Explore the Beaches at Khiran and Zour

If you're on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/desertgirl.kuwait) you'll know that I had question on there a few weeks back asking if it was illegal to go swimming in a bathing suit during Ramadan. While it is not technically illegal, if you go to open/public areas (like along Blaajat Street), it might still get you arrested.  Go somewhere secluded (where you will not appear "disrespectful" in a bathing suit.)

I go swimming every weekend in the Khiran area; Ramadan or not and bathing attire is no problem because during Ramadan - there isn't a soul around (except for a few laborers working on the chalets under construction).  It is secluded and very clean (workers actually rake the beaches every day for trash) and the water is clear.   I let my dog run free.  Non-Ramadan is a little busier, but you can still find areas where there are no people if you drive around a little (no cars, no people...)

Getting there is a hike; it is about 45 minutes down either 30 (Fahaheel Expressway) or 40 (Malik Al Fahed) towards the Saudi border to exit 278. (And watch your speed - there are point-to-point cameras which measure your speed/time over distance rather than by cameras.  The overhead arches have cameras in them and you'll get a ticket - unless you have a Saudi license plate and that is like a license to speed in Kuwait... Just sayin.)

I guess they are planning to build Khiran City because it's not there yet...
Exit 278 and Chalets/Resort is to the left after this sign.
GPS:  28.677533, 48.298381

Turn Right at this sign - that's 278

Watch for massive speed bumps on 278.  They're hard to see and killer on your suspension!  Once you get on 278, you go straight down.  If you go all the way down to the end of 278, you'll come to the Khiran Resort.  I think they charge to get in, but you can drive around and see the resort.  You have to rent one of their chalets if you want to use the beaches there, however.

Where we swim is on the Zour side to the left of 278 (U-turn just before the bridge or alternatively, U-turn just after the bridge.  GPS: 28.687738, 48.385853 ).  If you take the first U-turn, take the first right (at the U), then the first paved road on the right (there will be an electric sub-station there).  You can go all the way down to the end of the road, or stop anywhere along the way (on the right of the road).   There are berms and trenches surrounding most of the beaches because the chalets are either still under construction or the land is still for sale.  You can either pull up next to a chalet and walk next to the wall for beach access; or just watch for where there are paths leading over the berms.

(Taken with my iPhone - and no filter added.
This is what you see!)

The streets are paved with the exception of several areas off-road where you might be better trying it in a 4x or higher vehicle.  (Any rental car is built for 4-wheeling so that's never a problem.)

There is no heavy current.  These are inlet beaches so the water is more shallow and great for kids.  What you won't find are public toilets (it's the sea...) or restaurants or even food trucks. (Although there is a Sultan Center mini-store on the Zour Chalets side near the boat ramp -  GPS:  28.676015, 48.381739.)   Bring your own food/water (and an umbrella!).  A lot of people go at night and make small barbecues on the beach.

The chalet architecture is also interesting if you just want to take a drive around.

There are closer beaches like at Dubaiiya or Julaii'a, but you have to explore along the road until you find access - and those places will likely require a 4x4 to get to (or you'll end up hiking in with your stuff).  The places I'm describing at Khiran/Zour are close to the road, so you don't have much of a trek.  The other beaches also may not be as clean as Khiran/Zour as they're not patrolled by cleaners.

This is the map of the Khiran area.  As you can see, there are a lot of inlets and places to see and to swim.  You can take exits 278, 285 or 290 and get to the sea.  (For those of you now upset with me for divulging this national secret - there are a LOT of beaches, not just one....)

If you are interested in diving, my friends at Al Boom have trips from Khiran resort (straight down 278).  You need to book in advance.  They will take you out to the islands (Um Al Moradim, Qaroh, or Khubbar - depending on where they want to dive that day) for 10kd per person for the entire day.  See my previous post here.  Their contact information is Tel : 965-4830570 /4830474 /4834831  Fax : 965-4838293  website : http://www.alboomkuwait.com

If you are interested in renting chalets in the Khiran area, there are several realtors on Instagram @luxury_chalets @chaletrent                

For more photos and info, Ladies Who Do Lunch in Kuwait Blog has video clips taken from The Discovery Channel's documentary on Sea City  LINK HERE.                                                                                               

Sample DG FAQs and Local Activities

Reader Mike wrote to me and asked me some questions. I often get asked these types of questions and I'm happy to provide my (NON-PAID-FOR) recommendations.  Maybe they can help some of youse (?).  This is just a simple samplin'.  For more detailed information, please browse through some of my previous posts and see "DG Index - " for categories.

Newspaper

Kuwait Times or Al Watan Daily (I read the Arab Times, but I also read the National Inquirer...)

Restaurant

(I'm going to recommend my favorite Kuwaiti restaurant because we're in Kuwait....)

Kuwaiti restaurant:  Shateya Watiya in the Behbehani complex downtown. 

Kuwaiti food delivery online - see: http://www.talabat.com/kw/en/cuisine-food/19/kuwaiti-restaurants-in-kuwait.  Or my review:  http://desertgirlkuwait.blogspot.com/2012/03/kuwaiti-food-and-restaurants.html

Beach

The best beaches are in Khiran, approximately 45 minutes South of Kuwait City.  Take the Khiran Resort exit from 40 until you see a bridge and water towers.  Make the U turn.  Take the next right (road goes to Zoor).  Park next to any of the chalets under construction.  Walk over berms to the beaches.  Completely isolated and very clean.  There are many inlets - just pick one.

Ideally, if you can get out to Khubar or Um Al Moradim islands, they are awesome.  Al Boom Dive Center will take you there.  Mr. Reyadh Al- Bannow, Tel:(+965) 24613445/6/7/8, Fax:(+965) 24613449, Email: reyadh@alboomkuwait.com

Night Out

Depends on what you want.  Movies?  Dinner?  Maybe a twilight boat cruise around the bay?  Night life in Kuwait centers around coffee shops because there are no bars.  Make Kuwaiti friends; get invited to parties..  In the summer time, at the chalets (beach houses) or yachts; in the winter in tents.

Fishing/Boating

Call Yousef  at Amwaj Boat Trips, 6688-7475, E: amwajboattrips@gmail.com, Instagram: @amwajboattrips

Diving/Snorkeling/Island Trips

NAUI Middle East service Center – Al Boom Marine, Reyadh Al-Bannow, Tel:  (+965) 2461 3445/6/7/8, Fax:  (+965) 246 13449, Email: reyadh@alboomkuwait.com.  Diving trips (for certified divers – equipment rentals), dive courses, snorkeling and trips to Kuwait’s Southern Islands; Garoh and Um Al-Moradim (from Khiran).

Week-End Resort

Seashells or El Joan in Julai’ia.  Bring a marriage certificate because most resorts/hotels won’t rent to singles.  (They  also won’t validate certificates... just sayin.)

Massages

Spa Aquatonic, The Missouni Hotel, Corniche Club

Souq

The BEST/oldest is Mubarakia in downtown Kuwait.  They have souqs within the souq:  gold, fish, meat, clothing, spices, perfumes, household goods, cosmetics, Bedouin weavings, antiques, etc.

Eat at Sheesha King (outdoors in front of the mosque).  Order fresh grilled meat, fresh fish, or hameesa shrimp.

Art Gallery/Museum

http://www.artkuwait.org/art-galleries-art-museums-art-institutions-exhibition-halls-in-kuwait

Local Tours of Kuwait

               

Ali or Fran at Morqab Tours, 6510-0772 (Will tailor for smaller groups/individuals).  Ali is Kuwaiti and his dad was a ship-builder.  He is VERY proud of his Kuwaiti heritage and offers truly unique and wonderful tours of the country he loves.  I highly recommend them.

            

            Nuzha Tours,  25755825/35 Web:  www.nuzhatours.com (Require minimum #s)

GO SEE KUWAIT!!!

Kuwait's Sea Life

Yes, this was taken in Kuwait (not by me)

I thought I had posted this before, but looking through my archives, I can't find it anywhere. I used to write a lot of freelance articles for various magazines and newspapers around Kuwait. This story has been published before (so it is a wee bit dated, but most of the information is still accurate). It was written at a time when I had a wonderful editor, Tim Waddell, who I miss.  He and Sue Day both 
 made me a better writer and I miss working with).  

I thought it would be a good time to whip this article back out, as it is dear to my heart and  with the summer quickly approaching (one day it will be 60F and the next 110F - that's summer in Kuwait).  

Some have said that Kuwait is one of the "unfriendliest tourist destinations," intimating that perhaps people won't want to "Go See Kuwait".... Well, unfriendly as some aspects are to tourism, Kuwait is still an interesting place to be discovered by many (and by many of us who live here and haven't seen it all).  After all these years in Kuwait, I still learn something new here EVERY day.  Your environment is what you make of it.  I don't think that it is a secret that I love Kuwait.  I think everyone should see it through new eyes.

GO SEE KUWAIT!   - - -

Most Westerners picture Kuwait as sand and camels; perhaps recently as a semi-dangerous country along the front line.  I will always associate Kuwait on the still sea at sunset; a heavy smell of salt and oil lingering in the air and a pinkish mist coming off the water, as curious sea turtles pop their heads through for a brief moment of contact.

I have had Kuwaiti friends in Washington, DC,  for many years.  My interest in Kuwait was flamed by different people from different walks of life;  diplomats, business people, housewives, students.  All shared the same commonality; an intense love for a little country.

My closest friends turned out to be fishermen.  I had always lived around the ocean, but I wasn’t much interested in water; the type of waters where  I grew up (in Rhode Island in the North East of the United States) were deep and turbulent; scary to a kid. I grew up with images of “Jaws” in my head, as the filming site of Martha’s Vinyard wasn’t very far from where we were.  The different variety of stories I heard from Kuwaiti fisherman intrigued me;  strange and uncommon fish and what sounded like an abundance of them at that, turquoise-blue waters that sometimes looked like glass.

My favorite fisherman story, recounted to me while I was in Washington and which captured my curiosity,  was that of a mysterious creature that lived in a sunken ship. Four men were there that night – my friend, Reyadh Al-Banna, was with them. Fluorescent lights shined in the water to attract more fish. The

boat was anchored next to the shipwreck; an oil tanker with the stern sticking out of the water close to the international maritime border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait;  split apart on a sand bar in the early 80’s and empty of cargo.  The sea air was hot and thick. Mist surrounded the area and there was no sound.  They were pulling up the lines as fast as they could bait them. The fish mysteriously disappeared; then reappeared for no explainable reason in an ebb and flow.  No one spoke or questioned it, but wondered silently to themselves why it was happening.  Suddenly, Reyadh looked down at the water and lost his breath.  The night air became frighteningly still and quiet; He couldn’t speak. He pointed frantically towards the water.  The fishermen turned and saw the creature;  A face about 3 to 4 feet across with a nose described as “pushed in” and the eyes bulging on the sides, starred  back at them from the depths.The vessel was 18’ long and the creature was longer.  Reyadh cut the anchor,  the boat drifted out of reach and they raced back to the shore.

I, and not the creature, had been hooked.  I had to see that shipwreck someday. I had to see the sun on flat waters where dolphins and tortoise and thousands of fish swam. Fifteen years later, I was there.  We went to see the wreck on a choppy day. I went with a strong-willed British friend who is was eager to dive at the site. When we arrived, he changed his mind.  It was eerie.  We all had the same feeling and didn’t want to be there.

Kuwait’s sea life is amazing:  tortoises, dolphins, sea rays, lion fish, whale sharks, barracuda, and an amazing assortment of both tropical and larger fish like grouper and tuna.Unless a Western person knew someone with a boat, or ventured to find one of the many rental boats or day trips, this valuable part of Kuwait would be overlooked.

There are eight interesting and diverse  islands in Kuwait:  Warba, Bubyan, Failaka, Awhah, Maskan, Kubbar, Qaruh, and Um Al Moradim. (For a list and map of Kuwait islands with GPS coordinates, see LINK HERE.)  There are many types of tropical fish around the islands and the coral should not be missed by divers visiting the area. If you throw bread into the water at sunset, thousands of multi-colored fish surround your boat to feed. At sunset, the water has an “oily” look to it and turns a shade of pink.

Summertime in Kuwait, you can find almost every type of Kuwaiti from any walk of life on Kubbar Island.  Approximately an hour’s boat trip from Kuwait City, Kubbar is a tern sanctuary, but is commonly known locally as a Friday picnic island. Small boats to very large luxury yachts race to get there after Juma prayer – and there is struggle for a mooring space unless you arrive at Kubbar in the morning and stake out your space.  Kubbar is to Kuwait what Sunday picnicking is to America; food is prepared, put into thermos containers or coolers for the trip; either sandwiches, chips, and fruit or if you are really lucky, a home- cooked fish and rice meal (motabbag simich).

Qaruh Island

The ultimate mooring is to position the back of the boat facing the island with about 20 feet of water between.  Umbrellas are set up on the shore and everyone has cool drinks in the water. It is like a small, watery back yard.     People  talk and greet friends in other boats;  some play music, many rip around on jet or water skis.  A recent addition to Kubbar pass-time is the mechanized parachute for interesting displays of aeronautical maneuvers.    At lunchtime, offers are always made to surrounding boats (neighbors) to join – even if you don’t know the people.  As longtime Kuwaiti fishermen like Abdulwahab Al-Tahir insist, “At sea, you care about others who are there with you; what you have, you share.”  This may come in the form of food or assistance – it doesn’t matter.

At 4:30, it is time for the Kubbar fashion show.  Everyone retreats to the water and watches Kuwait’s variety of pretty ladies strolling around the island.  Bathing suits have become smaller and smaller as years go by; On Kubbar, you may think that you are on a small island in the Mediterrenean, rather than in a conservative country.

Um Al Moradim (the Southern-most island of Kuwait) is much more quiet.  It was recently disputed by Saudi Arabia, wanting to claim the island as their own. Occasionally, there are arguments between Kuwaiti fisherman and the Saudi Coast Guard or Customs officials.  Kuwait maintains a Coast Guard post on the island.

Um Al Moradim has a thriving rabbit population.  Years ago in the late 1980’s, bored Coast Guard men brought a pair of rabbits out as pets. Now, thousands of huge rabbits inhabit the island;  the size of the fabled and elusive Western American “jackalope” (minus the antlers).   The rabbits are so abundant that you can pick them up and they readily eat any fruits or vegetables left for them.  There just isn’t enough vegetation or to go around;  the government has plans to humanely take the rabbits off the island – donating some to schools and others to homes.

Um Al Moradim has a nice surprise for night-time swimmers:  phosphorescent algae.  This phenomenon has been documented in other parts of the world, but is not well-known in Kuwait;  Any movement in the water creates  tiny lights like “fairy dust”, similar to that given off by fireflies.  On a starry night when the moon is full,  it is magical. The water is clear enough to see the sea floor and hot as bath water.  The sky is a blanket of stars and the lights from the mainland shore and the off-shore oil rigs twinkle in the distance.

Qaruh is the spot of choice for nesting sea tortoises.  Surrounded by  a wonderful array of coral, it is difficult for larger boats to navigate to, therefore not popular with the masses.  During several months of the year, oil creeps up from underground wells and boats become black with tar; a lingering smell of oil in the air also makes it unpleasant. If you are lucky enough to get to Qaruh when it isn’t  oily,  you will see incredibly blue, clear waters with an amazing assortment of fish and jellyfish.  Dolphins often come within arms reach of the boat.

Sea smuggling is a problem for the Kuwaiti government, which limited the number of allowable engines on a boat to 2, as faster boats are more difficult to catch. Coast Guardsmen and customs officials are eager to catch smugglers as they are often awarded bonuses for catches. There was a story of Russian diplomats years ago who were also divers: They were diving in an area close to Um Al Moradim for no particular reason and came across several crates of contraband alcohol on the sea floor – most likely thrown overboard by escaping smugglers.  They didn’t want to bring the entire cache to the surface for fear of being caught. Instead, the kept the latitude and longitude coordinates (via GPS) and every now and then would go out to their “store” if they needed a bottle for a dinner party.

The fish in Kuwait are less in number than they have been in the past, according to fishermen. Almost everyone owns a computerized fish finder,  brought to

Kuwait in the 80’s. Spotting the fish finder owners is easy: large groups of boats gathered on single spot, trying for the same schools of fish. Pollution from various sources (including raw sewage, washing of tanker hulls into the bay, and littering) is also adding to the diminishing sea life and an increase of algae problems in the bay.

I have had the good fortune of knowing Kuwaiti fishermen at a time when Kuwait’s sea life is still abundant. Without them, I think I would still be afraid of the water instead of swimming in it. I would have missed too much.

My friends at Al Boom Dive Center take weekend trips to the islands.
Whether you dive or not, it is a great experience.

My favorite island is Um Al Moradim, the southern-most island in Kuwait.  I love to be there after the other boats have gone; staying from sunset to feed the fish cheese puffs (looks like they are playing basketball as thousands of little yellow fish pop the cheese puffs out of the water trying to bite them); until after dark when there is a moon and you can see clear to the sea floor.  After almost 18 years, I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to Bubiyan Island, but there is always somewhere else remaining to discover.

There is a very good book on the varieties of fish in Kuwait (with photos) titled, "The Coral Reefs and Coral Reef Fishes of Kuwait"  available for free download in .pdf format HERE.  (Actually, the site has a lot of downloadable books in English for free.)

Kuwait's Tent Market

I went to the tent market last night to have a canvas cover made for my gate door which leads into my yard.  I've had one on there for several years so that the neighbor's kids can't see in and discover I have dogs and start playing with them (or worse).  The kids thought they owned the place when I first moved in, and the canvas cover has really helped. Before I came up with the canvas idea, I debated a lot of options from building a screen to putting up accordian exterior doors (KD 500 - 3000 depending on materials).  For KD 5 at the tent market, it was a no-brainer (and something that I can easily replace and won't do any structural change to the house).

Anyhoo, I love this market and I've never seen a Westerner there.  The above is a crappy picture taken from the car.  I need to go back there and take more photos during the day.

If you're even remotely thinking about camping next year, the summer is the time to buy a tent at the market.  you can bargain and they have all kinds and sizes (they even have some small enough for me to put in my back terrace - It would be a great idea for kids.  They also sell the fabric for shading (as above) if you have a yard or patio you want to shade from the sun this summer (it really helps - especially as the plants tend to burn).  Or covers for outdoor furniture, or whatever.  Tent dudes sew on-site.  They also sell the traditional Egyptian tent fabric (which I wish they would sell more of in Kuwait in different colors - so cool!)


The tent market is behind LuLu Hypermarket (off 4th Ring Road and 55 in Rai) and down the little road from the Friday Market (and close to The Avenues if you need a major landmark).  If you aren't terribly adventurous, you can drive through it to check it out.

Glamping: Kuwait Style Camping

The glamorous camping (glamping) that we do in Kuwait is not the camping of my childhood in the States.  As kids, got pup tents and canned kidney beans, while the adults got to sleep in the warm trailer.  We spent long, scary nights at national parks or camp-sites for pay where there was often no running water.  The worst places had outhouses.  I stopped ever being able to use them after one cross-America camping trip with the family.  As tweenagers, we always shined our flashlights down the outhouse hole to make sure no monsters were going to grab us and pull us in.  In Nebraska, the monsters came in the form of a pit filled with writhing black snakes. 

My foray into Kuwaiti camping came the first winter I was in Kuwait.  I can’t call it glamorous.  Just a few tents, nothing special, up in Salmi.  We were there because my friends promised to take me gerbil hunting.  Gerbil hunting is the funniest thing you can do this side of legal; especially if  you go with “hunters” wearing national attire and you might have had something to drink before you left on the adventure.  We never did catch a gerbil.  I was laughing so hard that I wouldn’t have noticed anyways.  It was pure slapstick humour.  Here’s how it’s done:   Get a bunch of friends, gloves,  and a 4 wheel drive.  Similar to a Chinese fire drill, when the jeep comes to a halt after seizing a gerbil’s fixed gaze into the headlights, all vehicle occupants rush out and try to catch the gerbil by hand.  Weapon use is prohibited.   Nonplussed, we returned to sit in the cold tent when, ironically, a gerbil ran in, made a circuit around us, and ran back out. The perfect ending to a great night.

As I later made friends with other single Western female friends, the camp invitations started pouring in.  These were not overnight or extended visits; it was more like going to a nightclub with your girlfriends (without the bouncers or long lines).  We wore high heels and mini-skirts and lots of perfume like all the other girls there.  At that time, squat toilets in some camps made for some thrilling moments.  Balancing yourself, inebriated, in high heels over a squat toilet and perfecting your aim when a cold wind swirls around your nether-region isn’t for everybody;  only the strong-willed survive.

Camping has evolved even during the almost-20 years I’ve been in Kuwait.  For example, I have visited very few camps lately that still have squat toilets.  They have been replaced by the sit-down type (that you can later find after camping season ends April 1^st littering the desert). 

Sure camping started out as a Bedouin nomadic custom out of necessity.  Tents were mobile homes moved to better grazing grounds.  When people settled into houses, they would still go out to the deserts to camp – especially when the kids were out of school, usually in the Spring when the weather wasn’t too hot yet nor too cold. 

Everything has changed.  It isn’t as family-oriented now, but rather a form of escapism in a society where alcohol and public dancing are illegal.  From November 1 to April 1, the deserts in Kuwait are transformed into cities of tents and lights.  The norm is nightclub-quality sound systems and disco lighting, outdoing the neighbours with barrier lighting systems (latest trends include multi-colored LED displays), and of course, lots of loud ATV’s (known here as “bungees”) that young children without helmets can drive up and down all night (and later give business to local hospitals and clinics).  Now, dune buggies with full-sized car engines (the likes of Corvette V8s) can be seen ripping across the sands with music blasting.

I’ve been to camps with paved/tiled walkways with outdoor lighting leading to individual sleeping tents containing flat screen TVs, HVAC units, waterbeds, and bathrooms with marble fixtures as well as sanitary ware (including Jacuzzis) that would rival what you would find in some of the finer home magazines.  I’ve seen everything you can imagine being trucked in:  A New Years Eve party tent that would put Ringling Brothers big top to shame; housing 5 bars and several dance floors.  A tent modelled after a trendy bar in Los Angeles with flowing white curtains, white lights,  black marble flooring and a black marble fireplace.  Tents with old, large brick fireplaces.  Decorating feats for temporary living.  At the end of it all, what can be re-used is packed into Conex containers and stored for the summer.

A Kuwaiti camp video went viral on the internet in Kuwait several years ago.  Someone dug out an enormous multi-levelled pit  in the desert.   From the outside, it appeared to be just another incongruous beige desert tent.  From the inside, it was a nightclub with a stage and a roped VIP section.

Businesses have sprouted to cater to campers.  Tent companies and outfitters have made fortunes off the season.  I’ve heard of tents selling for as much as $150,000.  And the peripherals:  furnishings, electric systems, sound systems, generators, plumbing, wiring, ceramic and marble work, kitchen equipment, heaters, air conditioners, satellite and internet service, lighting, fencing, pest control (think scorpions and snakes), caterers, DJ’s, and grounds-keepers/guards.    Even restaurants (including Pizza Hut) and some salons will deliver their  services your camp if you give them the GPS coordinates.

For those who want to do it on the cheap, there is a camping scrap yard in Mina Abdullah where various camping stuff has been either salvaged or sold. It is a weird and funky place close to Camp Arifjan where you can find everything from tent posts to used water tanks to the fabric woven from camel hair used in “bait shaar” (hair house) tents.  The entire place looks like something out of a Mad Max movie.

I became addicted to live-in camping last year when I shared a tent with a friend in a quiet area near Wafra and spent every free hour there.  This year, I have my own tent for the first time in probably the busiest/noisiest camping area in Kuwait:  Julai’ia.  We are a group of approximately 10 friends with a compound of tents.  My tent is a 6x6 metre tent; others are either the same size or larger.  All of the sleeping tents have comfortable beds (mine is a queen sized pillow-top) and bathrooms with porcelain sanitary ware and tiled floors.  Most of the sleeping tents have flat-screen televisions.  We have a very large tent for parties and we occasionally bring in live bands.  There are a few tents for when it is warmer and the sides can be removed. When it is cold, everybody has a heater (or two or three) for their tent.   We have 2 mini-ponies,  a goat, a bunch of chickens, and several visiting dogs.  We also have several “diwaniya” style tents where friends come and go; with or without invitation, all are welcome. 

Expat friends ask how you could set up your own camp.  These days, the facilities have become so abundant that it is easy.  If you just want to go with the family over a weekend, you can either rent an entire camp or a tent on a commercial compound.  Unfortunately, most of the companies just advertise in Arabic.  There are many rental camps in Julai’ia (off 40 between 240 and 245 roads at the turn where the temporary police station is set up during camping season) and if you stop to ask, most people (including the police on duty) will be willing to help you find one.   A good rule is that the camps with the enormous bouncy castles are rental camps.   If you want to buy your own tent, the tent market is behind the Friday Market in Rai.  They always have tents on display during any season.

DO SOMETHING this summer! Learn how to dive at Al Boom Dive Center

This is a special shout out to my friends at Alboom Dive Center.  I have known one of the instructors for 30 years (I'm 29).  He was learning to dive then and Americans taught him how.  Now he teaches Americans (and others) how to dive.  Why didn't he ever teach me?  Because I'm a bigfatchicken.

Do something this summer.  Learn how to dive.  Explore Kuwait's amazing sealife.  Doooooo IT!

GO SEE KUWAIT!

Since summer has started, many people in Kuwait like to have activities to do, but they do not know what those activities are. Alboom Marine Dive Center family would like to be a part in helping people to decide about that activity they are looking for. We offer scuba diving courses under the umbrella of the National association of Underwater Instructors “NAUI”. Most of the youth with the ages between 17 and 25 are looking for those activities and adventures to occupy their time and have fun as well. Alboom Marine Dive Center has a very long history in the marine life in Kuwait, especially in scuba diving since we are the NAUI service center in the Middle East. Established in 1987, Al Boom Marine is the largest diving school in the state of Kuwait. Our diving school has trained & certified more than 20,000 divers in different fields. 

We are NAUI’s official service center in the Middle East and we offer diving courses in Arabic and in English as well.  (Female Instructors are available for women.)

Al Boom Marine offers a full range of NAUI diving and snorkeling courses from beginner to Instructor level. We are focusing on student learning, skills development, and divers’ safety. All of the Instructors in Alboom Marine Dive Center are internationally certified and also qualified to teach the NAUI scuba diving courses.

What we would like to offer for you is scuba diving courses under the training regulations of NAUI. This offer will give the you the opportunity of a life time to discover the underwater life in Kuwait while training and worldwide after getting certified.

We hope to hear from you soon regarding our offer. And remember always NAUI’s saying “Dive safety through education”.

Sincerely,

Alboom Marine Dive Center Family
Tel : 965-4830570 /4830474 /4834831
Fax : 965-4838293
website : http://www.alboomkuwait.com

Doha Chalets, Jahra

This weekend, I was invited to visit my regular Thursday Night Buddies at a chalet in Doha.  I hadn't been up to that area since (OMG) 1998.  I can't remember who I was visiting at that time, but I recall he was very very nice and welcoming and now I wish I had kept in touch.

Anyways, a LOT has changed in that area since 1998.  You used to be able to get up there by cutting by the Doha Power Plant and over.  I made the mistake of trying to go that way now, but you can't get there that way.  (It looked like you could on the Locator.)  You have to take 605 from 80 (it is the Amghara scrap yard exit.  Amghara is on the left, Doha chalets are to the right).

Yes, Doha is the area at the end of 7th Ring Road where Camp Doha used to be.  Well, it is actually still there, but the Kuwaiti military uses it now and not the US military.

 Camp Doha in the background.  

Some chalets in the foreground.

It looks like this now, but with quite a 

few houses already constructed.

Like a lot of areas in Kuwait (especially around the sea), Doha is being developed.  Where it used to be an easy little drive to get there, it is now a pain in the butt. They're building a new city, Jaber Al-Ahmad City, and I swear I went through 20 traffic circles.  There are no street lights up yet, so it was a crap shoot to see if I was going to run right  over one of those circles.  I had to keep it slow.  This is the plan for development (on Pan Arab Consulting Engineers' website).

This is the plan for development

 (on Pan Arab Consulting Engineers' website).

When I finally got to the chalet, it looked as if the area hadn't changed much at all.  The chalets are still pretty low-level compared to their Southern cousins.  (Guess that is about to change.)  The one I visited was nice enough, but not a whole lot of beach frontage/sand.  The water is also very shallow (good for shrimp but not so great for swimming).  It is a very quiet area (unlike the Southern chalets). I think the owners choose to keep it like that.  Parties are seriously discouraged (the police show up immediately and it is serious).  It is a quiet family environment.

Doha is at the tip of the bay and where there are mud flats.  The area is actually a nature (wetland) preserve, Al Doha Reserve,  in the area which was established in 1988. I don't know how that will fare with the development.


I'm glad I'm seeing it before-and after.  I couldn't get over how the Khuwaisat area changed - and now this.  I should go take photos before everything becomes completely different.  It is happening. If you are into exploring like I am, you should drive out there and check it.  Kuwait fascinates me.  It changes every day.