Summer Travel: Kenya Adventures, Heat Waves And Selfie Tourism

Summer Travel: Kenya Adventures, Heat Waves And Selfie Tourism

Greetings from Doha, where I've spent several hours in an airport lounge, waiting for a connecting flight home as my three kids slept in a transit hotel. What's a 15-hour wait when I can get from New York to Nairobi for 80, 000 American Airlines mileage points in this summer of sky-high ticket prices? We spent the night at Doha's airport because a Qatar immigration official wouldn't issue my son a transit visa on an emergency U. S. passport issued. (Surprise!) Oryx Airport Hotel had a room with three single beds, so my kids were sent to their room while I set up camp by a giant yellow teddy bear. Luckily, I had a chance to see the stunning National Museum of Qatar with Sheikh Khalifa Bin Abdulla Al-Thani, a Qatari filmmaker, curator and visual artist, on my way to Kenya. Tourism is a leap of faith on all sides. The traveler spends an often-significant chunk of change to go somewhere unfamiliar, hoping for good weather, even tempers, and joyful memories of unique experiences. The host tries to create those experiences, hoping for happy customers, healthy profits and plenty of five-star reviews. Neither typically gets exactly what they want. That