NicoleB Photography

Two weeks back, we just came home from shopping hubby did something he has never done before (at least that’s what he says).
He tried to park in backwards with the new rental car we just had for one week at our Complex.
You know, they have a lot of huge cars in Kuwait but parking spaces are always small. And these are cornered by metal poles that hold the sunroof.
Now, hubby knew that the sensors in this car were off, they didn’t work right (we actually figured later that they give you a warning sound when nothing’s there but no sound when there is something).
So, these beautiful new cars are all built so you don’t see nothing through the rear window when driving backwards. Another reason I would not want to drive it.
Long story short, hubby hit the pole with his gear end. Nothing bad and covered by the insurance anyway.
All he has to do is file a report with the police.
Nothing you wanna do on your day off, but t has to be done. You don’t really want to do that in a garage illegally by people that probably get busted exactly on the day YOU have your car in there. So he did it the right way.

He went to make this story short as well, to three police stations that afternoon, trying to find the right one.
The right one after being in Fahaheel and Abu Halifa (I think) was the one in Ahmadi (or one of the ones in Ahmadi, let’s put it that way), but…..
But the guy that did that paperwork wasn’t there that day and anyway, he had to bring a translator to tell him what the paperwork is all about.
Uh….ok…..now what?

Through Miss Z. I know Soud, a Kuwaiti guy, nice and always helpful. I texted him a message and he texted back that he either tries to find someone for us or helps us himself. Have I mentioned that he’s a nice guy?
So the following Monday the three of us headed towards Ahmadi and after being at the wrong police station first, we finally found the right one.
Hubby asked me that morning if I wasn’t going to take my camera, but failed to mention, why I should.
There’s a huge parking lot besides that station with many, many crashed cars.

Well, all I got was a shot with my Cellphone, but better than nothing.
It was better anyway, that I didn’t have my camera with me, I had itchy fingers already and am glad I didn’t get busted for what I DID shoot .

So, we had a little Odyssee through at least 4 offices, not in vain, we collected a stamp and a signature in every office, everything was registered in a HUGE blue book, no computers in sight anywhere. Back to the office where the guy was residing that did the check of the car and the report we were told that Soud needs to go and make a copy of his ID and bring it back here. Off we went to a nearby junk store with a movie theater, we would have been so lost without Soud .

Back to the station were already a bunch of people waiting and off we went to the parking lot were each car got inspected and checked.

Back inside we were all settled to wait.
Urgent needs made me go and search a toilet, finding some jail cells with people in it (women and men, mainly Indian / Pakistani it seemed) and some nasty nasty toilets.

(I spare you the toilet with the poop on the ground…)

I guess the jail was just like an interim stop for those people until the decision’s made what to do with them. It was pretty weird and that was the moment I was glad NOT to have my camera or I would have probably ended up in there with them .

Well, while we waited, some guys came with a food delivery and the doors of the office closed for the next half hour. Which meant breakfast break, for the guys in there not us.

But it went pretty fast, after those doors opened up again. We got our papers and could go to the last and final office, where we had to sit down in a room that just made me grin, well, made me hide a big grin.
It was a dusty room with two big old wooden desks, old green filthy carpet with a cigarette butt in one corner and a bunch of folders in two different colors stacked on top of each other in no apparent order. Good luck finding anything when you need to. One guy was sitting at one of the desks, apparently doing nothing but drinking his tea and watching the world. The second guy came a bit later, pretty young and a bit nervous it seemed, but he did a good job. No Computer here neither. He was working out of his briefcase that was on the table in front of him.
Now the signature part came. Soud explained Floyd that it would take 8 or 9 months or longer for the file to appear online and then he would have to pay the fine of around 5 Dollars. Huh?
Yeah, the whole thing goes to court and then one day you can check online if you have fines and when it pops up you go and pay it.
Uhm, sure…..
Where does one get the address?
Oh, it’s written at the back of every police car.
Ah, how very helpful

Well, this bump was sure worth it’s 5 bucks and the hassle. I would have never seen all this without it

Ah, and on our way back there was a big jam at a traffic light for a few minutes.
When the traffic finally started rolling again we saw the most funny sight ever:
an Indian trash guy regulating the traffic.
Hilarious!
But it worked !