From Los Angeles to Seattle to Doha, Qatar

A few weeks ago I took my first trip to the Middle East. It was an amazing experience in more ways than one. The most recent post is on Peter Greenberg's site, reprinted here:

Qatar Chronicles: From the Boeing Factory to the Sky

Recently, I flew from Los Angeles to Seattle to Doha, in Qatar.
Certainly not the most direct route, but it was the most impressive because I got to explore the process, and then the product—something few passengers ever do.
It started with an inside, private tour of the Boeing Plant in Everett, Washington.

Maybe this is a guy thing, but I got a major kick out of the Boeing plant with its row after row of 747s, 777s, and even the yet-to-debut 787s (the revolutionary Dreamliner). I can’t tell you how cool it was to see all these planes being assembled. The scale of the engineering was impressive as was the precision of the manufacturing process.
Luckily Boeing allowed us to take some photographs (usually a big no-no).
Walking through mock-ups of their new 787 and the redesigned 747-8, they talked us through a design process that focused on controlling details to make flying more pleasurable: full-spectrum LED cabin lighting instead of white lights that are either on or off; a higher ceiling on the entryway of the 787; and even something simple like the overhead bin latches which are being redesigned to work by pulling or pushing, the choice is the passenger’s.
If Boeing does its job right, they told us, once passengers enter the cabin, they will leave behind the difficulties of the day and re-experience the magic of flying. OK, so much for fluffy brochure language.
But first, Boeing has to deliver at least one operational 787—and they have been delayed more than two years already. Coupled with a tough economy in which a number of airlines may be cancelling orders for the new plane, that’s not a lot of magic.
But the real magic is that Boeing did deliver a new 777 on time, and both the plane and I were ready to go. I was onboard on the delivery flight of a Boeing 777-200LR, flying from Boeing Field outside Seattle to Doha International Airport, and its new owner, Qatar Airways.
With Doha as its hub and routes already well established in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and, of course, the Middle East, the Boeing 777-200LR gives Qatar Airways a reach of 8,000 nautical miles, putting them in striking distance of just about any destination in the world.
Several years ago Qatar Airways pushed into the American market with non-stop service to New York and Washington, D.C. Starting March 30, 2009, the airline will begin flights between Houston and Doha. With service to Houston, they hope to strengthen their relationship with American energy businesses.
For the next year, Boeing is scheduled to deliver one airplane a month to Doha as the airline upgrades its fleet. While other airlines are cutting back, Qatar Airways says it sees an opportunity to expand routes and strengthen its business class service. To maximize profits, Qatar Airways eliminated first class on the Houston-Doha route, so they could increase the number of business class seats.
The coach compartment on Qatar Airways’ 200LR feels roomy. The 50-inch height of the seat back allows most passengers to look above the seat in front of them, adding to their sense of space. A 3-3-3 seat configuration, instead of the more typical 3-4-3, adds extra room. The airline ordered their coach seats with a 34-inch pitch (the industry average is 32 inches), with the result that there is both the feeling and the reality of more space, making the seats that much more comfortable.
In business class, Qatar Airways asked Boeing to outfit their 777-200LRs with upgraded features: seats with a 78-inch pitch in the upright position; in the fully reclined position, each seat goes completely flat to create a full-sized bed; 17-inch flat-screen televisions for each passenger with interactive controls that include an innovative USB mouse; bathrooms that are twice the normal width with motion activated sinks.
When you push the “make this seat into a bed”-button on the 200LR, the back slowly reclines, a foot rest extends, you stretch out, curl up with your very plush Qatar Airways blanket, and enjoy just enough engine noise to help you sleep. Oh, and you’re wearing your Qatar Airways pajamas and socks.
Personally, I still think flying is magical. Which doesn’t mean I don’t feel hassled whenever I fly. I do. Often times, I question whether I really needed to take the trip after all.
But then I hear the whine of the engines that says the pilot has gotten the go-ahead. As the plane speeds down the runway, it’s like something out of a dream when the wheels hang noiselessly in the air as the plane’s lift levitates it above the runway.
My rational brain still questions how it is that an object weighing many tons can slice through the air and float high above the ground. But emotionally I don’t care. At that moment I glory in the magic of flight.
And then, we landed in Doha, the third in my triple play of firsts: the Boeing factory, a delivery flight, and … Qatar.
Next up: the Qatar Premium Terminal, and the Museum of Islamic Art and Al Jazeera studios. We are also scheduled to visit the restored Souk Waqif and take a desert safari. The questionnaire for the safari company wanted to know just how “rough” we liked our dune bugging.
Oh boy …

Briefly in Seattle: Pike's Place Market, the Space Needle Restaurant, Boeing's Museum of Flight, Crumpets, Lobster Tail, and the Black Bottle

With one day in Seattle, I could only visit a few places. Luckily the hotel was close to Pike's Place Market, so a quick trip before the day began was easy to do. Mornings are a good time to walk through the Market before the crowds arrive, because it's easy to stop and take your time looking at what's for sale, which is a lot of the freshest most beautiful fish, shellfish, and salmon you're likely to see anywhere.

I love shellfish. When I lived in Seattle for the Twin Peaks and Citizen Baines' shoots, I was very happy. I'd fill up on fresh Kumomoto oysters, Dungeness crabs, and Penn Cove mussels. The oysters are delicious raw or in stews. The crabs are sold cooked or live. The mussels are easily steamed and eaten with a butter-garlic broth. While the vegetables in the Market come from many sources including California, the fish is local, coming no farther away than Alaska.

There are also fresh and dried flower stalls, bakeries, cheese shops, and a wonderful selection of small restaurants and coffee shops. A favorite place to stop is The Crumpet Shop (1503 1st Avenue between Pike & Pine, 206/682-1598) where the crumpets are freshly made and available with sweet (butter, honey, or preserves) or savory (tomatoes, pesto, cheese...) toppings. Come before 8:30am and the lattes are $1.50.

I walked over to the Market twice yesterday. Once by myself just as the stalls were opening. For breakfast I had a freshly steamed pork bao from Mee Sum Pastry (1526 Pike Place, 206/682-6780). The second time I brought part of our press junket group. Since Holly and Updesh are Brits and Parmesh is Indian, I wanted their expert opinion about the Crumpet Shop. I know I like them because of their top crust and chewy sweetness, but are they authentic? After several rounds of crumpets with butter, honey and butter, preserves, and cheddar cheese with sliced tomatoes, they agreed that they were authentic and delicious. We made a pact to come back today at 7:00am before we had to leave for Boeing Field to pick up our new 777-200LR.

We stopped for lunch at the Space Needle Restaurant, which is always fun. Although the view is picturesque, for anyone with motion-issues, slowly rotating as the city passes below can be challenging. We had a very nice lunch as our group got to know one another. With people coming from around the world (Alberquerque, New York, Mombai, Dubai, Doha, Los Angeles, and Seattle) we had a lot to talk about.

After lunch we visited Boeing's Museum of Flight (9404 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA 98108, 206/764-5700). Since we were about to tour the Boeing factory in Everett, it was great to get a brush up on aviation history. I still find it amazing that there are just 50 years between the Wright Brother's tentative efforts to achieve flight and the development of the Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird.

One of our group, Betsy, used to live in Seattle and she suggested dinner at the Black Bottle (2600 1st Avenue at Vine, 206/441-1500) where we had wine and cocktails and shared a dozen gastro-pub dishes, including crispy butterflied seven spice shrimp, deep fried and battered Spanish fried olive, fried tofu with a sate sauce, sweet and tender cumin pork tenderloin with a frisee salad, fried sardines with spicy Indian slaw, braised and grilled artichoke hearts, coconut gelato with plantain fries, and a luridly rich, hot dark chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla gelato hidden inside.

Given 24 hours in Seattle, this was a pretty great day.

Today we tour the Boeing plant and pick up Qatar Airways' second Boeing 777-200LR. Our plane will join its sister already in service. When Qatar begins its daily, nonstop service between Doha and Houston on March 30th, the 777-200LRs will make the trip in under 17 hours. Today's trip will be a bit shorter because we will fly a more northerly route.

For me this flight has several firsts: I've never flown longer than 8 hours, never been to the Middle East, and certainly have never ridden on a plane's maiden flight.

More to tell in the following posts. Tomorrow from Doha, Qatar.

Travel Expands the Mind

Up until last year I didn't travel very much. The trips I took were to favorite places: LA to Sundance/Park City to be with my wife or LA to NY/NJ to see friends and family. I enjoyed these trips and looked forward to them. Getting away from LA made me hungry for adventures in other cities.

Last year I began to write for Peter Greenberg's terrific travel site. Peter and his editor-in-chief, Sarika Chawla, have been nice enough to send me on trips far and wide to write pieces as varied as a story about being a judge at a rib cookout in Sparks, Nevada and another about the wonderfully luxurious Sofitel Hotels in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Paris.

I am grateful for the opportunity to get outside of my regular routine. I discovered how much travel is good for the soul.

Which brings me to today. When I was going to travel to London and Paris I asked for suggestions. I wanted to know about favorite places, restaurants, locales that were meaningful to you. Over the next four weeks I am luckily going to take a series of trips for Peter and I'd love suggestions. Some are close at hand, others are very far a field. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Seattle, Washington. Doha, Qatar. Houston, Texas. Sonoma/Glenn Ellen, California. How often in a life-time does any one have the opportunity to visit such disparate places?

Years ago I worked on two TV shows (David Lynch's Twin Peaks 2 hour pilot and the pilot for a John Wells show, Citizen Baines) that were filmed in Seattle and the surrounding areas. I enjoyed the experiences very much. For this trip, I'm looking forward to revisiting some of my favorite places: Pike's Place Market and Torrefazione Italia, a coffee shop that makes the best cappucinio I have ever had.

I'm looking forward to these trips and I would benefit from your suggestions.