Balkan Trip 3 - Doha, Qatar to Mumbai, India - 26 October 2026

Most of the day was to be spent lolling around in the hotel. Hence, I spent more time in bed than usual before getting ready for breakfast. The reception area was busy and I guessed that this was due to more flight disruptions. The restaurant was not very busy as it was nearing half past ten and most guests would have been done with the breakfast routine by then.

Breakfast buffet was quite inviting with a combination of the Continental and Oriental menu. I opted for mostly continental fare of croissant, scrambled eggs, sausages, turkey mortadella, baked beans, potato wedges, orange juice and coffee. I took my time over the fare with refills of freshly squeezed orange juice.

After the humongous feast I had to take a short walk. The bell desk told me of a mall close by. As I stepped out of the hotel, the initial blast of hot air disoriented me. The Centrepoint Mall was only a five-minute walk down the Jawaan Street, where The Grand Lux Hotel is located. With no particular interest in mind, I visited a couple of stores and spent most of the time in the Home Centre store.

With the heavy breakfast still doing its digestive tour I decided to skip lunch. I requested the reception for an earlier transit to the airport. I was told to reach the reception at a quarter to four. I had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a piece of cake before reporting to the reception.

I was in for a surprise there. I was told that the 4 pm transport was full up and that I would have to wait for the 5 pm one! I did not let that pass so easily. I insisted that arrangements be made as I was clearly told that I would be accommodated in the 4 pm transfers. Finally, the matter was settled in my favour.

I approached the Indigo check-in counter supervisor at the Hamad International Airport and told him about the disrupted flight of the previous day and that my bag from Belgrade had been booked only up to Doha. Politely, he asked me to approach the Qatar Airways customer service counter to confirm that the bag would be routed to the Indigo flight.

The lady at the Qatar Airways customer service counter checked the details of the incoming flight and confirmed that the needful had been done to transfer the bag to the Indigo flight. She told me to request the Indigo staff to complete the formalities online. Back at the Indigo counter Elbin, a staff who hailed from Kerala, took full control and confirmed baggage routing to Mumbai. He gave me the fresh boarding pass too.

I completed immigration and security and went in search of the Qatar Airways Transfer Desk to obtain the delay certificate. That is when I came to know that I have go past security yet again to access the transfer desk. Anyway, I had plenty of time on my hands.

The transfer desk immediately agreed to issue the delay certificate. However, their online system was quite slow, and it did take some time for the certificate to be issued. Once that was done, I went back through security and awaited gate announcement.

Gate announcement is normally done an hour prior to boarding time. The Indigo flight to Mumbai was full. I was surprised to be served a measly sandwich and some mixed nuts instead of a full meal. Indigo inflight service on international flights is poor. They code share with airlines like Qatar and Turkish, that are known for their hospitality and service. To my mind, the partner airlines must lay down a minimum standard of service like entertainment systems, charging point, blankets, pillows, etc. While Air India is pilloried and rubbished, I find their service and hospitality far more welcoming than that in Indigo.

We docked at the Mumbai airport a bit later than the scheduled arrival time of 2.50 am. While immigration and baggage retrieval went smoothly, Customs has an inexplicable process at the Green Channel gate. They scan hand baggage at the exit with just two scanners. This leads to an unnecessary pile up of passengers coming from multiple baggage carrousels. The Customs officials must either do away with the process or convert a couple of the Red Channel gates to Green so that the pile up is reduced.

I had another three hours for the next flight to Bhuj. I spent that reminiscing about the trip. This is one trip where many things went wrong and my health too did not support me fully. Anyway, 78 countries done and dusted with 22 more on the anvil.