Categories
Gossip & Rumors

Is Paris Hilton Coming to Kuwait?

Ulta Beauty is opening in Kuwait on November 7th, and there’s a rumor going around that they’re bringing a megastar for the launch. A couple hours ago, they posted a teaser that looks like it could be Paris Hilton. The video describes the person coming as “iconic,” which happens to be the name of Paris Hilton’s perfume that also happened to have launched exclusively at Ulta Beauty.

I used to have a huge crush on her back in the late 90s, so it’s going to suck if I miss her visit since I’m not going to be here for the opening. I’ve reached out to a couple of sources for confirmation but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll update this post once I find out more.




Categories
News

ICE Arrest Kuwaiti Illegal Alien

ICE has been all over the news for their controversial arrests in the US, but I didn’t think their latest capture would be a Kuwaiti citizen.

According to the news, a Kuwaiti was arrested by ICE in San Diego after he rammed his car into their vehicles trying to escape. He injured 3 federal officers during the attempted escape and according to the article he was in the US illegally and is also wanted here in Kuwait. So random. Source




Categories
Events Things to do

Things to do in Kuwait this Weekend

These are my favorite events taking place this weekend.

Thursday, October 23
A5 Mall Kashta Expo
FULLOUT HipHop Dance Workshop
Sonatas for Violin & Piano
RoadRush Festival
The Flag-wavers of Gubbio

Friday, October 24
A5 Mall Kashta Expo
The Elite Comedy Show
Let’s Go Hiking!
RoadRush Festival

Saturday, October 25
A5 Mall Kashta Expo
Self-care Day: Violence Awareness & Empowerment Event
Botanical Gelli Printing Workshop
Sip & Flow
Farmers Market
Trash Hero Beach Cleanup
DAI StoryTime at Amricani
Sama & Cacao Ceremony




Categories
Events News

Kuwait Warns Comedy Shows Over Content

According to Arab Times, the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) announced that it will enforce strict measures against stand-up comedy shows that violate licensing regulations and public morals.

I’m guessing this is related to one of (or some of) the recent standup shows that took place. Did anything happen that I’m not aware of?




Categories
Healthier Lifestyle Promoted Sports

From supplements to self-care, Provin

Provin, my go-to app for ordering supplements, just went through a brand refresh and launched a new campaign centered around Strength, Beauty, and Balance. The idea behind it is simple but powerful. Health looks different for everyone, and Provin wants to be there for your personal wellness goals, whatever they are.

They’re one of the few local brands that really focus on high-quality supplements and herbal remedies, carrying over 100 international brands including popular ones like NOW, Thorne, Goli, Health Nag, and Optimum Nutrition. They’ve also started curating clean beauty and personal care products such as aluminum-free deodorants, fluoride-free toothpastes, and creams that are as clean as the supplements they carry.

They deliver across the GCC and can deliver chilled products within Kuwait in under 3 hours, which is impressive for anyone who’s ordered supplements or probiotics before. Some of the exclusive brands they carry, like Thorne, are priced close to international rates without the usual crazy local markups.

Their new campaign is about redefining what wellness means to you, whether you’re chasing strength, beauty, or balance. If you’ve never ordered from Provin or want to find out more, check them out at @weareprovin




Categories
Data Shopping Sneak Peek

Primark Kuwait Prices Compared to the UK

Primark is opening their first location in Kuwait this Thursday, and yesterday I was given access to the store to check out the space. If you’ve ever been to Debenhams in that location, you’ll be familiar with it. The biggest change is that the basement is now closed off, and the back entrance that opened to the Electra district of Avenues is also closed.

The one thing everyone’s curious about is the prices. Primark is known for its trendy styles at very low prices, so how do Kuwait’s prices compare with the UK?

I walked around the store randomly taking photos of price tags so I could compare them with the UK website. I searched for each item using its code, converted the UK prices to Kuwaiti Dinars, and rounded up. I then plugged all the data into ChatGPT to calculate the difference. Here’s the result:

Men
Average difference: +0.460 fils
Average % higher: 8.4%

Women
Average difference: +390 fils
Average % higher: 5.8%

Kids
Average difference: +510 fils
Average % higher: 15.8%

Other
Average difference: +120 fils
Average % higher: 7.8%

Overall average difference:
+0.410 fils, which is roughly 8.7% higher in Kuwait compared to the UK.

So basically the prices are pretty close!

Primark is opening in Phase 4 of The Avenues this coming Thursday, October 23 at 2PM. If you want to check out the prices of different items as well as more photos of the interior, check my instagram post.




Categories
Personal

My credit card was compromised

I woke up this morning to find 48 credit card transaction messages from NBK. It was a bit confusing at first because my iPhone had grouped up all the messages and given me a summary and I thought at first it was one declined transaction. But, I quickly realized it was more than one transaction and that my card had been compromised. The first thing I did was log into my NBK app and block the card until I could wake up and figure out what was going on.

Based on what I could tell, only 1 transaction might have gone through and it was for a small amount of $4.99, but then it was later credited back to my account. Everything else seems to have gotten declined.

I called NBK up to report my card as being compromised and to issue a new one. The employee checked and turns out NBK had already blocked my card before I did because of suspected fraudulent transaction which is why all the transactions had gotten declined. They’re now going to issue me a new card which I should get before I travel next week. He mentioned it takes 3-4 working days so I should be fine.

Last year my brand new debit card was compromised and two transactions had gone through which were returned back to me a week later. I barely use this credit card that got compromised since I have another prepaid one I use for most of my transactions since that one gets me miles. So I was pretty lucky that NBK blocked my card as soon as they detected anything weird or else I might have been out of a good chunk of money just before my trip.




Categories
Food & Drinks Promoted

Hosting Just Got Cooler with Go Greek Yogurt

Go Greek Yogurt, the popular LA-based brand known for its authentic Greek yogurt, opened in Kuwait earlier this year. They’re a favorite among celebrities in LA, and you’ve probably seen paparazzi shots of your favorite stars holding a cup of Go Greek Yogurt.

They recently launched a new product called the Greek Essentials Box. It’s basically a gathering box that includes nine frozen yogurt cups with eighteen toppings on the side.

Because of the richness of Greek yogurt, they can’t use dry ice to keep everything cold since it ruins the taste and texture. So they had to find a better way to insulate the yogurt while keeping things also eco-friendly (so no styrofoam either). Eventually, they came up with an insulated cardboard box that uses bags of ice to keep the yogurt frozen and fresh during delivery. The inside of the box is lined with a reflective material that helps slow how quickly the ice and yogurt melts by reflecting heat away and keeping the temperature inside stable.

Go Greek Yogurt has a physical location on the ground floor of Arraya Complex, but if you want to order delivery, head to gogreekyogurtkw.com or check out their instagram @gogreekyogurt.kw




Categories
Events Food & Drinks Information

Cake Picnic Tour isn’t coming to Kuwait

Two people contacted me asking me if it’s true the Cake Picnic Tour is coming to Kuwait. There is a website and account promoting the event for November but it seems to be based off Dubai Cake Picnic, which is different from the official Cake Picnic Tour (@cakepicnictour).

According to the official Cake Picnic Tour website, Dubai is a potential future stop, but there are zero details at the moment, no dates, times or locations. Kuwait isn’t even listed as a potential future stop.

If you want to stay updated on Cake Picnic Tour’s future stops, here is the link to their website. cakepicnictour.com




Categories
Activities Sports

Cycling at Kuwait Motor Town is Back

The Kuwait Motor Town racetrack is now open again to cyclists every Monday and Tuesday starting tomorrow, and it’s free.

The track is 5.6KM long but has three different configurations, each with a different length, so you can pick and choose which section you want to ride on. The track isn’t flat either with a lot of elevations which makes it more fun and dynamic.

Cycling on the racetrack is a really relaxed experience because it’s empty and quiet. There usually aren’t many riders, and even when there are, there’s plenty of space for everyone since the track is huge. Unlike riding on the Gulf Road cycling path, you don’t have to worry about running over cats or crashing into kids.

The track is beautiful at sunset, and even after the sun goes down, you can keep riding under the bright track lights.

If you want to go cycling at the track, it’s open to the public from 4PM to 8PM on Mondays and Tuesdays. It’s free and doesn’t require registration. Just park your car and ride into the racetrack. There’s a security guard with a sign-in sheet just write your name and number and continue onto the track. The only requirement is a helmet.

Rollerblades, scooters, and skateboards aren’t allowed, but you can walk, jog, or run. They also don’t rent bikes, so it’s BYOB.

To stay updated on other KMT activities and events, head over to their Instagram account @kmtkw




Categories
Complaints

I have a weird internet issue

I just ran into the weirdest internet issue. I have the 5G unlimited internet package from Redbull Mobile. A few days ago I got a message telling me I’ve used up 90% of my bandwidth and today it stopped working. So I got in touch with RedBull Mobile to find out what was up.

Firstly for anyone considering Redbull Mobile you need to be aware they don’t have a call center. Your only option for support is chatting with someone. I tried to do that from within the App, but the person the live chat kept connecting me to wouldn’t respond. Like in 10 minutes he said 1 thing which was unrelated to what I was asking and then stopped replying. I tried closing chat and reopening and got the same person and no response. I usually hate talking to bots but this was actually one time I wished I was chatting to a bot instead of a person. At least bots respond. Eventually I tried live chat from the website and got someone.

Turns out unlimited really means only 3TB which I don’t know why they’re calling it unlimited then. Unlimited means no limited but whatever because looking back at my history the max I’ve ever hit is like 2.2TB a month. But for some reason this month I consumed 3TB already and I still have 10 days to go. I don’t know how, I need to check my Xbox and see if it downloaded anything without me realizing. I got a new phone so maybe downloading everything back to my phone consumed bandwidth but that would be like max 300GB. But all of this isn’t even the issue I have right now.

The problem is I don’t have a choice to add more bandwidth. Technically I do but it just doesn’t make sense. I asked support if I could recharge my internet by adding an additional 500GB or 1TB and turns out the only option I have is to add 50GB at a time and it costs 5KD for every 50GB. That is crazy expensive when I’m paying 10KD for 3TB a month. I can get a new pre-paid line with 500GB internet for 8KD which is actually what I’m going to do now. Going to use that line temporarily fro the next 10 days.

So weird, now I need to go and figure out what consumed so much bandwidth this month.




Categories
Events Things to do

Things to do in Kuwait this Weekend

There are some interesting activities this weekend from book launches to stargazing trips. Check out all the events I could find taking place this weekend below:

Thursday, October 16
An Archive of Love Volume II

Friday, October 17
Cars & Coffee
Emperor of the Mats
Perform Series Showdown
Beach Sunrise Yoga & Sound Healing
Stargazing Trip
Morning Milers Pink Campaign Run

Saturday, October 18
Emperor of the Mats
Perform Series Showdown
Da Gusto x HYbrid
Morning Walk with the 5AM Club
studio in-between pop-up cafe
Blueprints of Memories
Visual Journaling & Coffee Painting
Turn Your Story into a Book
Nomads Discussion Night
Story Time: A Squash and a Squeeze
Soof Wool Mill Tours
Paws in the City Collage Workshop




Categories
Animals & Wildlife Food & Drinks

Pet Friendly Spots Around Kuwait

With winter approaching, it’s finally cool enough to take your pets outdoors without worrying about the heat. That’s why I put together a guide of pet-friendly spots, from coffee shops to parks, with the help of @mocha.i.am, who inspired me to make this post. If you know of more pet-friendly spots, mention them in the comments.

Cafes & Restaurants – Indoors
Masaha 13
Sluggish

Cafess & Restaurants – Outdoors
Back Burner – SVN
Baked
Barasti
BBT – The Hilltop and Shamiya Park
Brick Pizza
Broskis
Da Gusto
Earth Roastery – Bida’a
Edo
Gia – Salmiya (Temporarily Closed)
Joe & the Juice – Salmiya
Masaha 13
Okan Coffee House
Seoulian
Speak Coffee Roaster
The Sandwich Shop

Parks
Shuwaikh Park – Popular on Friday & Saturday Mornings

Hotels
Four Seasons Hotel (under 11.5KG)
Grand Hyatt Residences (2 pets max)
The K Hotel




Categories
Information Shopping

Shop&Ship is now tax free!

Finally, I’ve been waiting for this to happen since Aramex acquired MyUS. One of the benefits to using MyUS over Shop&Ship was that they were based in Florida which meant we didn’t have to pay a sales tax. Awhile ago I got an email from Shop&Ship letting me know they’ve now changed their US mailbox address from being based in New York to now being based in Florida. This means any shipments sent to your Shop&Ship US address will no longer be taxed.

I wonder if Amazon offering free shipping to Kuwait was the reason they decided to finally shift from NY to Florida.

The new address is now:

Name: Firstname Lastname
Address Line 1: 4297 Express Lane, Sarasota
Address Line 2: Your S&S Mailbox Number
City: Sarasota
State: Florida
Country: United States
Zip Code: 34249-2602
Phone: 9413262501

You should update your address immediately.




Categories
Kuwait Travel

Kuwait Zone at Saudi’s BLVD World

A couple of days ago, Boulevard World in Riyadh opened to the public as part of Riyadh Season. Boulevard World (or BLVD World) is located right next to BLVD City, another large entertainment zone. The venue features replicas of iconic landmarks from several countries, and this year they’ve added three new zones: Indonesia, Korea, and Kuwait.

The Kuwait zone features replicas of the Kuwait Towers, Seef Palace with its clock tower, and a large dhow. It also includes restaurants serving authentic Kuwaiti food, along with traditional arts and live performances.

If you’ve never been to BLVD World or City, you really should. I’ve been three times, and each time it was bigger than the year before. It’s a gigantic world that feels a bit like Universal Studios or Disneyland. Riyadh is also always a fun road trip if you want to drive down.

Photos are from @addadruh.