My trip to Kuwait, part 2: Kuwaiti society and culture

When I first got to Kuwait, I was expecting to see all the men wearing keffiyehs and agals like I showed you in my last post. I like to discover as much traditional local culture as possible when I travel. But what I found was that not as many men wear keffiyehs as I had anticipated. It turns out that only about half of Kuwait's population is actually from Kuwait. The other half is made up of migrants from all over the world who have come to live and work in Kuwait, especially in the oil industry. Often, these migrants are men who travel to Kuwait without their families and only intend to stay for a short period of time. In some other Persian Gulf countries (such as Bahrain), the number of foreign migrants greatly exceeds the local population. In Kuwait, the foreign population is about 50%. The greatest number of migrants come from poor countries in South Asia such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Their presence, along with Kuwait's traditional cultural and economic links to other parts of the world, make Kuwait a very diverse place.

Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 5: eating Moroccan breakfast

Bobbe tells us about what she eats for breakfast in Morocco:

Living in Morocco has been wonderful so far. One of my favorite parts is getting to eat the Moroccan food. In my previous posts, I showed you my lunch of chicken with couscous and vegetables as well as another lunch I had of pastilla. But rather than just tell you about what I have eaten for lunch and dinner, I think you might be interested to know what I usually eat for breakfast. So here are some pictures of my Moroccan breakfast!

My trip to Kuwait, part 1: the Persian Gulf

In March, I had an opportunity to head to Kuwait. Kuwait is a very small country on the Persian Gulf. Those of you who are keeping track of all my adventures will know that Kuwait is the fourth Arab country I have blogged about (after Tunisia, Jordan, and Lebanon, plus Bobbe is in Morocco). It is also the seventh predominately Muslim country I have visited (after Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia).

One thing you need to know about Kuwait is that it is a very rich country. The Persian Gulf, as you might know, is a place where lots of oil can be found. All of the eight countries that border the Persian Gulf (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman) have very important oil industries. The Persian Gulf, however, is important for more than just oil. For hundreds of years, Kuwait's economy and culture have been based on the exchange of goods and ideas throughout the Persian Gulf and beyond into the Indian Ocean.

Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 4: Meknes

Here is the fourth installment of Bobbe's narrative of her trip to Morocco.

As I said in one of my previous posts, Fez is one of three traditional Moroccan capital cities. Today, I'm going to tell you about Meknes, which is one of the others. Meknes was made the capital of Morocco by a ruler named Moulay Ismail, who reigned from 1672 until 1727. Moulay Ismail was very powerful, but he was also kind of cruel. His patronage transformed the city of Meknes; today, everywhere you go in Meknes, you hear all about Moulay Ismail.

My trip to Thailand

If you continue up the Malay Peninsula from Malaysia, the next country you get to is Thailand. Do you see where Thailand gets very narrow? The land connects the Malay Peninsula with the rest of Southeast Asia. It also separates the Gulf of Thailand from the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. A narrow piece of land that connects two larger landmasses is known as an "isthmus." Isthmus is very hard word to pronounce. This particular isthmus is known as the Isthmus of Kra.

Off the west side of the Isthmus of Kra is a little island known as Phuket. Phuket has beautiful beaches, so it has gotten very touristy. Fortunately, I was traveling with Nick, who spent an entire year living on a remote Thai island, so he was able to take me by ferry to a much more rural island nearby. What an adventure!

Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 3: around the Fez medina

Bobbe continues telling us about her trip to Fez.

In my last post, I told you about Al-Karaouine University and its associated mosque, two buildings which are right at the heart of the old city in Fez. Today, I'm going to tell you about the other parts of the Fez medina that I enjoyed on my trip to Fez.

My trip to Malaysia

The last destination I told you about was Singapore, which I said was a very tiny country. Singapore sits on an island at the very southern tip of a peninsula known as the Malay Peninsula. Most of that peninsula is taken up by a country called Malaysia, which is the next country I'm going to tell you about. In addition to the land on the peninsula, Malaysia also contains two provinces on an island called Borneo, but I didn't go there. I just traveled up and down the main part of the Malay Peninsula. Before you keep reading, you should see if you can find the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and Borneo on a map.

Bobbe's trip to Morocco, part 2: Al-Karaouine University in Fez

Here is Bobbe's second post about Morocco.

Hello again from Morocco! I want to tell you about a fantastic trip I took to the city of Fez. Fez is one of three great imperial capitals of Morocco, along with Meknes and Marrakesh. The heart of Fez is a wonderful thousand-year-old walled old city (called a "medina" in Arabic). The city has lots of narrow walkways that twist and turn and wind about. If you don't know your way around, you can get lost really fast. I'll tell you more about the medina in my next post, but in this one I want to focus on the building at the heart of the city of Fez: Al-Karaouine University.

My trip to Singapore

Hello, everybody! I'm sorry not to have written anything for quite some time. I have been traveling a lot – I have been to five countries since I last posted anything – and now that I have a moment to catch my breath I'm writing to tell you about my trips. My first post will be about Singapore, followed every few days by posts about Malaysia, Thailand, Kuwait, and Hong Kong. Additionally, Bobbe has several new posts from Morocco that will alternate with mine. So check back frequently for more posts!

I was shown around Singapore by my friend Nick, who is a student at the National University of Singapore. Nick was a great host because he knows all about Singapore and took me to see lots of interesting places. Also, Nick will eat pretty much anything, so he took me to see the crocodile restaurant whose picture I posted earlier. When you go traveling, you always want to accompany the kind of person who will eat anything.