Category: Activities

I passed by Elevation and Richards Coffee at the Seef strip the other day for lunch and coffee when I noticed a bunch of bicycles parked outside. After seeing some kids take them for a ride I asked an employee about the bikes and found out they were there for their customers to borrow and for free. All you need to do is let an employee know you want to take out a bicycle (or skateboard) and they’ll take your name down and you’re free to borrow the bikes for as long as you want (I’m assuming for the day and not for days). So if you feel like riding a bicycle and don’t want to buy one, pass by Elevation at Seef, here is their location on [Google Maps]

Aerial yoga seems to be the current “in” activity to do. I haven’t tried it and don’t think I will, but it seems fun and it takes place outdoors so should be great to do in this weather. Aerial yoga is similar to traditional mat yoga but instead of the mat you’re suspended in the air with soft fabric hammocks.

Fly High Kuwait are holding classes aerial yoga classes in Jumeirah and the classes start from KD15 a session. If you’re interested to find out more, check out their website [Here]

Update: I thought they were ongoing till Thursday since that was written on their website, but turns out they made a mistake and the last day was actually yesterday. So it’s over now.

Here is another activity to add to the list of things to do in Kuwait. ProDrive Academy recently soft launched and are offering drifting and manual transmission driving courses.

Drifting Courses
They have four stages of drifting courses with each stage being more advanced. You learn to drift in a Nissan 370z and the prices are as follows:

Stage One: 3 hours long, costs KD130 and includes 2 new fresh tires
Stage Two: 1 1/2 hours long, costs KD100 and includes 2 new fresh tires
Stage Three: 3 hours long, costs KD130 and includes 2 new fresh tires
Stage Four: 3 hours long, costs KD100 and includes 2 new fresh tires

They have a package deal where if you decide to go with all four stages then the total cost would be KD400 instead of KD460.

Every Tuesday from 5PM to 11PM is an open drift day in which anyone can bring their car to the ProDrive circuit and drift. The cost to take part in that is KD30.

Manual Transmission Courses
With manual transmission courses they charge by the hour and depending on how quickly you learn the less time you need. They offer lessons with three different car options:

Nissan Pick Up: KD15/hour
Jeep Wrangler: KD20/hour
Nissan 370z: KD30/hour

If you’re interested in the above you can call them on 60049000 or 60604418.
For more information on ProDrive including a map of their location, check out their instagram account @prodrivekw

With more than 135 Merit Badges—from Archery and Art to Welding and Wilderness Survival—Scouting is the ultimate form of learning by doing. Boy Scouts explore their interests and improve their skills while working toward Scouting’s highest rank: Eagle. By first imagining, planning then doing their own service projects, Boy Scouts learn the value of hard work, and experience the thrill of seeing it pay off. Add in outdoor adventures, hiking and camping, and Scouting gives boys all the experience they need to become men.

I used to be a boy scout when I was a kid and loved it which is why I’m posting this. Boy Scout Troop 938 that are based out of ASK (American School of Kuwait) sent me a flyer to share on the blog. They’re recruiting members aged between 11-18 years old to join their troop. Here is the flyer with more information and contact details [Flyer]

Last week I was going through my instagram explore page and found a video of a new indoor skate park, turns out it was part of “Trampo Extreme”, the new Trampo location in Murouj. So I got in touch with them and headed over to check the place out.

The new Trampo location is HUGE with a lot of different activities to try out. First you have the trampolines area which takes up around 1/3 of the whole space. There are different kinds of trampolines to choose from including a dodge ball trampoline court for competitive action against friends. Right next to the trampoline section you have a leap of faith tower and a vertical slide, both of which are meant to test your courage.

Now the other areas of the new Trampo location is where I think things get interesting. First you have a large area on your right once you walk in filled with really tall climbing walls. This is my favorite area in the whole arena since it’s one I’ll probably go back to try.

Right in the middle of the arena but raised above ground is a cable climbing area. It’s a obstacle course in the air which you traverse and once you get to the end of it there is a zip line that takes you to the other side.

The last activity at the new Trampo location is one I think a lot of teenagers are going to love, a skate park. The skate park is divided into three main areas with the first one aimed towards intermediate skaters. This area is composed of a large shallow pool on one side and low rails and ledges on the other with small quarter pipes.

The second area behind the intermediate one is the main skating area and consists of two large quarter pipes connected to each other with volcanos in the middle. This area is a lot more difficult but to help make things a bit easier, there is a third area where you could go to and practice your tricks.

The training area consists of a slope down to a quarter pipe which has a foam pit behind it. This way skaters and riders can practice their tricks without having to worry about getting hurt. And yes, BMX riders can use these facilities alongside skaters and if you don’t have a skateboard or bike, they have them available for you to use.

I got the price list from Tampo and it’s as follows:

Jump: KD6.5/hour
Climb: KD6/hour
Skate’n’Ride Junior: KD7/hour
Skate’n’Ride Pro: KD5.5/hour
Leap: KD1
Slide: KD1
Zipline: KD4

Trampo Extreme just opened this past weekend and their hours are Monday to Thursday 2PM to 10PM, Friday 10AM to 10PM, Saturday 10AM to 8PM and Sundays they are closed. The skate area doesn’t require any bookings but the climbing and trampoline areas do. To book your spot you can do so online from their website [Here]

I found out about Herafy through Tamara’s Teaspoons instragram account. If you don’t already know about Tamara, she’s a super talented artist who creates handmade polymer clay and resin charms that are mostly food related. You can check out her instagram account [Here] to see what I’m talking about or check out the photo below.

Anyway so Herafy is a small store in Al Rai that has everything you need to get into this hobby and what caught my interest is not only do they supply all the items, but they also hold clay classes in the store as well. It’s such a random hobby which is why I thought I thought it would be interesting to share on the blog. So if you’re looking for a new hobby, check out the Herafy instagram account @7erafy or visit their website where they have an online store selling all their products [Here]

Second photo via @ayacocoa.kw

After Room of Clues and Trapped Inn comes Mind Maze, a new local company providing live and interactive adventure games. If you don’t know how these games works you are basically locked in a room and have 6o minutes to figure a way out with your friends by looking for clues and solving puzzles. Mind Maze currently have two adventure rooms, the Alchemist’s Chamber and ENIGMA. Based on their photo gallery the two rooms look pretty well set up with ENIGMA (pictured above) probably being my favorite of the two. If you’re interested to check them out here is a link to their [Website]

If you’re interested in visiting the Botanical Garden at Bayan Palace I have some good news (and a bit of bad news as well). The Bayan Botanical Garden is open to the general public every Thursday. You don’t need special permission or anything of the sort. All you need to do is give security your civil ID and they will let you access the garden.

The Bayan Botanical Garden contains three different zones with different kind of plants in each. It’s not that big but it’s still pretty cool and most of the plants are labeled with their names. There isn’t a guide book that contains details on the plants so if you’re really curious to know more about each plant be prepared to wikipedia from your phone.

Now for the bit of bad news. The Bayan Botanical Garden is open every Thursday… from 9AM to 1PM. That pretty much sucks for everyone who has a job. It also explains why the only other visitors at the garden while I was there were housewives with their kids. Still, it’s better than having no access at all. If you’d like to visit the garden, here is the location of the entrance on [Google Maps]

Thanks Maaz!

The most interesting event taking place this weekend I think is the Top.of Market or Foug Market I’m still not sure what its called. Its a market taking place on Saturday at the top of the Arraya parking lot where Qout Market used to take place. Why I find this market interesting (or confusing) is the fact there are a bunch of different activities and workshops taking place at the same time. Weirdly, the market starts at 5AM which is kinda absurd unless you’re coming back from a late night party. The other activity I personally find interesting is the Madeenah Tour which is also taking place on Saturday. But it’s already sold out so if you didn’t book you’re out of luck. Check out the full list of events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Behind the Crisis
Palestinian Cultural Exhibition
Rooftop Movie: Timbuktu

Friday
Aswat 3
Kuwait Motocross Race
The Big Bazaar
Chill-Out Fridays

Saturday
Aswat 3
Yoga at the Park
top.of Market
Run Q8 Charity Run
Al-Ghanim Bilingual School Winter Festival
Madeenah Tour: A Kuwaiti Haven
Protein Sheikhas: Bootcamp
Rooftop Movie: Water

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

If you’ve never been to a camel race before it’s worth checking out and now would be the time to go since the weather is great. I went to one a couple of years back and had a blast so figured I’d write about it again now since the AWARE Center is organizing a trip to a race next month. If you’re interested in joining them, click [Here] for more information.

You can of course go without them, just check out my old post for details [Here]

For the past year on my way to The Avenues I’ve been passing this large rust colored warehouse located on the main road. I didn’t know what the building housed, I knew it had something to do with sports because of the large neons covering the building but I couldn’t tell what was inside since the building looked like it was still under construction. Then last week I found out the place was an indoor football arena and that they had actually been open for a few months now but still look like they’re under construction because of the empty shops facing the main road. So I passed by to check it out.

The large building houses three indoor football fields and has air conditioning which means no matter how hot or cold it is outside, you could play football anytime of the year. MAS also have showers and locker rooms in case you want to change before heading out which is something I haven’t seen at other football fields. Price wise they’re much more expensive than the outdoor fields, an hour of indoor football is going to cost you KD45. If you’re interested you can book a field by calling 66148079 or 22230096. They’re open from 9AM to 10PM and here is their location on [Google Maps

Update: The official opening is next month

Yesterday I got an email from the owner of a business called Live Sketchbook inviting me to check out her place in Avenues. She described it as a 4D interactive park for kids and although kids stuff never interest me, I was curious to what a 4D interactive park was so I asked her if she had some photos. She emailed me a few and as soon as I saw them I headed over to Avenues to check the place out in person.

Live Sketchbook is a small space located up escalators #20 in Grand Avenues (right next to Muji). It’s a space for kids to come and spend time playing around with one of five different activities they have including:

– A Live Mask station which is a screen you sit in front of and the computer will combine your face with one of an animal of your choice resulting in a creepy/realistic outcome.
– 3D sketching tablets
– A reading corner
– A live mirror in which when you stand in front of will have realistic looking animals walk next to you
– And finally the star of the place, the Live Sketchbook

The Live Sketchbook occupies the majority of the space in the shop and it’s composed of a bunch of touch screens laid out in front of a large wall that has animated illustrations projected onto it. Kids can get on one of the touch screens, open up a coloring book, choose an animal of their choice and then color it in digitally using the onscreen crayons. Once they’re done they can then cut out their animal and flick it up their screen. When they do that their illustrated animal will fly off their screen and onto the animated wall in front of them where their illustration will join the other illustrations on the wall. If that alone wasn’t cool enough the kids can then go up to the wall and interact with their sketch by having it bounce around every time they touch it. I tried it out with a lion I colored in and found it fun so I’m sure kids are going to find it very cool as well.

According to the owner she brought the Live Sketchbook concept from Korea and has the exclusive rights for the brand in the region. I found a video of the Live Sketchbook online which you could check out above to give you a better idea of how it works. They’re going to be soft launching next week and it will cost KD10 for the full day and kids can leave and come back as many times as they want during the day. If you’re interested to find out more, here is a link to their Instagram account [Link]

Escape games are adventurous group games where each group is locked in a themed room and have 60 minutes to solve the mystery. Back in June I posted about one called Room of Clues thats located in Kuwait City but there is a new one opening up in Symphony Mall in Salmiya and it’s supposed to be the largest facility in the region. They started taking bookings yesterday and the prices range depending on how many people you are but generally they’re around KD10 per person and up. The most interesting aspect is that I counted six different type of games available to play which means if you take part in one escape and like it, you could come back and play one of the other games.

[YouTube]

Trapped Inn opens on September 2nd and if you’re interested in finding out more or booking a game you visit their website [Here]

I just spent the good part of the morning thinking about if I should actually post about this place or not. You see, I have a few well kept secret goodies that I haven’t shared on the blog like this small little Korean place I go to in Mahboula or where I go play tennis (they even have indoors) for just KD5 an hour. Sometimes I don’t post about things because I don’t want them to change, like I don’t want to not be able to play tennis whenever I want to because now they’re suddenly always booked. But, I don’t have that many secret places because most of the time I put the blog ahead of my personal interests. And this is the case with this new yoga studio I passed by yesterday called Alive Yoga.

I’m not a yoga buff but I do go do yoga every now and then, mostly for stretching purposes and to keep me somewhat flexible because I weight lift. My go to yoga place is The Palms since you don’t have to be a member and it costs just KD5 for a class. But yesterday I tried Alive Yoga and I think it’s my new favorite place, not just as favorite yoga place but like in general, my favorite new place in Kuwait. It’s located in a two story villa in Bneid Al Gar and the place is just really well done. The ground floor has a very cozy waiting area and small boutique filled with yoga gear while the top floor has two large yoga studios one of which brings in a lot of beautiful day light.

They have a bunch of yoga instructors and a lot of different classes available through out the day. Some of the classes are mixed while some are for women only. If all this already isn’t enough to sell you on them, Alive Yoga also have a very practical and functional iPhone app which you use to check out what classes are available and for signing up to them. Price wise they’re more expensive than what I usually pay at Palms. A single class is KD12 but if you buy 5 classes it’s KD50. They also have unlimited plans which start at KD95 a month. That means if you do yoga three times a week it’s like you’re paying KD7.9 a class or if you do 6 classes a week it’s basically KD3.9 a class. Right now though they have a new members offer where they are offering 2 weeks unlimited classes for just KD24. Thats what I signed up to and I’m going to make sure I take advantage of it by trying as many different instructors and classes as I can in this period. If you’re interested to find out more about Alive Yoga then make sure you check out their instagram page [Here]. Also, here is their location on [Google Maps]

Update: Here is the link to their website [Link]

A new ice skating rink opened up inside the Promenade mall in Hawalli and I think it’s the only other ice skating rink in Kuwait not including the main one in Kuwait City. I passed by yesterday to check it out and it turned out to be bigger than I expected it to be but A LOT smaller than the Kuwait City one. One hour of ice skating costs KD6 and that includes the ice skates and a helmet. It’s not just for kids, it’s for ages 7 and up so adults can skate there as well. The same floor has the trampoline park (which I think is just for kids) and yesterday when I passed by during the day it was super packed. Kids must be loving it. Anyway if you’re interested in ice skating I’d personally recommend the ice skating rink in Kuwait City but if you want to check this out you can call them on 22277138. Here is the location of the mall on [Google Maps]