Early Thursday we left for Wafra in a convoy of five cars. It seemed like one of the few places people could go for recreation. They had some oil wells there but that wasn't where we were headed. There was a "garden" of sorts in the middle of the desert, complete with a children's amusement park, and that's where we were going to spend the day. Ramadan was over, which meant we could eat in public during daytime.

Everyone was on the lookout for camels so I could take some pictures. There was the occasional mobile convenience store operating out of the backs of small trucks. There were a few shepherds keeping some brownish black sheep in line. There wasn't really any sandy desert with shifting dunes. You either had to go farther south into Saudi or north towards Iraq to see them. Sensing my disappointment, they stopped at a short stretch along the road that came close to a sandy desert. Everyone got off and started clambering up the "dune." It was a bit windy and most of my companions were feeling too cold. Not that long ago, I used to start shivering when the temperature hit 70°F (21°C) back in Madras, so I knew just how they felt. Now I walk around with my jacket open in 35°F weather. It's incredible how much your body can adapt when they pay you enough.

We got back in the cars and drove some more when someone shouted "camel!" We all pulled up and the camels didn't like that intrusion into their privacy too much. The herder was made to relinquish his perch on top of a ridge and go after his camels as they turned their backs on us and started walking away muttering to each other about the stupid tourists. I was trying to figure just what they were grazing on. Camel meat is apparently a delicacy and relatively expensive. Conversations like "they slaughtered two camels for the wedding" are not unheard of according to my father.

We arrived at the gardens soon after. They had a couple of greenhouses with all sorts of plants for sale. The place had plenty of trees, under which families had spread sheets and were at various stages of relaxation. From the greenhouse, we went to the amusement park that had a few swings and toy trains that children could ride on. The most interesting feature however was this 50-foot inflatable rooster that served as a slide for the kids. It even crows in English, if one were to believe the sign painted on its neck. We spread our sheets under the trees and ate a sumptuous lunch, which like most Indian outings, was the highlight of the day. Say what you may, we Indians love our food and give it the importance it deserves.

I was introduced to a few more people who had traveled in the other cars, and soon found myself again answering a lot of questions about life in the US. I was also asked what I thought of Kuwait, and by now I'd come up with a standard answer: "Interesting!" Truth be told, I do think that the trip was quite interesting, though at that time I was feeling a bit bored. You see, I like my forests and trees and rolling hills. I found it incredibly boring driving around Florida (at least around Orlando) with its flat featureless landscape and straight roads that intersected at right angles. However, it was the people and not the landscape that captured my attention in Kuwait, and I wish I'd started talking to the locals sooner than I ultimately did. Not that the people were too boring in Orlando, they just weren't all that different from the Bostonians. Well, maybe a bit older.

We packed up soon after and left for a nearby zoo, which didn't have a whole lot of animals. The most interesting sight for me at the zoo was a group of boys playing cricket. I didn't know the game was that popular in the Middle East, Sharjah notwithstanding. There were a few ostriches in a cage, some turkeys, and a lone camel in a dark shed. There was one bird that I guessed to be a falcon. There were a lot of people here, though no one was paying particular attention to the animals. Guess they were just happy to be in a place with a lot of trees. I know I would be if I lived in the desert.

On the way back, we stopped to pick up some sand that a friend back in Boston wanted, much to the amusement of our fellow travelers. There were a couple of "camel crossing" signs but one particular sign caught my attention. It was obvious that it had something to do with rules for grazing, but it took me a while to figure out the red and green shape in the background. It's a map of Kuwait, and grazing was allowed only on the western portion. We also passed a stop sign with a couple of bullet holes through it. We stopped by an open market where fresh produce was being sold and I missed a great opportunity to shoot some interesting pictures. I was just too tired to get out of the car and go out in the hot(!) sun.

We got home late in the afternoon and I didn't want to go anywhere. Took some pictures of my mother and the view of the city from the living room window at twilight and went back to solitaire. I wasn't in the mood for reading "Crime and Punishment" which had seemed so perfect for long haul international flights. I'd been talking to my father about driving up to Doha village, which was mentioned on the Lonelyplanet web site. He wasn't too happy about it as he worried for my safety. Someone had told him that the US army base was up there and he didn't want me mistaken for a terrorist. Nonetheless, I poured over the map to find the best way to get there.

We had a lunch engagement Friday, so I pretty much ended up staying home all day and by the time our guests left, I figured it was too late to drive up to Doha. Later, I took off in my dad's car to try and shoot pictures of the oil refineries at night. I was a bit worried about parking on the shoulder so I shot the pictures from inside the car with the tripod on the passenger seat. I needed 8-10 second exposures, and 10 seconds seemed very long when cars were speeding at 100kmph a few feet from me. I barely had time to compose my shots. I took four pictures, and headed for home.

We were invited for dinner by yet another of dad's friends, and I had some interesting conversation with them. People are as ill-informed about the US as most Americans are of the rest of the world. The movie Speed was playing on TV and I was asked if "things like that" happen in the US. I kept a straight face and said that life was pretty boring actually. Then they wanted to know if I owned a gun, and how hard it is to bring up kids "in that culture."

I remembered the chef at my office cafeteria who wanted to know "how come every Indian I know is smart and makes a lot money, yet India seems so poor and backward in all those National Geographic specials?" It doesn't take much to make a long-lasting impression on us of a particular country or society, does it? One wildlife documentary and instantly a billion people are living in the jungle stuck in the Stone Age. One dumb movie and we assume 300 million people dodge bullets on their way to work (actually, this was the same week 7 people were gunned down by a co-worker in a company near Boston, so I guess it is true to some degree).

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