Like many expats and Qataris, we have escaped Doha for a few weeks during Ramadan, then back in time for Eid.

We booked Qatar Airways Al Maha priority service to help speed the departure process following the news reports of Doha airport being crowded. It was almost empty so we sailed through security and passport control. The personal service of two Al Maha reps in helping us through check-in turned out to be an expensive mistake.

I used my e-gate to pass seamlessly through the departure bureaucracy, however J had to do the normal passport process as her finger prints did not scan correctly.

We took advantage of my silver Privilege Club status to use the Qatar Airways Silver Lounge to get away from the crowds which arrived later and get a free breakfast.

Our flight took us back to the UK and five days later onto the USA where we are now in San Francisco.

It was the first time I’d been ‘home’ for 11 months and it will probably be another year before I need to return to the UK. Apart from seeing family and friends, there was really not too much that I missed from living in Qatar.

This evening it’s off to Las Vegas, then at the end of the week to New York for a few more days before heading back to Doha.