Day 48 - Kuwait

It's almost unfair that I haven't introduced you to my sidekick on this Kuwaiti adventure. He's been a faithful companion, always there for me and keeping me cool in the most challenging of situations:

My rental car - the Toyota Corolla.

Recall when I first landed in Kuwait, the hotel shuttle was nowhere to be found. So I rented a car from the airport. At the rental counter I was offered a Corolla for about KD 165/month (roughly US$625), or the Camry for KD 220/month (roughly US$840). Being somewhat frugal I opted for the Corolla. Once I saw what I asked for I began to wonder whether I should have gone with the Camry. The Corolla looked so small as if it could have fit into my suitcase. I thought about legroom, safety and prestige. Could I really be seen driving this tiny little 4-cylinder tin can?

Setting aside whatever reservations I had in favor of getting to the hotel, I tossed my suitcases in and headed for the hotel. I noticed immediately, much to my delight, that I had enough legroom and headroom. Also, the air conditioner was blowing out a strong and steady stream of cold air. This was a plus, considering it was 120 degrees outside with high humidity. So I thought to myself how much fun it was to be a small car for a change and maneuver my way through traffic and parking lots with the greatest of ease.

Every day I spend about 20 minutes in the car driving to work, and 20 minutes coming back. And occasionally I'll drive into town for a mall crawl or dinner. To date I've logged over 3000 km (1800 miles). Not bad for the little thing. I've refueled every 450 km at a price of KD 2.250, or about $9.50. It works out to about 85 cents a gallon.

When I got back to Kuwait on Sunday, I found my faithful friend waiting for me at the airport. Sadly, he had suffered the effects of the fierce sandstorms. Thankfully he had enough windshield wiper fluid to at least clean the glass so that I could drive. But I thought to myself - shouldn't I take better care of the car that is taking such good care of me? I decided if I could have a day in the spa, so could the car. And off to the car wash we went.

As you can see in the photos, the car wash is a bit different than we have back in the United States. Instead of pulling onto a conveyor line, I pulled into a bay where a human car washer soaped and rinsed my car by hand. Notice in the photos that there are no walls between the bays, meaning that if these trained professionals are not careful they could squirt each other. Each bay comes equipped with a lift should you request an undercarriage flush. All I wanted was a wash and rinse on the outside to take off all the accumulated dust.

After the wash and rinse cycle, the car was taken outside for drying by hand. Two gentlemen, each armed with a chamois, wiped every drip of water off the exterior of the car. Not satisfied with that they then proceeded to wipe off the dust from the inside of the car as well. When I finally got my car back it looked better than when I picked it up from the airport nearly 7 weeks ago. Total bill for the service: KD 1, or about US$3.80. I was so thrilled that I went in the store and bought an air freshner to hang from the mirror.

Enjoy the pictures - more tomorrow! http://picasaweb.google.com/khalaf.writes/TripToTheCarWash