Author: Mark

Light pollution has intensified in the past half-century, increasing about 6% each year in North America and Europe, according to research published using a previous atlas created 15 years ago by the same researchers. That atlas, and the new study, define “light-polluted skies” as having a luminance of 14 or more microcandelas per square meter—about 10% higher than normal night sky brightness levels.

The new atlas shows that now, more than 80% of the world experiences light-polluted night skies, which includes roughly 83% of Earth’s population, and more than 99% of Europeans and Americans. By population, Singapore has the world’s most light-polluted skies, followed by Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—all densely populated countries. Africa has the dimmest skies; the top 10 least polluted countries are on the continent.

Kuwait’s on a roll… [Link]

Thanks D. Basu

In summary, they’re all terrible with most being so bad I couldn’t even watch them all the way through. The only one that stuck out for me was the commercial above and most because it was a bit weird (and it wasn’t a musical). As of now I’ve collected 32 of this years Ramadan commercials and put them up on a YouTube playlist. I wouldn’t recommend it but in case you’re interested in watching some of them, just click [Here]

Richard’s Coffee is a locally created pop-up coffee shop which I first posted about nearly 90 days ago. They’re occupying a temporary space right next to Bao and according to my friends (I don’t drink coffee), they’ve got some pretty good drinks. If you haven’t had the chance to try their coffee out, time is running out since they’ll be closing down in 3 days time. If you want to pass by they’re open from 8:30PM to 1:30AM during Ramadan and here is their location on [Google Maps]

If you’re fasting quickly look away since this list isn’t meant for you. On the other hand if you’re not fasting and want to order food before Iftar then below are some restaurants that can deliver you food:

Adobo Burritos
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 69957242

China Garden
Deliveries start after 11AM
Telephone: 25720010

China Kitchen
Deliveries start after 11:30AM
Telephone: 25738754

Finger Sushi
Delivers anytime, they’re open 24 hours
Telephone: 60002929

HanHum Restaurant
Deliveries start after 2:30PM
Telephone: 22270234

Marina Thai
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 23720040

Max Restaurant
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 25750647

Noodles Restaurant
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 25749933

Osaka
Deliveries start after 10AM
Telephone: 22637331

Poele
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 69998291

Q Cafe
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 22495067

Sauceges
Deliveries start after 9AM
Telephone: 51474777

Sea Taste Restaurant
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 66395655

Zafran
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 22285203 or 97281007

Finger Sushi is open 24 hours so you could order from them anytime but there are a few other places that open up before noon as well like China Garden, Osaka and Sauceges. I’ll be updating the list above as I find out about more places, if you know of a place that delivers before Iftar let me know in the comments.

As of this post seven Kuwaiti athletes have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics, six shooters and one fencer:

Abdulaziz Al-Shatti (Fencing)
Abdulrahman Al-Faihan (Trap)
Khaled Al-Mudhaf (Trap) – 2002 World Champion
Saud Habib (Skeet)
Abdullah Al-Rashidi (Skeet)
Ahmad Al-Afasi (Double Trap)
Fehaid Al-Deehani (Double Trap) – Won Olympic bronze medals at both Sydney 2000 and London 2012

Sadly Kuwait is currently banned from participating in the Olympics. But the Kuwait athletes will still be eligible to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) but they can not represent Kuwait.

Kuwait officials, though, had previously warned they would not allow its athletes to compete at Rio 2016 under the flag of anyone else but their own.

If they competed as IOA, there would be no reference to their nationality on their accreditation or results, with the IOC to appoint a “responsible organiser and technical officials” to oversee the team.

They would march under the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremony, with the Olympic Anthem to be played should one of the team win a gold medal.

Kuwait was banned from the IOC last October for “undue Government interference”, only three years after the lifting of a similar suspension shortly before London 2012. [Source]

Pictured above is Kuwaiti bronze medallist Fehaid Al-Deehani during the medal ceremony for the Men’s Trap Shooting Final at the London 2012 Olympics.

via @thefrugalfan

Not as funny as the “This man likes cock” blooper, but still funny.

Thanks Ahmed

Below are some important Ramadan timings, if you’d like add anything leave it in the comments below.

Banks: 10AM to 1:30PM (Airport 24 hours)
Government: Approx 9:30AM to 2PM
Highway Emergency Lanes: 8AM to 12PM

Cinescape: 9:30PM onwards
GrandCinemas: 2PM onwards

360 Mall: 11AM to 3PM & 8:30PM to 1AM
Avenues Mall: 9AM to 2AM / Stores: 10AM to 4PM and 8PM to 1AM
Gate Mall: 10AM to 4PM & 8PM to 1AM
Marina Mall: 11AM to 4PM & 8:30PM to 1AM
Salhiya: 10:30AM to 2:30PM & 8:30PM – 12:30AM
Souq Sharq: 10:30AM to 12:30AM

Carrefour: 10AM to 2AM
Geant: 9AM to 2AM
LuLu: 9AM to 2AM

A reader sent me a link to a CNN article that talks about NASA flying over South Korea to measure polluted air. The article isn’t that interesting except for the fact that it had a list for “Worst Countries for Air Quality” and Kuwait came in 9th place on that list. How is that possible? Our air quality can’t be THAT bad, I mean it isn’t even something I’ve heard anyone ever complain about. [Link]

Thanks Alex

If you have a Zain mobile number or internet device then you’ve probably encountered a problem similar to what is pictured above, where an image gets repeated over and over when browsing my blog using their network. I have no idea why that happens, my theory is that Zain’s cache system is very aggressive to help make things quicker but the side effect is my blog and I’m guessing other ones as well will end up looking weird. So if you’re a Zain IT guy reading this, maybe you guys could put my blog on the do not cache list or something?

Every year I try to put together the most comprehensive list possible, of restaurants in Kuwait that have either a Ramadan buffet or set menu. Below is this years list and like always I’ve highlighted the price increases over the previous year in red, and the decreases in green. Check out the full list of places below:

Abdel Wahab
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 1821000

Al Forno
Set Menu Price: KD9.5
Telephone: 22214996 or 22283498

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort – Taima’a Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12 (+2.000)
Telephone: 24590000

Al Noukhaza Restaurant
Buffet Price (Mangaf): KD11.950
Buffet Price (Shaab): KD14.950 (+2.000)
Telephone: 24757775 or 1823888

Al Sanawbar Lebanese Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD9.950 (+1.000)
Telephone: 25756273

Applebee’s
Set Menu Price: KD8
Telephone: 1844466 or 25381481

Assaha Lebanese Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD11
Telephone: 22533377

Avanti Palace
Set Menu Price: KD3.500 (+0.300) – min 4 people
Telephone: 25751081

Baker and Spice
Set Menu Price: KD8.750
Telephone: 22407707

Burj Al-Hamam
Buffet Price: KD12.5
Telephone: 22529095

Cafe Blanc – The Avenues
Buffet Price: TBD (starts mid Ramadan)
Telephone: 22597568

Courtyard by Marriott
Buffet Price: KD13
Telephone: 22997000

Crowne Plaza – Al Ahmadi Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14 (+1.050)
Telephone: 1848111

Dar Hamad
Buffet Price: KD13.5
Telephone: 22275555

Hilton Resort – Teatro Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15.500
Telephone: 22256222

Jeans Grill
Buffet Price: KD7.750 (+0.200)
Telephone: 22264503

Jumeirah Messilah Beach – Garden Cafe
Buffet Price: KD19
Telephone: 22269600

JW Marriott
Buffet Price: KD15 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22455550

Katsuya
Set Menu Price: KD12.5 – serves up to 4 people
Telephone: 22283195/6 or 22214985

Kababji
Set Menu Price: KD5.5
Telephone: 1861616

Kosebasi
Set Menu Price: KD7.50 (-2.250)
Telephone: 22251303

Kuwait Towers
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 22081999

La Brasa Argentinian Grill
Buffet Price: KD13
Telephone: 99052419

Leila
Set Menu Price: KD9.5 (+0.500) – min 5 people
Telephone: 22996414

Max Restaurant
Set Menu Price: KD12 – serves up to 4 people
Telephone: 25750647

Millennium Hotel & Convention – Lamar International Restaurant
Set Menu Price: KD14 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22050505

Movenpick – Free Zone – Bays Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12 (+0.100)
Telephone: 24610033

Movenpick – Al Bida’a – Breeze Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22253100

Naranj
Buffet Price: KD12.5 (-0.500)
Telephone: 22268666

Palm Palace
Buffet Price: KD8.9
Telephone: 67009575

Paul
Set Menu Price: KD7.950
Telephone: 22208204

Pop A Loop
Set Menu Prices: KD8 to KD14 (5 menus to choose from)
Telephone: 22271439

Qasr Al-Saraya
Buffet Price: KD8.5
Telephone: 25711101

Radisson Blu – Al Bustan Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 25673000

Ruby Tuesday
Buffet Price: KD9.950 (+3.000)
Telephone: 22444454

Saladworks
Set Menu Price: KD5
Telephone: 22201888

Sheraton – Coral Tent
Buffet Price: KD17.250
Telephone: 22422055

Swiss BelHotel Plaza – Al Dallah Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD9
Telephone: 22436686

Symphony Style Hotel
Buffet Price: KD11 (-3.000)
Telephone: 25770000

Tallu Hbabna
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 22200325

The Regency Kuwait – Silk Road Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD18
Telephone: 25766880

Vapiano
Set Menu Price: KD5.550 (+0.600)
Telephone: 22597171

Veranda
Set Menu Price: KD12.450 (+0.450)
Telephone: 22283141

Villa Fayrouz
Buffet Price: KD10 (-3.000)
Telephone: 22650052

Zafran
Buffet Price: KD7.5
Telephone: 22285203 or 97281007

Zahr El Laymoun – 360 Mall
Buffet Price: TBD – starts next week
Telephone: 25309511

If you’d like to add a restaurant to the list above [Email Me]

Note: I’ve been adding restaurants to this list as I get emails about them so keep checking the above list for new additions.

“تفضل” which roughly translates to “come in” is a short documentary on Rihab Complex that was released a couple of months back but I only got to watch it a couple of days ago. For those of you who’ve never been to Rihab Complex, it’s an old shopping complex in Hawalli filled with video game stores. The documentary gives a bit of a rundown on the on the complex as well as interviews some of the shop owners to get their story as well as explanations on why some games are expensive, while EU games are cheaper than US and other things. Sadly the video is in Arabic so if you can’t understand Arabic you’re not gonna get much out of it. [YouTube]

I’ve personally been going to Rihab since the late 90s (when the best gaming console ever the Dreamcast was released). But before Rihab, during my SNES and Game Gear days I used to get all my games from the shops in old Salmiya. There used to be a bunch of great shops in the building right next to mine, I don’t remember their names but I do remember there were three of them, two on the main street and one inside the complex. One of the ones outside used to have a 3DO in the display playing either the Night Trap demo or the original Need for Speed on loop while the store inside the center had a Neogeo on display playing mostly Samurai Showdown. You also had two computer shops upstairs, one called Computer World where I got my original copy of Windows 95 from and the other shop right next door where I used to buy my pirated games from. You’d buy a game and then have to wait for the guy to make copies of it and some games like Duke 3D for example used 13 floppy disks so you had to either go and come back or wait there patiently until he finished copying them. Then you had Burj Al Abyad (White Tower) further down the road which was the gaming center of Kuwait back then with most of the shops also housing arcade machines.

This post is really making me regret selling all my old gaming consoles. All I kept from the bunch are my Game & Watches.

If you really want to step back in time, back in the 80s there used to be a computer shop in Salhiya, I think it was on M1 or M2, it was right across the Korean restaurant that used to be there. I also got my Coleco in the mid 80s from a video game shop in Kuwait City that was located in the hexagon shaped blue glass tower. Kuwait was so different back then.

Looking for somewhere different to travel to during Eid?

Thanks Pat

Starting from today Entertainment City will be closed for renovations. No time estimate was given to when the renovations will be completed but my guess is since they closed it on the first day of Ramadan, then they’ll reopen the park just in time for Eid a month from now. That is unless it’s a major overhaul and the rumors about Six Flags taking over are true then expect it to be closed for awhile. But since nobody goes there anyway, I doubt anyone will notice. I just hope they fix the Australian log ride, that ride has been closed for years and it was the best thing there.

via Frankom

Adidas released the list of official retailers who will be carrying the new YEEZY Boost 750 and Harvey Nichols Kuwait is on that list. The sneakers have a world wide release date of June 11 and an expected retail price of KD105 ($350). Hopefully Harvey Nichols Kuwait won’t be selling them for KD210 since . I doubt they will though since I heard they got into trouble for doing that (thanks to everyone who emailed Adidas complaining). [Link]

Update: The list was edited and Harvey Nichols are now no longer on it. Looks like Harvey Nichols are still banned from carrying the YEEZY’s.

I wonder if that booth at the 30 second mark was the DJ booth for the discotheque that was originally part of the Kuwait Towers plans… [YouTube]

Thanks Mohannad