Welcome to Kuwait!

A totally unknown country, apart from the fact it was invaded by its neighbour in 1990, Kuwait is a land full of mysteries that few people try or can unveil.

 

Kuwait City's skyline seen from the Corniche

It’s a place so out of the ordinary, that its native people are a minority. Heirs to one of the world’s most ancient civilization, today with a strong and conservative Muslim tradition, very rich due to the discovery of the black gold in the 20th century^.

 

 

Although the population was severely scarred by Iraq’s invasion twenty something years ago, today there are no signs of it. What you will see is a very prosper country, with high-rises, wide avenues packed with sports cars, Kuwaitis living a reality others would only dream of, and no tourists.

 

One of the reasons why very few people visit Kuwait is because it only offers business or visitor (not tourist) visas, for which you need an invitation letter from the company or the local inviting you. Some four and five star hotels are also able to help you with the visa, but must stay with them. Visitors from 35 countries, including the EU, the USA, Canada and Australia may get a visa on arrival – I’ll be writing about it in more details on another post.

 

 

　

The Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is the Head of State. He is in power since 2006 and in 2012 he dissolved the parliament, after it demanded more independence as a consequence of the Arab Spring, which didn’t reach the country.

 

As one would imagine, the whole country is a desert, bathed by the Arabian Gulf. What’s interesting is that, despite its more than 10,000 square miles, Kuwait is practically a city-State, since apart from the capital, Kuwait City, there are only a handful of villages in the desert.

 

Kuwait City's Grand Mosque (source: Aware Centre)

Kuwait City has beautiful greenish-blue beaches that are far from its counterparts in Ipanema or Santa Monica. They’re very quiet, only with one or another Kuwaiti swimming or driving a jet-ski. The city has a few interesting attractions, like the National Museum and the souk (Arab market), where you can sit and watch people haggling.

 

The city also has its fair share of shopping malls, very common in the Arabian Gulf, due to the intense heat outdoors.

 

The Kuwait Towers, the country's most famous landmark 

As I mentioned, Kuwaitis are minority in their own country (45% of the population) and foreigners do the jobs (rich) locals won’t do. The majority of them are Arabs from other countries (Egypt mainly, Yemen, Lebanon) and Filipinos, who do the low skilled jobs, followed by Americans and Europeans, who working as doctors, engineers and at multinationals.

 

Many people are surprised by how strong the Kuwaiti Dinar (KD or KWD), the local currency, is. In the beginning of June KD1 would buy USD3,60, €2,70, £2,30. As a result, the cost of living is high, and for us travellers, hotels are very expensive, even what would be considered "budget" ones. Hostels are non-existent.

 

 

With only one city, expensive and with mostly shopping malls as main attraction, you must be asking why on earth I visited Kuwait. Why?... I’m afraid my answer to this question is more philosophical than objective. Obviously there are other countries in the region, like Oman, with many more attractions than Kuwait, and I agree that that given the choice, you should visit them first. But if you’re one of those lucky people whose job will send you to Kuwait, don’t think twice. Go!

 

16 Impressions of Chisinau

There's no doubt that the once called "countries behind the iron curtain" changed dramatically since the early nineties. But Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, still retains some of the character from the communist times. There's an atmosphere I can only describe as "Soviet", slightly backwards, that fills the city with a long gone era's charm.

 

 

As I  explained on previous posts, despite being spring, Chisinau was extremely cold when I visited. So, it comes with no surprise that the most common word that comes to my mind when I think about the city, is "grey". Partly because of the skies, partly due tot eh city's own appearance.

 

On this post I want to share with you another 15 other impressions I had about Moldova's largest city.

 

1- Chisinau is small and easy to explore.

 

2- It's one of the very few cities I've been to that offer free Wi-Fi in public parks.

 

3- Virtually every restaurant and coffee shop has free Wi-Fi without a password - so you're connected pretty much anywhere you go in the city centre.

 

4- It's a very budget-friendly destination. To give you an idea, a 500ml bottle of beer costs USD0.90 (£0.60, €0.70).

 

5- I was surprised to see that, despite food and drink being quite cheap, a cappuccino costs the same as in London.

 

6- There is an enormous contrast between the relative simplicity of the churches façades and their opulent interiors. 

  

 

7- It found it touching that girls dressed in a very trendy way, some with needle stilettos and ultra-tight pants, were praying in the churches with a lot of devotion.

 

8- Moldovan women are really beautiful - would be even more if they exercised their smiles more often...

 

9- Local food is simply yummy!

 

10- Although Moldovan is the official language, I couldn't believe it when I met locals whose first language was Russian and who didn't speak a word of Moldovan!

 

11- The fact the country is at the bottom of Europe's wealthiest countries, is very evident.

 

12- Public transport is by far the cheapest I've taken anywhere in a long time!

 

13- Moldovan's are very patriotic and proud of their country and own ethnics.

 

14- Just by visiting Chisinau you can already notice the country has a melting pot of different ethnicities, as I pointed out on this post.

 

15- Chisinau is packed with karaoke bars - so, fancy sing-a-long-a, anyone?

 

 

The Day I Took Part in a Eurovision Shoot

 

 

On my first evening in Chisinau, I was killing time at Moldcell Center, a shopping mall right on Parcul Catedralei (Cathedral Park). After having a wander around and a couple of cappuccinos to get warm, I braved the cold and heard a band playing on the park.

To my surprise, there was a good crowd had gathered on the park and many cameramen and photographers were shooting this crowd, that sang along to live music in Moldovan.

 

I was wondering what that was all about and also noticed many people had paper balloons, some blue, others yellow or red. I then asked someone what was happening and was told they were shooting the country introduction for the Eurovision Song Contest. Only then I realised the balloons reflected the colours of the Moldovan national flag!

 

 

"Cool", I though! After all, the countries from the eastern block are the ones that give Eurovision the flair, are the most colourful and kitsch. I was taking pictures, when a lady with a small boy asked me in Moldovan to help her light her balloon. Of course I wanted to help.

 

The music on the improvised stage - the steps that lead up from the park to the street - was definitely worth an Eurovision entry and I soon got in the contest mood.

 

Soon the music stopped and a guy on the microphone told us to light up the balloons. As we were doing it, the cameramen pointed the camera at us for a few seconds, then the mic guy started the countdown: "cinci, patru, trei, doi, unu!". And there went our yellow balloon.

 

 

Using these balloons is forbidden in many countries, as they may cause fires in forests and houses as they come down. But watching they fly away, and seeing a number of them high up, looking like yellow stars, brings a great feeling.

 

Last night I was happy to see Moldova's number did well in the competition. Pity it was not reflected on the public votes - apart from those from Romania and the Ukraine, as it always happens.

 

The country introduction was nothing I was expecting and the shoot in the park, which took more than one hour, turned into mere two seconds on the day. Oh, well, it was not this time I achieved world fame through a few seconds on Eurovision (sad face). But who knows what will happen next year? :-)

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Republic of Moldova!

On my last trip to Eastern Europe my second destination was the Republic of Moldova. It's a small landlocked country bordering Romania to the west and the Ukraine to the east.

It has a population of around 5 million inhabitants and has been part of the Russian Empire, Romania and the Soviet Union.

 

 

The capital, Chisinau (pronounced Kishinaau), is the country's largest city and also its economic and cultural centre. Moldovan is the oficial language and is exactly the same as Romanian (it's like saying that in the US they speak American!). Russian is also very common and most locals I met spoke Russian as their first language and many of them couldn't speak Moldovan, which to me was quite interesting!

 

 

Tiraspol, the country's second largest city, is in the Transnistria region. This is a self-proclaimed "independent" state, which is not recognised by any other nation. One of the reasons for the separation is the fact the vast majority of the population are of Slavic origin (Russians and Ukrainians). There's also a Russian military presence there for peacekeeping.

Some Soviet-era apartment blocks in Tiraspol, Transnistria region

In fact, the country is a melting pot of different ethnies. 75% are Moldovans/Romanians, around 8% are Ukrainians, followed by Russians and Gagauzes. Gagauzes? Yes, it's an ethny of Turkic origin, speaking Gagauz and Russian and practising the Christian Orthodox faith - the same religion of 93% of Moldova's population.
 

The local currency is the Moldovan Leu (plural lei) and in April 2013 the exchange rate for 100 Moldovan lei was roughly £5, €6 and USD8. The economy is based in agriculture and, consequently, the food industry is the largest. The country has Europe's lowest per capita income, and the cost of living is low, compared to other European countries. Public transport and taxis are very cheap for travellers, but hotels tend to have similar prices to Western Europe.
 

 

The capital Chisinau is the country's main tourist destination, with beautiful Orthodox churches, museums and parks offering free wi-fi - a real life saver to any traveller! The cities of Balti and Soroca are also popular tourist destinations. The latter is considered the country's Gypsy capital and is home to Soroca Fortress, built by Stephen The Great in the end of the 15th century. His reign lasted almost 50 years and he led the country and many battles to guarantee its independence from its neighbours. Among them were the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Poland.

 

One of the many churches in Chisinau

Soroca Fortress

 

How to get there

If you're already in Europe, it's easy to go to Moldova. Air Moldova, the country's national airline, offers direct flights from Dublin, London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome, among others. A return ticket from London to Chisinau starts at £300 (€350, USD465), for example. The best land connections are between Bucharest, Kiev, Odessa and Moscow.
 

Arriving in Chisinau from the airport

If you are travelling by train from Bucharest to Chisinau, the journey takes 12 hours and a single ticket in second class (for berth compartments) costs around €25. An interesting detail about this trip is that, when the train arrives at Ungheni, the Moldovan side of the border, it changes tracks. So each carriage is lifted and the passangers feel a little shake. This was a Soviet strategy to avoid invasions and other unexpected issues on the border.
 

At the moment there are no direct trains from Cluj-Napoca (Romania) to Chisinau. You will have to take a train to Iasi, on the Romanian side of the border, and there continue your journey by bus (or pray for a good soul to take you on your onward journey, as it happened to me). Bear in mind the last bus leaves at Iasi at 5:30pm. A better option is taking the bus that departs from Cluj at 6pm and arrives at 8am the following day. The bus ticket costs €20.

 

Chisinau train station

 

A regional train operates the route Odessa-Chisinau, leaving at 5:11pm and arriving at 10:14pm. This train does not have separate compartments and all carriages, except carriage 5, have wooden benches. Hard for a 5-hour journey! If you prefer to travel by bus, the best option is to take one of the buses that avoid Transnistria, and depart from Odessa Privoz bus station at 8:50am and 10am.
 

So, are you going to start planning your trip to Moldova? Oh, you definitely should!

My Ordeal Travelling Overland from Romania to Moldova

Originally I was supposed to fly to Chisinau directly from London, however the ticket price for a one way trip to the city seemed way too expensive. Whilst looking for alternative options, I found the Wizzair flight to Cluj-Napoca, in Romania, to be the solution: it was very cheap and I had enough time in my hands to go a couple of days earlier to enjoy the city and travel by land to the Moldovan capital.

Initially I wanted to take the night bus that leaves the city's Autogara Beta at 6pm, but then decided a day trip would be more interesting and chose the train.

 

Cluj-Napoca train staion

Cluj train station is a 15-minute walk from the old town. The ladies at the ticket tills were "so well informed" that they didn't know if there was a direct train to Chisinau or not. One thing to be careful, is that there's a city in western Romania called Chisineu-Cris and I was almost sold a ticket there by mistake. 

Cluj-Napoca trains timetable: save it to see train times

So here's the bad news: since December 2012 there are no more direct trains between Cluj-Napoca and Chisinau - something I couldn't find on the internet, and not even some of the station staff didn't know. I had to buy a ticket to the border city of Iaşi and make other arrangements from there. I found out there was a train from Iaşi to Ungheni, on the Moldovan side of the border, at 6:20pm.

The snowy landscape between Cluj and Iaşi

My train left at 9:12am and the long journey takes nine hours, so I only had eight minutes to make my connection. The ticket for second class cost 85 Lei (around £16, €19, USD25). The second class seats are in cabins with six seats, which are quite comfortable. First class seats are in normal carriages with one and two seats on each side. 

 

First class carriage

As I mentioned on this post, there was a heavy snowfall when I was there and the snowy landscape was breathtaking, just what we in the UK would love to have for Christmas day and rarely do. I was sharing the cabin with an elderly man and a young guy who was coming back to his town of Vaslui , after being tricked into semi-slave work in France by some Al Capone from his own town. Talking to him and learning of his ordeal was very touching and also helped the time go quicker. The train has no restaurant carriage, and although the ticket controllers got off at every single station to smoke a cigarette, the stops are not long enough for one to go out and buy something.

We arrived in Iaşi at 6:15pm and I was informed by the station staff that I couldn't board without a ticket, so I had to run to the till to buy my ticket. The lady at the till didn't speak English and didn't make any effort to help, but made me understand it was not possible to sell me the ticket, so I missed the train! She wrote on a piece of paper the time the next train would leave. 3:17am. "3:17am? No way, José!".

Car parking in front of Iasi train station: to the right is McDonad's. The bus station is next to the church.

Trying to find alternatives, I started walking at and around the station, until I found a timetable with all trains departing from Iaşi. There I saw there was a train leaving at 8:25 and when I spoke to another lady, she said that train didn't run anymore. But wasn't it on the new timetable? Yes, but it means nothing. What buffled me is that this one told me the next train would leave at 2:50am, not 3:17am. So, just like in Cluj-Napoca, the staff don't really know what trains there are. This one even said there was a direct train from Iaşi to Chisinau, but then went back and corrected herself. 

The next option was a bus. The bus station is just opposite the train station. There are several buses leaving for Chisinau, but the last one departs at 5:30pm. There are no shops at the station itself, but outside, to the left, there are many small shops and fast food stalls, and on the right there's a McDonald's with free wi-fi. Yay!

After using McDonald's internet I decided to negotiate with a taxi driver to take me to the border. 

I found one who spoke good English, who would drive me to the border at Sculeni, 20km away, for 90 Lei. Although steep, I agreed and there we went.

You can only cross the border between Romania and Moldova by car. Crossing on foot or by bike are out of question. The agreement was that the driver would stay with me until a bus or a good soul agreed to take me across the border or, even better, to Chisinau.

He spoke to the officers and they didn't know what time buses would cross the border or even if there were any. No comments... After half an hour waiting, a car stopped, waiting for its time to go through immigration and my driver went to speak to the one crossing. He was going to Chisinau and agreed to take me. He spoke no English whatsoever and didn't want to tell me how much he'd charge me. Between taking the risk of being advantage of and staying another eight hours in Iaşi, I chose the former.

Romania's border control at Sculeni

 Clearing Romanian immigration was very straight forward, the officers were very helpful and understanding of my situation - being stuck at the border. Then we drove to the Moldovan side of the border in Sculeni (same name as the city on the Romanian side) and there my driver seemed to have some issue with some goods he was taking with him, but after 5 minutes and a €2 fine, there we went.

Those were very long two hours, since we couldn't really talk to each other. The roads in Moldova are not as good as in Romania and when he dropped me by Chisinau's Central Park I was happy and relieved, after 14 hours travelling.
 

Now, I had time to rest, enjoy the city, and then... get ready to cross the Moldovan-Ukranian border, also crossing the little recognised Republic of Transnistria a few days later. 

What surprises will await me next? I'll gladly let you know soon... :-)

So, what's the easiest way to travel from Cluj-Napoca to Chisinau?

Despite having only travelled from Romania to Moldova by train and taxi, as I've just explained, I believe the best way to travel by land from Cluj-Napoca to Chisinau is by bus. Please bear in mind I'm just sharing results of my research.

There is a service leaving Cluj at 6pm, which arrives in Chisinau at 8am. For more details you may contact office@autogarabeta-cluj.ro or call the bus company directly on +40 740351748 or check out www.cluj-chisinau.ro. A one-way ticket costs 80 Romanian Lei.



A Photo Tour of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

I arrived in Cluj-Napoca, considered the capital of Transylvania and Romania's second largest city, already in spring. But for everyone's surprise, spring was greeted by a heavy snowfall in most of Europe.

 

Cluj's Central Park, seen from my hotel room

 

 

The fresh snow made the city look even more appealing, with parks and rooftops as white as you can imagine.
 

 

 

 

The city has around 400,000 inhabitants, of which 80,000 are students from all over Romania and Moldova. For that reason, there's a very exciting cultural scene, as well as good bars, cafes and night life.

 

 

 

 

Architecturally Cluj, as it is commonly known, has buildings in a variety of styles, reflecting the cosmopolitan heritage of the city, which was also part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Many of the buildings are very rich in details

 


The statue of Matthew Corvinus, king of Hungary

The beautiful Muzeului Square

My stay in the city was short and sweet, making me hope for a return to better explore it and the historical region of Transylvania. Needless to say, all my friends were telling me to be careful with some famous Count from the region... :-)
 

The Neologue Synagogue, the city's only working one

 

 

Arriving in Marrakech

For those who've read the previous post, I think we can agree that flying to Marrakech from Europe is not only easy, because of the number of flights from all over Europe serving the city. It's also cheap and getting there is quick. If you haven't read it, you can find it here.

Marrakech Menara Airport

So once you land, things are pretty much straight forward. Going through immigration is simple and quick for those who don't need a visa (at the end of the post you will see a list of nationalities that don't need a Moroccan visa). You'll just need to complete a landing card, which will be given to you on the plane or you can get one before immigration. You'll be required to complete the same form to leave the country.

You will find money ATM and exchange facilities in the baggage area, but people tend to queue up here. You're better off using these facilities in the main hall - I could see at least three ATMs and as many bureaus de change. Marrakech Menara Airport was refurbished a few years ago and is modern and very easy to get around, although there aren't many interesting shops.

If your hotel or riad hasn't organised your transfer, you may take a taxi outside the airport. If you're on your own, it will cost you around 50 dirhams (around £4, €5, USD6) to go to the medina. If you're staying in the city centre it may cost you slightly more, but always negotiate, bearing in mind that if the deal is too good, you'll be sharing the taxi with other passengers. Make sure you clarify that. Another alternative is the bus, which costs 35 dirhams (appr. £2.80, €3.50, USD4.40) and stops at the entrance to the medina. In my opinion, taking the bus is the best way to go from Marrakech airport to the medina.

Watching life go by from the airport bus

It was drizzling when I got off the bus. I was walking to my riad, which was just yards off Djema el-Fna Square. And that, I found out the hard way! I asked a gentleman for information and he explained to me how to get there, but since I hadn't "adjusted" my ear to French, it wasn't very clear to me. Until I was approached by an old man who asked me to follow him.

Djema el-Fna Square on a rare drizzly day

It's funny that sometimes, no matter how many times you've been to a place and know (almost) all its traps, you still get into one. The man took me around some alleyways, until we got to my riad. He asked me for 50 dirhams for the "favour" and I gave him 10, which he declined. A younger passer-by overheard the old man and told me to give him the 50 and I ignored him. Since the man didn't want the 10 dirhams I offered, I walked away, until he said it was ok. Believe it or not, the entrance to my riad was just 30 yards from the square. And it was just the beginning of the trip... Boing!

Moroccan Visa: Countries whose nationals don't need it

I thought it would be helpful to list the countries whose citizens currently don't need a Moroccan visa. Peeps, remember that this information can change without notice, so in any case double check with the consulate in your country. Although it's unlikely EU citizens and those from Arab countries will be required a visa at any time in the future. Quoting the page of the Moroccan Consulate in London, "if your stay is longer than 90 days, a resident permit is required and can be issued by the Police Department of your place of residence in Morocco":

Algeria - Andorra - Argentina - Australia - Austria - Bahrain - Belgium - Brazil - Bulgaria - Canada - Chile - Congo (Brazaville) - Croatia - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany - Greece - Guinea (Conakry) - Hong Kong - Hungary - Iceland - Indonesia - Ireland - Italy - Ivory Coast - Japan - Kuwait - Latvia - Libya - Liechtenstein - Lithuania - Luxemburg - Mali - Malta - Mexico - Monaco - Netherlands - New Zealand - Niger - Norway - Oman - Peru - Philippines - Poland - Puerto Rico - Qatar - Romania - Russian Federation - Saudi Arabia - Senegal - Singapore (They can stay one month without visa) - Slovakia - Slovenia - South Korea - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Tunisia - Turkey - United Arab Emirates - United Kingdom - United States of America - Venezuela.