Kuwait: Time Out Part 1

My Mom came to visit me for a few weeks, and we spent the time doing all the things that one does in Kuwait, when one is looking for things to do. Surprisingly, there is actually quite a bit to do in this small little corner of the world. The constant bad reputation that 'working and living in Kuwait' has is getting a bit tiresome, quite frankly. 
I feel that perhaps, the perceived lack of activities is much more about the lack of an obvious drinking culture, and less about activities. In addition, I think we have become a society that demands to be entertained, and we are much less willing to work at seeking our own amusement. Very similar to being a child in today's world, with internet and techno-gadgets up the whazoo vs being a child of the 1950's where playing 'cops and robbers' outside was the highlight of the summer. 
Anyhoo....here is a map of Kuwait, for reference. 



1) Drove to the Saudi Border. 
This was actually not a huge investment of time, as Kuwait is fairly small but  we did make a day of it. The drive from Shaab ( Kuwait subdivision) south, to the Saudi Border beyond Fahaheel takes one through some interesting land marks along the way--one of them being the Al Ahamdi Oil Refinery, which, according to Lonely Planet's Guide to the middle east, is the largest in the world. 
It must be about 5 km long, and looks very much like something out of a Mad Max Movie ( the first one, and btw, the sequel's sucked). 
The road follows the coastline and drives through some of the ugliest desert, in the world..in my opinion. 
In the desert we saw camps and tents that had the ubiquitous large vehicle ( here they make sense) parked outside. I am not sure why these tents/camps exist so if someone can help me make sense of that, that would be appreciated.
After about a 2 hour drive  ( with no detours) we arrived at the Saudi Border--which was  kind of anti-climactic. But in all fairness, there might have been a proper border crossing beyond the depth of this photo.

Kuwait/Saudi Border

2) Drove to the Iraqi Border
For our next adventure, we drove north along the Persian Gulf to the Iraqi Border. This drive was much more interesting, as the desert was a bit different--the "feel" was different, and it was a bit more picturesque. We did not take the main road, but rather we chose to take a back road, running up along Bubiyan Island ( which is now a military base). This seemed like a really good idea at the time, but after about 5 minutes driving on the road--I had toquestion my judgement. What the heck was I thinking?? Here we were--two western ladies, ( I in a sleeveless dress) driving a teeny tiny Toyota Corolla, down a deserted road in a fairly conservative Middle Eastern Country, into a war zone....not really sure why we did that, quite frankly, but there you have it. 
The road was long and very deserted except for the yahoos who would go racing by us in their pick up trucks and Four wheel drive vehicles....I prayed that the car would not break down, for we would truly be at the mercy of Allah. 

Road from Kuwait to Iraq...

All fear was erased however, when we stopped to look at a small herd of camels that were strolling along the road. The camels were obviously quite used to people and cars, for they came right up to the car, and were obviously begging for food. My mom fed them some apples we had in the car. 
It was a very nice and happy moment...but I was still nervous, as we were now out of the car and making our presence known to the passers by. 

Camel coming to the car, begging for food.

Kuwait/Iraq Border

The border crossing was a bit anti-climactic though. I think I expected more hoopla and security All we were met with was a very nice military guy who was helpful, respectful and courteous--as he told us to turn around and that entry into Iraq was forbidden. ( Actually kind of glad he put his food down--or lord knows what we would have done. :) )