Saturday, March 17, 2012

Tours of Kuwait: Desert Girl ♥'s the People of Morqab Tours!

I had the BEST time last night!  I felt like I was in the company of long-lost friends.  I love those moments.  They are few and far between.

In September of last year, I posted  about Narodna Trading and Morqab Tours.   Freya of Narodna wrote to me and asked me if I would please post information about their new business venture and tours of Kuwait.  I have recommended the tours to several friends - and several more readers of the blog.

Stella's mom took a tour with them a few months ago and gave a glowing review; she went on to say how much she loved the tour guide.  Although I was skeptical, she said he was Kuwaiti and knew the history of buildings and places around town - and bargained for her, even leaving her a small gift item she was looking for - the day after the tour.  Since then, other readers have provided me their feedback and they all love Morqab Tours - can't say enough good things about them.

So this weekend, the Narodna people invited me to their farm in Kabd. Not for a tour, people who can't read, but for a lovely private dinner to get to know them and probably in gratitude for a little bit of promotion. As they say in their fliers, they will pick up and drop off from anywhere in Kuwait for their tours.

I was kinda skeptical and wondering if I really wanted to go by myself. What would these people be like?  Would it be fun?  Why am I doing this?   None of my friends were up for the trip and The Romanian is still in recovery. I needed to get out of my bubble and meet new people. What the heck, okay.   I know Kabd like the back of my hand, so it isn't like it is a big scary place.  However....

My mother would be shocked to death had she known that I was going to Kabd alone to meet with a bunch of people who I had never met nor even spoken to - and didn't know their names.  I was kinda sorta thinking twice about it when I got up to Kabd - especially waiting for them in the parking lot of KFC (which is NOT female-friendly).  I was purty sure that I would be sold into white slavery by some of the weirdos that cruised by.  Two of the guys circled several times and looked at me like I was a rotiserie chicken dropped  in the middle of Somalia. (Sorry - I know that is incredibly UN-PC, but hey, they looked HONgry and it wasn't for food either....)

Then Freya and friend showed up.  They looked welcoming and familiar (I can hear my mom saying, "Yeah - like ALL good kidnappers/white slaver/sexual deviants do..." - Nuh uh, mom!).  So they offered me some candy and I got in their car.  (No I didn't.  Just kidding, mom!  I had my own car and it was booze not candy... Just kidding again.  ha ha.  Take your blood pressure meds, mommy....).

I got to their farm and it was like dog sanctuary; lots and lots of furry, bounding, happy dogs!  I love that.  Good people have happy dogs.  These were good people.

We sat outside.  We talked.  We laughed and laughed.  I talked about things that are normally exclusive to my inner circle (and I actually revealed some things that even my inner circle/diwaniya gang don't know).  Only when I feel REALLY comfortable do I do that.  We had a wonderful dinner.  We talked some more.  I stayed from 5 to around 11:30pm.  I know that I overstayed my welcome and I  felt sorry about that, but I just didn't want to leave.  I love them.  I felt like I had known them all my life.  They were my long-lost buddies that part of me has been missing for years.  I'm a highly trained bullshit detector; I treasure genuine sincerity when I come across it.  It is rare like a jewel that should be coveted.  These people are the real deal.

So, nuts and bolts:  A bunch of retired (or soon to be retired) Kuwaiti friends decided to start the tour group, along with their friend, Freya - a looooovely Irish lady, who does (from what I can tell) the marketing materials and some of the admin work.  It's a winning combination.  The guys know and love their country, their customs, and their history and are PROUD to share it with Westerners.  They get a tremendous amount of satisfaction in what they do and it shows.  Their customers become their friends - and that's an important aspect of their business.  I am so happy to see this business in Kuwait - I can't even tell you.  It has been on my wish list for Kuwait for years - and here they are!

When I told tour guide Ali that I was skeptical that a Kuwaiti was actually doing the tours; and how I naturally assumed he was Pakistani or another nationality, all the friends laughed.  They said that always happens.  It is just so rare for Kuwaitis to be doing what they do.  But in my experience in Kuwait, many more Kuwaitis would jump at the chance to do the same thing.  These guys have just taken the initiative and are doing a great thing for their country.

Check out my post on the tours with their prices or contact them directly.  Tell them that I sent you. E-mail

narodna_trading@yahoo.com, or mobile:  (965) 6510-0772


No, this is in no way a paid advertisement - it all comes back around and I owe it to them for making me so happy this weekend.  Thank you, my new long-lost friends!  You were there just when I needed a battery recharge.  You were nothing but positive energy.  You ARE the kind of Kuwaitis I remember (and Freya - you are obviously an honorary Kuwaiti because you have the heart!)  Thank you for making me remember and I hope to see you again soon.

6 comments:

chica_paprika said...

Hey Desert Girl,
I'm new to Blogger, and don't understand it very well at all! I want to follow you, but I press the "follow" button and it takes me to this pop up where I can choose to follow publicly or privately, but there's no button to actually make it so that I'm following.... does that make sense?
Can you advise me on how to do this?
Thanks!! :)

Anonymous said...

Let's be honest, who is going to go to Kabd to catch a tour? They should pick up their guests in a safer area.

Desert Girl said...

Anonymous 1:50 - I was invited to their PRIVATE FARM for dinner - not to catch a tour. Why are people round here always so negative anyways?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had fun. My mom use to make us carry glean underwear in our cars incase we were in a wreck...

Unknown said...

Hello, I know this is a REALLY old article but from what I've seen, their Facebook page is still
Fairly active. I've tried calling them twice now and a man has answered and said wrong number, quite
Rudely. They have not responded
To any of my Facebook
Messages....
Do
You have any other contact information?

Desert Girl said...

Kirsten - Call 99041785 or 60090364