Kuwait has the typical persona of the middle eastern world.......the first impression is the same as that of any other middle eastern country - huge airports, luxurious surroundings, lush greenery though artificial, people in white or black, non-locals (Asians - Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis,Filipinos and Egyptians, Lebanese), sand and light colored buildings - tall, exquisite, posh. Well not to forget spotting some of the luxurious brands of automobiles on the road..........
Being the start of summer, the weather was pleasant and my dread of the middle eastern heat was completely dissolved.
The Kuwaiti towers are the landmark for the country and one can find miniatures to take back home....
Food is dominated with meat and fish and vegetarians have a hard time finding food if it were not for Indian restaurants or McDonalds..... do try hummus and the kaboos though (thts for vegetarians).....
Life of the people is built around religion and the way they dress, speak and eat everything reflects this....Islamic culture!!!! There is a significant western influence in certain aspects though.....Their hospitality is impressive though they are appalled if you are a vegetarian as they say no meal is complete without meat...
A popular hang out of Kuwaitis is the beach. They camp elaborately at the beach with hookahs, chess and barbecues - 'kebabs'. Children have a really good time being left to play without any hindrance....looking at them i wished i lived near the beach....
Working with locals is to work on their terms and that's business for them........
The malls are immense, exude wealth and are built as amazing architectural identities. A trait of every country in the middle east...UAE, Bahrain, Qatar....
Every morning I was invited to a view of the sea and the tall skyscrapers of the city at the window of my room......breathtaking.....
Some of the interesting facts I came to know about the country -
the currency Kuwaiti Dinar was earlier called Rupaiah as it was in several other middle eastern countries in the 1960s or so....it is one of the largest exporters of oil (no surprises there).....for a small country with an area of 20,000sq km (equal to several of the northeastern states in India)....it has the forex reserves of whooping 213 billion dollars....a large portion of anything available in Kuwait is imported (look for the Made in china, made in india, made in uk, made in lithuania!!! tags)....
Majority of the population own a car though there are three bus companies which operate nearly empty shuttles all through the day..........
March 2010
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