2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
This is pretty disappointing news but it doesn’t look like there will be track days this year at Kuwait Motor Town. Supposedly the contract with the company that was running KMT expired and it wasn’t renewed and neither does anyone else seem to want to run it. So all events that were scheduled to take place at the race track were canceled and there won’t be any open track days until a new company takes over. Sucks.
One of my favorite things about my blog is putting random information out onto the web, only to have someone months or years later leave a comment saying they were involved in the project or have more information about it. It constantly happens and it’s always pretty rewarding.
Back in March 2023 I posted about the Mothercare tree, the huge animatronic tree that used to be located at the Mothercare store in Salmiya. I didn’t think a lot of people remembered it, so I was pretty surprised with the amount of engagement that post got.
19 months after my post, a person by the name of Roger left a comment saying he had worked on the project and had more photos. Roger came to Kuwait in 1998 to install the tree along with his team. His company supplied and programmed the tree and all the animated animals and their soundtracks. He had photos of the tree being built as well as ones from inside the tree. Roger had gotten the job because he had previously been involved animatronics when he worked for Madame Tussauds and Rock Circus.
The pictures were taken with his first digital camera and so aren’t that high resolution, but it’s definitely better than nothing. I’ve uploaded all the photos to Flickr and you can check them out here.
Thanks Roger for sharing!
This past week I watched two movies, the original Planet of the Apes from 1968, and Wolfs starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Both were pretty great, Planet of the Apes I originally watched in the early 80s so didn’t really remember much of it. It’s actually had a great storyline and although the special effects are really dated, it didn’t bother me much. Wolfs was also a lot of fun, it has a 6.5 rating on IMDB but that doesn’t reflect the film accurately. It was very entertaining and had some funny moments, and thats really all I ask from a film sometimes.
I also started watching the series Agatha All Along which is meant to be the sequel to WandaVision. First episode was confusing but I’m 6 to 7 episodes in now and it’s pretty ok. I also watched the first episode of High Potential starring Kaitlin Olson from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Wife is loving the show, hopefully by the end of the season she’ll want to see more of Kaitlin and then I can suggest we binge watch It’s Always Sunny which she really hates.
This week I also decided to upgrade my TV life. I’m replacing my 55″ LG B1 OLED TV with a 65″ LG C3 OLED TV. I should have honestly gotten a 65″ back when I got the B1 but I didn’t for some reason, maybe cuz I didn’t want to pay more than I did. The C3 should be brighter and also supports 120hz refresh rate so curious to see how it turns out. I’m also upgrading my AV receiver from the Onkyo TX-NR686 to the Marantz Cinema 60. I was trying to decide between it and the Yamaha RX-A2A but then the Xcite lady offered me a 10% discount on the Marantz and I decided to go for it. Both should be delivered today so pretty excited about it.
Now I’m contemplating picking up an SVS subwoofer but need to pass by Xcite and see what they have in stock because the website isn’t showing much. I have the SB1000 Pro connected to my KEF LSX speakers and it’s incredible, so thinking of getting the PB1000 Pro for my TV room. Sometimes the Xcite website says something is out of stock but on their in store system it shows units, like my Marantz unit is out of stock on the website but there was 1 new piece in Avenues location according to system. With the subwoofer I’m hoping they only have display models left since they give you an automatic 15% discount on display items which is a nice little discount.
Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.
Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:
New This Week:
Aftermath (6.1)
Cellar Door (N/A)
Elli and her Monster Team (4.9)
Panda Plan (6.1)
Take Cover (5.0)
Terrifier 3 (6.7)
The Silent Hour (6.0)
Other Movies Showing:
Cash Out (4.7)
Joker: Folie à Deux (5.7)
Little Emma (6.5)
Robot Dreams (7.6)
Smile 2 (7.1)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Transformers One (7.8)
Venom: The Last Dance (6.3)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
Camel Racing is back for the 2024/2025 season, running from October to March, with races every Saturday at the Kuwait Camel Racing Club. The races start at different times each week but this Saturday they’ll kick off at 1:00 PM with a total of eight races.
There is no entrance fee and you can either watch the races from the sidelines, drive up to the starting lines and watch the start of the race, or just drive around the track in your car following the race (it can get chaotic).
It’s really fun, especially if you’ve never been before and it’s never that busy and everyone is pretty friendly. I tend to drop by anytime I feel like having a photoshoot for one of my cars, or if I just feel like driving somewhere far.
Here is the link to the location and entrance on Google Maps.
The Kuwait Pavilion at last year’s International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale was titled Rethinking Rethinking Kuwait (pictured above). The project was an ongoing investigation aimed at rectifying the effects of modernist urban planning, which led to the erasure of much of Kuwait’s historic built fabric.
That same pavilion has now been moved and reinstalled here in Kuwait. This is the first time this has happened; usually, if you miss the pavilion in Venice, you’re out of luck. But this year, they decided to pack up the exhibition and bring it to Kuwait, where it’s currently on display at the Yarmouk Cultural Center – Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah.
The pavilion examines Kuwait on a national scale, with a focus on Kuwait City as a prototype features over 30 Kuwaiti exhibitors.
If you’re interested in checking it out, it’s open daily from 10 AM to 7:30 PM, except on Fridays and Saturdays when it’s closed. For more information and photos head over to @rethinking.kuwait
I thought I posted about @q8knight79 before on the blog but I just checked and don’t think I have. He’s a guy I follow on my cars account and he’s got a super 80s vibe.
Last year he flew to the US, bought a 96 Corvette, then did an epic road trip with the car before shipping it to Kuwait. He uploaded the video a couple of weeks ago to YouTube and I thought it was pretty entertaining.
I kinda need to do the same thing now, fly to the US, buy a first generation Viper, do an epic road trip, crash it, and then fly back.
The Big Bounce Arabia, the Middle East version of The Big Bounce America, is bringing the world’s largest touring inflatable theme park to Kuwait. Starting November 21st at The Green Island, the park will stay there for 17 days before moving to another location within Kuwait (possibly Khiran). After Kuwait, the park will kick off a regional tour that will span 10 countries.
The park will feature the world’s biggest bounce house, obstacle courses, interactive zones, and themed areas like the Sport Slam and Airspace as well as a thrilling 275-meter-long obstacle course.
The Big Bounce is for anyone aged two and above, making it perfect for the whole family or a group of friends. Tickets go on sale November 1st on the official website, thebigbouncearabia.com, with three ticket options available:
Juniors (under 100cm height) KD8
Guardians (can accompany juniors) KD5
Standard (100cm height and above) KD13
The price is for a session which lasts 2.5 hours. There will be 3 sessions a day during the middle of the week, and 4 sessions a day on weekends. Oh and The Big Bounce can hold up to 1,300 people which is insane.
To stay updated, follow @BigBounceArabia or head over to thebigbouncearabia.com
Yesterday I downloaded the new COD on the Xbox Game Pass and started playing it. I really wouldn’t have been as interested in the game if it wasn’t for the fact it was banned in Kuwait due to some of the action taking place during the 1991 Gulf War.
You don’t even have to play through the game to get to the hot stuff, the first mission of the game places you right in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert, I love it. I didn’t get beyond the first mission yet since I had to stop playing to watch UFC, but can’t way to keep at it later today so I can see what part of story exactly caused the ban, because it couldn’t have been banned just because it took place during the Gulf War.
According to the MOI, a new law will soon be implemented where expatriates in Kuwait will no longer be allowed to own more than one vehicle (source). Thats so ridiculous! I’m trying to understand what issue they’re trying to solve by doing that. It can’t be reducing traffic since even though I own 7 cars I can only drive 1 of them at a time. The only thing I can think of is solving the parking situation in densely populated areas.
I live in Salmiya and I’m lucky my building has plenty of underground parking, but most of the other tall residential towers have like 6 or 8 parking spots under the building and thats it. A lot of the buildings which have underground parking had them converted to storage which they rent out commercially. Instead of disallowing that, or requiring buildings to have enough parking for every resident, the easiest solution is just ban expats from owning more than a car. How many expats own multiple cars anyway? I’d assume most are probably just dad’s the have their wives and kids cars registered under their own name.
Thanks Del
Last week I mentioned I wanted to watch Sweetpea and I ended up watching two episodes after signing up to the streaming service STARZ. Only two episodes are out yet and third one coming out tomorrow and it’s so good. If you’re a fan of Ella Purnell (Fallout, Yellowjackets, Sweetbitter) then you’re gonna really like her in Sweetpea.
Other than that I rewatched 28 Weeks Later in preparation for the upcoming 28 Years Later. My wife hadn’t watched either 28 Days Later nor 28 Weeks Later so wanted her to watch them. 28 Days Later isn’t available to buy or stream digitally anywhere, at least I couldn’t find it but 28 Weeks Later was on Hulu. For those of you too young to know this but 28 Days Later was pretty much the first to invent zombies that run fast. A super scary idea at that time. Also, 28 Days Later was directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire).
Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.
Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:
New This Week:
Die Alone (5.7)
Latency (4.1)
The Wasp (5.9)
Venom: The Last Dance (6.3)
Other Movies Showing:
Cash Out (4.7)
Edward Scissorhands (classic) (7.9)
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (4.6)
Joker: Folie à Deux (5.7)
Little Emma (6.5)
Never Let Go (5.7)
Smile 2 (7.1)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Transformers One (7.8)
Wrong Place (3.4)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
The Kuwait Int Outdoor Expo is taking place at the Mishref Fairgrounds. I passed by yesterday to check it out and didn’t really see or find anything interesting. I wanted to possibly pickup a Solo Stove but nobody had it for sale. Most of the shops were selling fishing gear which I didn’t care for.
I couldn’t take a decent photo mostly cuz it was pretty busy but also because it’s mostly just tight aisles of stores so you wouldn’t be able to see much in a single shot.
If you want to pass by and check it out yourself, it’s taking place until October 26 and it’s open from 10AM to 10PM. They’re located in hall 4A.
The expo’s instagram account is @kuwaitoutdoorexpo
The restaurant Select just opened its new location at The Avenues, designed by the Turkish-based studio Gulmen Interiors.
Gulmen wanted to evoke the charm of classic theater stages with their design. From the moment you walk in, you’re transported, forgetting the time and place. They blended Art Nouveau lines, plush velvet fabrics, distressed wood panels, and bold colors, to create a cinematic dining experience.
The style isn’t what I typically go for, but that’s what I love about it—it’s different. If you want to check it out in person, the new Select is located in the Grand Avenues, right next to the Cheesecake Factory. To check out more interior shots, click here.
Yesterday Starbucks posted its quarterly results and sales were down again. According to Starbucks, their sales in North America dropped by 6%, and sales in their second largest market which is China dropped by 14%. They don’t mention the boycott as one of the reasons, but it has to be having an effect as well.
Overall their stock is up 2.79% since the boycott started last year, but they’re currently down over 4% before the market opens today.
Years ago I found photos of Kuwait from 1980. I didn’t share all of them back then, but I just found the folder on my computer this morning and picked a bunch taken by The Architects Collaborative while they were in Kuwait back then.
When we look at old photos of Kuwait, we often see only beautiful shots which gives the inaccurate impression that everything was perfect back then. Which is why I like these unpolished photos of Kuwait which shows the beautiful old buildings starting to fall apart.
It feels like the architects captured a period when Kuwait was transitioning from old to new once again. Check them all out in hi-res here.
Farida is a new Persian restaurant that opened a few weeks ago in Salmiya. It’s a small, cozy spot with just seven tables and a homey atmosphere. The restaurant is named after its owner, Farida (@faridah88), a Kuwaiti nutritionist with Persian roots.
The interior feels like a childhood memory of an old family home to me. From the nostalgic diamond-shaped ceiling moldings and chandeliers, to the crochet tablecloths and grandma-style dinnerware, the space is charming and welcoming. It really didn’t take any effort from my end to find beautiful interior moments to capture for this post.
The menu is small and filled with dishes you wouldn’t typically find at most Persian restaurants in Kuwait. Farida wanted to share unique and interesting recipes from Iran, which I appreciate since it encourages people to step out of their comfort zone and try something new.
I went there with a friend and we ordered the classic Shirazi Salad along with the Zucchini Shallot Yogurt to start with, followed by Farida’s Ghaymen Pollow which we shared for the main course. The Ghaymen is a tomato based lamb stew mixed with orange zest and nuts served with saffron rice. Everything was delicious and very flavorful including the two desserts we ordered when done, the Persian saffron ice cream and the Rollet Khamaaei, a moist cake filled with fluffy rose water whipped cream.
The next day, I was already planning my second visit with the same friend, deciding what we’d order when we went back. The experience was that good. The only downside is that the place is small, and their opening hours are short, so you’ll likely have to wait a while to be seated. They don’t take reservations, only walk-ins. The first time I went a couple of weeks ago, I thought I was being clever by arriving just as they opened, but the place filled up before I managed to get a table. The second time, I arrived early, put my name on the list, and waited for them to open. It’s inconvenient, but at least there’s Gia and Boost cafe next door to hang out at until they call you up.
Prices of the food we ordered was as follows:
Shirazi Salad KD1.80
Zucchini Shallot Yogurt KD2.00
Farida’s Ghaymeh Polow KD7.75
Saffron Bastani KD2.75
Rollet Khamaei KD2.25
Farida is currently in their soft opening phase so they’re only open from 3PM to 7PM in the middle of the week, and 2PM to 7PM on weekends. They’re located in Al Khalid Complex in Salmiya (Google Maps) and their Instagram is @farida.kwt