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Kuwait: a tale of two cities

27/8/2013

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When I first visited Kuwait I was seven years old. I told the little huddle of friends in the playground where I was going and they said: “Where’s that?”

Thirty years later I returned to Kuwait. When I told my little huddle of friends, slightly bigger than my playground days, they said: “Tell us if you can still see the war damage.”

So that’s people’s first reaction to Kuwait: a war zone somewhere in the Middle East, but not quite sure where.

But there is more to say. Much more.

A rich state has grown out of a primitive past. The headland now adorned by Kuwait City was only settled 300 years ago. In 1760 the first wall was built. And with trade links to Baghdad and Damascus, a thriving port developed. Relationships have always been an important part of Kuwait’s independence. Each historian has a different view, and the facts are unclear as to whether Kuwait was part of the Ottoman empire, but by 1899 fear that Turkey would try to annex the state pushed Kuwait into an agreement with Britain. In exchange for protection, the ruling Al-Sabah family agreed not to sign the land away to other powers without Britain’s consent. For Britain it was a tactical and political decision. It wanted to keep Germany, a Turkish ally, out of the Gulf.

Kuwait’s real riches lie in black gold. And with the financial wealth that comes with oil, the state advanced in education, healthcare and commerce, and by 1961 it became fully independent. In 1949 Kuwait had four doctors. Less than twenty years later it had 400.[1]

Political advancements have not always been as straight forwards however. Women gained the vote in 2005 but the balance of support started tipping towards radical Islamists and with a more conservative outlook women fail to gain any seats. In 2013 an Islamic-led opposition won parliamentary elections, but the Emir blocked proposals by MPs to make all legislation comply with Islamic law, and faced with an uncertain and polarised political identity, riots have erupted. On one side Kuwait is a developing modern state. On the other there is the sharp pull of its traditional roots. And this is not an easy balance.

However, the physical development of the state has not been as fast paced as other Middle Eastern countries. Hardly surprising when Kuwait has spent a large portion of the last century fighting off its neighbours: the founder of modern day Saudi Arabia on one side and Iraq on the other.

That said, Kuwait has iconic buildings that rival any other country and more are in the pipeline. Most famous of them all is the Kuwait Towers, designed by a Swedish architect and opened in 1979. The upper globe has a revolving viewing platform, but this is an opportunity that still needs to be exploited. I remember there being a glitzy restaurant, but today the interior is practically bare except for a few faded photos that show the destruction from the Gulf War. The towers are decorated with plate-sized sequins, which apparently Iraqi soldiers used for target practice. You can’t help but feel that Kuwait hasn’t quite got back on its feet.

Unfortunately, our trip down memory lane turned into a tour of rubble-covered car parks. From our vantage point we scoured the city for our apartment block; it was nothing but rubble. We went to visit my old school; it was nothing but rubble. We went to the old souk; and found, gloriously, nothing had changed. Change is essential in terms of economic development, but it was reassuring to see the souq displays dripping with gold bracelets and necklaces, piles of fresh fruit and vegetables, and hook slung carcasses.

The Seif’s Palace and National Assembly, two landmarks I remembered, still stood, either unharmed or beautifully restored. I may make it seem like the war has only just ended, but with the number of dilapidated buildings, piles of rubble and walls peppered with bullet holes, it’s hard to imagine that a decade has passed.

But then you turn round and blink again. The Sultan Centre isn’t the Sultan Centre I remember. It is a new, modern shopping mall on reclaimed land, and before Dubai shot up out of nowhere, Kuwait was a shopping haven for people with Dinars to spare.

So we really have come full circle. Kuwait is a tale of two cities. It is modern and vibrant with an eye on the future. But it still has a wary eye on the past. It is rightfully protective of its rich heritage, but keen to find a way to marry this respect with advancement. I wonder what it will be like when I go back in another 30 years.

[1] Lonely Planet, Middle East, is a good read if you want an historic overview. 

For more photographs, please click here.

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The erosion of community – the airport rip off

25/8/2013

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A new voyage or destination gives a traveller the opportunity to learn something new about how people live. Travel offers us an insight into how the world ticks. 

A journey from one town to the next, or between two countries, gives us two points of comparison. It’s difficult not to compare. We notice how quickly cities have developed, especially if we are returning to somewhere we have been before. And one of the top topics to muse about over a coffee in the local café is how life has changed and how development has eroded our sense of community.

I don’t even think you have to leave the airport before the comparison starts. I’m sitting in Belfast airport, feeling a little bit abused. The problems started with my air ticket with a certain orange liveried bird of steel. You may say you get what you pay for, but I had thought that they were operating a business and the focus of any business should be its customers. Forget that.

Move a little further along the airport conveyor belt and you are greeted with several offers to relieve of a few heavy coins. Would you like to buy a plastic “security” bag for your cosmetics? No. Would you like to pay extra to shorten the frisk queue? Not keen on that either. Would you like us to be so inflexible that you think we are taking the …. I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Above all, especially in an airport, security is paramount. I get that. But I can’t help beginning to feel that it is being used as an excuse to take short cuts and be lazy. I understand that you have an important job and we all benefit from the role you play in the airport game of manoeuvring thousands of people safely from one place to another. But apart from feeling like a pawn on a chessboard, I feel if we all smiled, phrased our requests with a little more respect and offered a helping hand rather than a slap, we would have happier and more efficient airports, and help to stem the community erosion. Rant over. Apparently, for safety reasons I “need to turn the computer off now”. Please.

Now for something to lighten the mood:

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Adults only part 2: The parents go back in time               Weekends away in the UK

13/8/2013

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Ideas for weekends awayHope House, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Win a 2-4-1 weekday stay in August at the historic Hope House. Click for details.

As I walk up the stairs I feel myself lean to the left. I haven’t even had a glass of wine so I can’t blame my instability on intoxication quite yet.

The horizontally challenged treads mark the passing of time; the three hundred years that have passed since this house was built.

Hope House, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, UK, is dripping with history. It’s a time machine that transports you back through time. It’s not just the horsehair plaster and original paneling. It’s the stories and family legacy that accompany the bricks and mortar.

Paul Hageman owns and runs the historic house, as ten generations have done before him. And it’s a family full of colourful and interesting characters including glove makers that received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria; a captain of a merchant ship that sailed the seas to trade with far-flung nations; a high ranking naval officer who fought during the First and Second World Wars; and marital connections to the artistic Dyce family.

After three years overseeing the entire restoration and refurbishment of this Vanbrughian style Grade II* listed property, Paul opened Hope House in 2009 as beautiful boutique accommodation with three individually designed and spacious suites.

Blenheim Palace, the home of the 11th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, was built around the same time. The families, however, were not always easy neighbours with the 6th Duke of Marlborough refusing the pay for his father’s coffin in 1841, leaving the owners of Hope House to raise money in the town.

Along with its illustrious history, Hope House has provided a roof over the head of many famous people including Russell Crowe, Diana Ross and Cate Blanchett. We stayed in the same suite as the Sheriff of Nottingham (or Matthew Macfadyen as he is better known).

It’s difficult to see what else you might want from a place to stay. It unique – it’s not a bed or breakfast or a hotel. It’s an historic home. There is a reason why Trip Advisor ranked Hope House the 10th best luxury hotel in the UK in 2013 Travellers’ Choice awards.

The practical bit:

Accommodation: Hope House offers five star accommodation. The suites are spacious with a lounge complete with state-of-the-art entertainment: (LCD TV, surround system, Blu-ray player, wall-mounted iPod docks, high speed wireless internet access). There is a fully-stocked mini bar and personal touches such as flowers, home-made produce and service at the touch of a button. The Hope House breakfast is beautifully prepared and presented with local-resourced ingredients. There isn’t a restaurant but Woodstock is a compact town with plenty of dining options from pubs to upmarket restaurants.

Location: The ancient market town of Woodstock is situated on the edge of the Cotswolds, near Oxford, an hour’s drive from London.

For more information: www.hopehousewoodstock.co.uk

A bit of trivia: Some of the windows at Hope House include etchings marking family weddings through the centuries. 


If you're looking for the bright lights of the city you might prefer a boutique London hotel.

Ideas for weekends away
Ideas for weekends away
Ideas for weekends away
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Adults only, part 1: The parents escape to London           Weekends away in the UK

4/8/2013

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Ideas for weekends awayEccleston Square Hotel, London
Every now and then parents need a break from their children. We need to be reminded that we are adults. We need to relearn how to talk to our spouse without conversations edged with condescension and chiding.

Our summer holidays are pretty typical as far as expat experiences go. For four or five weeks we drag our little cherubs from pillar to post visiting relatives and friends in our homeland. This means, however, that we are lucky enough to find willing babysitters. So when we can we take the opportunity to escape to an adult-only bolthole that demands we sit nicely at the table and where it is almost compulsory to have a lie-in because the beds are so comfortable.

The Eccleston Square Hotel in London was the perfect medicine to our parental ailments. Standing on the pavement of the imposing Georgian terrace, the door magically opened before us beckoning us to step inside.

We could have stepped into a black and white movie, or I might have been mistaken for wondering if I’d become colour blind. The hotel interior’s monochrome palette is funky rather than bland though, with theatrical black Murano glass chandeliers and sweeping banisters. Attention has been paid to detail from the fluffy bathrobe and slippers to the multinational plug sockets for the international traveller.

If you’re a gadgetry geek and like technology you'll enjoy the 103" custom-made television in the Media Room, although each bedroom has a 3D plasma television, and there are even six televisions in the lift if you get bored on your way up. The buttons to operate the curtains and lights are non-touch; the glass walls in the bathroom turn opaque at a wave; the in-room iPad acts as a concierge; the main feature of the room is the Hästens electrically adjustable massaging bed. There is filtered fresh air and mood music and lighting; the list goes on. In fact there are so many buttons to press I’m not sure that I was able to get to grips with it all in one night, but it rather captured my husband’s imagination. This hotel is the only suitable for big kids though – no children are allowed.

Eccleston Square has exactly what you might expect in terms of attentive service, but this extends further than most city hotels. Hi-tech services come with a price tag, but the owners have a fair price policy that means visitors do get value. There is free Wi-Fi, free local calls, complimentary coffee, water and DVD library, but the hotel doesn’t take the opportunity to slap a heavy price tag in other areas. The fair price mini bar in your room, for example, means you can have a drink without worrying whether you’re drinking liquid gold rather than beer.

And although small, the hotel also offers room service and has a modern European menu at the Bistro on the Square. If you can, grab the window seat to enjoy your meal overlooking the toing and froings of the square. Or if you want something a little different, the staff will even prepare a private dining table for you in the pretty landscaped Square garden.

It really is a hidden gem, and a perfect excuse to give the grandparents quality time with their grandchildren. Doesn’t everyone win?!

The practical bit:
Location: Belgavia, London. Just around the corner from Victoria train and coach stations, this hotel is in a super, easy to get to, location. Set in a peaceful square with private gardens, a short walk away from shops and restaurants it's worth considering for business or holiday.
Eating: The bistro is small but neatly appointed. The best seat in the house in at the window.
A bit of trivia: This grade II listed late Georgian townhouse has hosted many famous visitors over two centuries including Princess Victoria and Lord Louis Mountbatten. Churchill lived in a neighbouring house.
Need more information? www.ecclestonsquarehotel.com


And what about an escape to the countryside? Here's our insight into a parents' weekend away from the kids in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

Ideas for weekends away
Ideas for weekends away
Ideas for weekends away
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