VISA on arrival !!!!
by jlanza29
To enter the Kuwait you must have a visa which is easy to obtain, but here's a tip I hadn't read or was told by anyone .... first do not go downstairs unless you already have a visa. so proceed to the "VISA issuing counter" in bright PINK LETTERS !!!! and take a number before 100 other people do, then walk over and get some local currency... watch the ATM exchange (read my other tip) and then come back and your number should be up... we did the opposite... stood in line to get money then walked over to get the ticket for a visa... by then almost the entire airplane was ahead of us, so spent almost an hour before we were processed and able to go downstairs !!!!!
One must fill out a small entry card, with basic information.
The price for the visa is 3 KWD about $10 US dollars....
Another thing is that the guys stamping your passport stamps any page without even looking where so they stamped my passport over another stamp, so it looks like a big mess !!!! So much for keeping them in order !!!!!
National Holidays
by mikey_e
There are two extremely important state holidays in Kuwait (as opposed to religious ones): National Day, on 25 February, and Liberation Day, on 26 February. Unfortunately, I had to fly back to Canada the weekend before the two holidays, but I was able to witness many of the preparations for them. The entire city appears to adorn itself in red, white, green and black and anything that is somewhat solid will have a Kuwaiti flag on it. The buildings are often decorated with coloured lights and some of them adopt interesting patterns, such as leaving on office lights to form the number of years Kuwait has been independent (49 this year, and 19 years since the liberation). Supposedly, during the festivities, roads are essentially blocked as people come out to hold spontaneous parades, waving flags and shooting silly string at each other. It makes daily life hell, but given that there is a week-long vacation, most Kuwaitis don't care about making it to work.
Sawaber Shia Mosque
by mikey_e
As I explained in the last tip, Shiin make up a considerable minority of the Kuwaiti population. Although relations between Shia and Sunni in the country are fairly peaceable, there have been some rumblings of discord over the last few years. Nevertheless, you can still find numerous Shia mosques throughout the country, some of them quite interesting from an architectural standpoint. This mosque, just off of Mubarak al-Kabiir in Sawaber, is in a heavily Indian and Pakistan neighbourhood, but the style of the structure is decidedly Persian. The Hussainiya is perhaps more impressive, but the mosque itself presents an interesting view of Shia architecture. Pictures are out of the ordinary, so don't snap too many photos too openly.
Clocks
by mikey_e
I don't know what it is, but another obsession of Kuwaitis seems to be clocks. Not the wall kind, but the type that go into obelisks and various other outdoor monuments. There are several places throughout Kuwait City in which you can find clocks posted in the middle of roundabouts or in the centre of boulevards. I snapped pictures of these two, but I think that there are others, although perhaps not quite as extravagant as these ones. In any case, there is rarely an explanation for the clock-tower. Maybe Kuwaitis just really like to know the time...
It's everywhere
by jbabinski78 about Starbucks
I was never a big fan of coffee. Occasionally though, I get a craving for something flavored. Typically I'll get something like a hot white choclate mocha. Today was sizzling hot so I decided to try the special...Banana Java Chip Frappucino. Oh my...this was D-LICIOUS!~
It reminded me when McDonalds had their special flavour of Banana Fudge McFlurry. Anyways this frappucino hit the spot since it was nice and iced. I also got me a cheese crossiant.
Starbucks is pretty much everywhere. The pastrie assortment was different than the US ones and as usual everything is overpriced. Anyways my treats hit the spot. Banana Java Chip Frappucino
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Currently Kuwait's newest and largest mall.
Bathroom on the main floor
Close up of the clock tower
Supreme Court of Kuwait
