Author: Mark

Thanks Mz

Chris Mcdougall uploaded a video onto YouTube which he shot himself when he BASE jumped from Hamra Tower this past weekend. This is what he had to say about it:

the raw hand cam and head cam from the first ever base jumps in Kuwait. the exit point was very bad and unstable so i kicked like a bitch and i got a big booga on the camera and on my face on opening. But the one handed landing made up for the other clumsy stuff. More to come in the Middle East….Game on 🙂 P.S. Thanks to Camco Global events for making it happen!

[YouTube]

via His&Hers

Last night after dinner I passed by the Pretty Little Things event thats currently taking place at Salhiya. If you haven’t passed by yet you should since the outdoor setup is very cool and there are a lot of fashion related items being sold there. They’re only going to be there till tomorrow and they’re open from 3PM to 10PM so you don’t have much time left. The outdoor market is taking place in front of Caribou Coffee and Johnny Rockets Salhiya.

According to Arabian Business Kuwait ranked 101st place out of 140 when it came to travel and tourism, the lowest amongst the Gulf countries. No surprise there, not even sure how we didn’t even rank lower since its practically impossible to get a visa to Kuwait. Dubai obviously ranked the highest in the region coming in 28th place out of 140. [Link]

Yesterday I was invited to the Peruvian Food Festival that is currently taking place this week at JW Marriott. I wasn’t planning to go at first but then I told myself I didn’t want to be one of those people who complain about nothing to do in Kuwait when in fact there are things to do and I just wasn’t doing them. The food festival is organized by the Peruvian embassy and they brought in three chefs from Peru as well as some Peruvian dancers. During various stages of the dinner the dancers would perform the traditional Peruvian dances and I thought was pretty entertaining. The food was also really interesting with lots of new flavors I hadn’t experienced before.

If you’re looking for something to do this week then this festival is on until the 15th of March. Having dinner while watching dancers perform is something you generally don’t see taking place in Kuwait so take advantage of this opportunity. The cost is KD15 per person (it’s an open buffet) and is from 7pm to 11pm at La Brasserie in JW Marriott Hotel.

Calling all photographers, if you’re interested in taking part in a group activity then this is a good one. Star trails photography involves long exposure shots of either the sky or landscapes where the movement of the stars in the sky form light trails in your shots (similar to the shot above). Not only will you end up with some interesting shots but its also a great way to meet new people.

Here is a list of gear you need to bring:
1. A DSLR
2. A tripod
3. Bring extra batteries or at least fully charge yours
4. A high capacity memory card
5. Shutter release
6. Food
7. Flashlights
8. Mat or chair to sit on

The meetup point will be the Mishref CO-OP parking lot on March 15th at 6PM. For more details check this [Link]

Photo above taken by Saleh AlRashaid

Thanks Kim

I’m currently in Lebanon for the weekend and earlier today I went paragliding. Now that I’ve tried it I think everyone should when they visit Lebanon the next time since it’s a pretty cool experience. It wasn’t something I had planned to do, I was snowboarding with a friend and during a break we started talking and I found out he paraglides. So I told him I wanted to try it and he called his friend up and we booked an appointment for 2PM. Once we were done snowboarding we headed to the take off location which was high up in the mountain above the area Jounieh. The view was obviously spectacular and the weather was fantastic.

It was me and another girl who were planning to paraglide. It’s a tandem flight meaning you fly while strapped to an expert. You start off high up in the mountain and end up down right next to the sea (where I am pointing in the picture above). There was only one expert so the girl went first and I waited for them to land and get back up. The spot we were taking off from is a popular location and right after they left, 3 military men (I think they were French) arrived and also took off in sequence.

To take off the wind speed and direction need to be right and when it was my turn we didn’t have to wait long to go. I was strapped to the paraglider and when he told me run I had to run. Then suddenly just like that we were up in the air. It was an incredible feeling and surprisingly not very scary. The only parts that were freaky for me was when I was Instagramming the picture above live while up in the sky since I was worried I would drop my phone while doing so. The second scary part was when he gave me the controls to fly for a bit. It’s pretty simple to work but still the idea that I was flying the thing was freaky. The whole flight took around 20 minutes.

So yeah if you’re in Lebanon the next time you should definitely give this a try. The whole experience cost me just $120. To book an appointment call Caroline on +9613559992 or visit their website for more details [Here]

Christian Louboutin will be in Salhiya on Sunday at 3PM for the Christian Louboutin exhibition as well as a shoe-signing. Not sure if the shoe-signing is open to the public but it’s worth taking your shoes and trying.

Sleepz is bringing something new to the Hip Hop scene in Kuwait with his crew KD Makers. He and this group of talented artists are set to do big things. Their main goal is to show the world what living in Kuwait can be like. “Started off broke” is Sleepz love note to Kuwait. It is followed by a little taste of “What Their Missin” a song we will be filming the video for in Dubai. Sleepz and the whole KD Makers crew are out to have fun and help put Kuwait on the Hip Hop map and it shows.

[YouTube]

These are just too damn creepy. They’re by Kuwait based Al-Hamad Design:

Each of the lamps features a touch sensor in the hand with three dimmer settings. Shake hands and the lamp will turn on. The men include a built-in-speaker in the torso.

Check them out on the Al-Hamad Design website [Here].

The Kuwait International Film Retreat have just opened up their registration. If you have a short film that you produced in the past two years you have until April 10 to submit it.

The 2nd Edition of the Kuwait International Film Retreat will be a 3-day mini-film festival bringing together filmmakers and enthusiasts from around Kuwait and the Region to take part in short and feature film screenings, workshops, social gatherings, the red carpet, and an awards ceremony showcasing the best short films in competition.

Last year the Film Retreat earned a lot of respect and praise when they decided to play the movie Tokai at the event even though the Ministry of Information had banned them from doing so.

So if you’re a filmmaker this is a great event to be part of and a great way to get noticed. For more information visit the Kuwait International Film Retreat website [Here]

This Friday Chris ‘Douggs’ McDougall will be BASE jumping off the top of Al Hamra Tower. The event is free to watch but I’ve got two VIP passes to give away (to 1 person) courtesy of Kromozone. These tickets can’t be purchased and they give you access to the enclosed VIP area outside near the fountain and will have seating, bean bags, food and drinks. It will also have it’s own private entrance from the mall so you won’t have to deal with the crowds.

If you’re interested leave a comment below.

Rules: Only one entry per person and please make sure you use a working email since the winner will be contacted by email. If winner doesn’t respond another winner will be randomly chosen.

Update: I closed the post for commenting at 11PM and using random.org the first number I drew was 42. But, that person got disqualified for posting two comments. The second number I drew was 39 and the winner of this giveaway is Noura. I also drew a third number as backup in case Noura doesn’t respond and that number is 69 Karan. Thanks everybody.

There’s currently a vintage car exhibition taking place at Al Hamra Tower with around 14 classic cars on display. The cars are from Omar Alghanim’s private collection of vintage first-grade restored vehicles from the 1940s to the 70s. The cars are all located in the basement and they will be on display until March the 16th.

Over the holidays one of the cities I traveled to was Rotterdam and while there I was lucky enough to meet the mayor of the city Ahmed Aboutaleb. Before I left Kuwait my friend in Rotterdam told me he managed set up a meeting for me with the mayor and that we would have 30 minutes of his time followed by a private tour of City Hall. I was pretty thrilled, I hadn’t been to Rotterdam before and getting to meet the mayor on my first visit was really exciting.

We got to City Hall early because obviously we didn’t want to be late for the mayor. Once there we were given a very friendly welcome by the mayor himself and his staff who all met us outside at the entrance of his office. Once inside the mayors office we were led to the seating area where I was told to sit opposite the mayor. On the table in front of us was a little stand with three flags, a Dutch flag, the flag of Rotterdam and the Kuwaiti flag since that’s where I was coming from. Their hospitality and professionalism made me feel like I was someone very important.

We started talking about the weather first since that’s always a good ice breaker and then the conversation shifted towards the city and finally to the way the mayor runs the city. One thing I loved is the fact he checks his emails personally. Everyday he receives on average around 50 or 60 emails from Rotterdam citizens regarding various topics and he reads them all himself. Then depending on what the email is about he assigns various members of his team to follow up and sort the issues out. Rotterdam is the second largest city in Netherlands but the way he runs things hands on you would think he’s running a small town like Pawnee. I loved that.

After my 30 minutes were up I was given a parting gift by the mayor and then had a photo taken with him. I was then given a tour of City Hall before I ended up leaving for lunch. It was such a great and inspiring meeting that it made me more determined to want to be the Mayor of Salmiya one day.

Does anyone know what the hell this is? I’ve noticed around 4 so far located on the side of the road in various areas. It looks like some kind of antenna. I’ve noticed them near traffic light intersections so I’m just taking a wild guess here but maybe they’re a wireless remote traffic light management system?

Update: A reader has suggested it could be a radar unit that counts traffic. This makes sense. [Link]