We arrived at Hamad airport on schedule. I noted that the plane made a diversion in the gulf to avoid flying over the UAE. Maybe it had something to do with the diplomatic tension between Qatar and its neighbours. I don't know if the huge statue was a sad koala or what. The airport was huge and this early in the day there were few travellers. It would get busy later. Qatar Airways has quite a large spoke network radiating from its hub so there were many people in transit.
This is another one of the statues. They are used as reference points in maps of the airport.
A few of the terminals are far enough away that besides conveyor belts, shuttle trains are provided.
Formalities at Barcelona airport were perfunctory. I got myself a Vodafone SIM from a shop, but couldn't find an ATM that didn't charge a bank fee so I decided to wait until I reached downtown, as I had some euro cash.
Accommodation is expensive in Barcelona so I had decided to overnight at the Generator Hostel and put up with the lack of privacy for one night since I would be taking the train to Alicante the next day.
It was already past my normal bedtime back in Sydney but I had not eaten since the brunch on the plane. I settled for a decent pizza at a corner joint. One of my roommates was a Chinese woman living in France who had come to attend a Buddhist convention. She complimented me on my easy smile. I crashed out in bed mid-evening due to the jet lag.
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