Introduction:
It’s hot – like – open the oven door, blast of hot air in the face. Region is expensive, but, three weeks to visit: Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia; all countries except, Yemen, which is plagued by civil war.
Some elements of the trip appear in “The Daily” including a mishmash of topics. Photo gallery has trip images, captions available when viewed in slide show mode.
TUE 01 Aug: pleased to move on from Jordan, enjoyed Petra and Wadi Rum, but not much else. My impression is that conditions in the country are good enough so that people won’t revolt; some nice people, but, others were less than honest.
Wake up with throbbing headache, likely a migraine; taxi for 20-mile ride to the airport, air freshener hangs from the rear view mirror with the visage of Saddam Hussein. Clear security, bench seats have arm rests, which prevent lying down. Lie down on carpeted floor, which appears to have never met a vacuum cleaner. Continue to feel worse, make it to the bathroom, and get sick before boarding the flight. Arrive in Kuwait City, free visa on arrival; temperature 120-degrees.
Stand in line to exit customs, begin to spin around in panic; customs agent calls me to the front, asks if I’m okay. Clutch my stomach and cover my mouth, shake my head “no.” He points to the bathroom, I sprint, and get sick in the toilet before I can remove my backpack. Exit the bathroom, white as a ghost, blood-shot eyes, cold sweat. AirBnB host picks me up from the airport – travel karma – and crash into bed.
Next morning, no migraine, but residual, postdrome headache. Don’t get out of bed until mid-day; go to the store to buy fluids to re-hydrate my body, and return to bed.
AirBnB host and his wife, take their guests for tour of Kuwait City, including the iconic Kuwait Towers, old souq, and Kuwait National Museum, before sharing dinner together in the evening; amazing, generous, and genuine hospitality.
FRI 04 Aug: AirBnB host drops me off at the airport, mid-day flight to Doha Qatar. Fly Boeing 737 Max 8, and wonder if its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) anomalies have been resolved. Qatar is the largest exporter of liquified natural gas in the world, and has the fourth highest GDP per capita.
Modern subway travels effortlessly into the city center, and check into a hotel; first in three months. There is an oversupply of hotels following 2022 FIFA World Cup. No hostels, and AirBnB located outside the city center.
Seven mile walking tour of the city – it’s 110 degrees – wonder if iPhone will overheat and shut down. If I stand for any length of time on the pavement (ie. street crossing), feet begin to burn. Cool off in the large network of souqs (markets); with thick plaster walls, high ceilings, and covered roof, it’s comfortable inside. Markets reflect Asian influence over Middle East.
Sunrise run, 3-miles, followed by nine mile walking tour of the city, facilitated by day pass on the subway. Stay cool in the tunnels and on the train cars; travel down the corniche, from man-made Pearl Island to the city center.
MON 07 Aug: 4am airport shuttle; short flight from Doha to Sharjah, three-hour ground travel, bus into city, Uber to metro station, and subway to hostel, located in the Marina District. Meet my niece, Samantha, at her apartment in Barsha Heights; dinner at Iran Zamin, Persian restaurant, and share small plates. Afterwards, treated to illuminated view of Burj Khalifa.
Next morning, five-mile run to Palm Jumeirah. Afterwards, take metro to Union Station, explore markets and Al Fahidi historical neighborhood, followed by visit to Dubai Mall, one of the largest malls in the world, with 5.4-million square feet and more than 1,000 retailers; reflects Dubai’s excessive, and gratuitous consumption.
WED 09 Aug: meet my niece, Samantha, at her apartment in the morning; we drive together to Abu Dhabi; she drops me off at AirBnB, and she goes to work. Buy local bus pass, and visit Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, largest mosque in the country. Riding back into the city, inspectors check bus tickets, look for fare-evading passengers.
THU 10 Aug: public bus to airport, short flight to Muscat Oman, public bus into city center. Wanted to visit Salalah, and bus across the desert to Muscat, but couldn’t make the flight schedule work. Welcome to the Sultanate of Oman.
City bus to Ruwi bus terminal, transfer, visit Al Alam Palace and Fort Mutrah. Four Pakistani men stop me along the corniche, each asks to take a photo with the pasty-white American. Pass through the public markets, so few tourists, each merchant wants me to enter his shop; I try to be polite, but, it’s a bit taxing.
City isn’t compact, but stretched out over a long distance; constrained by ocean on one side, and jagged mountains on the other. City is also bisected by a highway, with few pedestrian crossings.
Six-mile run at sunrise, opportunity to explore Azaiba Beach, mostly underwhelming. Get a haircut for $2 USD; AirBnB has wash machine – rejoice with clean clothes.
If travel overseas, it’s best to carry the newest US currency with most recent security features (ie. watermark); also, ensure that bills are not torn, ripped, or creased. Have not used ATM in the GCC; exchange currency just a few dollars at a time, for local bus; some currency exchange desks are more particular than others.
SUN 13 Aug: play a game of six-lane Frogger, to cross highway, and reach airport bus stop; afternoon flight to Manama Bahrain. Kingdom of Bahrain is an island nation, linked to Saudi Arabia by 15-mile causeway. Its post-oil economy is driven by banking and tourism. Visa on arrival ($12 USD), and local bus to AirBnB in city center. City’s culture and food is heavily influenced by India and its people.
Local bus to visit Fort Bahrain, and walk 8-miles back to city center. It’s over 100-degrees; I pass a lazy fountain and wonder if anyone would notice if I removed my clothes and jumped in the water. Pass traffic accident at an intersection; police are on-site; two disabled vehicles and a motorcycle; rider lies motionless in the street.
Six-mile sunrise loop run; temperature is 90-degrees, and 80-degree dewpoint; it’s brutal. Drenched in sweat, and wonder if iPhone will slip out of my hand (using maps). Run through diplomatic area, and cross Muharraq Causeway. Pack of large dogs comes after me, until they find more interest in a motorcycle delivery driver.
WED 16 Aug: local bus to airport, wide-body Boeing 787 to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In order to clear customs, purchase $80 visa on arrival, and $50 mandatory insurance. Saudi Arabia has no public transportation; there is a metro under construction, it’s skeleton is visible, but subject to multiple delays. Fifteen miles to city center, too far to walk in 110-degree heat; resign myself to Uber.
Saudi Arabia opened its doors to non-religious tourism in 2019, and just as quickly, closed-down due to COVID. There is little to no tourist infrastructure in place. If not traveling to Riyadh on business, and staying at the JW Marriott, it may be one of the ugliest cities to which I have visited, is it deliberate, or did someone lose a bet. If a person went bulldozer joy-riding, nothing would be missed. Block upon block of concrete apartments, with trash strewn about everywhere. There is no indication that this is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with its oil reserves.
FRI 18 Aug: Uber to airport, morning flight to Madinah (Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah), considered the second most holy city in the Islamic tradition (Mecca, Madinah, Jerusalem); it’s believed that Muhammad is buried beneath the green dome of the Prophet’s Mosque. Unlike, Mecca, the city is open to non-Muslims.
Bus from airport to city center, stay at hotel inside the first ring road, my second hotel; most AirBnB were outside the city center, and no less expensive. City sits 2,000 feet above sea level, and punctuated by the Hijaz Mountains.
Sunrise, five-mile run along the ring road, and stop at the bus station, to tease out how to get to the train station on Sunday. Even in the August heat, mosque and city center are teaming with dense crowds of people. Scene is almost frenetic; at prayer time, the intensity becomes feverish; merchants shutter their shops, and set up prayer rugs in the shade, facing Mecca.
SUN 20 Aug: bus to train station; Haramain high-speed train, with stops in Jeddah and Mecca (Makkah). After passing city limits, several groves of date palms, and a few stray camels, train reaches max velocity of 300 km/h (190 mp/h); for a few moments, I imagine the carnage if the train were to derail. Much of this arid desert is composed of volcanic rock, and resembles a lunar landscape. Exit the train in Jeddah, as Mecca is closed to non-Muslims. There is no public transportation, Uber to AirBnB.
TUE 22 Aug: six days in Saudi Arabia felt longer than six months in Mexico; all too pleased to move on. Wanted to take ferry or freighter across Red Sea, but no longer in service. Uber to airport, flight to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, $25 eVisa on-line, taxi to hostel. US State Department rates Sinai Peninsula “level 4, do not travel,” due to terrorism in the north. Sharm is located in the south, and is (relatively) more safe.
Sharm would have been easy to skip, but, wanted to explore the mountains, in particular, sunrise hike to Mt. Sinai (Jabal Musa), according to the Torah, Bible, and Quran, the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Afterwards, visit Saint Catherine’s Monastery. Not an easy region to reach, three-hour, one-way bus, multiple security check-points, and the hike requires a Bedouin guide. Coordinated a tour ($40 USD), pick-up 9:00pm the night before, and return to hostel 1:00pm the following day, not before bus air/con stopped working.
FRI 25 Aug: reviews for overnight bus to Cairo are underwhelming, with hours to spare, purchase $50 turbo-prop flight to Cairo. Airport security takes apart my backpack for no good reason, likely, to demonstrate power. Depart 2:30am arrive 4:00am. My body crashes for the duration of the flight, and only wake up because the pilot “drops” the ATR 72 on the runway. Uber does not accept credit card, walk off the terminal to nearby subway station. Motorcycle stops and offers a ride to Tahir Square, advantage of traveling light. Roads are slick, no helmets, and grateful that we didn’t hydroplane; pay 190 EGP ($6 USD), last of my local currency. Allowed to check-in early at local hostel, provided breakfast, and head out into the city for a few errands.
Subway to Giza Square, mini-bus to Pyramids. Tourist touts, and accompanied lying, are tiring. An unsolicited local, wearing a tour guide badge, takes my iPhone, and starts taking photos of me with Sphinx in the background. I tell him, no pictures, and ask him to return my iPhone. He returns the iPhone and asks to be paid. I delete the photos from the iPhone. He becomes furious and begins yelling; I quietly walk away.
With the heat (102-degrees) and humidity, sky is hazy, and can’t even see the Cairo skyline. Facing east, into the sun, it’s difficult to clearly photograph the pyramids.
Step off the pavement into the sand, walk along the camel path; look for vista point to photograph six of the nine pyramids. As I circle around and return back to the Sphinx, I’m approached by police officer riding an ATV. He asks to see my entry ticket, and asks if everything is okay. He doesn’t understand much English; I try to explain that I was taking a panorama photo. Satisfied, or perplexed, he drives off.
Next day, walk across street to Egyptian Museum. There is no air conditioning; museum becomes uncomfortably hot and humid after mid-day. Museum is crammed with antiquities, almost cluttered, like a neglected garage. Signage in Arabic and English, museum is dim and dark with poor lighting. As the morning unfolds, museum is crawling with people; become uncomfortably claustrophobic, and depart.
Pre-dawn run, 5-mile loop along Gezira Island, on the Nile River, while traffic is light, and less dangerous. Pass a sole Egyptian runner, we exchange the cursory wave. Chased by two dogs, a lot of barking; open into a sprint before they nip at my legs. Finish the run just as the sun begins to rise, cold shower.
Visit Attaba street markets and Khan el-Khalili bazaar, while the merchants are still setting up their stalls. Motorcycle passes by with a lawn mower strapped to the pillion seat, quite a sight. There are few pedestrian cross-walks, and this may be the most dangerous city for jay-walking, as cars do not slow or swerve.
Visit historic al-Muizz, old Cairo, one kilometer pedestrian street, described by the UN as, “the greatest concentration of medieval architectural treasures in the Islamic world.” Outside of Cairo’s tourist areas, city is dirty and gritty, hazy sky obscured with pollution. Unable to keep pace with electricity demand, blackouts plague the city; hostel loses power each day between 3:00-4:00pm.
TUE 29Aug: sleep-in without alarm; quiet day; metro to Ramsis train station, 8:00pm sleeper train, Cairo to Aswan. Departure board not updated, announcements in Arabic. Police ensure that the seven tourists board the correct train, cabin purser speaks English. Sleeping car is old and dated, like a shabby, grubby, run-down hotel room, but, I have the (air/con) compartment to myself, and fall asleep quickly. Train arrives following morning before 10:00am; check into hostel, and explore Aswan.
Picked-up at noon the next day, for one-day, one-night Nile River cruise to Luxor. Many of the cruises are over-priced, tired vessels. Intention is to experience the essence, without getting fleeced. It’s also possible to travel by felucca, traditional sail boat, four to five days, depending on prevailing winds.
Cost:
Track cumulative travel costs, 129-days.
Lodging: $3,022 total | $23 day
Transport: $4,174 total | $32 day (plane | train | bus | ferry | taxi)
Food: $304 total | $2 day
Other: $1,578 total | $12 day (FX | ATM | visa | tourism | other)
Total: $9,078 total | $70 day | $25,700 annualized
Conclusion:
September, continue travels through Egypt; onward travel to Tunisia (overfly Libya), and onward travel to Morocco (overly Algeria), my own North Africa campaign.
Despite the heat, continue to walk 7-miles per day; 210-miles for the month; 900-miles over the past four months.
Travel long enough, instant coffee becomes tolerable, because there isn’t much else; gold label is preferable to red label, and no intention of paying $5 USD for Starbucks.
There are 200 countries in the world, will have visited 40 by end of year; 20% is a failing grade, long way to go. Grateful to have visited the GCC, but, it’s unlikely that I would return. Influenced by an intention to learn and understand, would like to return to Israel and Palestine (Golan Heights, Gaza Border, Eilat), and visit Damascus Syria.
garthmonroe 