Author: Mark

I’ve posted about ordering supplements online before because of how ridiculously inflated the local prices are. The last time I posted about ordering supplements online I was recommending Amazon but since then I’ve found a new alternative, Sporter.

Sporter has been around for awhile now, even before my previous post in which I was recommending Amazon. But the reason I never wrote about them was because their prices weren’t that much cheaper than the local prices and they were still double that of Amazon. Things have changed recently and I have a theory to why.

I think previously they had a warehouse in Kuwait with the products housed there which meant they had to purchase the supplements from local suppliers with their inflated prices. So the products they sold on their website cost similarly to the products sold locally. Now I’m assuming they shut down their local warehouse since the items are now getting shipped to you directly from the UAE via DHL. So they’re selling the items closer to UAE pricing.

I tried them last week since I ran out of ZMA and they didn’t have my brand available locally. When I looked at possibly getting ZMA from a different brand, their prices were more than double those listed on Sporter. I usually get the Optimum Nutrition ZMA but I checked out “Muscle Pharm Z-Core PM” at the Oxygen store locally and they were selling it for KD14. On Amazon it was KD5 (without tax, shipping and local customs and clearance fees), while on Sporter it was for KD8.24 shipped to Kuwait. So nearly half the price of that of Oxygen and cheaper than if you ordered it from Amazon.

Not everything is priced as competitively but Sporter are now definitely a viable option to check before buying supplements locally. And because the products are coming in from UAE, you don’t pay any Kuwait customs, at leasts thats my theory since I didn’t have to pay DHL anything. Here is a link to [Sporter]

Over the weekend two talented graffiti artists painted the above Grendizer mural on the side of a building in Sharq. The two artists were Mohamed & Omar Kabbani, identical twin brothers who go by the name ASHEKMAN. The mural is part of this weeks Urban Culture Week organized by Redbull that started yesterday and ends tomorrow. For more information on Urban Culture Week click [Here]

If you want to check out the mural in person, here is the location on [Google Maps]
Make sure you also check out ASHEKMAN’s instagram account @ASHEKMAN

An Emirati drama set in the underworld of street car racing in the UAE has been banned in Kuwait, producers have told Gulf News. Hajwala, which follows two teams of drifters who go head-to-head in an all-stakes race against each other, is scheduled to release in 37 screens across the Gulf on Thursday.

“We are very disappointed, especially because they haven’t event explained to us why they have not allowed the film to release,” said producer Ali Al Marzouqi of Dhabi Gulf Film. “This is a double standard since they allow similar Hollywood films to release without any problem, even if they don’t have any message. Our film has a very strong message.” [Source]

I’m guessing it got banned because Kuwait has a growing problem with street racing and they’re worried this film might encourage it. But Saudi have a bigger street racing problem and if the film isn’t banned there, I don’t understand why it would be banned here. You can watch the trailer on top, it’s basically a khaleeji version of Fast and Furious.

Below are this weekends events, if I missed anything let me know.

Thursday
Exhibition: Indulgences – Reborn
Exhibition: Attraction
Fit & Fabulous
Red Bull Street Style

Friday
Fit & Fabulous
Taichi in the Park
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering

Saturday
Yoga with the 3 – Women Only (Breast Cancer Awareness Week)
Fit & Fabulous

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.

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

New This Week:
Deepwater Horizon (7.2)
Storks (7.2)
The Light Between Oceans (7.3) ♦

Other Movies Showing:
Ben-Hur (5.6)
Blair Witch (6.0)
Don’t Breathe (8.3) ♦
Havenhurst (5.8)
Hellions (4.3)
Mechanic: Resurrection (6.5)
Pete’s Dragon (7.3)
The Magnificent Seven (7.0) ★
Lights Out (6.7)
Snowden (6.2) ♦
Sully (7.9)
The Secret Life of Pets (6.8)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

Back in April I noticed a large area of land was being cleared opposite The Green Island on the Gulf Road. The area turned out was being prepped for a new real estate project by KIPCO and a few days ago they launched the project officially with press releases and interviews. KIPCO are aware of how unique and rare this plot of space is which is why they will be setting an example with the high level of planning and construction and from what I’ve read and seen, looks like they’re on track. They’re basically building a whole neighborhood from the ground up. This was my favorite bit from the press release:

The land plot measures 227,066 sqm, of which close to 50% is dedicated to public services and amenities. This includes gardens, open public spaces, urban plazas, streets, multi-story public parking and utilities. Gardens and green areas across the project have been allocated 23,400 sqm. [Source]

Finally someone is doing it right and based on the photos it looks like there will also be sidewalks. You would think sidewalks would be something common but just try walking around a residential neighborhood like Salmiya or Salwa, no sidewalks to walk on.. at all. Also good to see lots of space being utilized for gardens and public spaces. In the 80s when I was a kid, me and my friends used to play in empty sand lots in our neighborhoods, football, marbles, whatever but today kids don’t have those spaces. All the empty plots have either been replaced with towering buildings or are filled with cars so it’s great that KIPCO are putting aside 50% of the land for public services and amenities.

Check out the video of the project below which should give you a much clearer overview of the whole project.

Lawyers in Kuwait have issued a legal challenge to the only law in the world forcing citizens and visitors to give samples of their DNA to the government. [Source]

Thank god, I was starting to worry that everyone was OK with this.

via @SultanAlQassemi

Thomas Keller is a popular American chef who currently hold 7 Michelin stars (3 at Per Se, 3 at The French Laundry, and 1 at Bouchon). Alshya are bringing his casual dining French-inspired Bouchon Bistro to Kuwait and they’ll be opening the restaurant at Avenues in place of where the Cavalli Caffè used to be located. I don’t have an idea on when they’re opening but the last time I passed by the Cavalli location it didn’t look like any work had started.

Update: I was just informed they’re sadly bringing Bouchon Bakery and NOT Bouchon Bistro. This sucks since I was actually pretty excited about the bistro. We don’t need more Macarons!

As I mentioned earlier in the week, there are 18 restaurants opening up at the new Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre and thanks to a reader, I got the names of the restaurants that are opening there. They are the following:

Haleeb Wa Heil
Villa Fayrouz
Gogosh
Cocoa Room
The Chocolate Gate
Baker & Spice
Kashwanat Al Bait
Dakakeen
Cafe Meem
Rococo
Burger Boutique
Over Jar
Days Cafe
Beit Shakry
My Fair Grill
Cafe Organic
The Bowl
She Shawerma

All the restaurants are local creations since that was one of the main requirements of the Amiri Diwan. Also note I might have misspelled some of the restaurants since the list I got was in Arabic.

Below are the current prices of the iPhone 7 in Kuwait, the cheapest online seems to be Best Electronics. Check out the list below and if I’m missing a website let me know.

Best Electronics
iPhone 7 32GB: KD238
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: KD326

Blink
iPhone 7 32GB: KD259
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: KD375

Lulu
iPhone 7 32GB: KD240
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: N/A

Mr Babu
iPhone 7 32GB: KD239
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: KD329

Quick
iPhone 7 32GB: KD270
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: KD370

Taw9eel
iPhone 7 32GB: KD245
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: N/A

uBuy
iPhone 7 32GB: KD240
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: N/A

Xcite
iPhone 7 32GB: KD240
iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: KD330

Table Otto is the new restaurant by Kuwaiti chef Faisal Al Nashmi, the same guy behind Street by Almakan. I was invited to a tasting last night and I think it’s one of the nicest looking spots in the city.

The restaurant is an American Brasserie which I know sounds odd but from what I tried last night, it works. Table Otto is currently set to soft launch this coming Sunday from 7PM to 10PM and they’re located in Al Shaheed Park opposite the Habitat Museum. Once they officially open up I’ll pass by again so I could write a proper review but for now you can check out their instagram account @table.otto

Back in August I posted that a Wataniya Airways representative contacted me to let me know they were planning to make a comeback sometime around December/January and it looks like they’re on track. Although no official announcement has been made, the Wataniya Airways website is now up and they’ve listed their flight destinations which are the following:

Bahrain
Egypt
India
Jordan
Lebanon
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
UAE

Sadly, no European destinations which is what I think was their issue the first time around. Instead of competing with Kuwait Airways with direct flights to European destinations, they were flying regional and competing with a bunch of low cost airlines. I’m sure it has to do with the fact their current planes can’t do long haul flight but if they did fly to London for example, they would only be competing with Kuwait Airways and British Airways with direct flights. On the other hand, by flying to Dubai they’re competing with Kuwait Airways, FlyDubai, Jazeera Airways, Air Arabia and Emirates.

But I’ve never run an airline so I’m probably wrong. Here is a link to their [Website]

For those of you who don’t know Wataniya Airways, they’re a local carrier that launched back in 2009 as a premium airline but ended up losing money and shutting down. Wikipedia have a good summary of the airlines history which you can read [Here]

I dropped by the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre late last week to check out the progress. On this latest trip I passed by the fountain area which I wasn’t aware of previously. It wasn’t in the original renderings and the area has a large fountain in the middle surrounded by 18 restaurants and shops. On top of the restaurants is a walkway which reminded me of the High Line in New York since it was surrounded by greenery and pools of water. The high path overlooks the fountain area and leads all the way to the back of the four main structures. I shot a video of the fountain area which you can see in the video below.

I’m trying to get a list of all the places that will be opening up there but still haven’t received them yet. One source of mine has informed me the soft launch is now on October 15th. Even though there is still lots of work taking place near the fountain area, the main buildings are basically done. I walked into one of them and it was sparkling clean with workers busy still cleaning. Another contact of mine also involved in the project has denied they will be soft launching on October 15th and instead plans are still underway for an October 31st launch. We’ll have to see which one turns out to be right.

I don’t have any information on what performances will be taking part at the Cultural Center nor do I even know if there is a website for it. If I find out anything I’ll surely post it.

Jazeera Airways finally launched their remote check-in facility and it’s located around 2 minutes from the main airport terminal. From what I can see there are two big advantages to this new facility.

The first advantage is the fact you won’t get stuck in the insane traffic at the main terminal. Sometimes the traffic at the main terminal reaches the roundabout and not just during Eid. So being able to bypass all that to check-in is a huge plus.

The second advantage is long term parking. The long term parking at the main terminal is a hit and miss, if you’re traveling on the weekend you won’t find a spot for sure and if you’re traveling mid week it depends on your luck. The new Jazeera Airways check-in facility has it’s own parking. They have valet and you could also park your car yourself and the cost is KD2.5 a day. It’s 500 fils more expensive than the main terminal long term parking lot but at least you’ll find a spot to park.

I still prefer FlyDubai when flying out to Dubai but I might start using Jazeera Airways to Beirut. I hope they fix up the interior of their planes since the last few times I flew with them I found the interiors to be old and dirty looking.

For more info on their Park & Fly service click [Here]

If you’re looking for a new show to start watching and you’re a fan of Kiefer Sutherland, then I highly recommend you start watching Designated Survivor. The pilot episode came out a few days and I was hooked 5 minutes into it. Designated survivor is a term I hadn’t heard of before and this is the description Wikipedia has on it:

In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is an individual in the presidential line of succession, usually a member of the United States Cabinet, who is arranged to be at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President and the country’s other top leaders (e.g., Vice President and Cabinet members) are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. This is intended to guarantee continuity of government in the event of a catastrophic occurrence that kills the President and many officials in the presidential line of succession. If such an event would occur, killing both the President and Vice President, the surviving official highest in the line, possibly the designated survivor, would become the Acting President of the United States under the Presidential Succession Act.

In the show, Kiefer Sutherland plays the role of a low-level Cabinet member who becomes President of the United States after a huge explosion kills everyone above him. It’s a pretty intense show (similar to ‘24‘ in a way) and so I’m going to have a difficult time watching this one episode at a time every week. If you have Hulu you’ll find Designated Survivor there and if you have Netflix outside the US you should also find it there. You won’t find it on the US Netflix, this is probably the only time you want to have an international Netflix account.