Wednesday, June 8

Somewhere in the sky, 11:00
You can calculate when the journey began in several ways. It began thirty minutes after midnight when Udaya’s friend collected me and drove me to the airport. Or at 1:15 when the queue had moved forward enough for me to check in. Or 3:25 when I sat in 15D and felt the plane take off.
We land in Doha at 5:55, after a journey of 4 hours 35 minutes. I have three hours to wander the airport. I drink a big smoothie.
We depart at 8:55. I paid for a premium seat – 14H – which has nothing premium about it, unless all aisle seats count as premium. I do however have the good fortune to have an empty seat next to me.
Brunch arrives at some suitable time. I choose herb frittata with grilled chicken sausage, sautéed potatoes and tomato wedge. I wish I could have had two banana and chocolate mousses though. I notice that Qatar still use adult cutlery and don’t charge for wine.