Author: Mark

Two episodes of Masters of the Air is out on AppleTV+ and I watched both this week. The first episode was pretty slow and not that great, but things picked up in the second episode. As I’ve previously mentioned, I watched both Band of Brothers and The Pacific in preparation for Masters of the Air which is considered the third companion to the series. I feel it’s still too soon to judge the show with just two episodes out, so not sure how it already has an 8.0 on IMDB, but in any case, I’m looking forward to the third episode.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve watched anything interesting this week.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Weekend:
Argylle (6.2)
Cult Killer (5.3)
Riki Rhino (5.8)
The 100 Candles Game: The Last Possession (7.2)
Zodi & Tehu – Princes of the Desert (6.1)

Other Movies Showing:
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (6.0)
Bad Connection (5.8)
Confidential Informant (4.1)
Migration (7.5)
Mother, May I? (5.2)
No Way Up (5.3)
Thabo and the Rhino Case (8.1)
The Beekeeper (6.8)
Wish (5.8)
Wonka (7.4)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Titanic (7.9)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

This weekend, Kuwait Motor Town will be hosting the first and second round of the newly launched, F4 Saudi Arabian Championship. But, there are also a lot of other things happening at the circuit this weekend.

KMT has been actively hosting international events over the past two seasons, and this year, they’re aiming to make the events more accessible to the public so they’ve made these races free for spectators. There are no tickets this year, all the races taking place this weekend are free to watch.

Not only that, but in addition to the F4 races, the Red Bull Car Park Drift is taking place this weekend at the track along with the Toyota GR Yaris Cup races, and Bugsha Market.

Spectators are free to come throughout the day to watch the races and the various activities happening at the track. There will be something suitable for all ages ranging from food trucks to bouncy castles.

F4 Races
Friday and Saturday

Red Bull Car Park Drift
Friday at 7PM

GR Yaris Races
Friday and Saturday

2K Races
Friday and Saturday

Bugsha Market
Friday and Saturday
10AM to 8PM

For more information, visit @kmtkw, @redbullkuwait, @gazooracingkw, and @streetfoodkuwait

Photo on top by @mubarakalqattan

Numbeo is a crowd-sourced online database of perceived consumer prices, real property prices, and quality of life metrics. According to their 2024 report, Kuwait is the cheapest place to live in the Gulf while Dubai is the most expensive.

The most expensive place to live in the world according to their report is Bermuda, while the cheapest place is Karachi, Pakistan.

Here is how the Gulf countries rank:

1- Dubai, UAE
2- Abu Dhabi, UAE
3- Doha, Qatar
4- Manama, Bahrain
5- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
6- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
7- Sharjah, UAE
8- Muscat, Oman
9- Kuwait City, Kuwait

Numbeo’s cost of living index is calculated using the relative prices of consumer goods like groceries, restaurants, transportation, and utilities. The index doesn’t take into account accommodation expenses such as rent. For the full list, click here.

Aladdin Sweets (بوظة وحلويات علاء الدين) has been an iconic part of Salmiya for around 60 years. I used to walk by it as a kid, and look through the window at all the sweets and ice cream on display. If I was lucky, my mum would let me go in and get my favorite ice cream combo, chocolate and strawberry.

While walking by the other day I spotted a sign on the window saying they were closing down, moving to a new location and renaming to “Revani”. I asked them when there last day would be and they said January 30th.

If you want to pass by one last time, you have till tomorrow. They’re the ice cream place located between White Tower (برج ابيض) and Marina Mall. Google Maps

The Henley Passport Index is released every year and is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A passport is considered powerful based on how many countries people from that country can visit without needing a visa.

For 2024, Kuwait ranks 55 on the list with 102 visa-free destinations (check image below). Compared to neighboring GCC countries, Kuwait has the 3rd best passport coming in behind the UAE and Qatar.

Here are how some other countries ranked compared to Kuwait:

1 – France
4 – United Kingdom
7 – United States / Canada
11 – United Arab Emirates
53 – Qatar
55 – Kuwait
59 – Bahrain
60 – Oman
61 – Saudi Arabia
80 – India
87 – Egypt
95 – Lebanon

If you want to check out the full list, click here.

So many things happening this weekend, check out the full list below but if I missed anything, let me know.

Thursday, January 25
Improv Everywhere: Ha Ha Happy New Year
Muruoj Sport Event
Light Expo
Quantum Con
Sports Square – Sulaibikhat
Creative Printing Art Exhibition
Bugsha Market
Season Expo
Shop Local Food Hall
Circle Talk: Starting a Conscious Business
Kashta with Madang
Macbeth Film Night
Future Kid Grand Opening – Mubarakiya

Friday, January 26
Muruoj Sport Event
Light Expo
Quantum Con
Sports Square – Sulaibikhat
Show Jumping Event
Live Show: The Space Race
THRF Marketplace
Bugsha Market
Season Expo
Shop Local Food Hall
Lets Go Hiking
Art with Dried Flowers
IKEA Carnival
Cars & Coffee

Saturday, January 27
Muruoj Sport Event
Light Expo
Quantum Con
Sports Square – Sulaibikhat
THRF Marketplace
Show Jumping Event
Hanji & Hansik
Wejha Bazaar
Bugsha Market
Season Expo
IKEA Carnival
Workshop: Digital Art for Fabric Printing
Shop Local Food Hall

I finally finished the new season of Fargo, it was great, a very cool ending and sad that the season is over now. Other than that I haven’t watched anything new, been rewatching The Expanse so currently binge watching that but I do have some of the previous TV shows and movies recommended by you guys on my to do list. Need to start going through those as well.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve watched anything interesting this week.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Weekend:
Bad Connection (5.8)
Confidential Informant (4.1)
Mother, May I? (5.2)
Thabo and the Rhino Case (8.1)

Other Movies Showing:
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (6.0)
Migration (7.5)
Night Swim (4.9)
No Way Up (5.3)
Oppenheimer (8.4)
Race for Glory (5.7)
The Beekeeper (6.8)
The Hunted (7.0)
The Last Rifleman (6.6)
Wish (5.8)
Wonka (7.4)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Rush Hour 3 (6.2)

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

This is interesting, according to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is preparing to open its first alcohol store in Riyadh which will serve exclusively non-Muslim diplomats. The store will be located in the Diplomatic Quarter, a pretty nice neighborhood I’ve visited before, and where lots embassies and diplomats reside.

Even though this store will only be for diplomats, it’s one step closer to Saudi legalizing alcohol.

I wonder how legalizing alcohol in Saudi would affect Kuwait. Will we get alcohol if they get alcohol? Not that I care honestly, but I wouldn’t mind a Tomatini every now and then.

Update: I found another article with a bit more info..

The store sits next to a supermarket in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a socially sensitive topic in Saudi Arabia. The diplomat walked through the store on Wednesday, describing it as similar to an upscale duty free shop at a major international airport.

The store stocks liquor, wine and only two types of beer for the time being, the diplomat said. Workers at the store asked customers for their diplomatic identifications and for them to place their mobile phones inside of pouches while inside. A mobile phone app allows purchases on an allotment system, the diplomat said.

Back in November I posted about Khalifouh Village which is owned by the popular Kuwaiti actor, Khalifa Khalifouh. Khalifa, who worked on various TV shows involving old Kuwaiti villages, built an old village himself because he wasn’t very happy with the quality of workmanship in the show-built villages they would film in.

Khalifouh village is filled with many buildings that a real village would have like a mosque, a bakery, a tea shop, a theater and a main square.

The village is now going to open to the public starting next weekend. From February 1st, the village will be open on weekends from 10AM to 8PM and entry will be free.

If you’re looking for something fun to do you could turn the visit into a Wafra road trip since there are a bunch of things to do and see there other than the heritage village. Personally, I’d recommend heading to Wafretto for coffee (pictured above) before visiting the village and maybe pass by Mala Garden for pizza on the way back. You’ll also find loads of farms on the way to visit and buy vegetables and fruits from.

For more photos of the village and to stay posted on any updates, follow @khalifouhvillage

IMPORTANT UPDATE
I originally posted that the village was only gonna be open for one day but the English poster turned out to be missing key details compared to the Arabic poster. The village will actually be open every weekend starting February 1st. So NOT for just one day.

I wanted to put a list together of local online shops that sell camping or outdoor gear. We actually have some pretty good brands available locally, if you know where to look. I’ve listed the stores I’m aware of below along with some of the brands they have in case anyone is ever googling. If I missed a place, let me know in the comments.

AAW – Coleman, Magma, Snow Peak
Ace Hardware – Blackstone, Coghlan’s, Coleman, Mr Heater, Wenzel
Al Azame – Atwood, Leatherman, Nitecore, Thaw, Victorinox
All Degrees – Biotite, Black Diamond, Osprey, UCO
Camouflage – Buck, Ganzo, KadiOutdoor, Leatherman
Alyash – Mostly in house brands
Camp N Sea – Coleman, Dometic, KingCamp, Naturehike
Decathlon – Quechua
DreamTeam – Gerber, Leatherman, Nitecore, Olight, Pelican
Extreme Outdoors – Danchel, Gstove, Goutdoor
Naturehike – Blackdog, Blackdeer, Bluetti, Firemaple, Naturehike, Roxon
Nomadic – 4monster, KingCamp
Off Grid – BioLite, GSI Outdoors
ORP – ARB, NEMO Equipment
Outdoor Kuwait – Blogdog, Black Stone, Camelback, Campingmoon, Claymore, GCI, Unity

Apple launched the pre-orders for the Apple Vision Pro this past Friday and I’m still undecided on it.

I definitely think it has a lot of potential, but at 1,150 KD it’s crazy expensive. I ended up pre-ordering one on Saturday since by then the delivery date had moved back to March which gives me some time to decide. I figured depending on how much money I make from advertising this month, and depending on the reviews that come out, I could decide to get one or just cancel my order.

I’m still trying to figure out what I could use it for. I think it could be a second TV, but I also like the idea of being transported some where else. I don’t know, I’m curious to have one and see where this technology is going to go, but the cheapest Apple Vision Pro which is 256GB comes out to around 1,200 KD shipped to Kuwait. The device itself costs 1,080 KD, but if you ship to MyUS.com there is additional $244 tax on top of it (more if you ship to Shop&Ship). Then calculate around 20KD to ship to Kuwait, you’re looking at close to 1,200KD. Crazy for something that I have no idea what I will use it for.

Did you pre-order one?

Back in September, I shared a photo of how the new Gulf Road facelift was going to look, and since then, they’ve been really busy working on the transformation.

The 9.7-kilometre-long project involves facelifting the waterfront while also offering essential amenities for people which includes a dedicated bicycle and jogging path among other things.

The project is divided into two phases with the first phase on track to be completed in February while the second phase will be completed in March. Yesterday I passed by to check out the progress, and even though the area is still under construction, it looked great!

The redesign is so tastefully done with beautiful tile work, nice looking benches, and a very minimal and clean design overall. Even the new garbage bins look good.

Runners will also be interested to know that the running track is going to be cushioned.

If you want to check the progress yourself, I’d recommend heading to the pathway next to Green Island. I visited different spots along the water front and the Green Island area was the closest to completion.

If you haven’t seen how the waterfront is going to look like when done, click here.

Events are starting to pick up again but still not a lot happening, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday, January 18
Sports Square 2023-2024
Kashmir Textiles Exhibition
Shop Local Market
TK Market
Atyab Almarshoud’s Show Jumping Competition

Friday, January 19
Sports Square 2023-2024
Shop Local Market
Experimental Printmaking Workshop
Cars & Coffee
TK Market
Atyab Almarshoud’s Show Jumping Competition
Stargazing in Al Salmi

Saturday, January 20
Sports Square 2023-2024
Shop Local Market
DAI Storytime
TK Market
Tareq Rajab Museum Tour
Atyab Almarshoud’s Show Jumping Competition

One of my favorite movies of all time used to be Menace II Society. It’s an old film that came out back in 1993 when I was living in Canada and really into hiphop. It came out around the same time as some other great influential movies including CB4, New Jack City and Juice, all movies related to gang violence and hip hop.

Since then I’ve watched Menance II Society a bunch of times, but the last time might have been 20+ years ago. Recently I was watching live TV on Paramount+ and it came on, and damn it’s still a great movie. It has so much going for it from great acting, incredible writing and lots of scenes that would have gone viral on Tiktok if the movie had come out today. If you haven’t watched it before, add it to your list.

I also watched the first episode of the new season of True Detective. That was also really great and now can’t wait till the next episode. Latest episode of Monarch was also great, and so was Fargo, this week was a good tv week.

What have you been watching?

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Weekend:
No Way Up (N/A)
Race for Glory (5.7)
The End We Start From (6.6)
The Hunted (N/A)
The Piper (5.5)
The Last Rifleman (6.6)

Other Movies Showing:
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (6.0)
Migration (7.5)
Night Swim (N/A)
The Beekeeper (6.8)
Wish (6.0)
Wonka (7.4)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Rush Hour 2 (6.7)

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

Last year Chipotle signed an agreement with Alshaya to bring the franchise to the Middle East. The initial plan is for two locations to open each in Dubai and Kuwait. A few weeks ago I posted that their first location in Kuwait is expected to be at The Avenues, and now my source just informed me that they’re aiming to open by April.

The first location will be in The Avenues Phase 4, where Blaze Pizza used to be located, right next to Gait and VOX Cinema.

Every time I post about Chipotle the posts tend to go viral and I’ve been trying to understand why. My best guess is that lots of people used to have Chipotle back when they were studying in the US? I have no idea but if you have a better theory, let me know.

The coming soon hoarding is still not up, but I took the liberty of adding one to my photo.