Picking a hotel near the airport paid off as I had to be at the check-in for 6.30am. Just enough time to exchange my surplus Dirhams for Dinars before boarding the plane.
The plane was old and a little cramped but thankfully empty. By the time we’d been served a very pleasant breakfast and a cup of sweet tea we were descending to land.
Arriving at Kuwait airport there are huge queues at immigration, but if you’re in transit you can walk up the stairs at the back to the gates and get a transit visa there from one of 5 lonely looking officials. The military looking security official asked about my plans and seemed happy I was interested in his country but warned me to hurry as I only had 4 hours to spare.
I jumped in a cab and 30 minutes later was stood at the base of the Kuwait Towers. Couple of photos then 30 minutes back to the airport in time for a second breakfast.
Passing into the waiting area by the gate I get there in time to see what looks like a body in a white shroud being loaded from an ambulance into the hold of the plane.
After boarding it becomes apparent there are actually 3 stretcher cases on board, all very well covered by carefully arranged curtains. This seems like a regular enough occurrence that the plane interior is specially designed around it with hooks for IV drips and places for the medics to work without blocking the aisle. The doctors look like civilians but it did occur to me that this would be a safe evacuation route for soldiers injured in Iraq.
The flight back to the UK was equally cramped, but more bothersome was the noise. Why would you give a child a tambourine to play with on a plane? For 6 long hours…
You should have tried some original Kuwaiti food!
I’d love to have done, but time was short – hopefully there will be a next time
I am hoping to do similar, in August, a little frustrated that it will be on a Friday, and concerned that I may melt!! How much is a taxi from the airport, or to hire for say a few hours? And are they air-conditioned? Many thanks.
I don’t remember the exact price of the taxi, but it was quite reasonable, and air-conditioned. I’d suggest getting a map in advance and marking out waypoints, as not much English was spoken in my taxi, so I had to point at a picture of the tower.