It is Dubai (Not Kuwait)

Last weekend I had the chance to visit Dubai, definitely the most famous city in Persian Gulf area, in United Arabic Emirates. It was not a pleasure trip but I went there to attend a job fair, searching for a better working position. So I didn’t have much time for sightseeing, however a couple of walks were enough to realize that this place has almost nothing to do with what I see daily in Kuwait.

The first thing that comes to attention is the public transportation, very organized, with buses really stopping at the bus stops and a good subway and tram system. Besides, drivers respect traffic rules and they even stop their vehicles at the pedestrian crosses. Regarding pedestrians, they only cross the roads if there are traffic lights, not like in Kuwait as there are not signals for us here, as I wrote in other post. On the other hand, it is very pleasant when you see there are sidewalks. Even you can find some cycle paths. Another world compared with my place of residence.

I also noticed that it is a city much more cosmopolitan than Kuwait City, and many foreigners from different parts of the world decide stay here for a long time. Not surprisingly due to the countless leisure activities and events you can find in Dubai, where socializing is quiet easy and it is impossible to get bored, as some Lithuanian friends I met here told me. However, Kuwait is better if you want to save money, because prices are lower and there are less “temptations” to spend the dinars.

 

I spent one of the two days in Dubai almost entirely in the job fair, so I only had time for a short morning walk on Saturday. I strolled around the highest building in the World, the iconic Burj Khalifa, with 820 meters high. It is the symbol of the city and you can see from almost anywhere. Inside there is a hotel, luxury apartments and some offices. And just next to it you can find Dubai Mall, the biggest mall in the World, the top of the exaggeration and the ostentation.

But if there is something I have to highlight alter visiting Dubai, that is what I got in the fair: a new job, also in a school in Kuwait, but with better conditions, which will allow me to continue growing professionally and enjoy my life here in a different way. Besides, I will live in Salmiya area (bye Fintas!), with everything nearby and close to most of people who make this place worth enough to stay longer. It was already time to celebrate something like that (with grape juice though).

Next stop

Just few days ago, after moths of paperwork, I got the most coveted document for expats in Kuwait: the Civil ID. There are several advantages related to this ID card, which I will be describing in the next posts. At the moment, the first thing I did is getting a monthly bus pass, something I really need since I have to go by this vehicle almost everyday to go and come back from work.

There are different types of bus pass in Kuwait. I got the route pass, which allows me to travel every time I want in the route I choose, in my case the 999. You just need to go to any office of Citybus, show your civil ID, a passport size picture and give 11KD. After the first month, you only need to pay 10KD when you recharge. This card only can be used in Citybus buses (red colour). When you enter the bus, you have to pass the card on the device next to the driver and collect the ticket. In this link, you can find the location of the offices where you can get this: http://www.citygroupco.com/ProCat/CityBusTerminals.aspx

I would like to comment in this post some peculiarities of the buses in this country, which remind me in somehow to my experience in India. Although it is not specified anywhere, the seats in front, near to the driver, are reserved for women, leaving the rest for the men. I don’t know if this is something cultural or it is a measure of protection against perverts and sexual predators, as it happens in Mumbai subway, for example. It is usually clean inside and people don’t smoke (just some people eat sunflower seeds sometimes). Normally I can find a free seat, however there are some hours, around sunset, when it is difficult to find an empty space in a forest of armpits, elbows and other body parts.

If I have to say something negative about this service, I would mention the way the drivers guide their buses. They usually go too fast and they almost never stop 100% at the bus stops, so one has to get in and get off with the bus still moving, calculating the inertia effect in order to avoid a fall. The bus only stops totally when women or very old people get in. At the beginning it seems to be risky but, finally, with a bit of practice, you can manage it.

I feel like that sometimes

As I said, I only use the route 999, but there are several more connecting the whole country. If you need more information, you can visit the following links although, actually it is not so simple to predict where and when the bus will stop:

- BusKW- This website is about one project which encourages people to use more the bus as a way to protect the environment. It includes a map in GoogleMaps with all the routes.

- Citygroup - Here you can see the routes but as a subway map.

- Kuwait Bus routes and numbers- In this blog you can find the names of the stops for each route, but without map.

That’s it, I just wanted to encourage you to use more the bus. Other than being cheaper, you can protect the environment and you definitely won’t need to waste your time disputing with local drivers. Give it a try!