Category: Information

Like many of you I have been visiting IKEA in Shuwaikh since I was a kid. Sadly at the same time this post gets published (5PM) IKEA in Shuwaikh will have closed down for good. Tomorrow IKEA will reopen but at a new location in The Avenues mall. I was lucky enough to pass by IKEA for lunch today and see the original IKEA for one last time before they closed their doors. It was really strange walking around and not see any furniture on display. I took some pictures with my phone so check them out. [Pictures]

Toxy found this cool article about Lebanon and how the girls there outnumber the guys 5 to 1. But as my friend who’s in Lebanon just told me, “although they outnumber us 5 to 1, Lebanese girls are 5 times harder to date”. So it evens out.

In my university the ratio was like 4 girls to 1 guy. I had one class that was 20 girls and just me… and it wasn’t a child birth education class or some other girly class like that. [Link]

My contact at Alghanim Automotive sent me the following email to publish on the blog:

Hey, some news for you and your audience. The new Lumina’s and all new Caprice’s are in Kuwait!! You know how popular with Kuwaitis these cars are. They will be launched in the next couple of weeks all over Kuwait. Not only that, there is a new Epica and the new SUV that just came out, the Captiva. The Captiva will arrive end of December and is a very sexy SUV. I tried the new Lumina and OMG… it’s a freakin’ monster under the hood. The buttons, dials, and inside trim quality is so far above what you’re used. Honestly, it’s German level stuff (and im not talking VW) inside and outside. The time of big, ugly, floaty, gas guzzling American cars is way over. We’re planning to take on Audi A6 with the Caprice.

Here are pictures he attached to the email.
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Yesterday a friend at my office tried buying a ticket online at the Jazeera Airways website. When she hit the final submit button after putting in her credit card details she got a page with an error. So, she redid the process over and over until it finally worked. Once she was done she checked her email and found that she had purchased 5 tickets. It turned out even though she was getting an error the order was still going through. She has been trying to contact Jazeera since yesterday to report what happened but the lines are always busy.

Today so far the same problem has happened with 4 other people I know including k.thekuwaiti. Everyone who is also trying to contact Jazeera is getting a busy tone. Someone was also telling me the line yesterday at the airport for people waiting to buy a ticket was a kilometer long. Thats just crazy.

Auction it TODAY is basically a company that will take care of selling your stuff on eBay. A Kuwait branch was announced awhile back but they just very recently opened up shop. I called them up to get an idea of how their service works and this is what I found out. Just a note, I am not 100% positive about the information below because the person I spoke to wasn’t very clear over the phone. But this basically what I understood from him.

1) You bring your item to them

2) If you don’t have an idea how much your item is worth they will research and find out how much its worth on the market

3) They will take a picture of your item, post it on eBay and take care of shipping the item to the buyer and everything else

4) In return they take a commission fee. If your item sells for under $500, they take 38% commission. If your item sells for more then $500 they take a 30% commission. The commission fee is negotiable if you have a lot of items.

5) If you list your item without a reserve and no one buys it. You pay them only KD2. If you list and item with a reserve price and no one buys it, you pay them KD7.

Auction it TODAY is located in the Free Trade Zone near Movenpick , Building D-14. You can call them on 4613325.

I personally think its a cool service but the commission rate is just absurdly high. Is this normal? I have never used a service like this before so 30% could be the standard rate and I wouldn’t know.

Since the weather is good it might be the perfect time to try the Marina Climb. Its located in the center of Marina Waves and although I have never tried it before it looks like a lot of fun. One hour of climbing will cost you KD4 which isn’t that bad. For more pictures click [Here]

I passed by the Skate Park today while I was on my way to Maki. There was a guy in charge there and I asked him a couple of questions. I found out that it costs KD1.5 per hour to skate, rollerblade or bike in the park. They don’t rent out the gear nor do they have any gear to rent out. What they will provide you with though is the safety equipment like a helmet and elbow and knee guards. For more pictures click [Here]

This is a video someone called Youfes did for a school project. The video is about how Kuwaiti teenagers are different and have different interests. My favorite part was “The Geezes”. [Video]

Thanks RJV

Recently PayPal started accepting credit cards from Bahrain, Qatar and UAE. How does Kuwait fit in to this? Well the American Express office in Kuwait issues their credit cards from Bahrain. So, if you have an American Express credit card you can now sign up for a PayPal account. When PayPal asks for your billing address just put the address of the Bahrain Amex office which is the following:

P O Box 5990
Al Seef District 428
Manama 428
Bahrain

For those of you who don’t have an American Express card you can get one from the American Express office located in Salhiya Complex. Their phone number is 2413000.

Thanks to BusyNow for sharing this information with me.

Metronatural is the new slogan for Seattle. It took over a year to develope at a cost of $200,000. I am definitely in the wrong line of work. [Link]

A guy basically decided to analyze CNN’s main page and remove everything except the real news. Turns out the majority of the articles on the main page are mostly just entertainment and gossip. I also noticed this recently, CNN’s main page is being filled up with articles of the kind I would find on The Superficial or Socialite’s Life except CNN was always a few days slower. [Link]

This site has articles on every letter of the alphabet and talks about their origins. Its actually really interesting. [Link]

As you know Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts at Marina Mall. Problem is people are having a hard time finding the girl who is giving out the donuts. This is why, using my great mapping skills I have created a map to show the starting route of the donut girl. Using this map you will have the highest chance of successfully getting half a dozen donuts for free. [Map]

While driving to Maki yesterday at Marina Waves I noticed the Skate Park at the side of the parking lot was open. I had passed it a few times before but the lights were always off but yesterday they were open and some kids were riding their BMX bikes up and down the ramps. On the way out I got a better look (while still driving by in the car) and I noticed the two kids had similar blue helmets and bikes. This is why I am guessing that the park actually rents out bikes, boards, blades and gear. I should probably pass by another day and try to get more details unless a reader already has more details and can share it with us. It looks wayyyy better then the one that used to be located in the basement of the Salmiya palace Hotel.

update: here are some better pictures taken by Yo Ghurt [1] [2] [3]

Introducing: International Direct by Amazon!
International Direct offers Amazon customers a unique service: providing duty and tax estimation during checkout and customs clearance by the courier on your behalf. Your order arrives at your door without surprise duty charges. International Direct is also a great way to send gifts overseas. International Direct currently provides service to the following countries: Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

Currently Kuwait isn’t on the list but since UAE and Saudi Arabia are then Kuwait could be next. [Link]