Category: Information

Thoubha is a local domestic abuse app created by the team behind @abolish153. The app is disguised to look like a fashion news streaming app that has a hidden menu button that takes you to resources covering domestic violence in Kuwait.

The domestic violence section in the Thoubha app contains documents covering the ABC’s of domestic violence in Kuwait, information on creating a safety plan, and other self-assessment documents. The application also has a live chat which is handled by volunteers that have been trained by heads of shelters and helpline centers to handle and deal with abuse survivors. Finally, the application also connects survivors with needed services such as life coaches, lawyers and medical professionals.

If you’re a victim of domestic abuse or know of someone who is, please download or have them download Thoubha. The download link is in the @abolish153 bio or click here.

Deliveroo have updated their Deliveroo Plus subscription, instead of subscribing for 3.5KD a month and getting unlimited free deliveries for orders of 5KD and more, it’s now free deliveries for orders of 3KD or more.

That’s a way better deal now and they probably changed it because of the new competition in the market from the likes of Cari and Jahez, another new delivery app that is launching next week.

This looks like it could be a fun experience. Chevrolet Alghanim are hosting a World Cup viewing experience tonight in the desert. They’re going to broadcast the Germany vs Spain game and there will also be different activities and a food zone.

If you’re interested, it’s going to take place from 6:30 PM to 12 AM at @palama.kw. To register, head to @chevroletalghanim and click on the profile link.

The first ever Disney Store in Kuwait and the Middle East is opening at The Avenues this weekend. They’re having a meet and greet with some Disney friends at the store. They just posted the schedule up on their Instagram and the meet and greet is taking place on November 18th, 19th and 20th.

If you want to take your kids to meet some Disney characters, the store is located in the Grand Avenues adjacent to Gia and you can check out their Instagram account for the full schedule @disneystorealshaya

The Touristic Enterprises Company is nearly done constructing a container park on Salmiya’s Blajat beach which they’re calling “KWT FAN BOX”. The container park is being built to broadcast the World Cup 2022 matches which are going to start on November 20th and continue into December.

The container park will have various entertainment and sports activities, cafes, and restaurants as well as five screens broadcasting the games. Four of the screens will be distributed around the container park with a fifth main and gigantic 11x6m screen located in the center. There will be 1,500 parking spots available which hopefully should be enough or else there will be even more major congestion on that already heavily congested street.

Some of the restaurants and shops that will be opening at the park include:

300f
A Store
Al Rifai
Ebn 3amy
Face/Off
Froyo
Haagen-Dazs
Illy Cafe
Joy Cafe
Kalemat
Lulu’s Tea House
Meme’s Curry
Ole
Ratio Cafe
Rib Eye Steak House
Sakura
Saray
Shake Shack
Starbucks
Tuta Sushi
Yoosee’s Chicken

KWT FAN BOX is expected to open on November 20th but I passed by yesterday and it looked like there was still a lot of work to be done so I’m very curious to see if they’ll manage to finish on time. Once it does finish the park will be open daily from 10AM until midnight.

Ticket prices are as follows:

Entrance ticket per person: 2.5 KD
Entry is free for children under the age of five
Entry is free for the domestic workers accompanying a family
For groups of 4 people or more, the entrance ticket is 2 KD per person

Here is the location of the park on Google Maps. To stay posted on the project, check out their Instagram account @kwt.fan.box

Update: KWT FAN BOX is now open.

Over the weekend I visited Riyadh to check out the Noor Festival. Noor means light in Arabic and I think they have around 44 different installations located all around Riyadh for this festival. Some of the installations are really epic and I mainly went to check out two, the one above by SpY Studio, and the one below by Arne Quinze.

All the installations are free to check out although for some it seemed like they required to get free tickets so I did, but then nobody was checking for tickets.

I only wanted to spend one night in Riyadh so I was rushing from one place to another to check out the installations. It was Friday which meant there wasn’t much traffic which was great. The Arne Quinze installation was located around an hour outside Riyadh in the middle of nowhere so that took the longest to get to. It was actually located on the same road into Riyadh coming from Kuwait (I only realized the second day on my way back to Kuwait) so if you leave Kuwait around 11AM you could get there just in time for sunset, check it out, and then continue into the city.

I got to Riyad around 1PM had lunch, checked into my hotel, had coffee, and then drove back out of Riyadh for an hour to get to the installation and another hour coming back. I also spent an hour at the location because there was a second installation (photo above) right next to it, So the Arne Quinze installation took the most amount of time to check out but it was definitely worth it.

Finding the different installations was easy since Noor Riyadh has an app showing all the different installations on a map. All the locations open up on Google Maps so find them was simple. I say you’d need 2 nights in Riyadh to visit most of the ones you’re interested in, especially if you want to do other things in Riyadh. I wanted to also visit Riyadh Boulevard City (tickets from here) and have dinner there at Public (it was great), but that meant by around 10 PM I decided to stop checking out the installations and head there, without Boulevard City I would probably have been able to check out maybe 2 to 4 more installations I was interested in.

Traveling to Riyadh is easy as I’ve posted before and if you live in Kuwait then it’s really easy to get an evisa. There wasn’t any traffic at the borders leaving Friday morning but there was traffic coming in on Saturday afternoon and I ended up spending 30 minutes at the Saudi side of the border.

For more information on Noor Riyadh and to download the app, visit their Instagram @noorriyadhfestival and their website riyadhart.sa/en/noor-riyadh

The last day of the festival is Saturday, November 19th.

Over the weekend Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group announced that they will manage a luxury hotel in Kuwait projected to open in 2028 (source). Mandarin Oriental, Kuwait will be located in a new iconic 80-story tower designed by the award-winning architects, Foster & Partners, the same architects behind the NBK headquarters building across the street from Hamra Tower. The hotel will feature 159 guestrooms, including 33 suites, and 10 serviced apartments, with views of downtown Kuwait City.

One rendering of the new tower was released and you can see how huge it looks in the skyline shot. The exact location wasn’t revealed but my guess is that it will occupy the property highlighted above since there’s been a rumor for years now that a gigantic project was going to occupy that area. In case you don’t recognize that area, it’s on the same street as Little Ruby’s, across the street from Crystal Tower where Burger & Lobster is located (Google Maps). The building that currently houses Burger & Lobster will supposedly be demolished as well to make room for this.

If you aren’t already aware, there will be a partial solar eclipse taking place today.

Starts: 1:20 PM
Maximum Eclipse: 2:35 PM
Ends: 3:44 PM
Total Duration: 2 hours, 24 minutes

Do not try to view the eclipse with just sunglasses. The easiest and cheapest way to view the eclipse safely would probably be to pick up a welding shield (shade 12 or higher according to the internet). Ace sell small ones like the one above, but the specs say it’s shade #5 so won’t work. You can probably find the correct shade in Shuwaikh.

Update: Scientific Center will be providing free glasses for the viewing! Link

Update2: Ikarus are selling certified eclipse glasses for 1KD as well. Link

Looks like Gulf Bank has activated Apple Pay for their customers because they just announced it on their website:

Gulf Bank is excited to announce the Apple Pay Digital Wallet for Gulf Bank cardholders. The Apple Pay service enables you to pay using your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac. The Apple Pay payment method is available in most stores that accept contactless/ tap & pay transactions in Kuwait and abroad, making your purchases more convenient and secure. Link

NBK, hope you’re next!

Update: Gulf Bank have taken down the announcement page but CBK and NBK have both uploaded their pages. Here is the NBK page and here it the CBK one. I just tried adding my NBK card and it didn’t work so looks like they’re preparing for launch but haven’t actually launched it yet.

Thanks Bo Talal!

Cari, the new food delivery app I posted about earlier in the month is set to soft launch on October 26th if everything goes according to plan. This will basically be a beta launch that would be open to exclusive users and a way for their restaurant partners to get familiar with their system.

The public launch for Cari on the other hand will be on November 1st, so in around a week’s time.

As I previously mentioned, one of the things Cari will be offering to its users that will set them apart from its competition is delivery in 30 minutes or less. If you’re interested in getting early-access to the app, they have a sign up form on their website getcari.com.

Winter Wonderland is now confirmed to be opening this December where Shaab Park (location) used to be. The park will feature more than 30 rides, skill games and attractions, live performances, and booths serving various delicious food and drinks (source).

Yesterday I decided to fly my drone over the site to see what they were up to. There were around a dozen heavy trucks working on the site and parts of it had already been paved so progress is pretty quick.

I love and hate the location they’ve picked to set up Winter Wonderland. On the bright side, it’s where Shaab Park used to be, and having Winter Wonderland there even if temporary is better than having demolished Shaab Park and not done anything with the land.

But, on the other hand, it’s a very congested area and there aren’t enough parking spots at the moment. During the holidays, Shaab Park didn’t have enough parking spots for cars so they would end up parking on the side of the Gulf Road and double park all around the neighborhood. And that was for Shaab Park, so imagine the kind of traffic Winter Wonderland is going to drive into the area.

I’m not sure why they didn’t decide to open it where Entertainment City was since there is plenty of land there for parking, it isn’t in a congested neighborhood, and it’s right off the main highway.

In any case, the Winter Wonderland website and Instagram account are now both live and they’ve already started posting information including a FAQ. Tickets aren’t on sale yet but will be soon but for now check our their Instagram @winterland_kw and visit their website winterland.kw to stay posted.

I recently noticed that for most of the items I’ve been ordering from Amazon I’ve been shipping them directly to Kuwait whenever possible instead of shipping to my US forwarding mailbox. I wasn’t sure if it was cheaper or more expensive but then I realized I could actually do a comparison with an item I recently sent to my Shop&Ship mailbox.

I ordered a USB adapter (so its very light) and shipped it to my Shop&Ship mailbox. I paid KD3.96 for shipping because I have a Flex account. Based on the price breakdown, I was able to calculate how much regular Shop&Ship would have cost and with the Amazon shipping price, I just added the item to my cart now and put my Kuwait address to get that cost. Here is what I found:

Shipping Costs
Sho&Ship: KD6.82
Shop&Ship Flex: KD3.96
Amazon: KD4.71

So in my case, I saved a tiny bit of money shipping it to Shop&Ship first, but only because I have Flex. I tried to find another price comparison example, but since the last time I had an item from Amazon shipped to my US forwarding mailbox was back in March, I no longer have the ability to view how much I paid for shipping.

But basically, with the new Shop&Ship price increases, it’s no longer that feasible to ship through them when you have the option to ship directly to Kuwait.

There is a new rule that will come into effect Saturday (October 1) where food delivery companies like Talabat, Carriage, and Deliveroo will no longer be allowed to use third-party drivers. Delivery companies will only be allowed to use drivers registered under their company to deliver food and in cars with clear branding and information (no more plain white generic cars).

Since the majority of the drivers (and riders) are contracted from third parties due to visa restrictions and limitations, this is gonna cause a major disruption in the food delivery service.

So starting this Saturday, expect slower delivery times, many restaurants showing up as busy, or restaurants showing as not available.

Last year I posted about Maher Barakat, the first and only Kuwaiti to ever be drafted it to the NFL as well as being the first football player from his college to go pro. Maher broke college and division records and became really well known in his town back in the 1960s earning him the nickname Bear-Cat.

Last night, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology decided to honor Maher with an induction into their hall of fame. The ceremony was streamed live and Maher’s grandson accepted the induction on his behalf with a heartwarming speech. As of this post, the induction ceremony is available to watch online at the following link (Maher gets inducted at the 51min mark)

If you missed the post on how Maher made it to the NFL, click here.

Last week Saudi Arabia announced that any GCC resident can now apply for an tourism eVisa as long as you meet some basic requirements. I got in touch with their eVisa team for more information and here is everything you need to know.

To apply for an E-Visa you need to do it through the following website: ⁦‪visa.mofa.gov.sa/Account/Loginindividuals

Once you visit that link click on the letter “E” on the top left to go to the English page. Then on the right column under “Login Of Individual Visitors To Saudi Arabia” click on Register to create an account.

After creating an account log in and then click on “Add A New Application” on the right side. Click Agree a couple of time and you’ll eventually reach the Visa application form. Make sure for “Visa Type” you select Tourism and then under “Saudi Mission in” you select “Kuwait”.

Other than that it should be fairly simple. There are some requirements which are:

• Your residency visa has to be valid of at least 3 months
• Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months
• Resident’s occupation should be among the eligible occupations listed on the portal (more on that below)
• For those under the age of 18, one of the parents must apply first and must be present with them
• First-degree relatives (Parents, husband, wife, and children) can get the visa online, as long as they are coming together with the one holding the residency

‎Regarding the resident’s occupation, it’s too long a list to share but everything I thought of seems to be listed including salesman, waiter or call center operator. So it’s not just managerial positions. The only occupation I couldn’t find was “Driver” but even that might possibly be listed under a different name.

Here are some visa details they also shared with me:

• Cost is 300SAR along with health insurance fees
• Multiple or single entry, this is not an option for the applicant, authorities (MOFA) will decide on a case by case basis
• Validity of 1 year for the multiple entries, and 3 months for the single entry
• Length of stay is 90 days for the multiple entry, and 30 days for the single entry
• The new regulation took effect from the 1st of September 2022
• You will receive the visa within 48 hours at the registered email
• You can use the tourist visa to perform Umrah, but not during the Hajj season

This visa is also valid for land, port or air entry.

Finally, they also shared the below requirements for entering Saudi as a tourist:

• The tourist visa includes medical insurance covering infection with the Coronavirus
• If you are going to drive, you must hold a valid international driving license or a license issued from a GCC country, and the car must have insurance. Insurance can be done at the border on the Saudi side. For more information on traveling by car check out my previous guide here.

And that’s pretty much it. If you have any questions let me know in the comments and I’ll try to answer it.