A few days ago I visited the new Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.
It’s an impressive airport, and there are lots of interesting things about it.
Qatar Airways first class check-in Hamad International Airport
In my opinion nothing quite matches the 6.8 million dollar, 23 foot, 35,000 pound teddy bear in the middle of the departures hall, though. Apparently it was bought by a member of the Qatar royal family, and they’re basically using the airport as a storage unit.
Now in theory a teddy bear sounds like a cute thing to put on display at an airport… except not in this case.
The bear looks bad enough from the front – there’s a lamp directly over its head, as if an interrogation is happening.
Teddy bear at Hamad International Airport
But when you go around the back it’s even worse. The lamp is literally lodged inside of him.
Teddy bear at Hamad International Airport
WTF?! That’s enough to give anyone a nightmare!
lucky, you misspelled the title. It’s either Qatar or Doha.
Art is in the eye of the beholder.
@ Denis — I was going for a hybrid. Fixed, thanks. :p
That thing was even weirder when it was just sitting in front of an office building on Park Ave. in NYC a few years back.
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/04/06/giant_yellow_teddy_bear_takes_a_seat_on_park_avenue.php
@Eric, I remember seeing that bear on Park Ave. right by the Four Seasons restaurant! It was rather odd. 35000 lbs? Wow!
I’m really looking forward to the Qatar J lounge and how many bottles of Krug you emptied? =P
A bit like the WTF full-size horse lampshade at BA’s LHR lounges but on a whole new level of WTF!
That is the teddy bear of my nightmares. It’s like a teddy and the Pixar lamp have melded in evil symbiosis.
Hi lucky,
I just noticed something, in this post there is a glass ceiling on top of the teddy bear, in your al mourjan lounge review with the teddy bear photo there is no glass ceiling, in your recent airport hotel review, there is a glass ceiling again! Did they somehow remove the glass ceiling and put it back on?
@ Sam — Hmmm, interesting. Maybe just optics?
I’m looking at it right now. If you have your picture taken in front of it and post it to Instagram–free gift. It’s a very nice packet of Vendome chocolates. Still. Very. Creepy.
Maybe it’s a recreation of the horrific teleportation accident in Alan Moore’s ‘Top 10’ graphic novel, restaged with a giant bear and a table lamp
http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/troublewithcomics/uploaded_images/TopTen08-04-The-Overview-778030.jpg
was not impressed at all with this so called teddy bear with a lamp