'Souk' is an Arabic word for market; 'Jumah' is for Friday.

Souk Al Jumah hence refers to the Friday Market in Farwaniyah, Kuwait. Some call it a flea market, others refer to it as a second-hand market.

Regardless, it's one of the favorite hangouts of locals and expatriates during weekends.

Most newbie expat Pinoys purchase their furnitures and household items from Souk Al Jumah. It's not only practical but it is also wise. Souk Al Jumah is huge - around five hectares -- and it houses various items for sale. It's also well-organised because under each roof are similarly classified items. There's a section for used clothes, antiques, furnitures, electronics, gym equipment, etc. There's even a separate souk for live animals (didn't go there because it's quite a walk from where we parked).

Here are some of the photos I took that Friday.


Entrance to the souk.


Colorful carpets of various sizes, color and make.


The parking space is spacious although a bit dusty during summers.


Like I heard some of them still works.


Antique coins from various countries.


Various sculptures from India, Egypt and Syria.


Second hand clothes and shoes abound.


How about wearing this for the santacruzan? Too colorful for a wedding gown, I say.


A Prada for KD10. I heard you, with your bartering acumen, can get this for KD5 .


This Gucci watch is a first-class imitation that sells for KD8.


Satin curtains that would definitely add colors to your windows. Sells for KD2.


I love this sofa and it's surot-free (they said) 'dahil bilad sa araw'...Dunno.


Exercise machines that sell from KD10.


Carpets from different countries -- some machine-woven, others by hand.






Decoratives that come cheap. This 'bike' sells for KD3.


Vases that you can get for less than KD1. That's around PHP150.


Restoration works for old furnitures. An old furniture becomes new with just a few paint and an artistic hand.

Quite a lot to see, admire and buy in Souk Al Jumah. It's a favorite for bargain hunters and it's not a surprise to see other nationalities rummaging the place for something to buy. It's also becoming our favorite hangout every weekend. It's practical, it's wise, and somehow, it's also a thrill and an adventure that don't necessarily come high-priced.

It was raining hard the day I bravely ventured the city in a KPTC bus, from Kuwait center to Fahaheel (where I live). 'Venture' because I've been hearing a lot about riding a bus in Kuwait -- that it's 'dangerous' because Kuwaiti youths throw stones at buses, or Kuwaiti youths sometimes make fun of other passengers, or they are rowdy for the whole bus ride.





Nothing of that. Oh yes, I was seated with a Kuwaiti passenger, and he was very silent all throughout the trip. Perhaps because he's a quinquagenarian. I'm actually just guessing, but he's definitely not what I'll consider as young.

So yes, the bus ride was a lull, peaceful. The trip was one full hour from the bus station in Kuwait City to our place (give and take a three minute walk to my flat). In a private car or taxi, the trip would have been less than half an hour.

Kuwaiti buses are numbered, i.e. 102, 999, 105, etc. The numbers refer to routes. Bus 102 took me to Fahaheel via Highway 30. Bus 999 also would have taken me to Fahaheel but via every nooks and crannies of cities between Kuwait City and Fahaheel. Had I taken Bus 999, I would have reached home thirty to forty-five minutes later than my one hour trip. A friend said the trip via Bus 999 is more enjoyable if all you wanted is to pass the time away observing the streets of Kuwait. (Maybe next time).

The buses are all air-conditioned and the seats are comfortably-spaced. Seats in front are exclusive for female passengers.

Fares are 250 fils for the whole route (equivalent to around PHP40). Taxi fare for the same route is KD2.5 (around PHP400). Hence the popularity of bus to riding public.

Here are some of the photos I took during the bus trip.



KPTC stands for Kuwait Public Transport Company.



Bus 102 that took me home to Fahaheel.



The sides of buses usually carry advertisements for mobile companies...



...or announcements about sale schedules in popular malls.



Kuwaiti passengers. Silent all throughout the ride, so the rumours are not true!



Spacious and clean.



If I say 'comfortable', will this photo be an understatement? ☺

Quoted from an Arab News article: A young man described what ran through his mind before he escaped in a separate rescue. “I thought to myself, ah, this is how I will die,” Tatsuro Ishikawa, his face bruised and cut, told NHK as he sat in striped hospital pajamas.



Amidst flood of tears let there be also flood of love.
Beneath the ruble and mud, hope will rise and multiply.
There is God. He allows things to happen for various reasons.
We wouldn't know it now, but later we'll do.

(The world is beset with calamities where people are either mourning for their dead or waiting for death to get them....to them, my prayers).

This post is off for comments.

Starring (in no particular order):
Troll, the multi-colored, down-to-earth dwarf-like character who has been in nebzdom since Nebz came to work abroad.
Crocky, the green, slimy nemesis of Troll; in love to Martha; newcomer.
Martha, a florist who is Troll's whoopsie daisies; guest star; not really owned by Nebz.



One day in nebzdom somewhere in Kuwait, Troll and Martha, decided to take a walk.



But then came Crocky, a menacing reptile, who derives happiness in taunting Troll.



Martha looks on as Troll tries to outdo Crocky.



Troll finally had controll (pun intended) over Crocky.



As in the movies, there has to be a kissing scene.



...and they all became friends and lived dustily ever after in nebzdom.

The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath—already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group and then excited with triumph glide on through the seachange of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.























Annually during the Liberation Day celebration in Kuwait (from the British Occupancy in 1961 and from Iraqi invasion in 1991), the whole of Kuwait Oil Company community in Ahmadi becomes alive with perhaps the grandest of lights that one can see. Even during the Christmas season, the Catholic Church in Ahmadi is lit up magnificently. During ordinary days, Ahmadi streets can sometimes be dreary and provincial but during the months of December to March, walking through the streets in Ahmadi is like walking in Wonderland with white tiny lights draped from the tall trees, colored lights figured into different artistic shapes, and lamp posts hanged with Kuwaiti flags. Very festive and the efforts that went into designing the lights are truly admirable.