In another effective use of the “why not?” method of reasoning I decided to take a short trip to Kuwait. Only there for one day, I still managed to drive around and get a feel for the place. On the whole it was not that much different than Doha, Abu Dhabi, or some of the other Gulf states. Like in Oman, I decided to rent a car and drive around to “see what I could see”. Fortunately, unlike Oman, there were no encounters with the friendly local military force.

I did spend a lot of time wandering around one of the bigger outdoor markets that I had seen in the region. In the typical souq style, the market was divided into sections by what the merchants were selling. I think that I counted 13 large shaded hangers, each about the size of a football field, so this was a very big place. They had everything from rugs to toasters, and old electronics to a seemingly disproportionately large selection of futons and floor cushions. I also wandered over to the livestock section that was as fragrant as one might expect and luckily for all shoppers, well removed from the rest of the market.

At sunset, I found my way to a beach with a western view and watched the sun sink to the horizon. Kuwait burns a lot of oil for power generation and the particulate mater in the atmosphere from the exhaust really gives the sun a special glow.