Job Discussion Forums

[Sigmuu]

Dear All:
My wife and I are traveling to Kuwait during January and Frebruary this year. We will be staying in the Bneid al Gar area, near the Corniche and the Iranian Embassy. We won't have a car and this might be our only visit to Kuwait for quite some time so I hope you can give me some advice for our trip.

1) What are the places we must see during our trip?

2) Because we won't have a car, could you, if possible, tell us bus routes from Bneid al Gar to the place you recommend? If there is no bus, a rough idea of the cost of a taxi would be greatly appreciated.

3) I have been told that Entertainment City is great and a must place to visit. However, I have been also told that there is no bus service to it. Does anyone know how one can get to it and return from it without a car?

Any other useful information or tips about Kuwait would be greatly appreciated.

Please post responses or email me at [email protected]

[Stephen Jones]

I'm suprised you got visas, but then, as you are probably the onlyWesterners to have ever thought of going to Kuwait on holiday, immigration was probably still suffering from shellshock, or thought you were high-powered American Homeland Security agents talking in code.

You can get buses nearly everywhere in Kuwait; you may find them stoned gby the local youth, and every now and again a Kuwaiti decides to do a Micahel Douglas at the traffic lights and spray them with AK47's but apart from these minor contretemps the bus service is pretty good.

I lived there a year and never found anywhere of greater interest than the departure gate at the airport, but the place is quite pleasant, has five star hotels, an excellent Bridge club, an amateur theatre group that is as awful as you would expect, and thousands of fast food places, where you can see young Kuwaitis talking to the person on the next table on the mobile phone.

Also after the abayas of Hafr-Al-Baten you have an evening fashion show of the latest and most expensive in mini-slirts and lipstick.

Incidentally, you can make a large amount of money smuggling all the non-alcoholic beer you can get in Saudi as the stuff is illegal in Kuwait and sells for twice the price.

[Fred Bilbo]

It is a while since Stephen was in Kuwait, While there are not alot of places to visit there are a few.
Parts of the old Kuwait have been renovated, The Dixon House, and other buildings in that area. Kuwait Towers, Green Island, Scientific center, and a seeming never ending list of shopping Malls are places to see. The Red fort in Jahra is another place to visit, as are the camel races and the camel market.
Taxi fares are not cheap, however, the bus service is excellent and it is not dangerous at all. In 10 years in Kuwait I have never witnessed anyone shooting an AK 47 at vehicles. They can be heard at local weddings occasionally.
Also, one last thing, non -alcoholic beer has been legal in kuwait for the last 4-5 years. Your visit may coincide with the shopping festival Hala February, which has not really been much of a success in the last three years. Maybe this year will be the exception.

[M@tt]

I had the misfortune of spending 3 weeks in Kuwait as a tourist. I was visiting a friend's family, in case you are wondering why. Entertainment City is basically a small version of Six Flags or King's Island or (insert theme park here), comparable to any lame regional park in the states. Someone told you it's a "must-see" because there is essentially nothing to see or do in Kuwait except shop and eat. The Kuwaitis themselves get out at every chance because they have the money to travel elsewhere. It is easily the ugliest, most boring place I have ever visited in my life (I've only seen about 25 countries so there could very well be worse places, especially in the Gulf). I hope your trip is short--otherwise you may return with bite marks when you try to chew off your own leg. Other ways to pass the time are counting BMWs or the number of S. Asians you see being abused by their masters.
Above all, have fun.

[Bindair Dundat]

Touring Kuwait? Why???

If you'll be in Bneid Al-Qar, may I suggest the Hotel Safir? If you can't afford it, at least have lunch there .

You can get a taxi to the Entertainment City in Salmiya for less than one KD. The one out toward Doha will cost you maybe 5-10 KD each way, and you'll be disappointed.

DON'T take the city buses! They are hot, dirty, slow, and not nice.

There are no "must see" sights in Kuwait, except maybe the Gulf War Kuwaiti Martyrs' monument (it's a couple of destroyed houses with an Iraqi tank out in front) down in Quarain. About three KD by taxi; ask to go to "Qurain House".

Suggest you avoid Kuwait as a tourist destination if at all possible.

[scot47]

I too find Sigmuu's choice of destination curious, but then I do not live in a small provincial town in Saudi Arabia located near the border with Iraq !