Category: Information

Qout Market, the market that started the whole markets trend in Kuwait is back again this year with a lineup of four exciting markets for the season:

December 9th, 2023
January 6th, 2024
February 3rd, 2024
March 2nd, 2024

The first market is this coming Saturday and will be held at the JACC gardens. Qout took place at the JACC gardens last year but this year they’ve been given double the space taking up the entire gardens from front to back with more gates open to pedestrian traffic. There is also space for lots of cool special installations, a large children’s activities area and more seating compared to last year.

To celebrate Qout Market’s 10th year, they’ve also created a limited number of collectable merchandise that they’ll be selling at the front desk. Different things will be for sale at each market so pass by the front desk to check the collection out if you’re interested.

If you want to find parking at JACC, make sure you get there early in the morning. If you’re planning on heading there in the afternoon, then I’d recommend parking in Souk Al Watiya behind the St. Regis Hotel, and then walking over to JACC.

Out of respect for Palestine, there will be no live music. Full schedule, map, and general information is available  on their website qoutmarket.com

Arabella has gone through a major overhaul, half the place closed down and got rebuilt as a 5-star hotel while the remaining parts got a full refurbishing. The hotel called the Arabella Beach Hotel is now set to open next month and I got a tour of it back in October while it was still getting finishing touches.

I don’t think there is another hotel like it in Kuwait, there are definitely much nicer hotels in Kuwait, but I can’t think of another hotel where your hotel room is right on the sea.

The hotel has a few suites located at the far end of the hotel with just the sand followed by the sea as you can see from the picture above which I took from one of the balconies.

The hotel is pretty small due to the location so they’ve tried to make the best of it. There are two pools, one on the ground floor right next to the beach, this isn’t for the hotel but for the gym which is going to be run and managed by a third party. The main hotel’s pool is actually on the roof and is a much nicer place to be since it overlooks the area. But, they missed a great opportunity for an infinity pool that overlooks the sea sadly.

The hotel’s main restaurant ZO Eatery is also not located in the main hotel building, but instead it’s located across the Arabella courtyard where Ora used to be located.

I was also given a tour of all the rooms. The suites were definitely nice, not that big, but plenty of space and interesting layouts with the one pictured above being my favorite. The regular rooms on the other hand weren’t as interesting, so if I was going to stay there, the suites is where I’d want to be.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the hotel is going to do, I’d imagine it might become a popular staycation location since you have a nice pool on the roof and Five Guys right at the entrance of Arabella, so everything you need.

If you want to read more on the hotel and see more photos, here is the link to their website.

Popeyes, the popular fried chicken chain is coming back to Kuwait. Tanmiah, the Saudi food company that owns and operates Popeyes in Saudi Arabia announced in a press release that they will be expanding into two new markets, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Popeyes used to be open in Kuwait until they closed down back in 2014. Interestingly, we’re now seeing a trend of brands making a comeback in Kuwait with Nando’s, Magnolia Bakery, Little Caesars, and now Popeyes all reopening again. Hopefully A&W and Arby’s are next!

A few days ago I visited Winter Wonderland and one decision I was glad I made was getting the ASCC x Winter Wonderland combo ticket. The ticket costs 3KD more than the usual entry ticket but allows you to park in the cultural center underground parking next door, and enter through the new gate connecting both projects together. You of course can use the same ticket to also visit the museums which is what I did since I was with a friend who hadn’t been before.

The biggest advantage of this combo ticket is you get to avoid the traffic jam on the main Wonderland entrance, as well as the queue to scan your barcode when getting in. The ASCC parking was empty with no traffic to get in or out and then the entrance to Wonderland from the cultural center was also empty. I went in and out twice and both times it was just me and my friend going through.

The park in general doesn’t seem as crowded as last year, but if you’re hesitant in visiting because of the traffic, just get the combo ticket and avoid the headache. Here is the link to their website.

Give is a local non-profit organization that aims to improve the process of donating to charities. Their online platform connects people with registered Kuwaiti charities in order to make it easier to discover what projects are available and to donate to them all from one place.

In light of the atrocities taking place in Palestine right now, Give has over a dozen Palestine missions listed aimed squarely at urgent relief efforts.

The process of donating is really simple and fast, the easiest I’ve personally ever encountered. You don’t have to create an account or input any personal information, all you have to do is select the relief mission you want to donate to, select the amount and then pay using one of the many different options available. If you have Apple Pay set up, the whole process from selecting a relief project to donating will take you less than a minute.

To donate right now to the relief efforts, just click here.

The second season of Winter Wonderland is opening its doors on October 15th, and tickets just went on sale a few moments ago.

Last year tickets were really difficult to come by so this season they increased the number of tickets available for sale everyday up to 15,000. That should hopefully solve the sparsity faced last year.

This season there are also two kinds of tickets available to purchase. The regular ticket is 5KD but there is a new second ticket option that is in partnership with Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre located next door. The new ticket costs 8KD and gives you access to both Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre and Winter Wonderland. With this ticket you also get the benefit of being able to park in the cultural centre’s underground parking.

Tickets are available now but as of this post the app and website were crashing. I’m guessing that’s due to the number of people trying to get tickets. Link

Two common complaints people tend to have are that there isn’t anything to do in Kuwait or they’re frustrated they found out about an event after it was already over. It’s mostly why my “Things to do this Weekend” list gained so much popularity. Then you also have complaints from people who are trying to organize workshops or events and find it difficult and frustrating to do so. This is where PIQR comes in.

PIQR is a newly launched social media app that allows people to find and attend various events like concerts, workshops, seminars, and more. From the other end of things, it also allows people and brands to organize and host their own events.

Hosting your own public or private event through the app is very simple to set up. If you’re a business planning an opening for a new store, you can easily create and promote the event using the app and extend the invitation to the public. Alternatively, if you’re organizing a birthday celebration for just you and your friends, you can set up a private event within the app and invite only the people you know.

As an event host, you’ll discover a variety of useful features such as the capability to effortlessly check people in and out of your events, as well as the option to send invitations to your followers. As a user, you’ll appreciate the ability to share tickets and invitations with friends, and you’ll love the convenience of having your unique QR code serve as your entry pass to all the events you’ve booked for.

The app just launched so it’s slowly starting to fill up with events but the more people use it the more useful it will become. If you want to download the free app, head over to @getpiqr for the link.

The Blajat project has been open for a couple of days only and they’ve already gone and reduced their prices. There was a lot of backlash on social media over their pricing structure so my guess is that might have played a roll in this. Whatever the reason is, here are the old and new prices for comparison:

Sunbeds
Old Price: 8KD
New Price: 5KD

Beach Cabanas
Old Price: 45KD (up to 4 people)
New Price: 25KD

White Floating Cabanas
Old Price: 45KD (up to 6 people)
New Price: 25KD

White Floating Pool
Old Price: 10KD
New Price: 6KD

Kuwait TAG Obstacle Course
Old Price: 7.5KD
New Price: 6KD

Kids Water Park
Old Price: 5KD
New Price: 5KD (didn’t change)

They also added two more activities:

Beach Volleyball – 5KD an hour
Bossaball – 24KD an hour (up to 10 people)

I passed by earlier this morning just as they were opening to check the project out and it’s pretty nice. There was chill background music playing, the sand looked super clean (no idea about the water), there’s now a proper walkway and the whole project looked well put together.

But there were two things I didn’t like. The first is that you’re not allowed to walk your dogs on the walkway and the second is no bicycles. The first I kinda can understand but the no bicycle thing is a bit weird since there was plenty of space to build a bike path.

If you haven’t passed by to check it out, you should, even if you aren’t planning to swim. @blajatkw

TEC have been really active with new projects lately and they just announced on Instagram that tomorrow they’ll be opening their Blajat project to the public.

The Blajat project is located in Salmiya and runs the distance from the Bida’a roundabout all the way down to Showbiz. It’s being launched in phases and the first phase has now just been completed.

The Blajat project includes a revamp and refurbishment of that whole strip of coastline with new facilities and ameneties added that include:

– A free public beach
– Rentable sunbeds
– Private cabanas on the beach
– Private cabanas out in the water
– An inflatable water park
– Restaurants and cafes
– A brand new walkway

The regular sandy beach is free to use and there is no entry fee. For the activities and facilities you’ll have to buy tickets through their website or soon to launch TEC app. You’ll also be able to purchase tickets at their ticket booth on location.

Since it’s a public beach it will be mixed-gender and open to everyone.

As for the restaurants and cafes, there will be a bunch of cool brands including Bakehaus, McDonalds, KDD, Subway, Roto and Dhahia Juice.

I’ll post more photos and more accurate information as I get access to them, but for now you can follow the Blajat instagram account @blajatkw and keep reloading their website blajat.kw till it goes live.

Update: So I got the prices and they are the following:

Sunbeds – 8KD per person
Beach Cabanas – 45KD (up to 4 people)
White Floating Cabanas – 45KD (up to 6 people)
White Floating Pool – 10KD per person
Kuwait TAG Obstacle Course – 7.5KD per person
Kids Water Park – 5KD per person

Update2: The website is now live and contains all the details! blajat.kw

The second season of Winter Wonderland is going to start soon and there will be a bunch of changes this year. Last year, the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC) was taken by surprise at the park’s unexpected popularity, but they are well-prepared for it this season.

Everything is bigger and better about the park for this season. Firstly, the physical footprint of the park increased by 40% which in return allowed the number of games to increase from 22 to 35 while also increasing the number of cafes and restaurants available.

The park will also be open for 7 months this year while longer operating hours that start earlier in the day.

The biggest challenge last year was the limited ticket availability. However, this year they’re making 15,000 tickets available for sale every day which should resolve the issue. The ticket price will also remain unchanged at 5KD but this year they will be sold through their soon to be released app.

They’re aiming to open the park by the end of September but depending on the weather it could be delayed to early October. The official Winter Wonderland account is @wwlkuwait, but for unofficial progress updates check out @mohamedalwazzan. Mohammad lives across from the park and is constantly posting video updates on the construction with short entertaining videos.

Yesterday the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a decision where all restaurants and cafes in Kuwait will now be obliged to have tap water as an offering. Now that this was announced I realized how odd it was that this wasn’t a thing considering the tap water in Kuwait is actually really clean and safe to drink straight out of the tap.

Years ago I was invited to the Water Resources Development Center located in Shuwaikh where they explained to me how the water sent to homes is clean and safe to drink. The Water Resources Development Center also has two laboratories, a chemistry lab and a bacteriology lab and every single day water samples are collected from various institutions around Kuwait (schools, hospitals, mosques etc..) and delivered to their laboratories for testing. If the water is contaminated, the source of that water is closed down right away and only reopened once the problem has been fixed.

The government is responsible in providing you clean and safe water up until the building meter, after that point it becomes the building owners responsibility. If the water you’re getting at home isn’t clean, thats most likely because of a problem with your building pipes, boilers, or storage tanks. In that case, you’re recommended to use a filter which is what most restaurants will also be using.

But the answer is yes, Kuwait’s tap water is safe to drink but only if your building or home is maintained correctly, if not, you’ll have to use a filter.

A new Korean supermarket opened up last week next to my place in Salmiya call Haeng Bok. It’s a pretty tiny place and it opened in the same place where the clothing store Rima used to be located for nearly 50 years.

Because of the size of the supermarket they only sell Asian products, so you’re not going to find Pepsi for example or any item you can find at your local Coop. That makes it easier to shop but I’m not sure if they have anything you haven’t already seen in Singarea. Because the store is smaller, it just feels more curated than Singarea.

For me this place is convenient because it’s a 2 minute walk from my place so I can drop in pick up noodles or chips easily. Not sure I’d recommend you drive all the way to old Salmiya and spend an hour looking for parking just to shop there, I think it opened just to cater to the neighborhood. If you want to pass by, here is the location on Google Maps. At the moment they’re open from 4PM to 12AM.

I wasn’t planning to sign up for a new phone line, I was playing around with the Red Bull Mobile app checking out their prices for my post when I decided to just get a new number. Mainly because I wanted to separate my blog number from my personal one, but also because it would give me the opportunity to experience the process for my post.

Red Bull Mobile is Zain and it’s not a secret since it’s plastered in all their communication. It’s also why their prices are pretty similar with Red Bull having a slight edge. Below are the cheapest and most expensive Red Bull Mobile ready plans:

Cheapest:
– 100GB (4G)
– 100 Local Minutes
Price is 6KD a month or 4.2KD a month if you sign up for 6 months

Most Expensive:
– Unlimited GB (5G)
– Unlimited Minutes
– Free Gold Number
Price is 18KD a month or 12.6KD a month if you sign up for 6 months

I went with the unlimited package just so I could pick a gold number that had the digits 248 in it. I don’t really need an unlimited package since I have one with my personal Zain line, so I will be downgrading to the cheapest plan I can get next month.

The process of getting a number was super easy and quick. You just pick a plan in the app and then when you’re ready to check out, the app uses your Mobile ID to authenticate and connect the new number to your Civil ID. You then just pay and choose if you want to install the number as an eSIM, or if you want to have a physical SIM card delivered to you. I chose eSim and a few moments later I got an email with the QR code so I could install the number.

So what are some benefits? If you renew your plan on-time you get double the benefits in the second month, and triple in the third. Your remaining GBs and minutes also rollover to the following month. You get access to special zones at local Red Bull events and access to Red Bull TV. Finally, you also get access to some interesting Red Bull rewards. For example, there is a draw coming up for a trip to Qatar to watch the Formula1 race. So F1 fans like me and sports fans in general will most likely benefit from these rewards.

And that’s pretty much it. If you have any questions about the sign up process or want me to test anything out, let me know in the comments. Here is a link to their website.

If you’ve ever been to the Kuwait Towers you probably noticed the dirty windows and wondered why they weren’t being cleaned. Well turns out they were being cleaned but the glass itself had discolored and oxidized over the years making them look dirtier than they actually were.

The Kuwait Towers are located right by the sea so they’re exposed to the salty sea air that has corrosive effects on a variety of the materials used in the towers including concrete, metal and glass. Back in June I posted about how the blue discs covering the towers were getting restored, well last week I found out that the glass is now also getting restored.

A company called RITEC was contracted for the restoration which involves a 5 stage process. The first stages relate to the actual restoration of the glass where various chemicals and abrasives are used to remove the oxidation from the glass. Once the oxidation is removed, the glass is polished and revived to its original state making it look brand new. The final stages involve protecting the glass with a nonstick clear shield that not only will prevent the salt from adhering to the glass again, but also dust. In fact, the windows will require 70% less cleaning and will no longer need any soap or chemicals to get cleaned, just water.

This restoration process is currently ongoing as of this post and they’ve already nearly completed restoring the glass at the observation deck and are in process of restoring the glass around the restaurants.

The next time you visit the towers you should see a night and day difference. You’ll finally be able to see out of the windows clearly as well as take nicer shots of the city skyline.

Yesterday I got a tour of The Warehouse mall and it was a pretty cool experience since it was very busy with the mall and businesses all getting ready for the opening tomorrow (August 16). The mall looks really great and very different to other malls which is what caught my attention the first time I visited back in May.

The Warehouse has an industrial look with lots of bricks and metal cladding everywhere. The roof is covered with a glass and steel structure that casts interesting shadows onto the floor during the day. It’s really well designed mall with a lot of creative touches, even the bathrooms are worth checking out.

Theres a large variety of stores in the mall with the main anchors being IKEA, ABYAT, LC Waikiki and LuLu Hypermarket. You also have some new restaurants opening there that aren’t available anywhere else in Kuwait yet like Jamie’s Italian and Nando’s. Regulars like Milk Bun, Shake Shack and Raising Cane’s are also opening there as well as one of my favorite coffee shops, Earth Roastery. There is also a Cinescape, Xcite, Starbucks, Zain, and a bunch of other “mall-must-haves”. There’s even an area called Auto Zone which houses a bunch of car dealerships.

If you want to pass by and check the mall out, starting tomorrow The Warehouse is going to open daily from 10AM till 10PM except on weekends where it stays open till 11PM. The mall is located in Ahmadi, right off highway 30 or 40. @thewarehousekuwait