With 17 years of life, experience, fun, gratification, and relaxation in Kuwait, it is more of a home than a second home for me. Home literally expands to include the entirety of the country and as a family it is a loved pass time to explore and enjoy the variety of places here. Entertainment, Fun, Festivals… so much to explore and see in Kuwait. To describe and write about all the places where this craving and wanderlust has carried me around is almost impossible, but a few of them are listed below.

Sky Diving in Kuwait

An exciting break away would be to go jump out a plane at 13,000 feet! Yes, Sky Diving and that too for a novice with no past experience or training. There was a time when we had to go to Dubai for Sky Diving. Now it is possible in Kuwait with Kuwait Sky Dive and Fly, should I mention that it is at half the price of UAE?

We can experience the thrill of plunging through 13,000 feet altitude whilst securely attached in a harness to one of the highly qualified instructors. It is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a mix of the emotions between the sensation of being closer to the sky and exhilarating taste of adrenaline. You can relish the marvelous panorama of the famous facility of Al Khairan resort, spectacular view of Khiran Sea City, the Persian Gulf view with its Saudi Arabia’s border and Al Wafra farms. Entire process of your jump will be captured using a GoPro by the instructor which will give you that goosebumps to re-live the experience again and again.

Total process is about 10-12 minutes in all. 5 Minutes climb to 13,000 feet in airplane, 1 Minute of Free Fall (no parachute), and 5 Minutes gliding in parachute to landing strip. The free fall reaches speeds of almost 200kmph as we fall through the sky. Once you overcome the initial nervous moments which lasts for few seconds, then it is the most exciting experience. Altogether I would say a thrilling, intense and unique experience for a lifetime!

Kuwait Kite Festival

I can’t think of anyone who was not fascinated by Kites at least in childhood days. However, those fascination were mostly limited to flying handmade paper Kites. Kuwait changed my fascination, and I could witness Al Farsi Kite Team breaking their own Guinness Book of Records of world’s largest Kite while the Kite with previous record was flying high. Al Farsi Kite Team entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2005 by flying a 1,050 square meters kite of Kuwait Flag. Later in 2018 they broke their own record by flying a kite, Our Planet, of 1,200 square meters. This Kite had its name written in many languages including Hindi – “Hamara Grah”. Al Farsi Team is waiting to receive the certification from Guinness World Record for this Kite.

Kuwait Kite Festival is truly an experience for both kids and adults. Every Friday’s during winter, the skies in Bnaider are treated to a colorful, soaring spectacle with roaring dragons, flying fishes, tweety birds, teddy bears, flying cars, and all the colors of the rainbow. Indeed, a treat to our eyes regardless of whatever age you are in.

Kuwait Camel Racing

Kuwait gave me an opportunity to taste the thrilling experience of camel racing. Camel racing takes place at Kuwait Camel Racing club located at Kabd. As we enter Racing club area, we can see many camels in Arabian attire getting ready for the race. Once the camels are ready, they are lined up at the gates and the race begins. The cars drive alongside the camels all the way to the finish line and then the cars drive back to the starting line to check on the other set of camels. Camels race at speeds up to 60 km/h.

The Kuwait Camel Club no longer use child jockeys but instead use robotic ones due to the controversial child jockey problems faced in the past. Camel owners travel in car alongside and control the jockeys via remote control and cheer up the camels through walkie talkies. At the track, the FM radio station broadcasts the entire race live, which visitors can listen to as they drive.

There is a club house inside the Camel Racing Club where you can sit comfortably and watch the race. However, if you have to really enjoy the thrill of the race, you should drive along the camels and watch. There is no entrance fee and races are held every Saturday between 1:30 PM and 4 PM during November to April.

Sabah Al-Ahmad Heritage Village

If you are bored of the city life and ready to drive 100 km, then you should visit the Sabah Al-Ahmad Heritage Village located in Salmi, north of Kuwait. This village operates only during winter season as it mostly hosts outdoor activities. The heritage village was established in recognition of the virtue of his highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed. The village includes a museum illustrating different scenes of old Kuwait such as rooms of old Kuwaiti houses, some handcrafts, and some popular products in old Kuwait. Additionally, there are 6 museums established for each state of GCC. Each Museum presents arts and heritage that highlight the features of popular traditions of each state. The entrance is free of charge.

A train located just after the main entrance takes visitors on a tour around the whole village. It charges 500 Fils for each passenger. There is an artificial lake in the middle of the village, which is surrounded by tables and chairs. Then at the end of the village, there are hotel rooms with tents that can be rented either for the day or overnight stay. Dozens of restaurants and cafes are available at the resort. Furthermore, there are various shops selling toys for kids, local handcrafts and different products such as perfumes, traditional costumes and foods. For kids, there are many other attractions. They can have a camel, horse, or donkey ride at the village, or enjoy dozens of outdoor games including slides, trampolines and others.

A new addition over the last couple of years is an entire model village constructed to represent the years gone by. This is still a work in progress, but some areas are completed and open to public.

These are only a few among Kuwait’s attraction. There are plenty of other places such as Failaka Island, Kuwait Equestrian Club (Sabhan), Ahmad Al Sabah Cultural Centre (Shaab), Museums, Farms like Al Bohayra Farm and Bab Dukkala (Abdali), Red Fort (Jahra) to just name a few.

Shukran Kuwait for these wonderful years in Kuwait which I will cherish for a lifetime while exploring new places in Kuwait.