Very comfortable stay, the hotel is ideally located between the main downtown business district and the airport. Only 2 KM away from the gigantic "The Avenues" Shopping mall. I highly recommend the hotel, as the service was excellent. Breakfast and Lunch buffet were extremley delicious with lots of varaieties for all tastes. They also have an Indian restaurant and a Steak House that I did not try, but seemed interesting. Add to that an Arab/Lebanese cafe' offering refreshments and Shisha/Narghile (water pipe). Business centre has 3 computers for 24 hours internet access, and rooms are all equipped with wire internet connections. They have a lobby patisserie offering delicious French and Austrian Pastries. They also have a health club and a swimming pool.

Reader, if u have been folowing my other euro-trip blog, this story is about 18 days of catching up on partying while being in a place like Iraq for 10 months!!! Some said we would not suceed, but Buddy we did!

As we waited in kuwait for a flight to get to germany, Blake and I discussed what we would do when we arrive in Frankfurt.

I told him I was gonna rent a car first and then have a drink! We were both excited!!!

Nic Blake, since this was his first time going to countries in Europe had set a goal to take pictures of everything, to include the beer we drank and take the coasters... I didnt have any goals for this trip but to have a good time. You go to a place one time, you never have the same experiance, visit twice...i guess i was anticpating for surprises!

This blog will be about fun storytelling, so i can remind myself what happened because I have very bad short-term memory 'relapses' , shouldnt really call it losses, cuz it takes me days to remember someone's name and or a name of something, sorry.

Zwischenlandung in Kuwait City. Ziemlich viele US-Soldaten an Bord, die hier das Flugzeug verlassen. Der Irak ist eben nicht weit entfernt...

this modest looking restaurant that hidden ... but if you know how to get there .. I place the direction that was posted once by mark from 248am.com as a review .. and I appreciate that he did post the directions for it .. To get to Badar Al Badoor you take the Gulf Road as if going from the Kuwait Towers toward Salmiya. Once you pass Fuddruckers on your left and Safir Hotel on your right you take a right following the Commercial Bank of Kuwait signage. Once you take the right (Safir Hotel is now still on your right hand like this) you take your first right again and you will spot Badar Al Badoor in front of you.

the first kuwaiti none profit meditation group .. so great karma :)

YEAH THE FRIGGIN SANDBOX WAS AN OVEN to say the least! Most people could handle it but the duststorms and sandflies were bad!  This was one place I was ready to get out of. At least it was a short trip to Dubai in the UAE to get away from it all.

People who drive from Kuwait are crazy. Excessive speed. A stop sign is a suggestion. And they drive almost anywhere they please.

But like all soldiers heading home, our tolerance for bullshit increases so no one cared about the noise or the heat.  That is until we landed in Kuwait.

For those of you that have never been to Kuwait or at least the Army bases near the boarder I would recommend wearing as little as possible.  While I and those around me were not afforded such options the heat was intense.  We filed off the planes onto busses and began another round of paperwork and were reminded yet again to wear a condom.  At that point I looked around and wondered why they didn't say anything to the women in the group but that's neither here nor there.  It is always the guy's responsibility. 

My time in Kuwait was about 24 hours and it was spent sleeping, doing nothing, reading, briefings, and then customs.

  Customs, wow, they went through everything I had, I mean everything and were always reminding us over loudspeakers that "war trophies" were illegal.  I could not even bring back sand, not that I wanted to but it is the principal of the matter.  Once we were done with customs we were hoarded into another holding area to wait for the buses that would take us to Kuwait Int. Airport. 

we moved around a lot within Kuwait till we got to our Camp out in the desert.  Besides the sand storms and the boredom everything was pretty much ok.  On Christmas Eve we crossed the line and for the next 12 months it was no looking back.

A Long flight but well worth it to get my feet back on American soil!!

I had always wanted to see the Kuwait Towers in person.  The architecture of them is amazing to me!  I finally set out to do just that on May 31, 2006.   I would also visit the Kuwait Hard Rock Cafe while there.

I departed Indy to Philadelphia in the early afternoon on a Northwest Airlink CRJ-200 aircraft.   After a few hours at PHL, I caught British Airways flight 66, a 777 to London and they upgraded me to business class!   I arrived early the next morning into London and waited a few hours again for Kuwait Airways 104, another 777.  I was really impressed with the Kuwait service!    We arrived into Kuwait in the early evening and the sun was still out.  The visa process was not quick but after about an hour I was out on the curb for my hotel pick up to the Le Meridien.  

After check in, I quickly showered and changed so I could explore the city.   It was hot, but nothing I hadn't dealt with before during my ten years living in Vegas.   I walked to the Towers and went to the top.  I stayed up there for about an hour, taking photos and enjoying the views.  When I went back down, I just strolled the beach for an hour, taking more photos.   I went to dinner at Fuddruckers.   I then went back to the room for some much needed sleep!  The hotel was very nice, but as with all things in Kuwait, it was very expensive.  I received an airline employee discount which brought my room down to KD60, or about $206.   Without the discount, it would have been KD91, or about $314.   The exchange rate at the time was about $3 for KD1.        KD=Kuwaiti Dinar.

I awoke the next morning early and did some more exploring, before heading to the Hard Rock for lunch.  This location was really nice and the staff was some of the friendliest I had seen at any location.  I continued to walk around the city all day in the 115 degree F heat and the direct sun was a little bit uncomfortable.  You don't see many Kuwaitis out during the mid day and I could understand why.  The hotel let me keep my room for the day, so I went and had a cool shower before heading to Kuwait airport at 5:30 pm.  It was real crowded and took a while to check in.   At 7:10pm I departed Kuwait on Sri Lankan airlines flight 228, an A-330 bound for Colombo, with a stop in Dubai, which is where I would deplane.  The service was fantastic for such a short flight, I'd love to fly with them again!

I arrived into Dubai and hurried through immigration so I get out and enjoy my short time in the UAE.  I took a cab to explore the city, which was really hopping with people that late at night.   I checked out all the usual places, like the Burj and the Creek area.  I actually did not get to the Hard Rock here because I ran out of time and it was closed.   I went back to Dubai airport in the morning and caught an Emirates Airbus 340-500 back to New York-Kennedy.  Emirates is so awesome!  There were something like 50 movie channels and 600 music channels on board.  The cabin lighting looks like you are outside beneath the stars.  Very cool!

I arrived into JFK, cleared immigration, and took a bus to LaGuardia,  for my Northwest Airlink CRJ-200 flight to Indy.  I was satisfied to have finally seen the Kuwait Towers.

Would I go back?   Maybe.   There is not a whole lot to do there yet.   I am not a big drinker so the lack of alcohol was not an issue for me, but could be for some people.     It is a very friendly and safe country.

Well its a nice and warm 108 degrees in Kuwait right now, and its only 1030 in the morning. The heat out here is insane!! I can't wait to leave here and go on my vacation. Its official, I'll be in Adelaide, Australia on the 15th of October! Anyone wanna meet up, just let me know! Its going to be my first time there, so I won't know where to go or how to get there! I have a friend that lives there that is going to let me stay at her place for the trip. so I'll have plenty of free money to have fun!

I have never hated sand as much as I do today...

I never want to walk on it again...I'm never going to the beach again either!

 I got off shift today at 0730 and made it home by a little after 0800. After resting a bit the maid came by and took care of my laundry and all. After she finally finished about mid afternoon I packed all my things and ran a few errands. Gary is picking me up around 2300 and we're off to KIA where I 'll catch my flight on KLM headed to Amsterdam for a couple of hours before going on to Edinburgh. I'll update again tomorrow in Amsterdam...