Author: Mark

There are only two sports I watch, Formula 1 and UFC. Years ago I wanted to take mixed martial arts classes so I could have a better understanding of the sport but was very limited in options. Since then things have gotten better with more MMA gyms popping up but they’ve mostly focused on either jujitsu or kickboxing. UFC Gym will hopefully be encompassing all forms of MMA under one roof.

Located on the 5th and 6th floor of Assima Mall, the new UFC Gym is around 5,000sqm2 in size. Since there is a hotel connected to the mall the gym is going to be mixed but they do have a separate ladies-only floor for those who prefer not to train in a mixed environment. There is also a separate children’s area on the opposite end of the gym where children can train in mixed martial arts without disturbing or interacting with the adults.

The UFC Gym is targeting to have classes in multiple combat sports including:
– Boxing
– Kickboxing
– Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
– Judo
– Wrestling

UFC Gyms are meant to introduce combat sports to regular people as a means of exercise, so they’re meant to be similar to regular gyms but also provide MMA classes as an added value. The MMA section includes an official-sized octagon ring, a section with boxing bags and a large open mat area for jiujitsu and combat training. The fitness sections of the gym include a cardio machines area that overlooks the city skyline, resistance machines section filled with the latest equipment from Technogym, a free weights section, an area for HIIT classes, and a room for spinning and other activities like yoga and zumba.

The gym is targeting to soft open by the mid of this month with an official opening by the end of summer. They currently have special pre-opening rates which are 900KD a year for men, and 700KD a year for women. This includes full access to the gym and the classes.

For more information, you can contact them on 65107779 or visit @ufcgymkuwait

Speedtest.net, the popular website that provides Internet performance metrics also has a global index for internet speeds and Kuwait is currently ranked as having the 4th fastest mobile internet in the world. They have Kuwait listed with an average speed of 135.63Mbps while UAE tops the list with 178.55Mbps. Here are the current top 10:

1 UAE – 178.25Mbps
2 Qatar – 174.56Mbps
3 Norway – 143.55Mbps
4 Kuwait – 135.63Mbps
5 Denmark – 129.95Mbps
6 South Korea – 120.38Mbps
7 Netherlands – 114.19Mbps
8 China – 109.09Mbps
9 Bulgaria – 103.72Mbps
10 Bahrain – 102.45Mbps

I’ve ALWAYS had internet issues in Kuwait until 5G came along. My apartment building could never get DSL speeds higher than 2Mbps, LTE internet averaged around 4Mbps and my only better options were expensive internet services like B-Wireless (WiMD) and Zain Beam. With 5G for the first time in my life, I finally have above-average internet speeds.

Analysts at the website Picodi calculated how many years of work are required to make 1 million dollars in different countries while earning an average wage. According to their calculations, it would take you over 41 years to make $1M living in Kuwait. The fastest country to earn a million is Switzerland (14 years) while the slowest is Pakistan (621 years).

Switzerland 14 years
United States 20 years
Qatar 21 years
UAE 24 years
Oman 38 years
Kuwait 41 years
Saudi Arabia 42 years
India 148 years
Egypt 603 years
Pakistan 621 years

They got their average salary data for this analysis from the crowd-sourced database Numbeo. I downloaded the data to see what the average salary for Kuwait was and it turned out to be 622KD. So if you earn more than that, you’re on your way to hitting the $1M mark even quicker.

Click here for the full study.

The movies below are coming out during Eid at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (7.6)
Evil Dead Rise (7.7)
Guy Ritchie’s the Covenant (8.5)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (8.2)
Jumanji – 1995 (7.0)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (7.4)

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

Back in December, I posted that starting in February regular mail would start being delivered to your door. February came and went with no sign of that happening. Actually, I personally had to drive to Sabah Al Ahmad last week which is an hour away because someone at the post office read my office building “Wafra Downtown Tower” on my package and thought I lived in Wafra. They sent my package to Sabah Al Ahmad which although the post office there was a much better experience than the Sideeq one, its pretty freakin far…

Anyway, it looks like the post office will start home delivery pretty much right after Eid. They have a new website up, kuwaitpost.moc.gov.kw and according to the website they’ve teamed u[p with a local company called “Sail Shipping & Logistics” to handle local deliveries.

Finally!

Last year I posted about the 1966 Kuwait Airways plane crash after finding a photo of it. You can check that post out here. Recently I came across more photos of the accident and so decided I’d share them here.

On 30 June 1966, the Trident 1E registration 9K-ACG was destroyed when it crashed 4KM short of the runway at Kuwait International. The plane was on its way back from Beirut when the plane descended at a high rate and the pilot didn’t follow the proper regulations. No lives were lost. Source

Yesterday while driving around futoor time, I randomly came across the largest wall I think I’ve ever come across. It was huge, really tall, and super long. Right away I saw an opportunity to take a photo so turned around and headed toward the wall.

I really have no idea why this wall is there. It’s not connected to any other structure, it’s just a wall.

If you’re looking for an interesting backdrop for your shoot and want to check this place out, here is the location on Google Maps.

With the long weekend approaching you might have considered traveling to Dubai but were put off by the high ticket prices. If you’re more than one person and like road trips, you should consider driving to Dubai. There are a number of benefits including:

• You leave and come back when you want
• You can purchase large items and bring them back
• No weight limit
• You don’t need to rent a car while there
• You can save quite a bit the more people in the car
• The long drive is therapeutic

I’ve previously done the trip and I’m planning to do it again this Eid since I need to bring back a bunch of things with me. Here is how much I paid for car insurance at the borders and for fuel. This is with a Toyota Hilux so depending on your car’s fuel economy, it could be a bit less:

Saudi to UAE Boarder
11 KD – Saudi car Insurance
22.500 KD – Fuel

UAE Border to Dubai
17.5 KD – UAE car Insurance
20 KD – Fuel

On the return:

Dubai to Saudi Border
40 KD – Fuel

Saudi Border to Kuwait
19 KD – Fuel

Total: 130 KD

Considering the cheapest airline ticket right now is around 150 KD, if you road trip with a friend, split the cost, and not have to pay for a rental or cab while in Dubai, the savings can be big. And then you have all the other benefits I mentioned earlier so it’s kinda a no brainer… if you’re fine driving for 12 hours that is.

For a more detailed write up about the drive, click here.

I know its counter-intuitive to ask this here but not sure how else to get this issue sorted.

Over the past 10 days I’ve gotten a number of comments asking me why I haven’t updated the website in a while or why I stopped posting when I haven’t. Turns out there is some sort of cache issue causing people not to see any of the new posts.

For me to solve this issue I need to try and understand it better. If you’re facing or faced the issue above could you let me know what browser and device you were using and which Internet provider? I want to see if there is a connection.

There are 4 interesting things happening this weekend:

Music of Gratitude
Tonight the Ahmadi Music Group choir and orchestra along with the Kuwait Chamber Chorale will be performing seasonal music by Mendelssohn, Bach, and Handel.

Sunset Hike
On Friday, Outdoorish.kw are having their weekly sunset hike and you can tag along.

Once Upon a Time
Also on Friday, Art N Dine are having a unique artistic and holistic Ghabga experience at the beautiful beach in Argan Albidaa Club.

Makers Pop-Up Shop
Finally, this Saturday the Makers Pop-Up Shop is taking place at the Marzouk Pearl building in Salmiya. There will be arts and crafts, jewelry, homewares, textiles, sweets, and more on sale.

If theres a cool event you think people should check out this weekend, let us know in the comments.

Jarir at The Avenues opened a couple of days ago and it’s wayyyy larger than I expected it to be. Because the main entrance is where Johnny Rockets used to be I assumed they might have taken over just that space. Instead, it turns out they’ve actually taken that whole wing of Avenues from where Johnny Rockets used to be, all the way back to where Nando’s and Romano’s Macaroni Grill were located.

It’s huge!

This idea is so absurd but so great at the same time. For a limited time only, Johnny Rockets in Salmiya have what they’re calling a “Truffle Table Experience”. It’s a set menu that you need to pre-book ahead of time and includes your choice of truffle fries or onion rings, a Wagyu truffle burger or a truffle portobello burger, a luxury shake, and a cookie for dessert. I booked it and went last night with a couple of friends and we had a blast

My first date ever was at Johnny Rockets back in 1996 and I wish they had this setup back then since I might have been able to impress my date. The table was covered with a white tablecloth and set with a pink cloth napkin, plates, and cutlery. There was even a flower and a candle that further added to the romantic vibe. Obviously, you’re not supposed to take all of this very seriously and everyone else there who had booked this dinner looked like they were also having fun with it.

The burger itself is more elevated than the usual offering and they got a legit chef (@chef_ak) to develop it. Even the onion rings weren’t their usual frozen ones but instead freshly hand battered with sourdough crumble. Honestly, if they had stuck with their usual items I wouldn’t have been disappointed since I was there to have a bit of fun, but the fact they went all out to elevate the food just for this occasion is impressive.

As I mentioned earlier, this fine dining experience is for a limited time only, it started a few days ago and lasts till April 17th. It’s 10KD per person and you need to pre-book using this link.

Walking around malls is a great way to hit your steps goal, especially if it’s too hot outside or if you don’t live near any walking tracks. But how many steps is each lap of a mall, and how many calories do you burn? To find out, I visited various malls around Kuwait and completed one lap of each while tracking my steps and calorie burn using my Apple Watch.

While my data isn’t scientific, I established some rules to ensure consistency. I did one lap only and I started and ended my walk in the same spot. I did not travel up or down escalators, but I did travel to the different phases and extensions if I could do so without changing floors. I also tried to walk at the same brisk pace. Your data might differ from mine, but it should be good enough to give you a rough idea of what to expect.

I’ve ranked my top six favorite malls based on a number of factors, including steps per lap, parking availability, overall convenience, the width of the mall floor, and visual stimulation during the walk. Here are my top 6:

#1 The Avenues
3,211 steps
33min 5sec
2.52km
174cal

#2 360 Mall
1464 steps
16min 14sec
1.19km
85cal

#3 Assima
569 steps
5min 51sec
0.43km
30cal

#4 Souq Sharq
706 steps
6min 25sec
0.48km
35cal

#5 Al Kout Mall
549 steps
5min 29sec
0.40km
27cal

#6 Marina Mall
664 steps
7min 58sec
0.56km
38cal

Last week, Kuwait Airways launched the Electronic Boarding Pass feature, but oddly, not for Kuwait. It’s pretty strange, I thought it might be because the immigration department needed a physical boarding pass to stamp, but even if you’re just transiting, Kuwait Airways is requiring a physical pass.

On the bright side, it does mean I can now fly out of Dubai a lot more conveniently. One of the disadvantages of flying with Kuwait Airways over Emirates was the fact I had to wait in a queue at the Kuwait Airways check-in desk to get my boarding pass. Now I can just get the digital one when I check in online and then zip through the E-gate as soon as I get to the airport. No waiting in line to check in, and no waiting in line for immigration.

To find out which airports accept the Kuwait Airways E-Pass, click here.

Amorino, the popular French chain of gelato ice cream boutiques is coming to Kuwait and they’re planning to open their first location in The Avenues. I like their gelato and usually go with a strawberry chocolate mix but I’m also a big fan of their sorbets.

They’re planning to open their location this coming July and the store will be located in the rear passageway of Avenues Phase III, where the English Tea Lounge used to be located.