A Weird Journey Through the Cold and Hot -Trip Planning
Doha Skyline from Doubletree at Hilton Doha
Two countries with contrasting weather at this time of the year, the most literal definition of blowing “hot and cold”. Read on……
GLO Hotel Art
The pre-Qatar travel experience: what were the requirements? (dated Oct 2022)
Lounge Hopping at Helsinki Airport - Finnair Business Class (Platinum Wing) Lounge vs Plaza Premium Lounge
HEL-DOH Qatar Airways Business Class B787-8 and Doha Airport Passport Control Experience
Doubletree Hilton Doha
Doha Day Trip
Doha Airport Qatar Airways First-Class Check-In Experience and Al-Safwa First Class Lounge
DOH-BKK Qatar Airways First Class A380
After a three-month wait, the moment had come to complete the last part of my round trip Finnair Premium Economy flight that I had booked back in June. The thought of returning to Helsinki filled me with joy! As Northern Europe slowly transitions into autumn, the weather was expected to be below 10 degrees, which was perfect for me.
For the return journey, I decided to make it a bit more than just special (well, that's an understatement 😆) by planning an overnight stay and a half-day tour in Doha. Surprisingly, even though I've transited through Doha several times, I've never had the chance to explore the city itself, so this trip was genuinely exciting for me! Apparantly Doha is still experiencing scorching hot weather, even though it was already autumn 😂. Details below!
A Weird Journey Through the Cold and Hot - Route Map
Flights
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As mentioned, this was a inbound trip back to Helsinki, following my previous flight in June with the missus. I was quite eager to experience the new Finnair Business Class product, so I decided to request a Premium Upgrade for 20,000 Finnair Points (which was a great hack, by the way!). Alas, it was not to be as my waitlist did not went through. However, I made use of the Finnair Points I had purchased to upgrade to a first-row seat instead, as it cost about the same as purchasing it outright. I must say, it turned out to be a pretty worthwhile decision!
Future Note: Unfortunately I will not be able to make use of that nice hack in the future, as it has increased to 35,000 points dated June 2023.
Finnair Points upgrade requirements (note the Premium Economy to Business portion) - increased unfortunately
Finnair New Premium Economy - First Row Seat (SIN-HEL)
For the return trip, I had contemplated with a few options: a Star Alliance (Turkish Airlines) flight with Lifemiles (which I will have to burn), or a OneWorld (Qatar Airways) flight. Eventually, I chose the latter since Helsinki is definitely a OneWorld hub, offering me access to three different lounges: the Finnair Schengen and Non-Schengen lounges, and the Plaza Premium Lounge (which is Qatar Airways' contract lounge). Due to time constraints, I decided to review only the Finnair Non-Schengen and Plaza Premium Lounge.
Qatar Airways B787 Business Class (HEL-DOH)
Besides, using 30,000 Asia Miles for a 7-hour flight seemed like an excellent deal and, in my opinion, one of the best ways to utilize Asia Miles. Especially in the light of a recent Asia Miles devaluation.
Admittedly, this trip was planned with the DOH-BKK leg in mind, the allure of trying out my second First Class product was simply irresistible, especially considering that the subsequent flight timings seems to align perfectly! I would also get to experience the full First Class experience too, as I've arranged to leave the airport and have an overnight stay in Doha. This gave me the chance to check-in at arguably the world's most exclusive First-Class Area, and savouring my time in the Al-Safwa First Class Lounge for a full 5 hours!
However, it's important to note that at that point of time, Qatar required a negative PCR test (48 hours before entry) or a negative ART test (24 hours before arrival). After some consideration, I concluded that paying the price (80 EUR😮) for the Helsinki ART test and documenting the experience in a review would be well worth it.
It's unfortunate that Singaporeans don't have the option to transfer miles to AAdvantage, as this would have been one of the best ways to redeem Qatar Airways First Class flights (at 50,000 AAdvantage Miles!).
Qatar Airways First Class Cabin (DOH-BKK)
Hotels
GLO Hotels seem to have a significant footprint in Finland, and I had a really positive experience with GLO Hotel Kluuvi during my previous stay in Helsinki three months ago. Now, after carefully comparing the available options (including Hilton), I decided to book GLO Hotel ART for the following reasons:
I will reach Helsinki in the early morning hours, and I thought that using my newly-minted GHA Titanium status will help me to check-in earlier (one of the benefits for Titanium members is possible early check in at 10am).
The hotel's location near the City Centre, specifically in the Kamppi area, is ideal for me as I plan to purchase more snacks and souvenirs to bring back for the missus. Additionally, its proximity to the ART Testing Centre is a practical consideration.
I have to use my expiring Discovery Dollars! In which I am glad to say that the redemption process was very straightforward and hassle-free for this hotel.
GLO Hotel ART
For my overnight stay in Doha, it was a toss-up between GHA Discovery (Tivoli Souq Waqif) or Hilton (Doubletree Hilton Doha) hotels. Despite a temptation to try out a new hotel brand, I ultimately opted on the tried-and-tested one. However, I must say that this stay felt anything other than a usual Doubletree Hotel (in a positive way) . More on this will be covered in a future post!
Doubletree Hilton Doha (King Panoramic Studio with Sea View)
Lounges
Helsinki Airport serves as Finnair's hub, providing OneWorld Business Class passengers with access to a host of OneWorld lounges. Among them, Finnair offers two lounges (Schengen and Non-Schengen), and there's also a contract lounge, the Plaza Premium Lounge, for Qatar Airways Business Class passengers and Priority Pass holders. As mentioned, I had decided to visit only the Finnair Non-Schengen Business Lounge and the Plaza Premium Lounge to make the most of my lounge-hopping experience.
Having 5 hours to fully immerse in the Qatar Airways First Class experience, this was the definite highlight of the lounge hopping experience this time round. I am still relishing the memories as I write this trip planning article. No further words are needed to express the sheer delight of the experience!
Travel Insurance
I continued to use my annual Travel Insurance Prestige Plan during April 2022 from Singlife for S$309.
Transportation
Transportation-wise, as per my previous trip, I used the very convenient HSL app, where you can buy single trip and day tickets. As I been to most of the destinations that I wanted to go, I decided against buying the Helsinki Card. But for first-timers, I would definitely recommend you get that!
ART Test at Pihlajalinna Munkkivuori
As a Finnair customer, I got a discounted price of 80 EUR to book an ART test through them. After comparing between different options, this was the cheapest alternative. The process is relatively straightforward, you could directly book the appointment time with Finnair Customer Service and I just needed to show my flight receipt when present.
Finnair’s offer for ART test (from Finnair website)
Discover Qatar Tour
With my First Class flight scheduled for 8 pm the next day, I made the decision to embark on a short half-day trip the following morning. I found that Discover Qatar provided the most affordable choice (134 QAR or S$53.88), and what's even better, it included convenient pick-up and drop-off services at my hotel! As it turned out, this decision proved to be a fantastic choice, as I would later discover.
Discover Qatar Half-Day Trip
Miscallaneous
In terms of cellular coverage, I continued to use Airalo, which I found it very convenient to use during my overseas trip, and very affordable. I took a 1GB local data plan with 7 days validity, which cost only US$9, and was more than enough for me. The only negative is that SMS is not covered, but it does the job for me.
If you are interested in trying it out, sign up using my referral code G1063 to get USD 3 off your first purchase.
Conclusion
Ticking off another country off my bucket list, coupled with the chance to experience my second First Class product, made it for another memorable trip for 2022. Will subsequently upload the relevant reviews for this trip!
