Category: Information

The Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) has a section on their website filled with statistics. Below, for example, is their list of the top 10 jobs in Kuwait:

Kuwaitis
1- Inspector of Government Department
2- Other authors (no idea what this is)
3- Military Army
4- Correspondent and passport representative
5- Secretary (Clerk)
6- Accounts Clerk – General
7- Other education specialists
8- Data Entry Device Operator
9- Public Writer
10- His own trade business

Expats
1- Servant
2- Private car driver
3- Ordinary laborer
4- Seller on the market
5- Cleaning worker for buildings and residential buildings
6- Manual cultivation worker
7- Electric worker on high voltage networks
8- Nurse
9- Light transport vehicle driver
10- Correspondents, baggage carriers and other parcels

I don’t think there is anything surprising in the list, I’m just surprised we actually have these lists. The PACI page also has other stats like the oldest ages. The oldest male in Kuwait is 115 years old (Kuwaiti) while the oldest female is 119 years old (also Kuwaiti). The oldest male expat is 113 while the oldest female expat is 118.

The most populous nationalities in Kuwait? They are:
1- India
2- Egypt
3- Bangladesh
4- Philipines
5- Syria
6- Saudi
7- Pakistan
8- Seri Lanka
9- Nepal
10- Jordan

Percentage of workers in the private sector?
4% Kuwaiti – 96% Expats

You can check out other interesting stats on the PACI website here.

Last night I got on Carriage and got a pop-up message saying I needed to choose a new Carriage Black plan. There was previously just one option, KD3.5 a month for unlimited deliveries which honestly a too good to be true price and I’ve saved a ton of money because of it. But recently Deliveroo stopped their free delivery promo so Carriage has now updated their Carriage Black pricing structure as well.

The new pricing isn’t bad at all since I order from Carriage daily. I’ll probably go with the KD7.5 a month plan since I rarely order from the grocery section and if I do it’s nothing good, usually chocolates which I should stop ordering anyway. But I will miss the old days when Deliveroo was free and unlimited deliveries on Carriage was just KD3.5 a month.

If you still shoot with 35mm film then you know how difficult it is to find a place that can still develop film and how expensive it is. Previously I’ve recommended Ashkanani in Salmiya as an option but because of the cost of chemicals, they tend to wait until there are multiple film rolls and then batch develop them all together. This means the process could take a week or a month, you never know but they’re also expensive charging KD10+ per roll.

But, a few days ago I was at Souk Al Watiya behind Sheraton Hotel in the city and spotted a small store that still had a 35mm film development machine. The place charges KD2.5 to develop a roll and then 100fils per photo print. This means a roll of 36 shots would cost you around KD6. Not only is it cheaper than Ashkanani but they’ll also develop them quicker for you since they have no problem developing a single roll of film at a time.

If you’re looking for a place to develop film then this is a good alternative to Ashkanani. The store doesn’t have a name but it’s on the ground floor of Souk Al Watiya near one of the exits. Here is the location of the complex on Google Maps.

Not sure if you guys are aware but you can actually use your Knet debit card to purchase stuff from Amazon.com (and other U.S. websites). Your Knet card is actually a Visa debit card and you can plug it into credit card payment forms and it will go through just like a regular credit card except the amount gets deducted right away from your bank account.

The goto hardware store for most people is either Ace or Bin Nisf in Shuwaikh but Jawad AlSaffar (JAS) recently opened a new location and I think it will give them both a run for their money.

The new JAS store has been open for a few months now but I only found out about this new and huge location last week. The new store is located across from the original True Value in Shuwaikh and is composed of two floors. The ground floor has garden stuff, shelves, paint and a large section containing generators, large air compressors and some heavy equipment like mixers, water pumps, ground compactors, and a bunch of other stuff I have no idea what they’re used for.

Once you move down to the basement things get more impressive. Firstly the basement is gigantic but it’s also really well organized. You have the usual areas like the power tools section, hardware tools, paint tools, protective gear, etc.. but in between all these main sections you have very specific areas like the caster wheels section, a section for nails and bolts, a welding area, a ropes section, a car garage equipment section, etc.. just very specific stuff.

The place is much larger than Bin Nisf and also larger than Ace, but I did notice that they didn’t carry any premium brand of hardware tools and some sections like their work lights area seemed lacking compared to Bin Nisf and even Ace Hardware.

If you like hardware stores then you really need to pass by and check out the new Jawad AlSaffar store. They’re open daily from 6:30AM to 10PM except for Fridays when they’re open from 6:30AM till 11:30AM. Here is their location on Google Maps.

Here’s some good news, the ice skating rink will no longer be demolished! After it was decided that the ice skating rink was to be demolished to make way for Al Shaheed Park phase 3, the demolition was canceled thanks to the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).

The NCCAL determined that the Ice Skating Rink was a national landmark due to it’s historical and cultural value and so cannot be demolished. Al Shaheed Park phase 3 construction will continue without the demolition of the rink.

Thanks Mishal! Photo above by Zeri Crafts

I spotted this Alfa for sale online back in late March and I then flew to the Netherlands a week later to check it out in person. Once I got back to Kuwait I bought the car and since then it’s been a painstaking process to bring it to Kuwait. Most of the delay took place in the Netherlands were they needed around two months to register the car and get the paperwork in order before the car finally left Netherlands at the end of July and reached Kuwait earlier this month. My shipping company had a bunch of paperwork to do before it was finally released from Shuwaikh port and was delivered to me late last night. I still need to get the car registered since it doesn’t have any license plates yet but at least it’s now with me and parked in my basement.

When they dropped the car off around 12:30AM I decided to take it for a spin around the block. It felt so good driving the car and now I can’t wait for the remaining paperwork to get finished so I can drive it properly. The Public Authority for Industry gave me a temporary release for the car and I had to call a number and have someone come to inspect the car today. They actually just came took photos of the car and my car’s vin number. I had to pay them a fee of KD18 they will be uploading the photos to the Public Authority database for the next step of the registration process. Other than that I also had to pay a 5% customs fee on the car before it was allowed to leave the port.

Not sure what the next step is since my shipping company (Transcrate) are taking care of the whole process for me. I originally was hoping to create a sort of a “How to import a classic car to Kuwait” guide with all the steps you need to take, but I’ve now realized since I’m not doing the paperwork myself, these posts aren’t turning out that way. Hopefully, they’re still a bit helpful.

The popular UK based Italian bakery Princi is coming to Kuwait soon based on job listings by Alshaya. Princi was created by the restaurateur Alan Yau who is behind other popular brands like Wagamama and Hakkasan. I posted about Princi back in 2013 after trying it out and since then the brand Princi got sold to Starbucks a few years ago which is how it ended up on Alshaya’s portfolio. No clue when it’s opening but it’s probably safe to bet that they’ll be opening a location at the Avenues.

A redditor put together an Excel sheet comparing the cinema prices in Kuwait including food and drinks. The version above is a simplified version comparing just the three main cinema companies but if you want to check out his more detailed list, click here.

The prices highlighted in green are the lowest for that category while red is for the highest. Overall, Cinescape has the most affordable prices while Vox is the most expensive.

In a bid to stop people from parking illegally the MOI have launched new “No Parking Vehicles” to drive around areas and ticket illegal parkers. The vehicles have cameras located on the outside to capture the license plate of violators automatically without having to leave the car making it really convenient.

Not sure how I feel about this, I think I preferred the previous method of removing license plates and towing cars since those were instant punishments that caused a lot of headache to the violators. I don’t think this new system will be as effective since violators will only know they got fined way after the incident.

In any case, not being pessimistic or anything but based on the history of MOI ideas, this won’t last long anyway before things go back to normal.

Thanks Meshari

Back in February, the Ministry of Interior decided to cancel the use of residency stickers inside passports. Instead, you need to have a valid Civil ID card when traveling as a means of verifying your residency.

The name on the Civil ID card has to match your name in your passport or you’ll risk being denied travel in or out of Kuwait. But, having your name misspelled on the Civil ID is a pretty common issue and my previous post on how to fix your name constantly gets comments from people with similar issues.

But now the Ministry has issued a statement that they will no longer correct spellings at PACI but instead, all requests must now be made online. They even have a dedicated section now for misspellings.

So if you need to fix the spelling of your name on your Civil ID, click here.

5G was officially announced late last month but this past weekend the packages finally went live. A friend who signed up for the service is getting anywhere between 150Mbps to 300Mbps depending on where he is which is pretty fast. From the three telecoms, Viva has the most affordable packages from the bunch and you can check them all out below:

Ooredoo
KD45 – 500GB (Free Access Point)
KD65 – 1TB (Free Access Point)
Minimum 1-year contract

Viva
KD45 – 1TB (Free Access Point and iPad or PS4 Pro)
KD85 – Unlimited (Free Access Point and iPad or PS4 Pro)
Minimum 2-year contract

Zain
KD45 – 500GB
KD65 – 1TB (Free Access Point)
KD100 – 4TB (Free Access Point and iPad or Xbox One X or PS4 Pro)
Minimum 2-year contract

Although the prices do seem high when compared to LTE, I’m paying KD25 a month for a 20Mbps Zain Beam connection. So KD45 for 1TB isn’t so bad when compared to that if I’ll end up getting speeds over 150Mbps.

This took long to implement but PayPal users in Kuwait can now finally withdraw money from their PayPal account. I haven’t tried this yet since my PayPal account is US based, but from what I gather, there is a KD1 charge for withdrawing the money which isn’t too bad. But, I also think they charge a 3.5% currency conversion fee but not really sure if I understood that part correctly.

In any case, if you have funds in your Kuwait based PayPal account and want to withdraw it then log in to your account, click on balance and then withdraw funds. You can then select the card you want PayPal to deposit the money into. Simple as that.

If you’re wondering why this is an important change its because there are a lot of people in Kuwait who sell things online and receive money with PayPal. They can now withdraw the money instead of having it accumulate in their PayPal account indefinitely.

via waw.cc

Update: Some readers are reporting this isn’t working for them.

Over the weekend the new Yeezy sneakers launched around the world including in Kuwait. People lined up from early morning for the chance to buy a pair since they’re a limited release and would sell out quickly. I saw some pictures and videos of the lines around Kuwait and they were extremely long and mostly unorganized.

That same morning a reader emailed me about an incident that took place at the Adidas store in Al Hamra and since then I’ve heard the story from one other person who was in line and seen a video that kinda corroborates it. Here is the email I received:

Hey Mark,

I wanted to let you know about this incident that took place at the Adidas outlet this morning.
So today was the launch of this limited edition Yeezy and I was at Hamra mall branch. They said it’ll be first come first serve. There were about 6 Philippine Nationals lined up at like 6am, they were the first ones there. A paper was passed down the line with the name and preferred sizes of people and it seemed completely civilized.

Then at 830am when the doors were supposed to open, a Kuwaiti Adidas representative announced in Arabic that Kuwaitis get priority. And a bunch of Kuwaiti guys rushed in front of the Filipinos and it was utter chaos. Then when one of the Filipino men spoke up and asked “what about us?” The Adidas rep was like “Filipino want to buy shoes?” And everyone started laughing.

And then a bunch of Kuwaiti guys proceeded to walk inside the store.

A woman (Arab) then started shouting at the Adidas representative and was saying that this is straight up racism and unfair. She was ignored. The Filipino group left and some guys just kept mocking them. An overwhelming majority of the Kuwaiti crowd joined in on the mocking. They waited for 2.5 hours to be disgraced like that.

There is a video that was taken that morning which you can watch [Here]

The incident is currently being investigated by the mall as well as the local Adidas dealer so if you were in line that morning and saw what happened, get in touch.

If you’re wondering how people could be so racist in 2019, so was I until I started getting hate on twitter when I posted about this. I actually had to block a bunch of people who were accusing me of hating on Kuwait or who were rationalizing why they were right to sell to the Kuwaitis first. It’s shocking.

Update: I’ve closed the post for commenting, also I’ve been made aware the photo of the Yeezys I posted aren’t the ones people were lining up for.

Yesterday I was driving by the new Kuwait Bowling Club in Salmiya and noticed a security guard walking around. So I decided to ask him when the bowling alleys were gonna open and to my surprise he told me it was open and I could come in. So I quickly parked my car in the arena’s multistory car lot and went in to check the place out.

The Kuwait Bowling Club is huge!

The building is 7 floors with the ground floor containing a 48 lane arena as well as a smaller and separate 10 lane VIP room. The rest of the building will be for different facilities including a mall, coffee shops and restaurants, a gym with a swimming pool that overlooks the bowling lanes as well as a hotel with rooms that also overlook the bowling lanes. The multistory car park is large enough for 1,000 cars.

Since I was there and the arena was open I decided I might as well stay and bowl a few rounds. I got there around 8PM and it was fairly empty but by the time I had left at around 9:40PM the arena was fairly busy with other bowlers.

Their Ramadan timings and prices are as follows:

2PM to 6PM: 1KD/game
6PM to 12AM: 2KD/game (or 3 games for 5KD)
After 12AM: 3 games for 4KD

During Eid the timings and prices will change to the following:
10AM to 4AM – 2.5KD/game or 4KD/game in the VIP Room

I asked about the timings after Eid but they didn’t have them yet so will update this post once I get them. The bowling club has been open for four months now and they also offer a bunch of bowling-related services including training, lockers, ball polishing, ball drilling and ball plugging services. Since the club is pretty close to where I live I might end up taking bowling lessons just for the fun of it.

If you want to pass by and check the place out (which I highly recommend you do), here is the location of the club on Google Maps.

Update: As of September 12 the price has gone up to 3KD per game and 5KD for the VIP.