Author: Mark

Back in December I posted about the Sulaibikhat beach cleanup which was done by K’s PATH in which they manually collected approximately 2 tonnes of waste in 4 hours. Along with that post I posted a shot of the beach before the cleanup and one after. Well they now have another shot of the same beach taken 6 months after the cleanup and as you will see below, the mangrove stretch, which was layered with plastic and styrofoam waste is now supporting new life.

Our 65th beach clean-up today at Sulaibikhat beach 1 (dubbed by volunteers as Kuwait’s ‘mangrove’ beach) proved to be a momentous day for K’S PATH and Al Yaal’s year-old sustained marine conservation program. Despite the rising summer heat, a fresh stretch of new vegetation was spotted flourishing along the mangroves today. This stretch was cleared of over 2000 kgs waste, mostly styrofoam and plastic, in December 2011 by 25 volunteers and students of AIS in 4 hours. Ever since, our team worked tirelessly to clear smaller waste and debris from top soil. Spring 2012 saw the first signs of growth – green saplings sprouting from soil which was, presumably for years, layered by a blanket of waste unable to support life. A big thank you to all volunteers who have worked relentlessly to protect this stretch of Sulaibikhat since the launch of the program in April 2011! We have much work yet to do, both in clearing waste from lower layers of soil and beneath mangrove branches. [FaceBook]

A new video by tjcfilms, this one is with BBoy Psycho who talks about the BBoy scene in Kuwait while also displaying some of his moves. I really like the videos tjcfilms keep producing since in a way he keeps us connected with scenes that aren’t really mainstream or very exposed. The music is by Gemini and called “Nothingness”. [YouTube]

Earlier today I was told that Habchi and Chalhoub are currently in negotiations with Abercrombie & Fitch to bring them to the region. The Chalhoub Group already have a bunch of popular brands in their roster including Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lacoste, Celine and Marc Jacobs so it would be realistic for them to get the brand although I always imagined Alshaya bringing them. I’m actually interested to see how the brand will adapt to the region but my guess is there won’t be much of an issue. For now I’ll leave you with the video above of the A&F guys lipdubbing “Call Me Maybe” while I go do a thousand sit-ups and starve myself. [YouTube]

Two weeks ago I posted a letter from Aramex Shop and Ship saying that due to customs regulations they will be charging 5% customs fee on all shipments not including a KD1 handling charge and a KD1 government stamp. From what I understood this was going to apply to all shipping companies but today I received a package via DHL Borderlinx and to my surprise there was no charge. According to the DHL employee they’re not charging 5% customs on shipments. But does that make DHL cheaper? I’m not sure.

The problem (the only problem actually) with DHL’s Borderlinx is they charge based on volumetric weight. What this means is if a small box weighs 1KG and a large box weighs 1KG, the large box is going to be more expensive than the small box even though they’re the same weight. In my case my package weighed around 2KG but the volumetric weight was around 5.35KG. If I had shipped it with Aramex they would have charged me for the 2KG but with DHL I had to pay more than double the actual weight. On the other hand unlike Aramex, with DHL you don’t pay the 8% New York State tax and you also don’t pay the 5% Kuwait customs tax so which comes out a better deal?

Item cost: $187 (KD51)
Actual Weight: 2.2KG
Volumetric Weight: 5.35KG

Aramex Shop and Ship
8% NY tax: $15 (KD4.1)
Shipping cost to Kuwait: KD13.75
Kuwait customs: KD6*
Approx time from US to Kuwait: 8 days**
Total shipping cost = KD23.85

DHL Borderlinx
No NY Tax
Shipping cost to Kuwait: $110.60 (KD30.8)
No Kuwait Customs
Time from US to Kuwait: 4 days
Total shipping cost = KD30.8

So even with the new 5% customs fee Aramex is charging and even with the NY State tax they still somehow end up cheaper than DHL. This mostly has to do with the fact that DHL charges on volumetric weight. If they charged on actual weight than they’d be considerably cheaper. On the other hand DHL is practically twice as fast as Aramex so that alone could be worth the extra cost for many people.

My conclusion
Large (not necessarily heavy) packages ship to Aramex
Small or regular sized packages ship to DHL

So basically I’m still going to be flip flopping between the two companies for now.

*Calculated using their customs calculator
**Based on a different shipment just received from Aramex

I’m currently in the process of reviewing the Sony NEX-7 camera so I was in Souk Mubarkia over the weekend taking some photos when I found the Mubarak Kiosk open and decided to check it out.

The function of the kiosk changed a lot over the years, originally in 1934 the kiosk was the first independent legal court in Kuwait. Later it was rented and used as a pharmacy an then as a post office run by the British. At the end of the 1950s the kiosk was used as a public library and 60s forward the top floor was used as a photography studio while the ground floor was turned into a samboosa shop. In 2010 the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters took over the kiosk and renovated it from ground up and turned it into a museum.

The museum is pretty small but that doesn’t really matter. The fact that the kiosk was renovated and turned into a historical site is what’s important and they really need to continue renovating more and more old buildings. It’s not worth driving all the way to Souk Mubarkia just to visit this museum but if you’re in the area it’s interesting to see. They have an iPad on the top floor in the back corner that has a photo gallery of old pictures of Kuwait as well as pictures of the kiosk from the outside and inside before and during renovation. I thought that was very interesting and even tried emailing the photos to myself using their iPad but failed (didn’t have access to the home button).

If you want to pass by here are their opening hours:

Summer Visiting Hours
Saturday to Friday
9AM to 12PM – 4:30PM to 8:30PM
Saturdays and Fridays they’re closed in the morning
Sunday they’re closed in the evening

Winter Visiting Hours
Saturday to Friday
9AM to 12PM – 4PM to 8PM

Ramadan Visiting Hours
Saturday to Friday
9AM to 12PM – 8:30PM to 11PM
(First days of Eid they’re closed)

Update: Below is a picture of the kiosk taken by John Newton back in 2009. I can’t believe how much the whole area has changed.

Spotted the above sign on the Gulf Road seaside path. I guess they’re either keeping their eye out for car thieves or more serious criminals like illegal barbecuers.

I mentioned the other day that I had heard Kuwait was sending a delegation to Switzerland in hopes of getting things sorted before the Olympics start at the end of the month. Looks like they were successful because the International Olympic Committee just approved Kuwait’s request to hoist the National Flag and the playing of the Kuwaiti National Anthem at the London Olympics.

Minister of Communications and Acting Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Salem Al-Utheina on Saturday congratulated all Kuwaitis on the approval of the International Olympic Committee of Kuwait’s request to hoist the National Flag at the upcoming Olympic games in London and playing of the Kuwaiti National Anthem.

The Minister told KUNA that he was informed of the approval following his second meeting earlier today with the Committee’s President Jacques Rogge.

Al-Utheina had delivered a letter from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Rogge at the Committee’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on hoisting the flag of Kuwait in the Olympic Games, which kick off in London on July 27. [Source]

Congrats and good luck to all the athletes, Team Kuwait is a go!

Had lunch today at OFK and tried their new no-frills burger called The Emperor. It comes with a thick 8oz beef patty, cheddar cheese, roasted onions and a soft milk bun. No ketchup, no mustard and no special sauce, just a pure real burger. The verdict? Right now I think it’s the best burger in Kuwait.

His&Hers found a video of a short interview with Kuwaiti Olympic swimmer Faye Sultan whom I posted about early on in the week. As of now the Kuwaiti athletes will still be competing under the Olympic flag due to Kuwait being banned by the IOC. But, I also heard that a delegation got sent to Switzerland yesterday in hopes of getting things sorted before the Olympics begins. You can watch Faye’s interview [Here]

+1 for the Nirvana tshirt

According to American designer George Hull, Oscorp Tower in the new Spiderman movie was actually inspired by Kuwait’s Al Hamra Tower. On his website George mentions the following:

“Early tower design inspired by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill”

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill are the architectural firm behind Al Hamra Tower. So that’s basically Al Hamra Tower in Spiderman. Very cool.

Thanks @3ZOZMEGA and M7MD

Agi Architects was awarded with a “A’ Design Award” for their proposed hospital design which is pictured above.

You can find out more about the Kuwait Children’s Hospital design [Here] and you can read about the award [Here]

Kuwaiti sailors fix the old Kuwaiti flag on a dhow during preparations in Kuwait City on July 11, 2012, for the upcoming annual Pearl Diving Festival, meant to honor the nation’s former trade mainstay.

Kuwait’s on the main page of cnn.com under “Daily Snapshot” [Link]

Early bird registration just opened for this years Flying Start Triathlon. They’ve got two levels of competition, The Sprint and The Olympic. If there wasn’t any swimming involved I might have been able to compete in The Sprint level but I can barely swim a lap around the pool before collapsing from exhaustion.

The event takes place on the 19th of October but early registration earns you a 20% discount. If you’re interested to find out more head to their Facebook page [Here]

Late last month while at the Avenues I spotted the Vuzix Wrap at Xcite and since I’ve always wanted to try one of these before I contacted them so I could get one to review. The Vuzix Wrap is a video eyewear which basically means you watch video through tinny screens that are fitted inside the glasses. According to the package, watching videos using the Vuzix Wrap will feel like watching a 67″ screen siting 3 meters aways. After playing around with it for a week I have my personal opinion on video eyewear’s in general as well as this specific model.

The Wrap works with regular AA batteries which means you can use them wherever you are. The batteries are fitted into a small external compartment which you could keep in your pockets and the Wrap is connected to the batteries using a wire. The Wrap comes with earphones as well which you need to plug in separately into each side of the eyewear. Inside the box Vuzix also includes an adapter to connect the glasses to Apple devices like the iPhone as well as RCA cables so you could connect it to a videogame console or your TV receiver.

I downloaded Truth in 24 II from the Apple Store (which is the sequel to an incredible documentary btw) and watched it on the Vuzix. At first I was expecting it to feel weird and uncomfortable like trying to watch a 3D movie with 3D glasses but the experience was actually pleasant. I’m not sure if it felt like watching a 67″ screen from 10 feet away, but the screen definitely didn’t feel like it was 2cm’s away which is what I was expecting. These kind of glasses could be pretty useful when traveling on a plane since you can watch whatever you want in complete privacy and also zone out from your surroundings since once you have the glasses on you’re pretty much watching TV in your own little room.

But there are a whole bunch of things I didn’t like in the Vuzix Wrap. The video quality left a lot to be desired, other than the fact the screen resolution is low, I felt the contrast lacked with the blacks looking more like grays. I tried to adjust the settings as much as I could but I wasn’t able to improve on it that much. Another issue I had was with the earphones. First you can’t connect your own earphones which is a let down and second I found the included earphone wires to be too distracting. Each earphone plugs into a socket thats located in the front of the glasses so the wires were touching my eyebrow and face while on their way back to my ears. The eyewear along with the various attachments also felt very plasticky and cheap but the biggest issue I had with the Wraps were how stupid I looked wearing them. If you sit on a plane and put these on people are either going to think you’re Ray Charles or some douche with horrible taste who thinks its cool to wear sunglasses inside a plane. This is why although they would be practical to use while traveling, they might be better off being used in the privacy of your home where you can play Xbox on these glasses without having to hog the living room’s TV.

I’m pretty glad I finally got to try video glasses on and I kinda understand how Google’s Project Glass is going to end up working. Price wise Xcite currently have a special offer on these glasses until the end of the month and they’re selling them for KD89.900. If you want to check them out they have them on display at the Avenues branch OR even better you could try to win a pair. All you need to do is just leave a comment below and tonight I’ll choose a winner using Random.org. Good luck!

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 within 24 hours another winner will be randomly chosen.

Update: Comments are closed and I had Random.org choose two numbers, a winner and a backup winner in case the winner doesn’t respond.

Winner is #94: Abdullah
Backup is #20: Ahmed