The world wanted videos. TPOL delivered. Here’s the recap from the week. Play with audio and in 4k for the full effect. Read the accompanying blog post because reading is fundamental.
Border Crossing on Foot: Spain to Gibraltar
AA Business SJU-MIA: Flick the White Button! & AA MIA-Roatan: Business or First?
A long-time reader and TPOL’s biggest fan, Gene, wrote:
Day 1 was in the books (see Qatar World Cup Day 1: USA vs. Netherlands). Day 2 started promptly at 4:30PM. Healthy and rested, I was ready to take on the World Cup.
To watch the France game, we went to Al Jazeera, an Iranian restaurant right around the corner from our hotel, the Hampton by Hilton (see Hampton Doha Old Town: Perfect for the World Cup). The advantage of staying in the quiet old town versus the city center is the reasonable food prices, and more importantly, the more authentic Middle Eastern cuisine.
Look at this delicious kebab, grilled tomatoes and onions, and biryani.
TPOL’s Tip: Al Jazeera is located at Al Muthaf Street (Old Salata) Doha 1
Metro? This Way!
Having learned our lesson from being late to the US game the day before, we left early to see England take on Senegal. This time, we used the impeccable and beautiful metro starting at the National Museum (see Qatar 2022: Tremendous World Cup Logistics). Transport was free throughout the World Cup.
Was this a metro or business class suite?
From there, we took the bus to Al Bayt Stadium, which literally means ‘the house stadium’. It was on that bus that I learned from a fervent American fan that I was spending far too much on tickets (see The Guide to Buying Tickets for the World Cup And Other Big Events). He had found a single ticket to this match on the FIFA site while I had paid for two. I assumed the tickets were sold out and didn’t check the site. When I did check it for the Japan game, it kept giving me errors each time I tried to check out.
TPOL’s Tip: Always check the official site for tickets that may be available. Block tickets that were sold for teams that did not qualify are put back on the market.
TPOL’S Tip: Tickets showing available and actually available are two different things. Despite learning this ‘trick’, I was unable to purchase any tickets through this platform.
Arriving early, I was able to watch the teams take the field and hear Let’s Get Down to Business, the hype song before the opening kick. Like the US game, the team I supported, Senegal, was thrashed rather quickly by the England side. This did not deter the Senegalese fans from continuing to dance and play music. I had to wonder after watching so many games who was financing these fanatics.
TPOL’s Tip: Buy your own Urban Turban here.
I stayed until the last whistle as I did not want to miss what would have been a great comeback. Alas, it was not meant to be. While this game had more energy than the US match, it still was not the hype that I was hoping for. Exiting the stadium, I did encounter Senegalese fans who were dancing and having a good time despite the loss. Finally, people were having organic fun. 
Leaving Al Bayt, I followed the instructions of the numerous workers for the bus to Souq Waqif.
Souq Waqif
Souq Waqif is the Disney version of Marrakech’s Medina (see Medina, Marrakech: The Definitive Guide To Lamb Brain, Tongue, Eyeballs & More Food). Unlike the Marrakech medina, which was constructed in the 11th century and features extensive labyrinths (see Medina, Marrakech: Lost in the Labyrinth), Souq Waqif was renovated in 2006. Despite the late hour, the place was crawling with people. I went to my favorite after-hours restaurant in Dubai, Zaatar w Zeit, for kofta and shawarma. Although it was nice to sit outside and watch the people go by, the quality of the food did not match my recollection. Then again, I usually went to what I call the Middle Eastern equivalent of Taco Bell after post-partying, something I had yet to do in Doha.
Day 2 Recap
A small buzz here and there, and then long lulls were how I describe day 1. Day 2 was much better than day 1, but I was still waiting for the World Cup fever to take hold.
Yesterday, I wrote about how TPOL is utilizing YouTube more for shorts (see TPOL on YouTube: It’s Cinema Quality & follow TPOL here). In need of a suitable place to promote my sports brand, IQKhameleon, I am revisiting the dark side (see The End of Days: TPOL Joins TikTok, written in 2022) by starting a new TikTok channel IQKhameleon. The original channel was abandoned years ago with a total of 11 followers (No TikTok for TPOL, How About LinkedIn?). Hopefully, this one will perform a little better.
Here’s the sales pitch:
Before COVID, I had a Peloton. Once COVID struck, I sold the stationary bike and decided to work out outside.
What followed is a healthier, happier, and most importantly, a mobile way of staying fit at home or literally anywhere on the road (or atoll).
Here’s the Tik and the Tok:
@iqkhameleon Welcome to IQKhameleon on TikTok. Any guesses where this is? nomadicathlete travel fitness @inertiawave
I wouldn’t be upset if the platform is banned. But, it’s what the kids like.
Years ago, I wrote, TPOL’s Way Out of Poverty Is Not Vlogging. Then last year I started a YouTube channel called MasterOfWon. Unfortunately, putting together full episodes has been as efficient as catching up on my Trip Reports (see the still-incomplete Qatar World Cup 2022). To get content out faster and to supplement previous blog posts that did not have video, I started producing shorts on my original YouTube channel, ThePointsOfLife.
And let me tell you something, it has been really fun. In addition to my monthly Simply The Best post, which recap all that was exceptionally written on the blog, I am going to add a Simply The Best weekly recap of my most fantastic YouTube shorts.
The preview is below. I suggest playing it with the audio on to hear how DJ TPOL mixes video with audio. And be sure to set the quality to 4k.
In 2016, I wrote: Naughty Or Nice: Hyatt Knows About Your Complaints. The post reveals that Hyatt Gold Passport, now World of Hyatt, keeps tabs on all complaints lodged to Hyatt corporate. A chronic complainer (see Have You Ever Not Complained?), I figured hotels would know I was coming and do their very best to make sure that TPOL has no opportunity to say anything negative. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Service has yet to rebound post Covid.
A good example of this lack of attention to detail comes from my stay at the Grand Hyatt Athens (see It’s Time to Drop the ‘Grand’). After an arduous journey from Lisbon,(see Athens Airport Transport: Valiant Effort to Save Money), all I wanted when I arrived was a nice shower. Imagine my surprise when I stepped into the shower to find that the soap dispenser was empty. Since I was upgraded to a suite, there were reserves on the vanity, sparing me the headache of calling the front desk at three in the morning. The more pressing concern I had after stepping back into the shower was whether the bathroom had been cleaned at all. Is that a stray hair I’m seeing on the tile or am I being paranoid?
The next day I kindly informed the front desk of my concern. The employee apologized for the issue and said that a manager would get back to me. Of course, no one did during my stay.
Many would say that I am looking for something to complain about. I respond with two points: 1) For $300 a night to stay at a hotel plus a scam fee (see What a Scam! Greek Climate Resilience Tax), what level of service should a hotel provide? 2) Why aren’t hotels aware that TPOL is coming and challenge themselves to do everything they can to ensure that I have no complaints?
If hotels could address these questions, it would make for a better experience for everyone, not just me.
The fun never stops with Barclays. I applied for the Hawaiian Business card and was told to provide more information. I did so in June. (see Barclays Hawaiian Business App: Send in Your DL, SS Card by Mail). It’s now September and I had not heard anything back. I called Barclays which told me that I was conditionally approved for 5k but I would need to speak to the fraud department first. I spoke to the fraud department who had to verify that I was who I said I was (see JetBlue Business Approved! Yes, Alexander Bachuwa Owns Bachuwa Law). The agent had to call me on the same phone number. I switched over and she introduced herself as if we had not spoken before. I gave her the answer to security questions and then she said she would meet me back on the other side. She informed me that I was approved by the fraud department but I would have to speak to the KYC department. I was transferred and asked the same questions. I gave the same answers. I was then told that I was conditionally approved but that an offline group would have to review my application one more time.
Is it worth the 50k? I say yes.
I did not go to Athens for fine dining. All I wanted was typical Athenian food without the tourist markup (see Iliad & Odyssey: Quest for the Best Athenian Gyros). Walking the streets, it seemed impossible to find. Each restaurant I passed looked like a variation of the Dancing Zorba’s. I will never understand the strategy behind putting someone out on the street to solicit people to come inside. How many times have you walked by after just having a meal only to hear, “Come inside for great food!”
The innkeeper at my friend’s hotel recommended En Iordani. While we were lucky enough to find the place, we found no luck in securing a table. Instead of being hounded to come in, we were ignored. We thought we were clever when we took the table of two women who had finished their meal. Instead of service, we were told, “You will wait for a long time.” I’m not sure if we were being reprimanded for this bold move or if he was setting our expectations based on how busy the restaurant was.
True to his word, we waited. And waited. Finally, the waiter told us to move to a different table. We waited there a bit longer. Ironically, another waiter came and said that we had to hurry up and order because the kitchen was about to close.
While I would have been happy with a simple gyros sandwich, I can’t complain about the quality and quantity of the food. The price was also reasonable at around 30 euros per person.
Documenting the restaurant for my blog, I could not help but wonder which attorney drafted the tagline for the restaurant.
Did they add another adjective to make the sign factually correct? Even if it is just the oldest, does being so in a small neighborhood in Athens make it impressive? Does anyone see where I’m going with this?
TPOL’s Tip: The Oldest Unoriginal Traditional Tavern was located next door. The address of the original is Ag. Anargiron Str. 3, Athens 10554 Greece.
TPOL is back home. I didn’t post plenty when I was living in Lisbon, but do not worry, the automation proclamation is about to come into effect (see TPOL’s Out of the Office…). Here’s the best from August.
After going through absolute hell with these morons, I say it is not worth the 50k. I regret ever applying. On the bright side, the 3 month period to spend the required amount turned into 6 months since it took three months to get my last card approved. These people are idiots. I wonder if they actually WANT to offer anyone credit or if they are just pretending to be a credit card issuer.
He may be right. While I was told I was approved (see App Approved: Sort Of), I just received another letter saying that more information is required. What else could they possibly want?
I will continue to fight for my points, but this is a joke.