Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,816 |
Originally posted by Cartman Reincarnated:
Jeez, $200K.. What kind of work will you be doing over there?
Yes, what kind of work?
I can't really say how it's like to live here, since I'm stuck on the military bases here. But I do travel to other camps, so I've seen the landscape and such. The roads are really nice here (the main highways at least), but there are some dirt (sand?) roads that would eat a Contour. There's a lot of new construction going on that you can see off the highways.
The drivers here are friggin CRAZY mofos... they will pass you in the sand if it's the only path around. When you get here and get your licence here, they will let you know that Kuwaitis are all about "me first" while driving. They will pass you just to pass, cut you off, slam on brakes, etc.
There are a lot of accidents. Not uncommon to see a car overturned on the side of the road.
The cops will not pull you over unless you're really doing something wrong, which isn't often. We were in the far left lane and had a cop in front of us... this minivan decided to pass us on the left between us and the cement barrier dividing the highway. The cop didn't even care.
They do have cameras put up along the highway, and they will ticket you for speeding. Good thing is they let you know like 2-3Km before you get to it. Everyone slows down to 120Km/h (the speed limit) right near the camera, then speeds back up to 130-140Km/h. Doing 140-150Km/h is fast enough so people don't aggressivly pass you, but slow enough to be safe.
Other than that, IMO, it's a fairly safe place, but there were some contractors killed a while ago:
Originally posted by http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/camp-doha.htm :
On January 21, 2003 an American civilian was killed and another wounded in an ambush near Kuwait City. The two American men were civilian contractors working for the U-S military in Kuwait, according to a U-S embassy spokesman (John Moran) in the emirate.
The shooting occurred about nine o'clock in the morning, local time, just north of Kuwait City, at an intersection several kilometers from Camp Doha, where as many as ten thousand U-S troops are stationed to prepare for a possible attack on neighboring Iraq.
The two men were in a Toyota Landcruiser that was struck several times by gunfire. The driver was shot in the shoulder and the leg and is said to be in stable condition at a local hospital. His passenger was shot several times and died as a result of his wounds.
Authorities say it appears the gunman or gunmen may have been laying in wait in a nearby agricultural area, and ambushed the car as it was driving by. No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting.
I'm sure that was a isolated incident, but there is a city they told us is off limits to military b/c of violence. I think it's Al Jahra or something.
Also a lot of people say it's always dry here... that depends on where you are. It is humid near the coast (like Kuwait City), so be prepared when it's 130 and humid (like 15-30%). It's real nice...
The military used to be able to go off base up until about a year ago when (from what I've heard) the Army got a new 4 star that commands ARCENT. The Air Force doesn't see a threat and wants our personnel to be able to go downtown. Problem is the CENTAF commander is a 3 star... Oh well.
I would try to get your car sent over here. It would be a pretty cool car to be in, but hopefully isn't really low, cause the speedbumps here are huge.
Anyway, I gotta get back to work...
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