Tour Kuwait in Three Days

 

I took this driving in the Kuwaiti desert near Jahra. It's like the desert 7-Eleven. ;p

What a fun filled Kuwaiti summer we had working on the Tour Kuwait in One, Two or Three Days. I hope you have enjoyed the posts as much as we have enjoyed exploring Kuwait. 

If you would like to re-post please email us at: expatandthecity@gmail.com

This is our final post of the series which completes the Tour Kuwait in Three days. If you have three entire days to see Kuwait then you will start with Day 1 [here] and then Day 2 [here] and last but not least, Day 3:

Tour Kuwait in Three Days (Day Three):

Why don't you start your day with one of the most delicious and delectable places to eat breakfast in Kuwait? Pay the Cocoa Room a visit and enjoy their new age breakfast. It's located off the Arabian Gulf Street across from Seif Palace at the Seif Strip (the unofficial name of the complex housing Slider Station, Cocoa Room, Pizzeta, Prime & Toast, Burger Hub, Pink Moon, and Milk Café). It should be on your right and the Seif Palace/Diwan on your left.  They open at 8 AM and fill up quickly due to their popularity and decadent cuisine.

We recommend the sexiest pancakes in Kuwait. <3 Red Velvet

Spicy jalapeno scrambled eggs

Now that you've had an amazing breakfast, move on to an international abode, locally known as Dickson House, which overlooks the Dhow Basin / harbor on the Arabian Gulf Street. Originally, this house belonged to a Kuwaiti trader, then it became home of the British Political Agents in Kuwait in the 1900s. The last agent was Harold Dickson, who lived in Kuwait with his wife Violet Dickson. They named their children Kuwaiti names (Saud and Zahra). Harold spent years serving as an agent, and then enjoyed his retirement living in his house. Both Harold and Violet wrote books on Kuwait (Kuwait and its Neighbours and 40 Years in Kuwait, respectively). Even after his death, Violet, or Um Saud as the Kuwaitis called her, continued living in Kuwait until the Iraqi Invasion in 1990. She passed away in the UK, after living 60 years in Kuwait, where she made friends with not only the royal family, but also the people of Kuwait.

Click [here] and you can watch Violet Dickson during an interview conducted in 1964 in Kuwait, and notice how she spoke the Kuwaiti dialect fluently. WOW!

 

 

 

Next head over to the Kuwait National Museum, located opposite Kuwait National Library overlooking the Arabian Gulf Street.

 

It was opened on December 31, 1957, which is considered the first museum in the Gulf. Originally, it opened in Diwan Khazaal in Dasman, moved to Bait Al-Bader in Sharq in 1976, then to this current location in Qibla in 1983. The museum houses the Archaeological Museum, the Heritage Museum, the Planetarium, and the Muhallab Dhow. The Archaeological Museum includes all the archaeological findings from various eras in Failaka Island, which range from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Hellenistic Age, and Islamic era.

 

 

On the other hand, the Heritage Museum, opened in 2003, exhibits a miniature pre-oil Kuwait in its seafaring and trading glory. It shows the old souks, the old houses, café, the school, etc. The locals consider it Kuwait's version of the wax museum. It was established in order to connect Kuwaitis with their past.

 

In addition, the National Museum houses the Planetarium, which provides various shows in English and Arabic. It was established by Carl Zeus's company.

Last, as you will exit the Planetarium, you will notice the Muhallab Dhow not far from the exit. It was originally built by Kuwaiti ship builders in the late 1930s. Sadly, it was burned down by the Iraqi Army in order to wipe out Kuwait's identity. Fortunately, it was rebuilt by one of the last ship builders in 1995.

 

Check out the Sadu House, once you exit Kuwait National Museum, as they are next to each other. The Sadu House opened to the public in 1976 to exhibit the Bedouin art of weaving. The architecture of the Sadu House blends the Kuwaiti with the Indian style quite smoothly. There's a visual showroom that shows a documentary on the history of weaving in Kuwait along with its process. In addition, a gift shop is open and sells books and weaving products. Simply amazing!

 

For lunch, we recommend checking out Mais Al-Ghanim, which serves Lebanese cuisine, such as Kebab, Kefta, Shish Tawooq, Hummus, mashed, garlic, Arayyes, etc. The restaurant has been open in Kuwait since the early 1950s and is conveniently located on the Arabian Gulf Street in Sharq. The building of the restaurant is modeled after the pre-oil era Kuwaiti houses. This is a must visit place at their original location.

Photo Credit: Bazaar Magazine

Next, head to Kuwait's modern architectural marvel, Al Hamra Tower located in Kuwait City. It's currently the tallest skyscraper in Kuwait. Inside Al Hamra you will find an upscale mall, restaurants, cinema, spa, business center and roof garden. Al Hamra is so fabulous that they have the first and only Hermes store in Kuwait along with many other luxury brands.

Above Photo Credit: Al Hamra

 

Kuwait City October 2012

 

Next we suggest you check out Kuwait's fascination with rides and one of it's newest museums, the Historical, Vintage, and Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait. It's located in Shuwaikh Industrial Area, Block 8, opposite City Center.

 

 

This is the first car (above) ever in Kuwait (early 1900's) made in Belgium. It was brought as a gift for Sheikh Mubarak Al- Sabah.

 

Moreover, there's an engine workshop, where you will learn the mechanics of the engine and can watch some instructional videos in the AV showroom.

 

Within the museum, you will see the Car City Museum, where kids can learn driving and safety in a mini version of Kuwait City.

 

Head back to the Arabian Gulf Street to check the sunset in a tranquil walkway in Qibla opposite the Parliament and close to the Sailor's Village. The best place to enjoy the sun setting on the Arabian Gulf.  We didn't make it until after dark but we took the photos of the spacious walkway along the scenic Arabian Gulf.  After dark is the perfect time to see the Parliament all lit up with colorful lights.

 

Another beautiful location to walk along the Arabian Gulf and view Kuwait City all lit up at night is near The Scientific Center walking towards Kuwait City that we featured in our Tour Kuwait in Two Days post.

 

Now that it is time to wind down your trip to Kuwait, we recommend you hit the Arabian Gulf Street straight to Radisson Blu Hotel for three reasons, the Kuwait Maritime Museum (a different one), the Hashemi 2 dhow, and the Mohammedi Dhow dinner experience. Radisson Blu Hotel is home to the biggest wooden Dhow in the world, known as The Hashemi 2 Dhow, which was built in 2000. It has the Guinness Book World Record, and was built to preserve the maritime spirit of Kuwait. It functions as a social function hall for conferences, weddings, and formal dinners.

 

Regarding the Kuwait Maritime Museum, it's on the right side of the Hashemi dhow and exhibits sone rare items of the seafaring world. It also provides books on sale, including books on the construction of the Hashemi 2, as well as the Sons of Sinbad book by the Australian Sea Captain Alan Velliers, who came to Kuwait in a Kuwaiti ship. His trip was documented in this aforementioned book. Below is his picture with the Kuwaiti captain Ali Al-Najdi and his family. Notice that Captain Alan Velliers wore a dishdasha in the picture.

You might notice this ship model. As you can see, it's a Scandinavian Viking ship, which was given as a gift to the museum. A welcoming addition to an excellent museum.

 

 

Now you might feel a bit hungry again so why not enjoy dinner inside the Mohamedi ship and try the Al-Boom seafood restaurant. Eating inside the ship is unparalleled in Kuwait. We recommend trying their fried shrimp, salmon and excellent salad bar.

 

 

Fried Shrimp, Salmon and freedom fries.

Sorry the pics are not great but there wasn't any light and I only had my iPhone 4s.

Have some tea or coffee after dinner in the upper deck diwaniya inside the restaurant for a beautiful view of the Hashemi Dhow.

This concludes day three of our tour Kuwait in three day posts.  We are going to make one more post that will enable you to chose substitutions to the suggested three day itinerary. 

Note: All the museums listed in our three posts are free to enter except for the "Not To Forget Memorial Museum" which is only 1 KD.

We worked very hard on this over this past summer.  We really enjoyed learning more about this beautiful Middle Eastern country that we currently call our home.  If you have any questions about visiting Kuwait please email us at: expatandthecity@gmail.com.

We hope that these three posts will enlighten you on the cultural side of Kuwait and what makes it unique.