Kuwait Information Guide, Published by the British Ladies Society

Foreigners! I found a great book you should own. IT IS EXCELLENT!

I can't believe I have been living here for so long and haven't purchased one of these. I knew about it, but I just never got around to it - until it was right in front of me.

The British Ladies Society publishes and (and God love 'em because its a PITA) updates a Kuwait Information Guide; which is much more comprehensive than any other I have seen in Kuwait. (One of my biggest gripes is that you can't obtain a comprehensive country guide on Kuwait - even from the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry. RRRRR! How are you supposed to promote trade?)

I meet a lot of people through this blog. Many are moving to Kuwait or coming her for the first time. Many are business people; All want to know more. (Most of the blogs are outdated, unfortunately.) What I have found is that travel guides on Kuwait are published by people who bop into the country, try to learn as much as they can, bop out, and start writing as if it is reality. It isn't. Unless you have lived here, you really don't know (and the same could be said for anywhere else in the world). The longer you live here, the better.

Brits tend to stick around Kuwait longer than Americans (over the 15-year mark). Americans are bossy and arrogant and can't understand why things don't bend to our rules. (C'mon - we do too!) (Yes, yes, I admit to being a "brass American".) We also have good weather at home and pay less tax. It rains a lot in the UK and there are a lot of cold, white people who flock to places like Kuwait with sun. Brits are also better brewers than Americans are (you know its true). They can adapt. This is my Desert Girl hypothesis.

So, having said that, the British Ladies Society are the ideal people to write a guide on Kuwait. I enjoy their pithy writing style too: "Its censorship of movies often makes a night at the cinema an exercise in guesswork as you try to piece together a chopped-up plot." "You'll find that Kuwait is the land of harmess stares, wherever you go." Pith! We like.

If you know me, I always recommend that newcomers obtain 2 books: Kuwait Pocket Guide and the Kuwait Top List. For my first year in Kuwait, I kept the KPG in my handbag! The Kuwait Information Guide has just moved up to my new favorite. It provides EVERYTHING you need to know in an in-your-face manner (which is, bien sur, true Desert Girl fashion). I can't believe I haven't been recommending this book all along. It probably would have saved friends a lot of time and effort.

The book is 105 pages and contains a yellow pages section listing businesses, and maps of Kuwait including various areas with places of interest. For information on how to buy one, see their website. The cost is a minimal 5 KD or free if you become a BLS member (and you don't need to be Briddish!)

I am very interested in joining, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to get to their meetings as they are held in the mornings (sadness). I may just join to promote their work as they are a wonderful group of people and I believe in what they do (like the charity event last night in support of Animal Friends league).

Kuwait Information Guide table of contents.

Way to go, British ladies! You ROCK!

The British Ladies Society, Phone (965) 9780-6950, e-mail: info@theblskuwait.com, http://www.theblskuwait.com/