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If you had friends visiting Kuwait....

Last activity 06 January 2015 by MMWDIAB

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tinataitlyn

So this past weekend one of our friend's friend visited Kuwait and they needed our help to show their friend around. The only catch was the friend hated shopping so didn't want to set foot inside a mall and refused to eat at any restaurant that he could eat back home in the states. He was looking for things that he couldn't do, see or eat back home and the only thing we could think of was the Kuwait towers but low and behold it was closed so we had a pretty quiet weekend and he left thinking Kuwait was one the most boring place on Earth he's ever visited. Aside from all of us being terrible hosts and low on options I figured I'd ask for help just in case we have unexpected visitors in the future we'd be prepared!

So NO MALLS and NO CHAIN RESTAURANT (Applebees, PF Changs, The Cheesecake Factory, Chili's, Johnny Rockets, IHOP, TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Dean & Deluca, Ruby Tuesday, Texas Roadhouse, Le Pain Quotidien, etc. you get the point..) where would you take your friends to give them the Kuwait experience?

Sorry for the caps but some people on the board seem to have a hard time reading so thought it might help  :)

Naser221

Hi Tina..

Few weeks ago i had a guest from Peru and i was asking myself the same question @@ anyway i took him on a sight to the old Souk of Mubarakiya
then we went to the scientific center and i showed him the old wooden boats in close. we also attended a concert in the cultural center . at the end i took him to a terrace dinner in Divas Restaurant in Olympya Mall. I think he have enjoyed his short trip.

Ribosom

Hey Tina,

Can be worse, imagine that none of your friends can visit you because they are not eligible for visa on arrival. :(

As mentioned Souq Mubarakiya is a nice place as are the camel races. Getting around is a show by itself that can get them screaming from "excitement". :)

I had one friend visit me once, he was kind enough to bring my cat over. His visit began with three hour paperwork hell at the airport because of the cat, which was also a nice introduction to the country. :)

tinataitlyn

@Ribosom: I have the opposite problem... all of my friends are quality for visa on arrival yet none will visit! Haha I don't blame them though I wouldn't either lol. Did they think your cat was a lion? They thought my dog looks like a rat... a giant 5lb rat  :unsure

We didn't take him to the Souq Mubarakiya because at the end of the day it was still a shopping center and the guy hated shopping with a passion so it would been torture for him!

@Naser221: Thanks for all the suggestions although I'd probably shoot myself if I ever have to go to Scientistic Center again haha. Where are these wooden boats you speak of?  :)

TriniMario

Hey Tina

The airport..... and the road to the airport.. is a truly Kuwaiti experience especially on a Thursday or Saturday evening :) .

Why are there so many people leaving?  Why does the police allow these individual on the road?  Oh they are they police.....  Etc. Drive down the 30 and then coastal road to Fahaheel counting the number of Costa's, laundaries and pharmacies. Eat outside the Sri Lankan (?) bakery opposite the Phillipino Store (Khabayan), walk around a bit in Fahaheel and then drive back up the 40.  A unique experience even in the region.

Mario

PS: I do not have much friends by the way. :)

Naser221

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/12371076623_5ac5c95d0f.jpg

Naser221

Most Welcome Tina

Actually checking the old wooden boats was the reason of visiting the scientific center 😁

EmyMor

Hi all,
  you may find good answer in this post
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 62#2193459

v a nice day.

gjfk574

Tina,
Take your friends to a museum which is on gulf road. Also you can take them to desert. Show them Failaka Island but unfortunately its nothing there except abandoned tanks.

Cheers

gjfk574

Hi Tina,

I too absolutely hate shopping malls and chain restaurants/cafes so I understand what was going through your friend's mind while the only difference is that I am living in this hell now :(

So in my attempt to search around how can I switch hell to heaven (or at least Earth!) I came across this post which I think is very informative and totally hits the point you're discussing here.

The post was originally posted in 2011 so the prices are a bit higher now and there is even more packages or options as  they describe it, just Facebook search "Morqab Tours" and you will get to their page and see all the updated prices and options.

Personally I am planning to give it out a try hopefully sometime soon and if turns out to be as good as I imagine it could be I will defiantly post about it here.


I also suggest that you try it out with your friends to know which places are worth visiting and which is not so whenever you have unexpected visitors you would've already known where to take them and where to avoid it.

legacy

unfortunately i was out of Kuwait (exploring Bahrain) this weekend, and only got to see the thread now :S

Mubarakiya would be ideal for the food there, specifically the grilled delicacies.

this past weekend u had the camel races, come on! u cant get any more desert than that! it was on the 5th i believe. oh wait, my bad, your friend had already left by then :S

still, in terms of restaurants there are plenty of authentic kuwaiti restaurants that you will definitely not find anywhere else, like Fareej Suwailah on Fahad Al Salem St. (between Max and Marina Mall).

you could have taken them on a boat to Failaka or Kubbar island.

oh oh, because i audited marina mall i came to know this; there is a thing called a "sea taxi", you take it with a driver out in the water for a period of time, it goes to the towers and back.

also there is a restaurant boat, its for 7 people, 10KD per person, 2 hours at sea. also goes down to the towers.

and that is how u give people the kuwait experience without making it seem boring :)

and of course for the true true expeirence, you can always take them on the gulf road or second ring road, and ask them to notice all the peculiar behavior between motorists there :P

MMWDIAB

@Tina

Heya,

I would probably dig into taking them to the old Souk Area in Kuwait City.

Souk Al-Mubarakeeya & what not I believe.


Cheers!

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