Categories
Information Interesting Kuwait

On the Kuwait Airways Emergency Landing

A Jazeera Airways pilot left the following comment regarding my previous post on the Kuwait Airways crash landing:

Ok the replacement plane is one to fly passengers back its not a charity, you do have a return flight you have to make. They aren’t giving Kuwait a free plane. Secondly, that plane is repairable unless there is structural damage or the cost to repair is too high, and crash landings or gear being stuck is a common problem, has nothing to do with the age of the aircraft. There is a manual release on gear, this breaks open the gear doors locks and releases the hydraulic system which is why the gear doors are hanging down like that. Finally, the use of emergency slides is a crew discretion, in a situation like this they would probably fear hydraulic fluid catching on fire or any other substance around the plane, pilots can’t tell what is going on outside thus they want to clear the plane as quickly as possible, remember they can’t tell whats going on behind them. From my view, Good job on handling the situation.

And another point sure KU customer service is crap, but trust me the people in Dubai are an outstanding team, they try their best, I’ve personally seen them in action a few times. The hotel situation is not up to them, you can’t find 50 hotel rooms in a busy traveling season in seconds or hours, and also do you think Dubai has a lot of empty top notch hotels. Upper management is corrupt in KU not the people who are holding the fort in the stations abroad. And yes KU has lost its touches around 2001/2002. They now officially suck.




Categories
Information Internet Kuwait

e-GO

ego

MTC-Vodafone just launched e-GO today. Its a USB based internet device thats the size of a small phone and allows you to connect to high speed internet wherever you are. It works with Windows and Macs which is a good thing for me since I have a MacBook. Hopefully I will get my hands on it to try it out. [Link]




Categories
Automotive Information Kuwait News

New License Plates

new kuwait license plates

Starting Saturday, Kuwait will be issuing new license plates for the cars. I just saw an article in the Daily Star newspaper about it and I think the new plates look better then the current ones we have, but I don’t think they are better then Dubai’s. I just hope the new plates come in the really wide size also because this squarish one looks really weird on my Beemer.




Categories
Fashion Information Kuwait Shopping

Diesel has sale

Diesel display

Diesel has 50% off on nearly all their items. That means a 100KD jeans is now available for 50KD which I still find too expensive for jeans. I get my Hurley and Billabong jeans from SWELL.com for like 18KD and they are neither torn, wrinkled nor rusted thank you.




Categories
Information Internet Kuwait

Wataniya W-net 3G locations

In my W-net review I mentioned that W-net at full speed was only available in some locations. Over the weekend Wataniya sent me a list of the locations that have 3G. If you want to know if it works in your area or not download the file and see if your area is listed. [PDF]




Categories
Information Interesting

Sony Ericsson Prices

The Sony Ericsson dealer in Kuwait (Barrak) has a website online with all the Sony Ericsson models available and their prices. Its not a pretty website but it gets the job done. [Link]




Categories
Automotive Information Kuwait

Dent Xpress Redesign and Launch a Promotion

dent xpress

Dent Xpress have redesigned their website. It looks nicer and the gallery section works better. They also just launched a new promotion. For every KD20 spent at Dent Xpress you get a chance to enter a draw to win one 4GB iPod Nano every month. The promotion starts today and the first draw will be on Wednesday February 27th. Winner will be notified directly and also announced on 248AM and the Dent Xpress website. Here is a link to their website if you haven’t checked it yet. [Link]




Categories
Information Interesting Travel

United Airlines – Kuwait to Washington DC

united airlines logo

A reader called Steven emailed me his review on the newly added United Airlines direct route, Kuwait to Washington DC. Its kinda long but it might be interesting for people who are considering this route (or airlines even). Here is his take on the flight:

—————————-

Hi Mark, I am a frequent traveler from Kuwait and have gold status in the frequent flyer programs of Kuwait Airways, Emirates and British Airways. I decided to try United Airlines new direct flight from Kuwait to Washington DC (14 hours) this weekend and I have to say that the flights there and back on United Airlines were some of the worst I have flown.

The flight UA981 on January 20th from Kuwait was one and a half hours late to fly because of computer problems on the aircraft. They did serve welcoming drinks – water. Once the aircraft flew, the inflight entertainment system was partly bad and the airmap which I like to use to track progress was not working. The business class seats have a very uncomfortable headrest in which the lower part presses onto your shoulders and forces you to sit in an uncomfortable position. The food aboard was very poor and service staff was not very attentive. To make matters worse, the lavatory drainage in business class backed up causing their sinks and floors to fill with foul smelling brown goo. I am sure there was some serious health hazards there.




Categories
Food & Drinks Information Kuwait

Hardees and Thickburgers

hardees

I know a lot of people really hate the new Hardees “Thickburgers”. Mushroom & Swiss used to be my favorite until they ruined it by replacing the thin burger with the terrible tasting thickburger. Thats why I stopped ordering it at Hardee’s until recently when I found out I could still order the old “classic” mushroom & swiss.

When you place an order for the Mushroom & Swiss just tell the employee you want the old thin burger. They will still charge you the same as the thickburger except when they call it inside to the kitchen they yell out “one mushroom & swiss special”. Now you can enjoy the original Mushroom & Swiss again.




Categories
Funny Information

Word of the day: Rebooty

From UrbanDictionary.com:

rebooty
1. A booty call made with an ex.
2. A renewed relationship with an ex.

After they broke up, Joe still called Kate for some rebooty on weekends.




Categories
Automotive Information Interesting Kuwait

Gulf Run 2007

Gulf Run

Think Gumball but on a local level and you have Gulf Run 2007. From the first couple of pictures on the Official Gulf Run website I can see 2 Porsches, a Ferrari, 2 Nobles, 2 Lancers, a 350z, and a Corvette but in total there are 22 cars participating this year. The drivers will be heading from Kuwait to Bahrain where they’ve booked the Bahrain International Circuit for a full day. I didn’t get any invitation to participate this year (must have been lost in the mail) so for now I will just keep checking their site for picture updates. K.TheKuwaiti is participating in the race this year. [Link]




Categories
Information Television

Keep track of your TV shows

For people who download the latest shows off the web here is a link to help you keep track on whats playing and when. Its a calendar showing all the TV show air dates. [Link]

Thanks Athbi




Categories
Information News

Longest condolence letter in the world

jan 15

Last year on this day the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah passed away. Today on the Gulf Road opposite the House of Parliament there is an extremely long condolence letter stretching from a bit after Seef Palace all the way past the House of Parliament. I read on one of the banners that this is the longest condolence letter in the world.

crowd

There are a few tents setup and a lot of people are gathered there. Here is a larger picture of part of the condolence letter. [Picture]




Categories
Automotive Information Kuwait

Missing Speed Camera

The speed camera on the Gulf Road opposite Al-Shaab park is missing. Either it was removed which I doubt or a car probably crashed into it which what probably happened. Whatever the case, there is no camera there now.




Categories
Gossip & Rumors Information Interesting Kuwait

The Shark of Kuwait Rocks

shark of kuwait

Yesterday night I finally got to meet Shark of Kuwait and I have to say, he turned out to be wayyy cooler then I expected him to be. We decided to meet in Starbucks Marina Mall which as you might have guessed is one of Shark’s most seen places. I got there first and he came in a few minutes later, we shook hands, sat down and we started talking. We spoke for around an hour and half to be exact before I had to leave. Here are some things I found out:

His name is Ahmed, he is 43 years old and he works in customs under the anti drugs department. His schedule is pretty cool, he goes to work one day then has two days off, and the cycle repeats, 1 day work, 2 days off, 1 day work, 2 days off etc. When he does have work its from 9PM to 7AM which is also pretty convenient. He used to be in the Kuwait Special Forces back in the day, nowadays though he freelances as a VIP security escort. He has a couple of clients which require his services whenever they travel abroad.

How did he get the nickname Shark?
When he was a kid he saw the movie Jaws and fell in love with it. He kept watching it over and over and got really obsessed with the movie and he even started scribbling the word shark on his jeans. Thats when his friends started calling him Shark and the nickname has stuck with him ever since.

He is a health freak. He doesn’t smoke, drink nor has he ever done drugs. He is on a vegetarian diet five days a week eating mostly his homemade salad creations. On weekends he allows himself to indulge in meat but he never has junk food. He likes anything extreme like parachuting or car/motorbike racing.

His regular day looks something like this:
– Wakes up 12pm
– Goes to Starbucks and has coffee
– He has a small snack at 3PM
– Goes to the gym from 5 to 7:30
– Showers, cleans up and then goes back out to meet friends usually at various Starbucks around Kuwait but mostly either Marina Mall or Souk Sharq

His music style is a split between two different styles. He likes techno and specifically Scooter. I tried to tell him how much Scooter sucked but I wasn’t able to convince him. Now here is the cool part, he also likes Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osborne, and Guns N Roses. I asked him if he also liked Nirvana but he told me he didn’t… he found them “too noisy”.

I asked him about his look and if he likes sticking out. He told me that guys today mostly dress like fags with their spiky hair and wrinkled up jeans. He prefers the more masculine look and thats why he dresses the way he does. He actually designs some of his clothes himself like the jeans he was wearing during the interview and honestly they weren’t half bad. He told me it amuses him how sometimes people freak out when they turn and see him but he also doesn’t like the problems his looks sometimes cause him. When he travels he sometimes isn’t allowed to go into clubs. The bouncers look at him and think he is a trouble maker so they tell him he can’t come in. He told me that although he gives out this aggressive and tough look he is actually a regular joe on the inside.

shark of kuwait

The Shark also has a passion for cars. He has a Bugatti racer but its a kit car not the original thing. He also just got a hold of an excellent condition 1972 Camaro which he had shipped in from Switzerland. He collects VW Beetles, he has a 1970, 1975 and 1981 model. I think he told me the 81 model was a convertible. He also has 2 Harleys, a Road King and a 1977 Shovel Head. And yeah he loves the show American Chopper. For his everyday car he has an Audi S8. He is also a mechanic. He takes care of his car himself and even does engine swaps and repairs. He just purchased a souped up engine for one of his Beetles and he will be swapping out the engines himself.

His favorite place in the world is Thailand. Every year he spends 3-4 months there chilling with his friends who also come in from various countries around the world most of whom are body builders and Harley riders too.

When March comes he will be traveling to Siberia to get married. He met his fiancee in Thailand while scuba diving. She is Russian, 23 and a really hot model. He showed me pictures of him and her together and they looked like a nice couple. He loves her a lot and he can’t wait to be with her.

Thats basically everything. He showed me a lot of photos of himself all over the world having fun with his friends. He is a really chilled out guy who is having the time of his life. I am really glad I got to meet him. Everyone who knows him says he is an extremely friendly and trustworthy guy and I can easily imagine that. I asked him if he had anything he wanted to say to my readers and he said all he wants from people is to leave him alone and let him be. And I agree, let him be.

www.SharkofKuwait.com