Author: Mark

Failed Kuwaiti carrier Wataniya Airways is reportedly planning a comeback as soon as the first quarter of 2015. The airline has begun efforts to re-launch by attempting to raise KD24m ($85m) and lease an initial two planes, according to Kuwait Times.

The company has asked the Ministry of Commerce to publish the minutes of an extraordinary assembly meeting held this week and will then contact the Capital Markets Authority so it can prepare for a new initial public offering (IPO). The airline needs a minimum of KD11m in capital to re-launch operations, a company source was quoted as saying. [Source]

Looks like Wataniya Airways is finally coming back to life. I wonder if they’ll fly out from Sheikh Saad Terminal along with FlyDubai or if they’ll be joining the rest of the airlines at the main terminal?

Looks like the runaway maids account @mn7asha which I posted about last week got closed down. Yesterday Aljazeera posted about the account and when I tried to access it today on Instagram I got a user not found error. I am not sure yet if instagram shut down the account or if the owner did but whatever happened the account is gone for now.

I took the photo above a couple of hours ago while heading back to the city from the Hilton Resort. A public transportation bus had run off the side of the highway flipping over in the process. Not sure how many people were hurt but I counted at least three ambulances on the scene.

According to @KuwaiT_ALYoum, British authorities are looking for a Kuwaiti teenager who was filmed hunting ducks with a slingshot in Hyde Park. I couldn’t find another source for this information but I did find the video that went viral and you can watch it below (its safe).

[YouTube]

Yesterday I had a meeting at the Kuwait National Library and to kill time before the meeting I wandered off into the small English books section and started checking out the books. I was pretty surprised that the majority of the English books were really old but then I found the advertising section and I knew I hit jackpot.

Right away I noticed, these weren’t just any ordinary advertising books, these were vintage advertising books from the 40s and the 50s! These are the books Don Draper would have on his bookshelf on the TV show Mad Men. I found an empty shelf and started collecting the books I liked and lining them up next to each other. In the end these were my favorite books that I found:

How to Build Modern Furniture (1957)
Five Hundred Years of Printing (1959)
The Watch Repairer’s Manual (1949)
Advertising – a guide for business man and student (1947)
Advertising and Psychology (1954)
The Technique of Advertising (1940)
Successful Television and Radio Advertising (1959)
Advertising (1953)
International Handbook of Advertising (1964)
Colour in Advertising (1956)

I thought they were all very fascinating so once my meeting was done I headed to the main office to sign up for a library card so I could check them out. Thats where I got an even bigger surprise, turns out the library isn’t open yet and is actually opening in two weeks and even once it’s open they won’t allow anyone to check out the books, you can only read them in the library.

I left the library in love with it but at the same time a bit confused.

If they’re not open yet, why are all the English books so old?
Where did they even get these books from?
and WTF?

But then it hit me, this is the perfect library. Other than the fact that old books are fascinating, by having all these old books, its as if the library has been around for 50 years instead of just opening now. You’re also not going to find these books on the Kindle so thats another reason to visit the library. Smart move. Once the library is open in two weeks I would definitely recommend you pass by. The library is pretty big and I’m not sure if there was another larger English section but even if there wasn’t, the small section is interesting enough to check out.

The library is located right next to the National Museum on the Gulf Road and here it is on [Google Maps]

PS: If anyone from the library is reading this, please PLEASE remove the horrible window sticker on your building and install a proper sign instead.]

A few days ago I posted about how the construction of the new Kuwait airport was been put on hold indefinitely and oddly enough, some people were actually pleased with the news. One of the comments was that the new airport would make Kuwait very difficult to live in (because more people would come to Kuwait) while another person didn’t think anything was wrong with the current airport.

[YouTube]

I personally would love a new airport especially the Foster + Partners design that got approved (watch the video above). I travel a lot and arriving at a clean, bright and organized airport is a much more positive experience than arriving at a crowded, gloomy and depressing one. I’d love to pass through an eGate and avoid the long lines at immigration or wander around a large duty free to kill time before my flight. Also the first thing new visitors to Kuwait will see is the airport and first impressions matter. Kuwait is so much better than what the current airport leads you to believe.

But that’s my opinion, I’m curious to know if I am alone in this because I don’t think I am. Do we need a new airport?

BBC have an article and a short video report on De La Rue, the company that designed and printed the new Kuwaiti Dinars. In the video below the reporter is at the factory while they’re printing the Kuwaiti Dinars and you get to see her hold an uncut sheet of the notes as well as discuss the currency a bit with an employee. Check out the video below and then the article [Here]

Thanks Neil

Earlier today the BMW dealer launched the i8 Hybrid Supercar to the members of the press. Remember the BMW i8 that had arrived at the airport last month? Turns out it belonged to the dealer and the arrival of the car was meant to be a secret. Due to a nosey employee at the airport, that didn’t happen.

The cost of the car is currently set at around KD55,000 although it hasn’t been finalized. A source of mine last week told me that 10 cars had already been booked with 3 confirmed sold (this is before todays launch) but the dealer isn’t willing to confirm this to me.

Check out the Chris Harris review of the BMW i8 on [YouTube]

@Mn7asha is a local instagram account where people can send photos of house keepers who’ve run away. Notice the chain on the house keepers leg in their profile picture? That profile picture alone sums up the mentality of the people running the account, the people submitting photos to this account as well as the reason why the house keepers most likely ran away in the first place.

Thanks @gharabally

The popular social video sharing site Telly is currently featuring Kuwaiti Short Films on their website. There are 12 films available to watch and they are:

Heaven’s Water (May Aljannah)
The Sniper (Alqannas)
The Neighborhood Cop (Shurty Alfreej)
The Youngest Son (Ju3da)
The Detective (Thabet)
Mustache (Shanab)
Sneeze (3atsah)
Someone (Fulan)
Saloon
Vanish (Ikhtifa2)
Ka3bool
9oorat

So if you’re interested in watching some short Kuwaiti films check them out [Here]

The construction of the new airport terminal that was designed by the architectural firm Foster + Partners has been placed on indefinite hold after most of the contracting companies quit bidding due to the conditions they were required to agree to.

Construction was originally set to start back in 2012 and it was a project everyone in Kuwait was looking forward to seeing completed so this is pretty disappointing news.

I’ve finalized the categories on the blog and the last and final addition is the Entertainment section. It was previously called the gaming section and was being run by my brother but I’ve now got two friends who will also be helping out in that section with movies and music.

Tarek J, the guy behind the weekly Cinemagics rooftop movies will be handling the movies part of the section. Tarek is a walking film encyclopedia and has pretty good taste in movies so I’ll be personally keeping an eye out for his recommendations.

Amin Fari is the second friend who will be helping out. Amin is a talented local musician and he will be handling the music stuff in that section. He’s already a got a few posts up and you can check them out [Here]

Next step is to update the iPhone app.

Kuwait has the second highest number of millionaire families among the GCC countries and fifth highest internationally with 9 percent, which means 99,000 families are millionaires. [Source]

That’s insane.

via Expat and the City

I’ve never been a fan of the GoPro cameras so that’s why when I wanted to get an action camera a couple of years ago I ended up getting the Contour+ instead, it had some exciting features the Contour lacked as well as a slicker form factor. But, that wasn’t enough to overthrow GoPro since two years later, GoPro is still here while Contour collapsed last year due to financial difficulties. Now it’s Garmin’s turn to try and take on the GoPro with the new Virb action camera. Garmin are known for their navigation devices and this is their first attempt at an action camera so the local dealer in Kuwait passed me one to review.

I’ve had the camera now for around two months and I think I’ve got a clear idea of what I think about it. I’ve used it to record my bike trips, I’ve used it off roading in Lebanon and I’ve even tried using it as a dash cam. Generally I like the camera, it’s not perfect but it has some cool features that might make some people choose it over the more popular GoPros.

The biggest feature I think that will win people over is the durable water resistant rubber shell. The camera feels very well built and can take abuse which is why I wasn’t afraid of dropping it. Actually during this one trip the camera flew off my ATV while speeding on a rocky mountain trail. Not a scratch, not even on the lens. But even if I did scratch the lens it’s a cheap $20 part I could replace myself. Garmin wants me to put this camera in risky situations not be worried about damaging it and I love that.

Another great feature is the fact the camera has a large color LCD screen which you could use to help you frame your shots, for playback or to adjust any of the settings. The camera also has a large record toggle button similar to the one I used to have on my Contour camera which means I can turn on the camera and start recording by just moving the switch forward. Specs wise the camera can shoot 1080p at 30fps, 720p at 60fps and for extra slow mo, WVGA at 120fps. It also has GPS, wifi, bluetooth and even ANT+ so you could connect it to your heart rate monitor or other ANT+ device and overlay that information onto your video.

[YouTube]

I think the biggest issue with the Virb is the weight of the camera. Because the camera is built like a tank it’s heavier than the GoPro and that might turn some people off. Also the majority of the footage I shot was coming out slightly underexposed and desaturated as you can see in the short video above. Finally the color of the device turned out to be problematic. The Virb I received for testing was white but after having it for a couple of months now and the abuse its taken from me the white now has a bit of a brown tint where it fell into the dirt and I had difficulty restoring it. Getting the black version would be the easy fix here.

The majority of the people interested in an action camera will most likely get the GoPro because thats the one everyone gets. But, that doesn’t mean it would be the best option for you. If you’re looking for a camera that can take some abuse or a camera in which you could overlay data onto your video like the speed you’re traveling or your heart rate, then you should consider checking out the Virb. The price of the Garmin starts at KD85 for the normal Virb or KD109 for the Virb Elite which is the one I tested.

Kuwait based graffiti artist Monstariam held his first Street Spray Soup event a couple of nights back and it turned out pretty successful with many of Kuwait’s most talented artists dropping by to exchange ideas and create some interesting pieces. Check out the video below of the event by TJC Films.

[YouTube]