Adventures in Asia: Kuwait

Diana and I flew across the Arabian Gulf this morning from Dubai to Kuwait. The airport passport control and visa process was obnoxious and certainly a contrast to the official and professional process in the UAE. But, we got through the airport and outside, but then we had more challenges. Actually, there were no taxi touts or cab mafioso to deal with, but this meant there were actually no taxis at all and while Kuwait has rideshare, they do not serve the airport. Eventually "around the corner" I found a bus and one thing led to another and eventually two very friendly bus drivers who certainly did not speak any English directed us onto a bus and then helped us transfer to another which eventually got us into the downtown of Kuwait City. We had known this prior to coming, but it is abundantly clear that Kuwait has very little interest in a tourist industry and their infrastructure is catered to locals, their foreign workers, and perhaps the American military. 

Anyway, we found our hotel a few blocks from the bus stop, and it is very nice and comfortable and we were welcomed with a glass of karak and some fruit and decided we would sit for a late lunch in the lobby. Around 15:00 we returned to our room, which looks out across a stretch of largely empty desert to the Dasman neighbourhood, behind which is the Kuwait Bay.

That is the direction we headed in a rideshare, to see the iconic Kuwait water towers (okay, iconic might be a stretch, but they are featured on the 1/2 dinar note). 

For 3 dinar (by the way, Kuwait's currency is the strongest in the world, such that 3 dinar is about $13 Canadian, and hence why they bother with a 1/2 dinar note), you can go up into one of the towers and you get a good view of the bay and the city, albeit through very dirty windows.

Back down on the ground we walked along the waterfront for a bit. 

As we were photographing the flags and towers a young Kuwaiti man approached me and asked me if I would be interviewed for his Instagram where apparently he and his cousin interview tourists. So, I agreed and he asked me my impression of Kuwait or something to this effect, and that was fine, but then after we had a nice chat and they asked if we wanted any recommendations for our visit so we said sure, where should we go for dinner? And they gave us a recommendation in the souk which was where we intended to go next, so that was nice and we carried on one way and they went the other. 

Down the beach we passed these two burqa-clad ladies who were enjoying the afternoon out in a very serious way such that I surreptitiously took a photo. Instead of beach towels they had legitimate carpets laid out, along with a large and heavy duty tea set and chairs that were certainly not what I would consider beach chairs. I was very impressed.

Anyway we walked by the women out onto a fishing pier. 

From the end looking back there was a nice view of the water towers . . .

. . . and the Kuwait City skyline. 

We were quite enjoying the waterfront, but then it started to rain, so we decided that was our cue to go. So, we summoned a rideshare and headed across downtown to the Souk Al-Mubarakiya. 

I really enjoyed the souk. It was much more relaxed than many I have visited, and as far as I could tell we were the only tourists. It was quite interesting to observe locals and families go about their evenings. Once we had wandered several alleys of the souk we headed towards the restaurant our waterfront friends had recommended. 

We were super happy with the recommendation! The food was authentic, interesting, and surprisingly affordable. We order murbayan as the main dish, which features rice and shrimp. Apparently there are a lot of shrimp in Kuwait Bay so they feature quite a bit in Kuwaiti cuisine. 

There was a lot of food in the end, partly because there seems to be a lot of complimentary food provided in addition to what you order. Our whole dinner came to less than $25 which is quite something given how expensive Kuwait seems. Evidently locals know how to eat more economically. 

After dinner we kept exploring around the souk and we ended up in Safat Square where there was a bit of a different sort of market or festival happening which had some fun energy. 

In the souk itself we had seen a lot of oud (agarwood) advertised and here there was a large block of it smoldering. It was quite interesting to see (and smell!)

Also from Safat Square we could see Liberation Tower lit up. Liberation Tower was named to commemorate Kuwait's liberation in 1991. 

We crossed the street from here to visit a grocery story and buy some things for breakfast and then headed back to the hotel for the night. We leave to Iraq in the morning, so our time in Kuwait will have been less than 24 hours, but we really enjoyed it, and actually enjoyed it much more than we anticipated. I have read online Kuwait described as the most boring country in the world, but I think that is unfair. No doubt it lacks classic tourist attractions, but we really enjoyed our afternoon and evening and I have to say a big reason for that was all the people we encountered were both quite friendly and helpful but not pushy or bothersome. Those are my reflections after just a few hours, so take them for what that is worth. 

Back at the hotel we were getting ready for bed and I began thinking through traveling to Iraq when I realized we were likely short US cash. In the Gulf countries credit card and banking systems are easy, but Iraq would be a different story and we would need to go with cash. So, actually as Diana slept, I slipped out of the hotel and around the corner to one of the few ATM locations in all of Kuwait (at least, so says the internet) which just happened to be close to our hotel to withdraw some American cash. My first two attempts failed for some reason, but on the third try at a different ATM I was able to withdraw $300. I returned to the hotel now much more relaxed, ready to sleep, and looking forward to heading into Iraq tomorrow morning.