Found this driving license from 1961 for sale. It’s number 2061, I wonder if that means there were only 2000 drivers on the roads back then?
I just read a review about the first class lounge where the guy called it the least beautiful in the world. The funny part is, I was looking at the photos thinking, wow, that actually looks like a nice lounge. Probably because I recently experienced the Kuwait Airways business class lounge at T4, which has to be the worst lounge I’ve ever been to.
The lounge was so bad I actually went and sat outside near my gate because I found that more comfortable. The lounge was dark with no daylight, it was long and narrow with most of the seats just facing the wall. It was a claustrophobic and uncomfortable place to be in.
If you want to check out his review of the first class lounge, click here.
This week I started watching a bunch of shows:
Bad Thoughts
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace
Toast of London
Zero Day
Darkplace and Toast of London both star Matt Berry. Darkplace is hilarious, the whole thing is shot and acted like a cheap old tv show and I love it. Bad Thoughts was fine, most of the funny stuff I had already watched as TikTok clips. Zero Day I’m two episodes in and don’t really like it but trying to stick to it.
I also started rewatching Transparent again, used to really love the series and it still holds up really well. Super easy to binge watch as well.
Have you watched anything interesting lately? Let us know in the comments.
Movies at the Cinemas
The English movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:
New This Week:
Lilo & Stitch (7.3)
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (7.6)
Other Movies Showing:
A Few Good Men (Classic) (7.7)
A Minecraft Movie (6.0)
A Working Man (6.8)
Heart Eyes (6.1)
Home Sweet Home: Rebirth (4.7)
Hurry Up Tomorrow (5.9)
Final Destination: Bloodlines (7.1)
Pet Investigators (6.1)
Sinners (8.0)
The Accountant 2 (7.2)
Thunderbolts* (7.8)
Valiant One (5.2)
Until Dawn (6.0)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
Below are my favorite events happening this weekend. Always double-check the details by visiting the organizer’s account.
Thursday, May 22
Matilda the Musical
23rd Gold & Jewelry Exhibition
Sadu Immersive Experience
Mozart & Vivaldi Live Orchestra
Friday, May 23
Matilda the Musical
23rd Gold & Jewelry Exhibition
Mozart & Vivaldi Live Orchestra
Qaroh Island Cleanup
Cocktail Non-imported Music
Saturday, May 24
Matilda the Musical
23rd Gold & Jewelry Exhibition
Tango of the Heart
DAI Story Time at Amricani
For those wondering, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is not banned in Kuwait. I checked with Cinescape earlier and they confirmed to me it was not banned and that it would be released soon.
Update: Mission Impossible is now out in Kuwait, 2 days before the US release
Categories
Cheaper Nintendo Switch 2’s
The other day I published Switch 2 prices in Kuwait, and I have some updates.
Firstly, 3R Store (3roodq8) started the pre-order on the Nintendo Switch 2 console and they’ve currently got the cheapest price in Kuwait. They’re selling the console (not the bundle) for KD170, so 10KD cheaper than everyone else. Link
Secondly, Best, Eureka and Xcite are all offering additional things with their bundles. Best are including 1-year of Nintendo Online with their offer, Eureka are offering what looks to be screen protectors and the Nintendo SD card, and Xcite are including headphones.
Finally, a reader let me know you can pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 from the Amazon.fr store and they’ll ship it straight to Kuwait. The Switch 2 + Mario Kart Bundle will cost 183KD shipped to Kuwait including customs. So around 15KD cheaper than Kuwait prices plus you have the benefit of getting it before the shops in Kuwait.
On a side note, I was checking to see if Amazon.ae carried the Switch 2, they don’t, but I did find the new Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones for sale. They have a pre-order offer now where they’ll include the Sony ULT10 portable speaker for free if you order before the June 17th regional launch date. Total price shipped to Kuwait is KD153. Amazon.com price is KD137 not including tax and shipping plus you don’t get the portable speaker.
If you regularly send money abroad, there’s now an easier and cheaper way to do it in Kuwait. Al Ansari Exchange recently launched a new app that lets you transfer money internationally directly from your phone, and based on what I’ve seen so far, it works really well.
You’ll need a Kuwait Civil ID and a local number to sign up, and the process took me less than 3 minutes to get started. Once registered, you can send money to countries like the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada using market exchange rates. The fees are low with transfers starting at 3KD with no hidden charges, and no sketchy buy/sell currency conversion margins.
The app is allows bank-to-bank transfers for GBP, Euro, USD, and CAD, which is perfect for summer travel. You can even top up your Visa card from the app too. The app is really easy to use and it’s available in seven languages, including English, Arabic, Filipino, Hindi, Malayan, Tamil, and Telugu.
If you don’t want to use the app or don’t have a Civil ID, you can still visit one of Al Ansari’s 39 branches in Kuwait and transfer from there. With their recent $200 million acquisition of Bahrain Financing Company, they’ll soon have 80+ branches across the country.
Whether you’re sending money back home or moving funds for travel, it’s worth checking out. To find out more you can head to alansariexchange.com.kw
Main image by double a studio
Last night, as part of AlSadu Society’s celebrations marking Kuwait City’s designation as a World Craft City for Sadu weaving, a new temporary immersive experience was launched at Sadu House.
The immersive experience is set up in the inner courtyard and features a large temporary room surrounded by LCD panels that blend Sadu heritage with modern technology.
The experience is open to the public starting today and runs until Thursday (May 20–22). If you’d like to check it out, visit anytime between 6:30PM and 9:30PM. Entry is free. @saduhouse
Categories
Random Scenes from 1970s Kuwait
This is the last batch of photos from Ian Caldwell’s family collection.
If you missed the previous two posts, Ian was born in Ahmadi in 1955 and lived in Kuwait until 1975. He’s scanned over 300 Kuwait-related photos from his family’s archive, which he’s kindly given me permission to share.
This final batch of photos isn’t categorized, other than being random scenes from around Kuwait taken in the 70s.
I really like the shot of the phone booth in the middle of the nowhere, it’s really weird, which is why I had Ian send me the original scan so I could print it out and frame it. Another favorite is the main image I used of the baqala, which looks like a scene straight out of a Western movie.
You’ll also find a couple of photos of the Kuwait Towers and Gulf Road while they were still under construction, and one of Seif Palace with the original telecommunications building going up in the background.
There are also some really odd ones I’ll let you discover for yourself. Link
The Nintendo Switch 2 is launching in the US on June 5 but looks like it’s going to launch in Kuwait couple of weeks later on June 19. A bunch of shops have started taking pre-orders but for some reason it looks like Kuwait might have the most expensive prices compared to Saudi and UAE. Here the local stores I found that have started pre-orders:
3R Store
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 169.99 Link
Al-Fuhod – Kuwait
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 199.99 Link
Best – Kuwait
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 189.99 Link
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 199.99 Link
Eureka – Kuwait
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 189.99 Link
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 199.99 Link
Xcite – Kuwait
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 204.900 Link
All the stores in Kuwait seem to have the same price except for Xcite who are KD 5 more expensive. Geekay haven’t started pre-orders yet or announced the local price but in Saudi they’re selling the Switch 2 at the following prices:
Geekay – Saudi Arabia
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 164 Link
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 180 Link
Jarir is also selling the consoles at the same price:
Jarir – Saudi Arabia
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 164 Link
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 180 Link
It seems thats going to be the official (and fixed price) for Saudi since the prices were set by Nintendo themselves Link.
In the UAE, the prices I found were the following:
Gamekart – UAE
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 167 Link
Jarir – UAE
Nintendo Switch 2 – KD 154 Link
Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle – KD 168 Link
I’m hoping once Geekay Kuwait announces their pre-order their prices will be similar to Saudi and the UAE, or at least cheaper than everyone else locally cuz right now it seems absurd why our prices are so much higher.
If you know any other place currently taking pre-orders on the Switch 2, let me know.
Update: According to a contact familiar with the situation, currently local retailers are getting the consoles from the grey market and not Nintendo themselves. So the C button (GameChat) might not work locally and the warranty might also not be valid. It might also explain the June 19 launch date since they might be waiting for the console to launch and then get shipped to Kuwait.
Update2: Added 3R Store who now have the cheapest prices in Kuwait
The whole block in Salmiya behind Al Salam Mall is currently in the process of being demolished. The block contains 5 really old buildings that haven’t been maintained in decades, but also contains really old Kuwaiti houses in the back. Google Maps
Back in 2012 I took photos of those Kuwaiti houses since they had put up a fence around them because I assumed they were going to demolish them back then. Then they never got demolished so I figured the white fence was there to help preserve them. Well they’ve now been demolished.
You can check out all the photos below or view them directly on Flickr. (Hover over the image below, album is embedded)
I actually posted about the 5 buildings a few years ago since I had found old photos from like the 70s that showed the buildings in them and they weren’t in that great condition back then either. You can check out that post here.
The 61st exhibition by the Palestinian Culture Center kicked off today, celebrating the heritage, resilience, and artistry of Palestinian women.
The center has been active in Kuwait since the early 1970s, and each year they host this exhibition to help keep Palestinian culture alive while supporting underprivileged women and children in refugee camps.
The exhibition features handmade embroidery, ceramics, traditional foods, and books for sale. Every item reflects the rich culture of Palestine and supports the women who continue to preserve it with care.
Date: Thursday, May 15 to Monday, May 19
Time: 10AM to 8PM
Location: Women’s Cultural and Social Society (Google Maps)
For more info, head to @palestiniancc
Can we talk about Andor? I just binge watched the last 3 episodes of the second season last night and I’m so sad the series is over. It’s by far my favorite Star Wars series/movie/anything. It also feels like the least Star Warsy Star Wars and I think it’s because of the amount of depth, seriousness and grittiness the series has. The main hero also doesn’t have a light saber, he doesn’t have a cool outfit or anything out of the ordinary, he’s mostly just a normal person.
This is also probably the only Star Wars that also makes you empathize or fall in love with Imperial characters. The show is just so insanely good.
Then you also have the beautiful visuals and the incredible music like in the Mon Mothma dancing scene above. I think I actually might rewatch the series from the start again so I can enjoy it without all the anxiety and suspense. And then I’ll probably rewatch Rogue One since it takes place right after Andor in the Star Wars universe. If you haven’t watched it yet, please watch it.
Have you watched anything interesting lately? Let us know in the comments.
Movies at the Cinemas
The English movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:
New This Week:
Final Destination: Bloodlines (7.1)
Home Sweet Home: Rebirth (4.7)
Hurry Up Tomorrow (5.9)
Pet Investigators (6.1)
Valiant One (5.2)
Other Movies Showing:
A Few Good Men (Classic) (7.7)
A Minecraft Movie (6.0)
A Working Man (6.8)
Heart Eyes (6.1)
The Amateur (6.7)
Shadow Force (5.2)
Sinners (8.0)
The Accountant 2 (7.2)
The Legend of Ochi (6.3)
Thunderbolts* (7.8)
Until Dawn (6.0)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
Starting today, it’s Puff Week! Puff Kuwait’s biggest sale of the year is here, just in time for summer. Beat the heat with ice-cold sips in colors that match your vibe.
The sale is live now on Boutiqaat, and starting tomorrow, you’ll also find it in-store at Assima Mall, Gate Mall, Marina Mall, and Kout Mall.
For more info, head to @trypuff.
Categories
Kuwait Now Has Ads in the Sky
If you were at the chalet this past weekend, or if you were in the city looking out the window a few hours ago, you might have noticed a plane flying near the shore with an advertising banner behind it. Turns out it’s a new service being offered by Kuwait Skydive. I got in touch with them and managed to get all the details.
They have two different aerial advertising options:
Aerial Banners: This is when the plane tows your logo, campaign, or a picture along the coast, from Khairan to Kuwait Towers.
Aerial Messages: This is similar to what you’ve seen in movies and TV shows where the plane tows a message that are up to 30 characters long. (I think people are going to use this the most)
The minimum flight time they offer is 1 hour and the maximum is 4 hours. They fly around 150-300m above sea level and have three flight time slots:
7AM to 10AM
11AM to 2PM
3PM to 6PM
The plane flies from Al-Kout Mall to Kuwait Towers, and on weekends they also fly in Bnaider, Julai’a and Khairan.
They offer various pricing options based on flight duration and banner size. To give you a general idea, flight prices start at KD 750 for one hour, while the cost of manufacturing the banner starts at KD 400.
If you’re interested or want to find out more you can reach out to Nathalie on 60657462 or Ibraheem on 66118822. They don’t have an Instagram account yet since they’ve just soft launched but you could also reach out to them on @kuwaitskydive