We could have taken the shorter route from Jordan directly to Iraq, accompanied by a military convoy. Instead, we decided to take the route through Saudi Arabia to Kuwait and from there to Iraq. This way we avoided the convoy through a dangerous region of Iraq, can visit Kuwait and explore the south of Iraq.
The route from Jordan to Kuwait was more than 1,000 km through a mostly boring landscape along the Trans-Arabian pipeline, with only view cities on the way. We tried to entertain ourselves as much as possible, taking pictures of everything we noticed and listening to audiobooks.
The Saudis love monuments and decorations on roundabouts and along the main road through cities, with artificial or real grass, huge playgrounds and picknick areas.
When the local restaurant we had looked up was closed during the day as most of the other places we spotted, we ended up at McDonald’s. It had 2 entrances: for singles and for families. We took the family entrance, where separated tables had curtains for privacy.
The first day, we reached Arar, a modern town named after the nearby oilfield with the number RR. We parked next to a fancy tower, which was actually only a water tower and was illuminated during the night in changing colours. A man in a red car stopped next to us and brought us tea, coffee and dates. He didn’t speak English and returned half an hour later to pick up his jugs and cups. Such a nice treat!
The second day, we reached our last town in Saudi Arabia, Hafar Al-Batin, where we found a Lebanese restaurant and a place for the night.
The next day, we crossed the border to Kuwait, which was easy, even with Visa on arrival. Kuwait City was about 130 km from the border, where we will relax a little and explore the town for a couple of days, before we make our way to Iraq.