KUWAIT NATIONAL DAY8 min read

Backpacking & Budget Travel, Blog Entries, Cities, Culture History & Informative, The Oil Series

25/02/2020

THE OIL SERIES, DAY 6.2

KUWAIT

Kuwait National Day. I was happy to return to Kuwait and see what I had missed first time around and it proved to be one of the most enjoyable few days of my trip.

THE MOST AGGRESSIVE KIDS I’VE SEEN

There’s only so much booking.com reviews you can read but when I read the reviews of Regent Hotel Apartments I knew that’s where I would be staying.

WHERE IS KUWAIT?

REVIEWS

Review after review mentioned how friendly the staff were and for me that’s just as important as the faculties. But I was sure to take them all with a pinch of salt and see for myself.

After checking in I headed out to the city to see what I could find and I was left dumbstruck. On the first few streets there wasn’t a car to be seen until I got to Gulf Street, the road that goes around the entire peninsula.

FACTS….

Kuwait has the fifth largest oil reserves.
It is the only country in the world with no natural water supplies from lakes or reservoirs.
It is the 4^th richest country in the world per capita.

Cars and people at night at Gulf Street in Kuwait. Kuwait National Day

Rainfall averages 2 days per year (turns out I was here both of them).

WATER BALLOONS

The traffic was chaotic but what surprised me even more was crowds of people on the footpaths taking part in what can only be described as the biggest waterfight I have ever seen.

There were missiles coming from everywhere and I didn’t know who was and who wasn’t a target but I tried to keep my head down and keep walking. Because I was a tourist I thought at times I was a target but I would learn tomorrow that I got off lightly, due to locals knowing I wasn’t aware of the rules, which I will discuss in the next post.

KUWAIT TOWERS

There isn’t much to see at this time of night so I walked the mile up to the Kuwait Towers. These towers were initially built in 1979 as water tanks believe it or not. They also hold a 90 seater restaurant, café and lounge which one of the towers holding only equipment to illuminate the towers.

The view at night isn’t entirely impressive due to the reflection of the windows but I would recommend to seem them as they are quite a feature and an iconic structure to Kuwait.

KUWAIT TOWERS….

They can hold up to 4,500 cubic metres of water (9,000 total).
The main tower is 187 metres tall.
Closed in 2012 for 4 years for refurbishment.

SCUFFLE

Walking back towards the area I was soaked at I made sure to walk behind them this time but at the same time a scuffle broke out. Nothing that I have never seen before but there was a few pushes and a chair involved but it all calmed down.

A few of the locals caught me watching the action and couldn’t apologise enough for the behaviour of some and asked me to join them tomorrow night, the very people who soaked me an hour earlier!

FINAL THOUGHTS

This trip is taking a real turn for the better

NEXT UP

Around Kuwait and the most insane water fight in the world. Click to read.

SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
143/229

This post is part of The Oil Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.

Question Time

Have you been to Kuwait, what was your experience like?
Where did you stay?
What was your favourite experience?

Let me know in the comments below . . .

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AN HOUR THAT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

THE MOST INSANE WATERFIGHT IN THE WORLD

About the Author

David Simpson

From Northern Ireland, David is a keen fitness fanatic, aspiring photographer and adrenaline junkie (with motion sickness). Well on his way to visiting every country in the world, David usually lives outside of his comfort zone. Whether that’s talking his way out of problems in a Peruvian Police Station, getting mashed with the Maseru tribe in the Drakensberg mountains or just chilling on the beach, he’s an all or nothing guy.