RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 137 – Doha (DOH) to London Heathrow (LHR)

By Nige on June 3, 2026 at 2:23 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: DOH | Doha | LHR | London Heathrow | Qatar Airways | QR

Having offboarded at Gate A8, I very quickly worked out where I was and I was sprinting off, heading to Starbucks close to Gate B6.

My sense of direction held me in good stead and within a few minutes  I was ordering my favourite drink at a very unusual hour: 1am.

From there I headed over to the train to take me to the north end of the terminal where the fancy Garden Lounge was situated.

I got my own back on the lounge by hiding my Starbucks in my rucksack. That allowed me into the lounge with a forbidden drink.

I found a nice seat, hidden away and settled down, enjoying my secret coffee in a beautifully tranquil place.

During the 6 hours I was there, I responded to some work emails, analysed some legal documents and continued refining my discussion paper for Friday’s meeting with the Appellant’s solicitor (in support of a planning appeal).

An hour or so after arriving, the lounge had emptied. It seemed that I had the entire lounge to myself.

I took the opportunity of wandering around the north end of the terminal; around the garden area which was just stunning as ever.

It’s this sort of activity, that even at 3am, makes me feel so alive!

After an enjoyable walk, I headed back to my hidey-hole to continue with some work.

When I reappeared to head out for my second Starbucks at 6am, the lounge was packed. I wondered where everyone had come from!

When I got back, I enjoyed a la carte breakfast in the form of eggs benediction and pancakes. Yum!

My flight back home left from Gate A7. Although my flight was timed to depart at 8:50am, I was getting conflicting info from flightaware.com, which suggested the departure was 8:10am.

I headed down to the gate early, and I went through the boarding pass check at the gate and settled down in the holding pen.

I caught up with the Vickster who had just gotten up to feed the pussies. Sleeping? Its ok for some. I’ve been working all night!

Boarding began about 30 mins before departure and I had seat 08K on this flight. That was in the second business class cabin.

Another warm welcome was offered by the cabin crew. It’s always a delight.

For the first 3 hours or so, I struggled with the WIFI. It connected fine but I couldn’t get access to any web site other than to Qatar-related web sites. It was like it was a messaging-only service.

Taxiing took longer than normal. It almost felt like we had pulled over to try and fix a tech issue before hitting the runway.

I didn’t bother with watching anything. I was keen to get some emails sent and the WIFI was starting to frustrate me.

The cabin crew tried to help, but I don’t know whether they actually did anything or not, but it was sorted later on in the flight.

Breakfast was served slowly. I started off with a basket of breads, then some yoghurt and fruit, followed by an omelette. All very nice, washed down with some English breakfast tea.

After I had filled my tummy, and with a lack of any meaningful internet access, I set myself up for some sleep.

It was noticeable how less comfy it was without the mattress which was prepared for me on the outward flight.

By the time I awoke after 3 hours of sleep, I was pleased to find the WIFI was working properly.

I managed to finish off my discussion paper and I sent that to the appellant.

The rest of the flight passed by uneventful, albeit there was some confusion over the expected landing time due to the earlier issue with unclear departure times.

Final approach was a little bumpy through a significant amount of low-lying cloud but landing was fine.

The taxi to T4 didn’t take too long and we arrived into Gate 405 about 15 mins after landing. We had to cross over the southern runway, so that took a bit of time.

I managed to get myself out of my seat quickly and I was in front of door 02L first. I enquired about which door they would be deboarding from and I was pleased to hear that it was door 02L!

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Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026