Now, before you think I am crazy to go on such a trip – I was glad that another friend did the exact same a few weeks prior. So I did not have to plan much; not that there is much to plan as Kuwait isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot. The small country receives less than 200’000 tourists a year. Yup, that’s less than 600 a day on average.

We arrived late and night and went straight to our hotel. The next morning we enjoyed the temperatures around 20 degrees; much appreciated coming from below freezing. We set out to rent a car (only American cars are available) and set out to explore the city. First stop: the landmark – The Kuwait Towers. Three towers, part of the larger Kuwait Water Towers system. Designed by Swedes and built by Yugoslavians in the late 1970s.

The Kuwait Towers

There is an observation platform inside one of the towers that can be visited. Not sure where all the daily 500 tourists go, but it seems not to visit the towers as we were by ourselves.

The Kuwait Towers

The Kuwait Towers

The Kuwait Towers

From there we drove to the nearby Fish Market where you can catch a glimpse at more traditional everyday Kuwaiti life, away from the glitzy skyscrapers (which are far less abundant than in neighboring gulf emirates).

Kuwait Fish Market

Kuwait Fish Market

Kuwait Fish Market

Next to the Fish Market, there’s the harbor with all the traditional boats used for fishing:

Kuwait boats

Next up on our list was the Al-Qurain Martyrs Museum, commemorating the Iraqi invasion. It was an easy 30 minutes drive south and on the way we passed several neighborhoods away from the city centre which was interesting.

Al-Qurain Martyrs Museum

On the way back we stopped at the Souk Al Watiya where apprently the countless migrant workers stock up on things from home and go for their remittances. It reminded me a little bit of Lucky Plaza in Singapore but at a much smaller scale. After a break at the hotel, we got ready for dinner. We were recommended to check out the Souq Al Mubarakeya, the main souq in the country. It was a lively atmosphere and we enjoyed a very delicious (and good value for money) meal.

Souq Al Mubarakeya

In the hipster corner of Souq Al Mubarakeya

Souq Al Mubarakeya

Souq Al Mubarakeya

The next day (Sunday) we realized that we had already visited more or less everything we wanted to see. Hmmm… what to do? We asked the hotel receptionist and believe it or not, the two guys actually followed the recommendation to check out the country’s newest and largest shopping mall, The Avenues!

The Avenues

Almost every significant Western brand was represented and we enjoyed some burgers at Shake Shack.

We were glad that we had booked an afternoon flight out of Kuwait with a long layover in Abu Dhabi instead of an evening flight. This gave us the chance to visit the breathtaking Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Truly magnificent.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

On the way back to the airport (we stopped for an excellent Indian dinner at Ushna at The Souk) we had a taxi driver from Nigeria who had arrived just a few weeks prior. Apparently Abu Dhabi has expanded recruitment to Africa and it was interesting to hear the expectations and reality check with which he left his home country.

Back at the airport we awaiting our midnight flight back to Europe. My conclusion of Kuwait? Been there, done that. Sure, it was nice to see a gulf country that’s a bit more authentic than the likes of Dubai or Qatar but don’t plan on spending much more than a day there.

U-Tapao Airport. Probably doesn’t ring a bell for most of you. In terms of passenger volumes it is tiny with 2-3 daily domestic flights to Phuket, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. In addition Air Asia has been flying to two destinations in China. Recently they expanded to Kuala Lumpur, and as of last weekend, also Singapore. The fares were too good to give it a pass and the flight schedule perfect for a weekend getaway (departing Singapore 9pm on Friday and arriving again Sunday at 8pm).

The airport has been branded Pattaya / U-Tapao International Airport due to its proximity to the famous beach town. Somehow Pattaya is associated with elderly Westerners coming for some younger loving and has a reputation of being a sleazy place. Whether true or not, I wasn’t too keen to find out and decided to look for alternatives. Going east from the airport, Rayong province has a range of supposedly nice beaches. The most obvious choice would be Koh Samet, an island known for being quieter yet not less beautiful than some of its raucous Thai counterparts elsewhere in the country. One would have to catch a taxi to the pier in Ban Phe (approx. 1 hour), followed by a 30mins speedboat transfer (24 hour service). While doable, I decided against it due to the late evening arrival at 10.30pm.

Looking for alternatives, I settled for Mae Ram Phueng, a beach close to Ban Phe on the mainland. Researching for accommodation, it didn’t seem very developed with only few decent accommodation options and ended up booking the Ohana Resort.

The flight was uneventful until the arrival. The fact that Air Asia has two aircraft based at U-Tapao that both arrive around the same time for their night stop meant that the immigration officers were slightly overwhelmed with over two hundred passengers arriving within a short period of time. After a nearly 45mins wait and a 1 hour taxi ride, I was finally in Mae Ram Phueng shortly after midnight.

Mae Ram Phueng

The one and a half days were spent lazing by the beach. I can only say good things about it. It is clean and beautiful. There are no palm trees but pine trees instead. The beach is lined up with deck chairs and umbrellas. Every few meters there’s a seafood restaurant and I’ll have a separate post on that.

Coconut for about €0.80 and an ice-cold Singha for a little over €2

The local dog day-care center?

Long stretches of beautiful beaches

And very clean when we were there

Rooms at Ohana Resort

Mae Ramphueng is perfect for a weekend if you just want to have your quiet and relax. There isn’t much to do there however. You could go check out the nearby cities of Ban Phe (which has an aquarium) or Rayong. Best would be the rent a scooter as public transportation is difficult to come by. I wanted to go to a nearby restaurant on Saturday and was unable to find a taxi even with the hotel’s help. The tourist infrastructure is almost non-existent, barely any massage places. And the nightlife didn’t seem very inviting either.

Tempting but we skipped this party

If I do return, I’d probably check out Pattaya and see for myself whether it lives up to its reputation.