Author: Mark

Make sure you get to the airport super early and email me photos from the airport if it looks insanely overpacked like the picture above which was taken this past weekend.

Update: A reader @BoozAzzouz took the photo below earlier today, I’m guessing you’re going to have to get to the airport at least 3-4 hours earlier to make sure you don’t miss your flight.

Yesterday while at my mechanic getting some work done on my Datsun I decided to kill time by exploring the area a bit. For some odd reason there are around a dozen scuba diving shops near my mechanic and in between them was this one store called Alazame that sold outdoor gear. I decided to walk in and check their products out when I noticed they sold NiteCore flashlights. I’ve been wanting to get a new flashlight for awhile now since the one I have I now keep in my Datsun. I had researched a few and had decided on ordering a NiteCore one off Amazon and luckily I hadn’t placed the order yet. Alazame turned out to be the local dealer for the NiteCore brand and their prices are exactly like on Amazon. The two flashlights I had my eye on were the P12 and the MH12, the P12 sells for KD18 and the MH12 for KD24, which are their prices on Amazon not including tax or shipping. I ended up picking up the MH12 and figured I’d post about the place in case anyone is ever googling looking for one of their brands in Kuwait.

Alazame are the dealers for the following popular brands:

Leatherman
Gerber
NiteCore
Jack Wolfskin
Buck Knives
SOG Specialty Knives
Buff Headwear

They have an online store with some of their products and brands which you can order from although it’s not very accurate, the NiteCore P12 for example shows as out of stock but they actually did have it in stock. Still its a good source to check prices out and if it’s something you really want you could always call them and check if they have it in the store. Their website is alazame.com and their phone number is 66322666. If you want to pass by their store then here is their location on [Google Maps]

Salhiya are building a new mall/office tower right across from KIPCO Tower in Kuwait City and they’re calling it Assima. The video above is a 3D rendering of how the project will end up looking like but honestly the most exciting aspect for me is that there will be a multistory parking lot which means customers to Solo Pizza which is located right next to this project (check map below) will no longer have parking issues. [YouTube]

via Frankom

I’ve been curious for the past couple of years to why Kuwait is so popular with international bodybuilders. I mean I’ve heard of a number of current and previous bodybuilding champions who are currently coaching at some of the gyms in Kuwait and I never understood why. Carter, a British bodybuilder has an interesting theory to why that is the case and I think he makes a good point.

Carter suggests that there are certain PED’s (performance-enhancing drugs) only available locally that are attracting all the big name athletes. It’s an interesting theory and one I could believe being possible along with the fact that we have some great bodybuilding gyms here and the coaches probably get a good salary as well. Check out the video above. [YouTube]

Note: Trying to be Fahad posted about HGH (human growth hormone) a few years ago and he mentioned it being dirt cheap and that you could the absolute best brand for next to nothing [Link]

Meme’s Curry is a Japanese curry restaurant that opened a few years back by two Kuwaiti chefs. It originally started off as a home business before opening their first location… in Rihab Complex. I was never a fan of the location for obvious reasons but a couple of weeks ago they opened up in a new location in The View, the same complex that houses Marks & Spencer and Whole Foods in Salmiya. So if you’ve been meaning to try them out but been put off with their original location, here is their new location on [Google Maps]

Abdullah Alshalabi, one of the cofounders behind the local startup FishFishMe has published an article on his blog on how Kuwaitis should go about investing in startups. He shared his own investment theory along with an investment cheat sheet, so if startups interest you, check out his post [Here]

Super tiny list this weekend. One new thing I’ll be doing from now on is adding table top gaming events from Good Game to the list like the Magic: The Gathering event taking place on Friday. If I find out about anything else taking place this weekend I’ll add it to the list but for now this is whats going on:

Thursday
Ramadan Bootcamp by Diet Care
Cooking 101 at The Yard

Friday
Yoga Flow with Rosy
Good Game: Magic: The Gathering

Saturday
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)

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 double check info with organizers.

If you were hoping the American supermarket chain Whole Foods would open in Kuwait one day, well this is the closest thing you’re gonna get. Wholesome Foods is a new supermarket that Saveco have opened up and not only does it have the same name as Whole Foods, it basically has the same interior look and color scheme along with a similar concept (they mostly carry organic and healthy food products).

It’s not a very large place, but it’s two floors and they have a good variety of items you won’t find at other supermarkets. They’re located in Salmiya in The View building where Marks & Spencer is so the place is pretty close to where I live. Since I’m always frustrated with the lack of product range at Sultan I’ll probably be passing by Whole Foods (can we just call it that?) to pick up whatever I can’t find anywhere else.

If you’re wondering about the prices, they’re similar to Saveco. Whole Foods is open daily from 10AM to 1AM and here is their location on [Google Maps]

Truefitt & Hill is the oldest barbershop in the world established back in 1805 in London, and they’re opening their first location in the Middle East here in Kuwait at the Symphony Mall. I hadn’t heard of them until a redditor mentioned them and according to him they’ll be opening up by the end of the year.

A very popular Lebanese food blogger came to Kuwait as part of his Middle East food tour and guess which restaurants in Kuwait he goes to review? Semsom, Kosebasi, Margherita and the Radisson Blu buffet! Talk about the dumbest things a food blogger can do, you come all the way to Kuwait from Lebanon to review restaurants, and then you go to places that you already have back home? I don’t get it.

A friend on twitter suggested its probably because those places paid him to review them which would make sense and if that is the case that sucks. On the bright side, you can use this video as a reference of where NOT to take guests who are visiting Kuwait, except for Freej Swaileh since that place is legit. The even sadder part is when he asks his local guide if he had a week in Kuwait where he should go, the guide replies saying there are tons of places and then proceeds to mention six of which three are malls. *sigh*

Check out the video on [YouTube]

Note: Just to clarify, I meant worst places as in worst places that represent the local food scene and not worst places as in the worst food.

According to a recent news report on Al Rai, the Kuwait Airport have updated the security screening stations on departure. The airport increased the security stations from a previous total of four to a new total of six. One station for first/business class passengers as well as flight crew, two for GCC residents and three machines now for expats.

On a related note, Kuwait Airways no longer flies direct to New York but instead has to stop in Ireland for a security check before continuing to the States. I understood that it’s due to the poor security checks at the Kuwait Airport. United Airlines stopped their Kuwait – Washington route earlier this year and one of the rumored reasons was because of poor airport security and it makes sense now. Last year there were also rumors that British Airways would halt all flights from Kuwait unless security at the airport was improved.

The Approved Market is a small healthy foods supermarket which I frequent often and I found out a couple of days ago that they now have delivery. The cost for delivery is KD1 and you can order by calling or whatsapping 69096438.

Found these two photos on @domestic_arch_kw which I hadn’t seen before. The one above is obviously the Kuwait Towers while the one below is the Fatma Mosque.

Here’s my situation: I’m a 22 years old guy from Kuwait. I ran away from home because i got in a heated argument with my father one day which hinted that I wasnt as straight as he thinks i am and that i didnt believe in islam (the religion of my family & my country) so I woke up the next morning to him on top of me trying to strangle me since I committed two things that are punishable in Islam by death (1-being homosexual. 2-leaving islam) but I was able to break free and leave the house and never come back.

…

I lived in public parks for 6 months. Tried to clean up once every while and apply anywhere I can and got a job . Later I was able to afford a car but not a place to rent …weird? I know. But in here nobody will rent you a place unless you’re married because everyone is so concerned that single people will use those apartments to have sex and host parties where alcohol would be involved (which are all illegal, yeah.. the pre-marriage sex the alcohol and the parties).

No idea if this is real or made up but it’s an interesting read nevertheless. [Link]

The popular Parisian tea house Angelina is finally set to open up their first location in Kuwait in the next couple of days. I say finally because their coming soon hoarding had been up for so long I thought they were never gonna open.

Angelina are well know for their almost pudding-like hot chocolate and is a very popular tourist hotspot in Paris with sometimes long lines of people waiting to get in. Their first branch in Kuwait will be located on the ground floor of Hamra Tower.