Category: Information

The website is currently soft launch phase but still contains a good amount of data. My comments would be that I’d like to see some travel information like which countries are flights restricted from. I’d also like to see a section on temporary measures taken because of the Corona outbreak like how waiters must wear masks and gloves now or how shisha places are temporary not allowed to serve shisha (like is this true for example?). Here is the link.

Thanks Cold2zero

Because of the Corona outbreak, all of the Al Salam Palace Museum tours have been canceled until further notice. It sucks because they had just opened, but if you’d still like a peek inside of the museum, then check out this website. You’ll find a bunch of photos and a video of the museum there that should give you an idea of what to expect once the tours start again.

Update: Found this video online as well that gives you a nice walkthrough.

I knew we had at least one automated parking facility in Kuwait (at The Palms) but I didn’t know we also had the largest one in the world. The parking lot of Al-Jahra Court Complex is fully automated and provides 2,314 parking spaces.

The automated parking facility provides 3 times as many car parking spaces as it would in a regular car park of the same volume – and only takes around 177 seconds for car retrieval (source). If you want to see how it works watch the short video on top. Pretty random tidbit for you guys today.

Thanks Mrs. Mohammad

Last May, I was lucky enough to be invited on a private tour of the new Al Salam Palace Museum which was recently restored. The museum was expected to open end of last year but I guess due to some delays it just opened now.

Al Salam Palace was built in the late 1950s and was used to accommodate visiting heads of state. During the 1990 invasion, the palace was completely destroyed and stayed abandoned for years until the restoration project started back in 2013 to turn it into a museum. The palace is located right next to JACC and consists of three main museums:

Museum of Kuwait’s History through its Rulers
Museum of Al Salam Palace History
Museum of the Civilizations that inhabited Kuwait

You can only get a tour of the museum and there are two kinds right now:

Standard Tour (English or Arabic)
Duration: 120 minutes
Cost: KD8

VIP Tour (Arabic)
Duration: 60-120 minutes
Cost: KD20

The Al Salam Palace website is up right now with more information and booking options, you can check it out at aspm.com.kw. You can also follow them on isntagram @aspm.kw

The Ministry of Interior has updated its website with a new residency section allowing you to renew, cancel, and make changes online. I wasn’t able to try the service myself since I just recently renewed my residency but when I tried to log in to it I got the weird message below.

I’m going to assume the service is working and my error is unrelated. Here is the link to the residency renewal section.

Thanks Musaed

Well this sucks!

Hello Mark,

Please note that we will soon be discontinuing the Carriage Black service.

If you have an active Carriage Black plan, you will be able to enjoy your Carriage Black plan benefits until the end of your billing period without interruption. Your plan will not renew after the end of your billing period.

If you have any questions about your plan, our Customer Care team will be happy to help. You can reach them easily using the Customer Care feature in your Carriage Application.

With warm regards,
Your Carriage Team

I guess the bright side to now having to pay for delivery will mean I’ll be ordering a lot less munchies late at night.

Has anyone tried reporting traffic violations to the General Traffic Department using WhatsApp? The screenshots above got forwarded to one of my groups and it shows a person reporting a car parked illegally to the traffic department and then getting a response back an hour later showing the person was ticketed.

I tried the service a few days ago and I didn’t get any response back so no idea if an action was taken or not so can’t verify this whole thing works. But, you can try it yourself, the WhatsApp number to report violations is 99324092‬. If you’ve tried this before and it’s worked, let me know in the comments.

I’m always looking for ways to speed things up and one way I used to speed my payment process with Carriage and other local online businesses was by saving my ATM card number in my password manager app. Whenever I’d get to the payment page I’d open the app and then copy paste my debit card digits into the knet form. It was much faster than having to pull out my card from my wallet and manually entering the numbers.

But, a couple of months back, Knet disabled the option of pasting numbers into the form for some reason which was annoying because it meant I’d have to go back to the old way of entering my number manually. Since I order from Carriage daily this became annoying and so I started using my credit card instead since Carriage had the option of saving that.

Then late last month, Knet introduced a new feature called KFAST which allows us, the customers, to save our card details with merchants like Carriage so that all we need to do is enter our pin code to complete the purchase instead of all our numbers. There isn’t much info about this on their website or instagram account other than the description but the way it works is pretty simple. When you now check out from Carriage with Knet you’ll now be presented with two options on the Knet payment page, Kfast and Knet. If it’s your first time using the new form you’ll only be able to select Knet. After completing your check out process your card number gets saved and the next time you check out it will remember the card number and you’ll get to either use KFAST and just type your pincode, or you can click on Knet and type a new card in manually.

According to the Knet documentation on their website, you’re actually meant to get and enter a one time code to use KFAST but I didn’t get that. In any case, this is a great new feature and will make the check out process on a bunch of websites a lot quicker.

1917

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
1917 (8.6)
Balloon (7.6)
Daughter of the Wolf (5.6)
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (6.3)
Richard Jewell (7.7)
Underwater (6.4)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Cats (2.8)
Disturbing the Peace (N/A)
Frozen II (7.1)
Jumanji: The Next Level (7.0)
Knives Out (7.9)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (7.0)
Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure (3.1)
Playing with Fire (5.1)
Spies in Disguise (6.1)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (6.6)
The Grudge (6.3)
Trauma Center (5.0)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

IMAX Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Backyard Wilderness 3D (8.4)
Turtle Odyssey (7.7)
Volcanoes 3D (6.6)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.

If you’ve wanted to know the story of Kuwait’s stock market crash in the 80s, NPR released a short 9 minute podcast about it a few days ago. Here is the description of the podcast:

In the early 1980s, Kuwait’s unofficial stock market — run out of a parking garage on the site of an old camel market — was the third largest in the world, second only to the U.S. and Japan. But then, in an instant, it all came crashing down, plunging Kuwait into a brutal recession that would last for nearly a decade. How is it that a simple financial innovation could create such vast wealth and such devastating chaos? And what can it teach us about the fundamental forces at the heart of modern capitalism?

Today on The Indicator: the story of the Souk al-Manakh and one of the greatest stock bubbles of all time. Source

If you want to listen to it search for “THE INDICATOR FROM PLANET MONEY” podcast in your favorite podcast player or listen to it below.

Thanks momoxoxo

Here’s a great list for Kuwait to rank high on, the 20 countries where people live the longest. According to a recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Kuwait has the 11th highest life expectancy in the world with an average life expectancy of 70.7 years. Kuwait has the highest life expectancy in the GCC and the second-highest in the Middle East with only Israel ahead in 8th place. Singapore tops the list with the highest expectancy of 74.2 years. Check out the full top 20 list here.

Thanks Bader

Early this year Kuwait Motor Town (KMT) opened up and started offering track day experiences where drivers can sign up to race their cars around the circuit for fun. It’s a great way to drive your car to its limit while in a safe environment. But if you’ve never taken part in a track day before, it can be a bit intimidating which is why I thought I’d put together a guide. I was lucky enough to have friends who’ve been taking part in track days for years (mostly in Bahrain) so my first time was easier than most. I’ve divided this post up into different sections which I felt were important to highlight:

Registration
KMT usually hosts around 3 to 4 open track car experiences every month during the winter season. They also hold motocross, drag, drift and ATV track experiences as well but I’ll only be talking about the car track days in this post. There are usually around 70-80 car slots available every track day and they fill up really fast as in the same day registration opens up. For example, this past Sunday night KMT opened up registration for January track days and they’re sold out already, two of the days sold out on the same night. The track day fee is KD75 and when new days are available, KMT publishes them on their Instagram account. They sell out so fast its become a habit for me and my friends to book all the days first and then think about it. So the best way to find out when new track days are open is by following @kmtkw on instagram.

Your Car
There are no limitations to what kind of car you can bring to a track day experience as long as its not a single-seater, open-wheel car, or SUV. But, if your car isn’t a sports car I can’t imagine it being any fun anyway. The reality is that everyone on the track is trying to go as fast as possible and if you show up in a 4-door Corolla you’re going to feel very uncomfortable and pressured on the track.

The majority of the cars at the track are usually Porsches. They’re generally great because they can be driven as daily cars while also performing really well on the track. I’ve got a Lotus which I think is great on the track but more importantly, because of its weight doesn’t go through tires and brake pads like there is no tomorrow. It makes tracking a lot more affordable. Because my car was meant to be tracked, I can also stay out a full session on the track without my brakes fading or my car overheating. American cars, on the other hand, don’t tend to do so well on the track, they’re generally fast on straights but don’t handle turns so well and they don’t last very long on the track without having to pit.

KMT is located off of highway 40. I tend to drive my car to the track and back without any issues but I know some guys who prefer to send their car to the track on trailer beds because they aren’t comfortable with the road conditions.

Once you get your car to the track it will have to go through scrutineering. They’ll make sure your car is safe to go on the track and once it passes their checks, they’ll give your a car a track pass. Make sure you don’t have any junk in your car. You’re going to have to empty all the loose items from your car and trunk or else it’s going to be flying around everywhere. You also need to have a tow hook installed to the front and they’ve recently started checking the condition of the tires including the age to make sure they’re in good shape.

Things to Bring with You to the Track
A helmet really is the only thing you need to bring and if you don’t have one, you can rent one at the track. I think the cost for rental is 20 or 25KD but you also need to leave a deposit of around KD75. For food and drinks there is a Starbucks and a Costa at the track as well as a burger place and a dessert place. You can bring your own food and water if you want as well. Some extra things I bring include lip balm, gum, my GoPro and some basic tools (ie. ducktape).

Once You Arrive
When you get to the track you’ll take your car to the scrutineering area first and park your car there. You then enter the building to right of that area and get your registration sticker and wristband. You would have to have already registered and purchased an entry to the track day online beforehand. Registration on the day of the event just involves you signing a waiver and collecting your passes. Once you get your pass you then go back to your car and wait for the scrutineering crew to check your car. After that is done you will be allowed to enter the pit lane.

Drivers are split into two groups, A and B. There isn’t a specific formula from my understanding, it’s not like one group is faster or has more experienced drivers, drivers are just split up randomly. Once you enter the pit lane you can park in any of the empty garages corresponding to your group letter. Once you park your car you can then set up your base for the day. You can empty your car contents and leave your stuff in that garage while you’re out on the track.

Briefing Session and Lead and Follow Laps
Before the track opens up a briefing session is held which is mandatory for every driver to attend. During the briefing session, they will discuss the track rules, explain what all the different colored flags on the side of the track mean and share tips and pointers. This is a good time to ask any questions as well.

After the briefing session, there will be lead and follow laps on the track. This is for drivers to familiarize themselves with the circuit by following a lead car around the track. Nobody is really speeding or racing here, it’s just a fast-paced drive around the track while following the cars in front of you.

On the Track
After the lead and follow sessions are done, the different groups are let out onto the track in 30 minute intervals. So for example, 4PM to 4:30PM is for Group A cars, then 4:30PM to 5PM is Group B, then it’s Group A again, then Group B etc. Although it doesn’t sound like much, 30 minutes is more than enough track time and a lot of the cars can’t really even stay out that long without coming into the pits to cool down.

Out on the track, it can be intimidating with everyone driving as if they’re racing for the championship but as long as you give way to faster moving cars you’ll be fine. Generally, you’re not meant to overtake on turns only on straights so if you see a car behind you that’s faster than you, move out of the way and let them pass.

The more you track the better you will get. One way of improving your driving is by having a more experienced driver sit next to you. In my case, I have friends who are really good drivers and every now and then I’ll have them hop in the car with me and give me tips like in the video above where I was able to shave off around 2 seconds from my fastest lap just by having my friend give me pointers. After that session I understood my weaknesses better and the following track day I improved on my driving even more and managed to break the 2 minute barrier (video below). If you don’t have a friend who can give you tips thats also not an issue. Lotus are sponsoring all the track days this season and they usually have two cars available to drive on the track with a professional driver.

Fuel
Depending on your car you might need to refuel often. There is a small fuel station at the end of the pitlane with Ultra 98 fuel. They only take cash, no Knet. Some guys bring their own fuel to the track that is also ok.

Off the Track
You don’t need to go out on the track every session, you don’t need to start at the beginning of the session either, once it’s your group’s turn you can go out onto the track at any time. It’s a very chill atmosphere, even in the pit garages, everyone is just hanging out. Me and my friends bring our own chairs to sit on while waiting for our next session and I’ve seen guys set up a cozy diwaniya as well. Not everyone there is in groups, you have a lot of guys who come alone so its easy to socialize. There aren’t that many female drivers, there is one whos there at every track day but the other girls I’ve seen at the track are there with their husbands or boyfriends and either chill in the pits or go out onto the track as a passenger.

Any Questions?
So that’s basically it really. I can’t think of anything else to add to the above but in case you have any questions just let me know in the comments below.

If you’re planning on using road 40 this weekend then you might be in for some traffic since they’ll be completely closing off part of the highway near Mishref because they’ll be demolishing a bridge. For those heading to KMT this Saturday for Open Track, might be better to take Fahaheel Expressway instead.

I’ve previously posted about the US Embassy’s Air Quality Index page which shares data on the pollution level around the US Embassy in Bayan. The data most of the time is pretty alarming because of the high level of pollution we generally have which is why it interested me when I found out it’s not that difficult for someone to set up their own air quality sensor.

PurpleAir is an air quality monitoring network where people can purchase an air quality sensor from them for $229 and then set it up near a wifi spot to allow it to measure and share pollution data over their network. As of now there are three sensors located around Kuwait, one at the Kuwait University Khaldiya Campus, one in Mishref (I think that’s my friend’s place) and one at the ArtStudio in Funaitees.

If you want to check the pollution levels around Kuwait then click here.
On the other hand, if you want to purchase your own air quality sensor and be part of this network then click here.

via Nibaq

I’ve been driving my Alfa on a daily basis since the weather got cooler a couple of months back. I think I’ve put around 3,000KM mileage on it so far and since it’s a slow post week, I figured I’d post an update on it. I’ve been driving the car like it was meant to be driven 50 years ago when it was built. I’m not really taking it easy on it since it’s a car and really has just one job. And as expected, some parts have started failing on me but I knew that would happen and wanted it to happen so I can swap them with newer parts. Whoever restored the car originally tried to keep as much of the original parts as possible, and I can understand that, but end of the day that’s ok if you’re planning to drive the car once a week but it’s not going to work when daily driving. Here is what’s broken down so far with me which I’ve had to replace:

– Fan belt
– Radiator cap
– Starter motor
– Alternator
– Battery
– Distributor rotor arm

I actually drive around with spare parts in my trunk and my tool kit because “just in case” and yesterday that just in case moment happened. I was leaving Sultan Center at night and the car wouldn’t start. I had a full tank of gas, my starter was fine but the engine wasn’t turning on. I had a theory it might be from the distributor which sends electricity to the spark plugs which ignite the engine and I luckily had a new rotor arm for it in the trunk. After watching a short clip on YouTube on how to change the rotor arm, a few minutes later the car was running fine again.

There really are only so many things that can go wrong in the car since it’s such a basic setup. No fancy electronics, not even a radio, no powered steering or windows, ABS brakes or anything fancy like that. I think right now I’ve basically changed everything that needed or can be changed.

The car is getting a lot of attention which I was expecting since there isn’t another one like it in Kuwait, or at least there isn’t another one being driven on the roads. I’ve had people honk at me and give me a thumbs up, I’ve had people wanting to take photos with it and a bunch of people asking me if it was for sale. Really other than this one blog reader in a new G-Class that nearly ramed into me just to let me know how much he hates my blog, it’s been a very good experience.

I guess the only negative thing about the car is the lack of a radio. At first I liked the idea of not having one, but there is only so much alone time I can spend with my thoughts, plus I’m wayyy behind on all my podcasts and music. I’ve thought about driving around with earphones on but I tried it and it felt weird so I’m now looking into a way of installing a completely hidden sound system under my dashboard so not to mess with the cars interior aestetics.

So overall its been a great experience so far. Car is comfortable enough to drive daily even on our pothole ridden roads which is why I barely drive my two other cars anymore. I hope winter lasts long this year just so I can drive it as much as possible before I have to put it away for the summer.