Author: Mark

I’m currently in Dubai courtesy of Ferrari. They’ve put me up in the gorgeous and very lavish Bvlgari Resort, and they’ve given me access to two cars to drive, their new Ferrari Portofino and the Ferrari 812 SuperFast. I actually have a lot of work back in Kuwait and shouldn’t really be here, but how could I say no to this right? When they first got in touch with me about this trip I was excited obviously but in my head I was also thinking, ok so I’ve already test driven these two cars, and I’ve already posted them on the blog, so how can I post about them again? Then it hit me, I could do Jebel Jais!

Jebel Jais is a mountain in the UAE with an elevation of nearly 2,000m. I found out about it from the popular car show Top Gear, (or maybe it was The Grand Tour?) and ever since I’ve wanted to drive it. The mountain has an incredible 3-lane winding road that takes you to the very top and is usually featured in “Top Roads You Need to Drive on Before You Die” style of lists. There isn’t anything on top, the bottom or along the way to the top, it’s just an empty beautiful road to nowhere.

I’ve contemplated shipping my Lotus to Dubai before so I could do the Jebel Jais drive but it was just too costly. I even considered maybe including it as part of a Oman drive where I’d ship my car to Dubai, do the Jebel Jais drive and then drive to Oman and do a drive there before sending my car back to Kuwait. It never materialized so when Ferrari told me I’d have access to the Portofino for a day I thought to myself, that would be a great car to drive up the mountain. So I accepted their invitation and here I am in Dubai.

Ferrari dropped off the Portofino yesterday morning to my hotel at around 10AM. I had two conditions, the first is I needed to have the car back by 5:30PM, the second is I could only do a maximum mileage of 350KM. Both weren’t going to be an issue. Before coming to Dubai I had already figured everything out, the drive from my hotel to the top of Jebel Jais was 160KM and it would take just over 2 hours. So, 160+160 is 320KM and say a 5 hour total journey time, that would still leave me with time to spare. The calculations worked, I was able to take the car to Jebel Jais, come back to the city, grab and lunch and have the car back at my hotel before 5:30 with around 15KM mileage to spare. It was close, but good enough.

The drive to Jebel Jais was pretty uneventful and boring, but I had a bunch of podcast episodes of Business Wars lined up and that made the time pass by quickly. There were also a ton of cameras along the way so I just put the cruise-control on the highway limit of 120KM and just cruised to Jebel Jais. Once I got to the bottom of Jebel Jais, I dropped the top down, put my favorite Spotify music playlist on and just blasted my way up the mountain.

There was no one, just me, the mountain and the incredible 3-lane winding road with no speed cameras all the way to the top. I loved the drive and the Portofino was just insane on that road. It’s such a fast car and it sounded amazing and aggressive all the way to the top. The temperature was around 28 degrees so it was perfect to drive with the roof down and I think I got a bit of tan as well. The drive up the mountain is around 16KM long and it took me around 20 minutes give or take. I stopped a bit on the way up just to check out the view, but I stopped a lot more on the way down to take some photos of the car.

Once I was back down the mountain I really wanted to just U-turn and make my way up again, but I knew if I did that I would end up exceeding the allotted mileage given to me by Ferrari, and I didn’t want to do that. So I put the roof back up and headed back to the city.

I finally got this drive off my bucket list and I couldn’t have asked for a better car to do it in. It was a difficult choice choosing between the Portofino and 812 SuperFast for the Jebel Jais drive, but I made the right choice because it doesn’t get better than flying up the mountain in a fast loud red Ferrari convertible. Ferrari are now dropping off the 812 SuperFast in a few minutes so if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, sorry but I’m in a rush!

Remember the phase when cops were towing away illegally parked cars in the city or removing their license plates? Yeah well they’re over it now which makes me wonder why can’t they ever stick to a decision?

Eggslut, the LA-based gourmet food concept where all the items on their menu feature eggs finally opened up a couple of days ago. Because of all the controversy the name caused when their original hoarding went up, they’re now sticking with the confusing “censored” version of the name Eggslt. Confusing because it reads like Eggslot, but they’re calling it Eggslt yet everyone knows the name is actually Eggslut.

I haven’t tried them yet but here is a copy of their menu. They’re open from 7AM to 11PM inside Crystal Tower in Kuwait City. Their instagram account is @eggsltkw

If you haven’t been to the race track this could be your last chance since the season is ending. This Friday there are two events taking place at Kuwait Motor Town, the open track day on the main circuit, and Drag 965 at the dragstrip. The weather is great and there will be food trucks, music, lots of cars and much more.

Below is a list of all the events this weekend, if I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday
Exhibition: Foreign Architecture / Domestic Policy
Xe Loves You by Kuki Jijo
Garden Rendevous
Aliya Cycon Concert
Spring Festival

Friday
Xe Loves You by Kuki Jijo
Drag 965
Open Track Day at KMT
Adult Softball Championship Games
Spring Festival
Games at the Park

Saturday
Xe Loves You by Kuki Jijo
Drag 965
#Trashtag Kuwait Beach Cleanup
Guided Tour: A Photographers Tour
Ballet: Alice in Wonderland
TEDxAUK – Voyages
Movie discussion: Blade Runner (1982)
Spring Festival
Abolish153 Exhibition
Games at the Park
Movies at the Park: Matilda
Let’s Draw the Ice Skating Rink

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double-check with the organizers.

Screenshot from Avengers: Endgame

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Avengers: Endgame (9.2)
Boar (5.0)

Other Movies Showing Now:
After (6.3)
Captain Marvel (6.0)
Dragged Across Concrete (7.3)
Dumbo (7.1)
Hellboy (6.2)
Little (5.2)
Missing Link (7.1)
Shazam! (8.1)
The Curse of La Llorona (6.4)
The Hummingbird Project (6.6)
Triple Threat (5.6)
Us (7.3)
Wonder Park (7.1)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Fly Me to the Moon (4.5)
Galapagos 3D (8.6)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Penguins (6.7)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.

Recently I realized another benefit Kuwait Motor Town has brought to Kuwait other than just racing, photography hobbyist now have something new to take photos of. During track events, you’ll find photographers walking about taking photos of all the different cars, and some even get media passes from KMT which grants them access to various corners around the track where they can hang out and capture photos of cars speeding by.

When you’re racing on the track you obviously can’t capture photos of yourself, so all of us drvers are always super grateful to have these photographers taking photos of us. The photographers also don’t ask for anything in return other than credit. Actually, none of the photographers who’ve shared photos with me have ever asked for credit, but of course, the least we could do is credit them when sharing their photos on our social media accounts.

There are a lot of photographers, I haven’t met all of them but here are a few whom I’ve interacted with and who have been showing up to practically every event:

@81gram
@azizbo7amad
@hamed__ashkanani
@lomanphotography
@p24photography
@pedrodasht
@phautographer

There are some really great photos on their accounts so be sure to check them and follow them if you’re into cars.

First photo captured by @hamed__ashkanani, second by @81gram

Jazeera Airways will begin flights from Kuwait City to London Gatwick using an Airbus A320neo this year. The Kuwait-based carrier said. Thanks to the aircraft’s additional range, the flying radius from Kuwait has increased to 6.5 hrs. [Source]

I wonder how much cheaper the flight would be with Jazeera compared to British Airways and Kuwait Airways? I just found a ticket for KD113 on Kuwait Airways and KD118 with British Airways, so I’m assuming a ticket with Jazeera would be less than KD100.

The Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Causeway project has now been completed and is set to open on May 1st at 10AM. Once it opens, the bridge will be the world’s longest with a total span of 48.53km.

The Better Books bookshop has been around for a very long time but I never got the chance to pass by the place until just a few days ago. Recently a friend of mine started volunteering there and when I looked up the bookshop on Google Maps, I realized it was actually walking distance from my apartment. So, I decided to pass by the bookshop and check it out.

Better Books have over 10,000 used books (and some new ones) ranging from children’s books to cookbooks, novels, self-help books, you name it. The place is small but also really cozy with different seating areas and is stacked with books everywhere. They also have a cool buyback policy. When you buy a used book from Better Books and you’re done with it, you can sell it back to them for half the price. If you also have books you don’t need they’ll also take them off you and give you store credit for them.

Better Books are located in Salmiya and you can find them on Google Maps. They’re open daily from 4PM to 9PM on weekdays and 10:30AM to 8PM on weekends. They don’t have an Instagram account or website, but they’re on Facebook.

Around a year and a half ago, Vigonovo, the cozy Italian restaurant that was located in Salmiya closed down. But, they’ve now found a new location and will be reopening tonight!

The new Vigonovo is located in the Khaleejia Tower in the City, and I passed by and checked it out last week. The space is a lot bigger than their older location but Chef Marco still managed to keep it cozy. They also now have an outdoor area that overlooks a busy intersection, and since the weather is still good right now, I think that’s where everyone will want to sit. The whole place just looks and feels a lot nicer than the older one and Marco also has a bigger team to help him out this time around.

If you’re looking for a new place to try out then pass by them. For more information you can visit their instagram page @vigonovo_kw

Taqdeer Al Ehteyaj is a new Kuwaiti sitcom that takes place in a public sector office. There are four episodes out right now but I’ve only had time to watch the first one and actually found it funny. Well funny and sad at the same time since the humor in it is really how things are in reality at a public sector office. The sitcom is in Arabic and there are no English subtitles yet, but if you can understand Arabic then it’s really worth checking out.

The episodes are free to watch on Telly, no registration is required and the episodes are quick and short. Here is the link.

There’s a new social media challenge that’s gone viral called #Trashtag Challenge in which people are inspired to remove garbage from polluted areas. A couple of days back, Kuwait made the front page of Reddit with a local #Trashtag Challenge.

A user called Binshattan posted the picture above in which he and a small group went and cleaned up the Sulaibekhat Beach. As of right now, that post has 82,000 upvotes and over 770 comments.

Because of that publicity, the group size has now increased to 46 volunteers and they’ve started planning their next local #Trashtag Challenge. They’re actually planning to meet up tonight to discuss it so if you’re interested in being part of the next #Trashtag Challenge, email Binshattan on [email protected].

This past Friday was open track at the Kuwait Motor Town circuit and while the previous open tracks started early morning, this one started in the afternoon because the weather is a lot hotter. This meant that we would be racing in the evening which I had heard from friends was freaky because of the lack of proper lights and after trying it out myself, yeah it’s definitely freaky.

Not only is the track poorly lit, but there were corners and places on the track that barely had any lighting on them! I was driving with my high beams on but obviously that wasn’t enough. My only previous experience with night racing was in Bahrain, but their track is properly lit up at night. Just to compare the difference, the video on top is from this past Friday at the KMT circuit, while the one below is from Bahrain last year.

A huge difference as you can see. But, on the bright side, I did hear they will be adding more lights on the track this summer when it closes down for maintenance. Hopefully they’ll be as bright as the Bahrain circuit ones.

This past Thursday I flew in and out of Terminal 4 with Kuwait Airways. The last time I flew out was around 6 months ago and when I did I posted about it. Since then, some things have changed, so here is an update on the airport today:

Firstly parking, I previously posted that parking is no longer free at T4. But, what you need to make sure of is that you don’t park your car in the short term parking lot by mistake when traveling, even if it’s just for a day. The tricky part is the entrances to all the parking lots look the same except for a small sign at the gate that mentions if its short term or long term. There are also multiple entries to the short term lot but just one for the long term, so it’s easy to park in the wrong lot. If you look at the map below I’ve highlighted the location of the long term lot.

The first time I flew out of T4, the self-check-in machines weren’t working. They work now and I was able to check in and print my boarding pass from one of the self-check-in machines, and then just head towards passport control directly.

Terminal 4 was packed when I was there Thursday morning. I think I actually prefer flying out of the main terminal because it no longer feels busy with Kuwait Airways no longer operating from there. T4 doesn’t have enough seating and the airport feels super packed because it’s so small and busy.

Right now the terminal duty-free area is going under major construction (pictured on top), but the following places are open:

Small temporary duty-free shop
WHSmith (a really nice one)
Blend It Kiosk
Costa kiosk
Starbucks kiosk

The following restaurants and cafes are planning to open up soon based on the hoardings I saw:

Cafe Coco
Caribou Coffee
Le Pain Quotidien
McCafe
McDonald’s

I spotted three lounges this time at the airport. Bayan Lounge, Al-Mubarakiya Lounge and a Transit Lounge. Previously the Al-Mubarakiya lounge was only for business class passengers, I think that’s changed now because there was a long queue outside the Al-Mubarakiya lounge when I passed by. I couldn’t check and see what cards would get you into the lounge but according to the Kuwait Airways page, it costs KD9 to enter it if you don’t have a card.

On arrival, the airport was empty since we were the only plane that had arrived at the time. So passport control was a breeze and it didn’t take long for me to be back at my car. This is really the biggest plus for me over the main terminal, a much nicer arrival hall.

Overall not a terrible experience, I just wish the airport had more seating areas (or preferably, a lot fewer people).

Lots to do and see this weekend and as usual, if I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday
Exhibition: Sami Mohammad
Sami Mohammad Artist Talk x Closing Reception
Exhibition: Passion of Calligraphy
Palestinian Cultural Exhibition
Play: The Seagull
Games & Media Entertainment Expo
Neo Geo World Tour 2
GX2019 Cosplay Contest
Breaking Khaleeji Cultural Myths

Friday
Exhibition: Passion of Calligraphy
Play: The Seagull
Games & Media Entertainment Expo
Neo Geo World Tour 2
A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY
Breaking Khaleeji Cultural Myths
Open Track Day at Kuwait Motor Town

Saturday
Exhibition: Passion of Calligraphy
Play: The Seagull
Games & Media Entertainment Expo
Neo Geo World Tour 2
Sadi Studio Opening

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double-check with the organizers.