne'er spell backmost to Qatar

Silence was the archetypal hint that Doha was not my benignant of city. Or rather, the peculiar benignant of soundlessness that hangs successful the aerial of an bare street. Running down the wide boulevards of the Gulf state’s superior are lines of luxury cars, customized Rolls Royces and cherry reddish Maseratis gleaming nether the Arabian sun. But beside them the pavements are empty, due to the fact that cipher walks connected the streets of Qatar.

Except for us, that is, my 6’5 Devon-born fellow and I, who attracted incredulous glances done tinted car windows arsenic we ambled on successful +30°C aboriginal summertime temperatures. Walking successful Doha happens lone successful buying malls and hotels, wherever I asked a waiter if anyone ever heads retired for a stroll. ‘If you tin drive, wherefore walk?’ helium replied.

I couldn’t assistance feeling that this driving-centric civilization makes an aesthetically awesome metropolis look acold and clinical, a godforsaken oversea of skyscrapers with small beingness astir them. The lone radical connected the streets are operation workers, their heads covered with cloth to fend disconnected the sun.

Just arsenic deserted arsenic Doha’s pavements is its port, wherever rows of agelong tourer boats commissioned for the 2022 World Cup interval idle. Qatar’s hosting of the tourney was controversial, with critics pointing to the country’s alleged quality and LGBTQ+ rights. A lone circuit usher asked if helium could instrumentality america crossed the water, gesturing to an bare vessel large capable to acceptable astatine slightest 3 twelve people.

The country was likewise dystopian successful the Souk Waqif, a accepted market ranked arsenic 1 of Doha’s apical attractions that I couldn’t hold to store in. It’s said to day backmost to the 19th century, but its sandstone alleyways person been modernised truthful much, they consciousness similar a sterile benignant of Disneyland. Compared to the vibrant bazaars of Jerusalem and Marrakech, it’s conscionable a small soulless.

Qatar’s ‘second city’

Underwhelmed by Doha, we took a taxi 20km northbound to Lusail, Qatar’s second-largest municipality built connected reclaimed onshore that curls on the Persian Gulf.

The cities are truthful adjacent it’s astir intolerable to archer wherever 1 ends and the different begins, that is until you scope Katara Towers, an imposing gathering successful the signifier of crossed scimitars (Qatari swords) — the country’s nationalist crest.

The 300,000 quadrate metre structure, which took 5 years to build, is location to a brace of luxury hotels, the Fairmont and the Raffles. The opulence is astonishing, with squares of 18-karat golden flushed into the walls and the world’s biggest chandelier – towering 56 metres precocious – glimmering supra you.

If you’re looking to beryllium dazzled, this is the place. But we returned to our overmuch little lavish accommodation wondering what beingness is similar successful Qatar down the glamour.

An accidental visit

We recovered ourselves successful Qatar by accident, aft a missed transportation near america stranded determination for 24 hours. I emotion the Middle East much than immoderate different portion connected Earth, truthful I was excited, anxious to acquisition a caller state without a plan. And there’s nary question that immoderate of what we saw was truly magnificent.

Doha’s crown jewel has to beryllium its Museum of Islamic Art, a spectacular achromatic operation that houses an bonzer postulation of gems and artefacts from crossed the Islamic world.

Opened successful 2008, the gathering itself is an architectural marvel, designed by the precocious Chinese designer I.M. Pei who came retired of status for the task. Many hours could beryllium spent astatine the museum, but extracurricular its 4 walls, Doha near maine cold.

Maybe I needed much clip than we had, capable to articulation a dune buggy circuit successful the desert, oregon dine with a Qatari household to spot done the eyes of a local. Metro contacted Visit Qatar for remark astir what we whitethorn person missed, but they did not respond.

The countries I’ll ever spell backmost to

The satellite is big, and I’m inactive connected a ngo to spot it all. But immoderate countries person truthful overmuch to offer, 1 sojourn would ne'er beryllium enough.

Italy, from the mountains and lakes of the northbound to the islands and past past of the south, is deserving of much trips than I tin afford.

Australia, Canada and New Zealand boast landscapes that could beryllium explored for decades. Uzbekistan and the Philippines are location to immoderate of the kindest radical I’ve ever met.

Every country, of course, has unsocial stories and traditions. Qatar is nary different, and I’m definite galore others would emotion it. But erstwhile you person the (perhaps unlikely) ambition to sojourn each 195 the satellite has to offer, you person to gully the enactment astatine immoderate point. Next up for me? Lithuania, which my cerulean globe tells maine has a superior called Vilnius to explore.

Travelling 50 countries has taught maine an invaluable lesson: determination are fantastic radical everyplace you go.

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