Endurance Training

July 21st, 2010

The boys and I decided to take the bus to Fahaheel. There were numerous buses stopping in front of our apartment building, but we were still not sure about the schedule and route of the buses. “Fine, we’ll take it no matter what,” I said.

Having packed two bottles of water into our backpack, we got out at 10:00 am when the heat was still comfortable. In ten minutes, we got on bus 106. The ticket cost 200 fils (72 cents) per person, and Niuniu (my younger son) was considered as a child (he was taller than me) and the bus fare was free for him. Women sit in the front part of the bus and men sit at the back – that was the rule I heard. The bus driver did not speak good English, so it took a while for him to know where exactly we wanted to get off. Another lady sitting at the front smiled to me and insured us that we were on the right bus. Thirty minutes later the bus arrived at Fahaheel terminal after zigzagging through Abu Halifa and Mangaf. We crossed the road into Al Manshar Mall! Success! First time taking the bus without relying on ExploreMan! We went to the music instrument store and bought a guitar stand for Doudou (my elder son).

At noon, we headed out to the bus station we arrived from. A nice Egyptian guy told us with his not-so-good English to take 102 (not 102) or 999 or 106 to go back to Mahboula. Meanwhile there were lots of taxis and truck taxis stopping to ask if we wanted to take a ride. We were determined to take bus, so we let them go. Finally the bus 106 driver told us we should go to the terminal on the other side of the street. Fifteen minutes passed and we were thirsty under the blazing sun. After ensuring everyone had drunk some water, we walked another five minutes to get to the bus stop. It felt like FIFTY minutes to us. Doudou said, “This is endurance training!” after Niuniu’s face turned hot red and he started to whine. The taxi was only 1KD to get to our home, but we wanted to the experience the bus again. On the way to the bus stop, we passed the stores that poured out the cold air from the doors, I started to encourage Niuniu that he will be rewarded with a scoop of ice-cream. I was imagining it too!

Bus 999 (sea side) has Chinese and English instruction signs everywhere. What a small world! It took only twenty minutes to get to our apartment! A beautiful Pilipino girl (my guessing) asked me where we wanted to get off; and she translated my answer into Arabic to the driver. How nice she was!

What a nice adventure! We love the clean and air-conditioned bus system in Kuwait.

From bus stop to the mall

Nice souvenir shop in Al Manshar Mall

How valuable these water fountains are! They may save your lives.

Bus terminal in Fahaheel

Bus 999 (made in China 宇通客车)

Cute little thing found in our basement garage (2 inches long)