Author: Mark

The Ministry of Interior has decided not to allow the comedian Eddie Griffin entry into Kuwait. Eddie was expected to perform in Kuwait next month but has now been barred entry into the country because of his religious beliefs (he’s an atheist) and because he’s performed some religion related sets before. [Source]

The sad thing is that Eddie Griffin is still expected to perform in Saudi Arabia next month for three nights. It’s been kind of a running joke lately that Saudi Arabia is becoming more liberal than Kuwait but it’s starting to look like less of a joke and more of a fact.

Update: As of now the news above hasn’t been verified. Check out my update [Here]

Because I live in an apartment building that was constructed in the 80s, the central AC is no longer strong enough to cope with the hot weather and so I installed a couple of split units in my place. A couple of evenings ago I noticed that one of the units had ran out of refrigerant gas since it was blowing out uncooled air. So I called up the Xcite support number and connected to their AC service department.

The whole experience was super smooth, I told the guy I needed someone to come over check my AC since it wasn’t working. He asked me what brand my AC was, he then confirmed my address (they have my mobile number on their system) and then told me that they would send someone over the next morning and that the cost to send someone over was KD10, but that amount would be deducted from the repair cost.

Next day I get a call from the repair guy asking if I was home, then two guys come over, check the AC and let me know there was a refrigerant leak. They fix the leak, refill my unit with refrigerant gas and charge me KD15 for the whole thing. In under an hour, they were gone.

This was the second time I had a great experience with their AC service department. I love how quick they are in sending someone over and how smooth the whole process is which is why I wanted to post about them. If you ever run into AC trouble and want to get things fixed asap, I highly recommend you give them a call. Their number is 1803535.

Back in 2012 I posted that Alshaya wanted to bring the super popular American franchise Chick-fil-A to Kuwait. I wrote about how talks had failed since Chick-fil-A wanted Alshaya to close on Sundays (they’re a very Christian company) and Alshaya didn’t want to. Instead, Alshaya was trying to convince them to change that rule for the region but Chick-fil-A wasn’t backing down and the deal fell apart.

Then, a couple of years ago I posted that Al Sayer was in talks with Chick-fil-A. Al Sayer denied it but based on my sources at Al Sayer and the aggressive call I got from the Al Sayer Franchising team it felt like they were, in fact, talking with Chick-Fil-A.

I guess those talks failed because fast forward to today, I get an email from my source letting me know that Alshaya have finally signed with Chick-fil-A. No idea if Alshaya have agreed to close on Sundays or if Chick-fil-A have loosened up their policy for the region, but either way, I don’t care. With Chick-fil-A coming to Kuwait, the only other franchise left that we really need is In-N-Out.

Local police have shut down a fish store that was sticking googly eyes on fish to make them look fresh. The story has obviously gone viral online with one tweet generating over 50,000 likes and 30,000 retweets! Too funny… [Link]

A reader is selling every single issue of the old and popular Kuwaiti magazine Al-Arabi in the classified section of the blog. The seller has 369 issues in total starting with the very first issue from 1958 all the way up till July 1990, the last issue before the invasion.

The seller is asking KD700 for the whole lot which I’m not sure is a lot or too little since it’s difficult to put a price on something like this. Someone or some organization should pick them up, digitize them and then upload them online for everyone to view.

Check out the listing [Here]

Update: A reader left a comment to let me know that Sakhr (yes THAT Sakhr) have 209 issues of Al Arabi magazine digitized and organized on their website! You can check them all out [Here]

Over the weekend I posted the photo above on my story and got a lot of messages asking me what it was and where it was taken. So I decided I’d share the location on the blog in case anybody wants to head to it for a photo shoot.

The stairs to nowhere are located on the side of the highway that leads to Boubyan island. It’s adjacent to a large metal structure which I believe was used for a military parade a few years ago. Because of the metal structure, the stairs are pretty easy to find, if the metal structure is on your right, the stairs are right after it.

If you’re interested in heading out there, here is the location on [Google Maps]

Although Kuwait mail has improved over the past few years it still needs a ton of work. Imagine how great online shopping would be if we had a mail system that wasn’t so archaic. [YouTube]

Thanks K

Not to be confused with the metro project, the rail project is designed to connect Kuwait with the rest of the GCC via rail. Once the project is completed you’ll be able to take the train from Kuwait City all the way to Oman. The first phase of the project will connect Kuwait City to Dammam in Saudi Arabia.

Although there is no relationship between the two, I’m sure everyone here would rather they began work on the far more interesting and useful metro project (pictured on top). [Link]

Screenshot from Kin

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

New This Weekend:
Kin (5.7)
Lost in the Pacific (4.4)
Mazinger Z: Infinity (6.0)
Papillon (6.8)
Reprisal (7.4)
Slender Man (3.0)
The Darkest Minds (5.5)
The Little Mermaid (4.6)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Charming (6.0)
Christopher Robin (7.9) ★
Help, I Shrunk My Parents (5.7)
Mile 22 (6.6) ★
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
The Equalizer 2 (7.1) ★
The Meg (6.8)

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

New This Weekend:
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.

This is just a quick update on an older post. If you’re looking for a yoga mat, Alive Yoga now carry Jade yoga mats. I’m not sure how long they’ve been selling them for but previously they used to only carry the Manduka brand which I wasn’t a fan of. Alive are selling the Jade Harmony Yoga Mat for KD27, which is very similar to the price on Amazon.

Jade yoga mats are some of the most popular ones on Amazon with over 2,000 reviews and a 4.5 star rating.

Since Mogahwi closed down next to my place in Salmiya, I’ve resorted to going to Jarir in Boulevard Mall since that’s currently the closest decent stationary shop to me. But, I might stop doing that after dropping by Mogahwi’s Kuwait City location yesterday.

I used to pass by the Kuwait City branch whenever I needed anything urgently for work since it’s right down the street from me. But the store was old and outdated and I generally didn’t like shopping there.

But recently they gave the Kuwait City store a much-needed facelift. Other than the fact they’ve improved the lighting and given the space a paint job, they’ve also expanded the store and brought in a lot more brands and new items. They’ve now got a much larger variety of arts and crafts supplies as well as a large variety of spray paint brands including popular brands like Montana. They even have their own resident artist.

So if you’re a fan of Mogahwi but hated the Kuwait City store like me, then you should pass by now and check it out. They’re open daily from 9AM to 9PM except for Fridays when they open from 4:30PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

PS: If you’re a Copic Markers fan they now carry a very large assortment of their pens. (they still cost an arm and a leg though)

Even though the local Mercedes is changing ownership starting January 1st, the current dealer is still getting new cars. The completely redesigned 2019 G-Class is now available in Kuwait and the prices are as follows:

2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G500 – from 43,000 KWD
2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G63 – from 55,000 KWD

They currently have one on display in their AMG showroom if you want to check it out in person, but their whole stock is currently sold and so they’re only taking preorders.

Yesterday, Kuwaiti race car driver Zaid Ashkanani scored a second-place victory at the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2018. The race took place on the Belgian GP Spa track, the same track the Formula 1 race took place on yesterday. Zaid is now 6th place in the overall rankings.

I couldn’t find any articles online with more details on the race but you could watch the start of the race above (he’s in the grey and white Porsche starting in 4th place) and make sure you check out his instagram @zaidashkanani

Last night I was at The Avenues and decided to pass by the newly opened Pick. When I got there I walked up to the tiny 2 person line behind the cashier and waited for my turn. While waiting, I noticed a long queue on the left side of the place lined up behind another cashier. I realized it might be a one-line queue for two cashiers and that I might have been cutting the line. Or maybe the other people didn’t realize there was a second cashier?

I decided to leave Pick because the situation was confusing, but decided to message them on Instagram just out of curiosity to see if it was actually two separate lines, or one line with two cashiers. My exchange with them was so good I felt it was worth posting about.

Firstly, someone saw my DM right away, they then quickly responded to my question and were apologetic and admitted the situation was actually confusing. The whole conversation was so friendly and sincere, they made me an even bigger fan of the brand.

The situation made me realize again how amazing social media has become for communicating with brands, especially when you have a problem. I’ve DM’d brands a ton of times either to complain, give feedback, ask questions or even to try and cut through lines at clubs (Thank you @the.garten). Other than my internet provider I no longer contact brands any other way. When I had an issue with AVIS in the US I tried calling them on the phone and after spending an hour either on hold or trying to navigate their robotic call center, I decided to tweet them. I ended up getting a response back on twitter in less than 5 minutes! In Kuwait it’s been no different, other than the local Ikea and Jeep dealer (still waiting for a response guys), my experience with customer service on instagram has been pretty good so far. I love it.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday addressed an ultimatum to Wataniya Airways to resolve problems such as recurring flights’ delay and cancellation.

The DGC warned in a statement that in case the company failed to fulfil its duties properly, its permit would be suspended, effective September 6 for three months as an initial penalty, while compelling it to fulfil its financial and legal liabilities toward passengers.

If Wataniya Airways fails again to tackle these problems, it will be stripped of the license permanently.

The directorate said several warnings had been given to the company to no avail. It assured passengers that it would do its best to ensure their safety and rights, vowing to follow up on Wataniya’s commitment to secure their comeback either on its aircraft or planes of other companies. [Source]

I knew they were having delays and flight cancellations for a few months now but didn’t think it was this severe of an issue even though someone had even sent me a video of the crew loading up supermarket bags of food on the plane because at one point they had lost their catering contract. I hate seeing the airline fail like this since I worked with the original Wataniya Airways on their launch many years ago so when the airline came back again from the dead last year, I had high hopes. And even though I had an average experience flying with them back in November, it was still good having an extra airline to choose from when planning trips. Maybe this will be their turning point…