Need some alone time? I highly recommend a weekend in Kuwait. Plenty of beaming sunshine, extreme heat, peace and quiet. I guarantee that you will be the only one wandering the streets that Friday morning. Not even a bird in sight. Occasionally a car will pass by. But, nobody will bother you. Or try to sell you stuff. Talk to you. Or even look at you. You will basically have the entire city to yourself. Which is great – until you need a bathroom. Or something to do. Then, good luck. But, if you find yourself at the only tourist attraction in town, as the only tourist there, you will have all of the bathrooms to yourself.

All sarcasm aside, a weekend trip to Kuwait was not at the top of my “next destinations” list. There was nothing drawing me in to visit the country, except for the unusually cheap airfare offered by Royal Jordanian Airlines. Since I could not decide where to travel to that particular weekend, I let the price decide.

After a multi-hour layover in Amman, followed by a two or so hour flight, I arrived at Kuwait International Airport at 1:05 in the morning on Friday, November 10, 2017. Before clearing immigration and passing through the customs area, I had to first visit the visa office located inside of the airport. United States passport holders are able to apply for a Kuwait e-Visa before arriving in the country. By doing so, the visa is free and available for pick up upon arrival. Note: The single entry visa is only valid for one month from the date of entry. Otherwise, United States passport holders, along with passport holders of several other nations, can obtain a visa on arrival.

Since I was arriving in the middle of the night and only had one full day in Kuwait, I originally planned to stay and sleep at the airport until morning. Typically, I use the website Sleeping in Airports to gain insight into the airport that I plan to sleep in. So far, the website has been pretty accurate in terms of warnings and recommendations. The Kuwait City Airport Guide states: foreign nationals are not allowed to remain in the airport for more than three hours, and overnight stays are out of the question. Furthermore, all foreign travelers who attempt to spend the night will be escorted to a nearby transit hotel. Reading those statements made me question, and eventually reconsider, my decision to spend the night. Though, I would later learn that these warnings were not exactly accurate.

I was worried about being kicked out of the airport and moved elsewhere, leaving me to pay for a last minute hotel stay. To avoid that potential situation, I booked a one-night stay (well, technically, a several-hour stay) at the Carlton Tower Hotel Kuwait. Centrally located in the heart of the city, the hotel offered a relatively cheap nightly rate, free breakfast, and included a complimentary airport shuttle – which was the deciding factor. Just like everything else in the Middle East, Kuwait is expensive. I wanted to save money where I could.

I only had one full day in Kuwait, so I wanted to make the most of it. Prior to arriving, I spent days looking for guided tours of the city. I found nothing. Nothing on Viator. Nothing on ToursByLocals. Nothing on any website that I checked. A quick Google search informed me that Kuwait City was actually quite safe. I downloaded several self-guided walking tours off GPSmyCity and proceeded to complete the consolidated route that I had mapped after breakfast.

My route included the following stops:

Bayt Al Badr – Old house that showcases the distinctive architectural style of old Kuwaiti houses. Closed.

Sadu House – Artistic house and museum that presents the Bedouin art of weaving, its styles and history. Closed.

Seif Palace – Home of the royal family. Closed.

Grand Mosque – Largest and the official mosque in Kuwait. Closed for visitors.

Central Fish Market – Main fish market in Kuwait City. Walked in as it was closing.

Souq Sharq – Major shopping center.

At this point, I had been walking for well over an hour. Nothing in Kuwait is really “walking distance”. The sun was beating down on me. Dressed culturally appropriate in long sleeves and pants, I was overheating. And, I was barely halfway to the Kuwait Towers – the highlight of my itinerary. I entered the shopping center in search of a bathroom. I needed an excuse to sit down in the air-conditioned space. I found a café and ordered a ridiculously unhealthy breakfast in hopes of attaining a sugar high to get me through the rest of the day.

Kuwait Towers – Three towers regarded as a landmark and symbol of modern Kuwait.

Walking up to the towers, I noticed that the parking lot was completely empty.

I expected to actually see people, given that the towers are the city’s main attraction. Not a soul in sight. Oh well. At least I had the bathrooms to myself. Exhausted, I found a place to sit and allowed myself to cool down before making the two hour walk back to the hotel.

Sea Bridge – Bridge located on the beach next to the Kuwait Towers.

I quickly walked over to the Sea Bridge to get a good, unobstructed view of the Kuwait Towers.

Souq Al-Mubarakiya – One of the oldest souqs in Kuwait.

I continued my route back towards the hotel through the empty streets of Kuwait City. Still, not another soul in sight. I crossed “highways”, construction sites, and urban neighborhoods.

Nope. Nobody walking the streets but me. About ten or so minutes away from the souq, I finally found life!

Out of nowhere, I saw masses of people in the souq district. What a change of scenery.

Wandering around, I was persuaded to have dinner. No convincing needed. I was starving.

Gold Souq – Marketplace where merchants sell jewelry. Closed.

Liberation Tower – Second-tallest structure in Kuwait. Closed.

If you have not noticed the trend – the country shuts down on Fridays. I expected this. Well, sort of. I studied abroad in Jordan freshman year of university. So, I was well aware of the fact that most places are closed on Fridays in the Middle East. However, I did not expect every single place to actually be closed.

After completing my mapped out walking tour, I headed back to the hotel to catch the complimentary airport shuttle back to the airport. I booked this trip knowing that I would not need more than one full day to explore Kuwait City. I wanted to visit another Gulf country while in the Middle East. I already traveled to the United Arab Emirates, Yemen was (and is) off the table, could not (and cannot) leave the airport during a layover in Saudi Arabia, was (and am) saving Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and felt (and feel) like I need more time in Oman than just a day. So, Bahrain it was [see post: A Saturday in Bahrain]!