Tag Archives: Middle East

“English-speaking driver” in Kuwait

We have been told that the one word understood in all countries of the world is “taxi.” We don’t know if that is correct, but we do know that around the world one of the most abused phrases is “English- speaking driver.” We have hired quite a few drivers thus advertised who could not carry on the simplest conversation that we could comprehend. We had one such driver in Kuwait City who was selected by our hotel to take us to a business appointment in a large bank in the middle of the city. By the time we drove from the suburban hotel into town it ... [Read More]

Security agents watch us over Saudi Arabia

We had just been in Beirut during a partial truce in the civil war. Americans traveling without escort found it prudent to make no waves. And, there was a tendency to see something sinister lurking behind every veil and robe. Thus brainwashed, we boarded a Kuwait Airlines flight in Kuwait City for a trip across Saudi Arabia to Cairo. The airplane was loaded with Arabs in their great flowing robes, headdresses, and, for the women, veils. It was footage for a travel film. Across the aisle from us were two large, swarthy men with heavy beards. Something about them suggested that they might be officials, perhaps security ... [Read More]