Category: Information

Last week, there was a heated debate in the Kuwait Reddit community about why anyone in Kuwait would get an electric car when fuel is so cheap. Curious to find out for myself, I contacted Mercedes and borrowed an EQS 450 electric SUV for a few days. Now, I think I have an answer.

It turns out EV owners in Kuwait never have to pay to charge their cars.

From what I can tell, all the public charging stations in Kuwait are free. There are currently over 40 different charging locations in Kuwait, including all along the Gulf Road, and in popular spots like The Avenues and 360 Mall. If you work at an office tower like Al Hamra or Al Raya, you also have EV chargers available there. That means you can charge your car for free while you’re at work or out shopping. But, in some apartment buildings like mine, there are power sockets in the parking that residents can use for free. So, when I had the car, I just plugged the car into one of the sockets and charged it overnight at no cost.

I also tried charging at one of the new EV chargers on the Gulf Road to see what that experience was like. They’re located in all the parking lots that were part of the recently refurbished waterfront. I chose to charge at the station next to the Kuwait Towers because I needed a nice shot for this post and it was super easy to use. I didn’t even need to use my own charging cable, the chargers have cables already attached. All I had to do was take the cable and plug it into the car, and it started charging right away.

I’m not saying you should buy an electric car just because you don’t have to pay for fuel. There are many other benefits to owning an EV, but free charging is definitely a nice bonus.

If you ever need an English copywriter, I’d highly recommend a friend of mine, Naz. Naz has been copywriting for over 20 years and was my editor for our school paper, the Voice of AIS, back in the mid-90s. Speaking of which, I need to try and find copies of those if they still exist.

If you’re a business, Naz can help you with your website content, write press releases for you and even help you come up with a name and slogan for your new business. To get in touch with her, send her a message on instagram @nazwriteswell

Over the weekend I was given access to visit the newly revamped Messilah Beach Club, one of the newest projects by TEC. The club first opened in the late 80s, and I’ve been to it a few times back in the 90s, but haven’t really been back there since.

I do remember how it looked and I can tell you the new beach club looks nothing like the old one. They didn’t just give it a facelift, instead it’s a completely new club built from the ground up.

The beach club will have the following facilities:
– Aqua Play Pool
– Wave Pool
– Splash Pad
– Kids Pool
– Infinity pool
– Kids play area
– Adventure tower
– Fitness Areas
– Basketball, Football and Tennis Courts
– Beach Volleyball Courts
– Water Sports Facilities
– Restaurants
– Events Hall

When I passed by most of the water areas had been drained from water, especially all the kids areas which is why they’re dry in my photos. But the club still looked really nice with aesthetics that match the newly face-lifted Gulf Road waterfront.

I think my favorite part of the club was the infinity pool and the beach. The infinity pool was surrounded by a wooden deck and overlooked the huge beach giving off a trendy resort vibe. The beach also now looks huge since they removed the trees that used to separate the club from the beach. Previously you couldn’t really see the sea from the club because the trees were in the way, but now it’s completely open and so it felt like I was on a beach in LA.

Entry to the club will be by membership or tickets. The prices haven’t been decided on yet nor is there a solid opening date since UPAC only recently won the tender to manage the club. It should open this year, hopefully before the weather gets cold.

In other TEC news, Mabanee (Alshaya) recently won the tender for the Hilton Mangaf location. That means Hilton will end up closing down and Alshaya will reopen it with one of their many hotel brands like Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, St Regis etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also opened Equinox there. Back in 2019, Alshaya partnered up with Equinox but they haven’t done anything with the brand yet. I had heard they were previously trying to take over the Corniche Club location to turn it into Equinox, but they ended up losing that tender to what eventually became SVN.

To stay posted on everything TEC, follow them @tecq8

Yesterday banks around Kuwait launched WAMD, a new and convenient way of sending and receiving money locally through Knet.

WAMD is the Arabic word for “Flash”, which I guess reffers to the speed of transferring money. The service basically allows you to quickly send and receive money using only a persons phone number.

Previously if you wanted to send a friend money, you’d either have to add them as a beneficiary or you would have to create a payment link. Now, they no longer need to do that. Instead, all you need to do is go to your mobile banking app and select to either to send or request money via WAMD, and then type in the amount, the persons phone number, and then click send. WAMD will handle everything else which includes sending the payment link and notifying both parties through SMS on the status.

To be able to use WAMD, both of you need to have previously registered for it. You can register to use WAMD through your banking app, it’s a simple process where you put your phone number and then the app sends you an OTP number to verify that this in fact is your phone number. Once you do that you can then use the service.

There are transfer limits. The minimum amount you can send per transaction is 1KD, the maximum is 1,000KD. You also have a daily limit of 3,000KD and a maximum monthly limit of 20,000KD.

This is a free service and requires you to have a Kuwait number and a Kuwait based bank account.

Knet haven’t updated their website yet with details on WAMD, so for now you need to head to their instagram page for info @knetkw

Yesterday KDD launched a new line of ice cream they’re calling “Good for Me”. It’s ice cream that has zero percent added sugar making them healthier than their regular ice cream. Here is everything you need to know:

• They will be available in three flavors, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate

• It still tastes sweet because they use a combination of plant-based sweeteners, stevia and erythritol

• The chocolate cup has 130 calories while both the strawberry and vanilla have 140 calories (170ml)

• The total sugar in this ice cream is 6 grams (this is from the natural lactose in milk), which is 65% less than regular ice cream

• The ice cream does not contain artificial colors or flavors

• The price is 400 fils per cup (their regular old ice creams are 100 fils per cup)

• KDD will be launching more GOOD FOR ME products in the future (I hope they launch sugar free Silver 🙇🏼‍♂️)

• Good For Me was co-funded by The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences and Clinically tested by Dasman Diabetes Institute

Correction: I previously stated the number of calories were per 150g, it’s actually per 170ml and so I’ve corrected that.

The Kuwait National Planetarium has reopened again after being closed since 2016 for renovations.

The planetarium was one of the first in the Gulf Region and originally opened back in 1986. The technology at the planetarium has been fully upgraded with a new system consisting of nine 4K video projectors, new computer technology and the modernization of the sound system. But, at the heart of it all is the Zeiss STARMASTER projection system. Only 19 of these STARMASTER projection systems are installed worldwide and they’re known for their high level of brightness, pinpoint sharpness, and providing a realistic starry sky.

The planetarium is open from Monday to Thursday with five shows playing daily at 10AM, 11AM, 12PM, 5:30PM and the last one at 6:30PM. Check out the current schedule and whats playing below. Entrance to the planetarium is free.

If you’ve never been to the planetarium before, it’s located on the Gulf Road, opposite Seef Palace and is part of the Kuwait National Museum. Here is the location on Google Maps.

Note: Just one thing to point out, this past week they’ve been having issues with the AC and have had to cancel some shows.

Update: I was given this number by the staff so that people can call and check ahead of time if they’re having AC issues or not 22408496

The Red Fort (also called the Red Palace) is one of my favorite historical sites in Kuwait. The fort was built in 1897 with the primary purpose to defend the agriculture farms in Jahra. In 1920 it was also the location of the famous Battle of Jahra.

Not a lot of people know about the fort, and most people who do haven’t been there. I’ve always found the fort to be very photogenic and visually interesting since we don’t have anywhere else in Kuwait that looks like it. I’ve also always loved how the fort was open to explore, you could enter any room you wanted, walk up any steps and just wander around the place enjoying the outdoors.

However, the fort needed some TLC. Last year, a team of local experts were assigned to revive and restore it, and they’ve been hard at work ever since.

The project has multiple stages, with the final stage being the complete restoration of the fort to its original state. However, the road to this goal is long, so the team began by enhancing the current visitor experience. For example, they added aesthetically pleasing lighting throughout the fort, making it more nighttime-friendly, which is important since the fort is open until 8PM. They also constructed new raised pathways to allow visitors to explore the main courtyard without having to walk in the dirt. But the most significant addition to the Red Fort is the brand-new ‘Arms & Armory Museum’.

The team took over an existing building right outside the walls of the fort and repurposed it into a new museum that will house more than two centuries of artifacts. The new Arms & Armory Museum will reflect the Kuwaiti society’s complex relationship with arms, serving as tools for self-defense, aiding in hunting, symbols of status and wealth, and ornate works of art to be admired.

I was given an early sneak peek of the museum and was pleasantly surprised by how beautifully it was coming together. The team managed to procure artifacts from the National Museum and private collectors but, since the display cases were only recently installed, the exhibit is still a work in progress. The aim is to have it ready to open by the end of summer, around the time schools start again so that students will be able to explore the museum when they visit.

The Red Fort is currently closed to the public while it’s being worked on. Once the museum is ready and the fort reopens, I’ll let you know or follow @kw_nccal for updates.

Fashion Way, the complex right across the street from Fanar Mall in Salmiya is getting demolished. I personally don’t have much attachment to it but I know a lot of people do.

Construction on that building started in the late 80s and it was rumored to be Safeway the supermarket chain opening there, right next to Sultan Center. The building wasn’t covered in the ugly grey alucobond panels like today, I think I remember it being white ribbed metal panels. But then the 1990 invasion happened and the main Safeway store in Farwaniya got burnt down and they never reopened in Kuwait again. I also just realized while digging up old photos of Safeway that Americana owned it in Kuwait. I never knew that even though it clearly says Americana right next to Safeway on their sign. It now makes sense why Americana had their fast food brands there 90s onwards.

The building eventually finished construction and opened in the mid 90s I think. I remember Sbarro Pizza opening there, it occupied the whole area where Americana was today, but back then it was just Sbarro and it was a dine in experience. Hardees was located in a blue and white colored standalone building next door where Starbucks is right now. When that Hardees building got demolished, they eventually moved in with Sbarro and KFC into Fashion Way.

Inside Fashion Way was Mothercare with their huge animated tree inside. Mothercare was still there until they closed down a couple of months ago as well.

I just tried finding out when Sbarro opened in Kuwait but couldn’t find anything. I found an article from 1995 in the New York Times which mentions Gennaro (Jerry) Sbarro being 29 years old when he came to Kuwait to open Sbarro. I tried to find his date of birth online and I found multiple Jerry’s but the closest one might be 1966 which means Sbarro opened in 1994-1995. I contacted Jerry to find out and see if he has any photos, will see if he responds.

Anyway, the building is getting demolished. Not sure what the plan is, but my guess is they’re going to build an office tower in its place.

If you work at Americana, get in touch with me since I’d love to dig up old stuff with you together. I previously got in touch with the Wimpy social media team because I was working on a post about the history of Wimpy in Kuwait and they were a disaster. Firstly they replied saying they would get in touch with me if there was a potential for future collaborations. I told them they misunderstood and I wasn’t looking for them to advertise with me or send me free food. I explained that I just needed some information for a post I was working on. So then they gave me a phone number to call.. the Wimpy delivery phone number. I called them out on that move and they just copy pasted the same information all over again about how they would get in touch with me in the future if there is potential for a collaboration.

There are plenty of public beaches in Kuwait but not that many swimming pools you can access without being a member or staying at a hotel. But, some hotels do offer day passes to their pools so I called as many hotels as I could until I had enough to put a list together. This is the 2024 edition list so the prices are current.

All the pools on this list are singles friendly except for Seashell Julaia Resort which isn’t. None of the pools require you to be invited by a member except for SVN. SVN gets an exception for this list because it’s the nicest place with lots of very cool facilities. So for a very premium members only club, it’s actually great value compared to a lot of other places, so find a friend with a membership.

The list below is arranged from least expensive to most expensive:

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort
Telephone: 24590000
Price: 10KD

Seashell Julaia Hotel & Resort
Telephone: 1844444
Price = 15KD

Crowne Plaza
Telephone: 1848111
Weekday/Weekend: 20KD

Symphony Style Hotel
Telephone: 25770000
Weekday: 20KD
Weekend: 25KD

Holiday Inn Salmiya
Telephone: 25760000
Weekday: 20KD
Weekend: 29KD

Hyatt Regency Al Kout Mall
Telephone: 23931234
Weekday/Weekend: 25KD
Ladies only on Monday and Wednesday

Millennium Hotel
Telephone: 22050505
Weekday/Weekend: 25KD

Mövenpick Hotel Resort AlBidaa
Telephone: 22253100
Weekday: 25KD
Weekend: 30KD

Hilton Resort
Telephone: 22256222
Weekday: 30KD
Weekend: 35KD

SVN Club (member invite required)
Telephone: 1876777
Weekday: 30KD
Weekend: 40KD

Marina Hotel
Telephone: 22230030
Weekday: 35KD
Weekend: 40KD

Four Seasons
Telephone: 22006000
Weekday/Weekend: 40KD (70KD Couple)

Waldorf Astoria
Telephone: 24774444
Price 1: 40KD (Inc. 1 Mocktail)
Price 2: 50KD (Inc. Food + Mocktail)

If I missed a place where you can access a pool with a day pass, let me know in the comments.

If you haven’t gotten your biometric scanning done yet and can’t find an appointment, here is a tip, if you’re traveling soon do it on the way out.

I got my biometrics done last year at the Saudi/Kuwait border but my wife hadn’t done hers yet and was worried we’d have to get stuck in line on the way back to get it done. But, a friend who recently traveled from Terminal 1 told me she got her biometric scan done after passport control on the way out, and she didn’t have to wait. So this morning while leaving from Terminal 4 we asked passport control if my wife could get her biometrics done and he pointed towards a blue booth in the corner. We went to it, no line, no appointment and no waiting. She got her biometrics scanned and now she’s done with it.

If you try getting your biometrics scanned on arrival, good luck cuz I’ve heard the lines are a nightmare.

We have the habit of demolishing old structures instead of restoring them in Kuwait, so when I found out the old Al-Othman Mosque in Hawalli was being restored, I reached out to the team working on it asking if I could write about it.

The mosque restoration is being spearheaded by Eng. Adnan Al-Othman and sponsored by the Abdullah Abdulatif Al-Othman Charitable Trust. Adnan’s father is the one who built the mosque so he’s very familiar with it.

Al-Othman Mosque was established in 1958 and later opened for public use in 1961. It was one of the first grand mosques to be built in Kuwait, and also the first to have a dome, making it an important landmark.

Since its opening over 60 years ago, many changes were made to the mosque, some permanent, but most were thankfully superficial. The mosque originally had a colorful design that was unique for the time, but over the years it got repainted a monotone beige and white blending it into it’s Hawally surroundings. The interior which was covered with intricate decorations and script were also all covered with white paint erasing a lot of what made the mosque so unique and special.

The restoration team dug up as many photos and videos of the original mosque as they could find, so that they could better understand all the changes that were made over time. They also started the process of removing structures that weren’t there originally, like metal shading over the courtyard and an extension to the mezzanine floor. Additionally, they began stripping the paint from both the interior and exterior of the building, revealing some of the old decorative art and colors (samples above).

The restoration team’s plan is to restore the mosque as close as possible to its original state. They’re deep into the restoration process now, but they don’t have a clear timeline for completion since the work must be slow and careful. Once this project is finished, I hope more people will realize and appreciate the importance of preserving old Kuwait.

Since a lot of record stores pop up and close down often, I tend to update this list every few years.

All the small online stores that sold new records have closed down, including @vinyldestinationkw, and so if you want a new release, your best bet is ordering from Amazon.

But, if you’re looking for old used records, you actually have multiple options in Kuwait.

The Antique Basement
This basement in Salmiya has various stores selling vintage and antique items, three of them also have a small collection of old records. They’re not organized but instead are either just pilled up on top of one another, or randomly stacked in boxes. Finding stuff is a bit of an adventure, but on the bright side, they’re mostly English records. Here are the instagram accounts of those stores:

@tathkron
@fahad___bokhaled
@alnasser_antiques_kuwait

Nawader
This guy has the most insane collection of old music since he acquired all the remaining stock of the old record label “Bou Zaid Phone“, one of the most important Kuwaiti record labels. Nawader has a huge collection of new-old-stock records, cassettes and even 8-track tapes. Nearly all of the records he has are in Arabic, and he also has many very hard to come by ones. I got my 4-volume vinyl set of the “Kuwaiti Television Artistic Group” from him, and although he wouldn’t sell me his copy of the Iftah Ya Simsim record, he did hook me up with someone else who sold me theirs. He has a location thats by appointment only, but you can also purchase or request items through any one of his three instagram accounts:

@nawaderq8
@q8nawader
@istuwanat

Moqtanayaty
If you’re looking for a vintage record player, boombox, 8-track or even reel-to-reel players to buy, the best store in Kuwait is Moqtanayaty, or “My Belongings” when translated to English. I bought my vintage record player from there and they can even repair vintage music players, VCRs, or really old TVs. You can check them out on instagram @vintage_radio_

If you know of another place that sells records, let me know in the comments.

This past weekend I picked up the Apple Vision Pro and since then I’ve been using it daily, mostly exploring it and trying to figure out what to do with it.

First things first, if you’re planning to pick up an Apple Vision Pro in Kuwait, you need to know that you won’t be able to pick the proper sized light seal. Before purchasing the AVP from the Apple Store, they ask you to scan your face so they could recommend the proper light seal. You can do that through the Apple Store app and according to the scan, I needed a size 21W. If you’re buying an AVP from the grey market, there is no way to know what size light seal you’re getting since Apple doesn’t mention the size on the outside of the box. So it depends on your luck, I ended up with the light seal size 33W which was what Apple recommended for my wife. It doesn’t fit well on my face but I’m dealing with it till my light seal arrives. I got a brand new one off eBay for $150 but Apple sells them for $199. So just something to keep in mind.

Secondly, the AVP prices in Kuwait are quite a bit cheaper than Apple prices in the US. The cheapest price I found locally was 999KD at Best Electronics. In comparison, it costs around 1,160KD in the States with tax, but without shipping to Kuwait. Expect to pay around 20-30KD on top of that to ship to Kuwait since the box is pretty heavy. But then again, if you don’t end up with the correct light seal size you’ll have to pay for that, but it would still be cheaper to buy it locally and you’ll end up having an extra light seal.

Other than that, if you already have a US Apple Store account which I assume everyone already has, then you’re pretty much set. If you have a Kuwait Apple Store account it won’t work in the AVP since the AVP is only available in the US at the moment. If you want to use streaming services like Disney and Max, you also need a smart DNS proxy. Disney Kuwait won’t work (uses app from Kuwait store) and I don’t think there is a VPN option on the AVP, but smart DNS is easier to set up anyway.

My first impression of the AVP? It’s difficult to explain. I love it, it’s definitely the future, but if you’re asking me if you should get one, then the answer is no. If you already got one or are planning to get one, then you made the right decision. It’s confusing I know but if you already decided on the AVP it’s most likely for the same reason as me, to be there at the start of what I think is the future, and not because it’s worth getting one now.

It’s such an incredible device, using it and doing things with it is like nothing else I’ve experienced, so much so that I keep wanting to share my experience with someone else. That’s what’s also so weird about the AVP, it’s such a solo device but yet the experiences are ones you want to share with others. I’ve been constantly annoying my wife asking her to put on the AVP so I could let her experience various things I got to experience.

I will have to do a proper review of the device, but right now I’ve mostly been using it for two things, watching TV and playing ToXun. ToXun is a game that randomly puts you somewhere on Earth in Google Street View, and you need to guess where you are in the world. It’s pretty difficult but I’ve been quite good at guessing at least which country I’m in.

Watching TV on the other hand is just a really really incredible experience. For one thing, you can now have a TV anywhere. I have just one TV by choice in my apartment, but with the AVP I can now set up a large Cinescape movie theater anywhere I want in my place. I’ve watched a variety of content so far from simple TV shows to what Apple calls Immersive Videos. I’m not sure how to describe immersive video because until I experienced it I hadn’t experienced anything like it anywhere. Imagine a super large Imax screen that towers above and below you but is also in 3D. Actually, I don’t think that describes it properly. Imagine, you’re standing inside the film watching, that’s what these videos feel like. There aren’t many of them but my favorite is called Adventure and takes place up high in the mountains where a female climber sets up a high line to cross over a cliff. It’s really well shot, the 3D scenes make me feel like I’m right there, and anywhere I look I see beautiful views. They’re not 360 videos, but they do wrap around your peripheral vision.

But your regular 3D movies look great as well. I was never a fan of 3D movies because of the glasses you had to wear and how they darkened the screen. With the AVP they’re much much better. I watched the movie Gravity last night in 3D inside my theater and it was incredible, I felt like I was up there with them in space.

So far the AVP has been a great experience. I just ordered a compact carrying case for it from Waterfield in case I want to travel with it and use it on the plane. Not sure I’d be comfortable doing that just yet, but will see how it goes.

If there is anything specific you want to know or want me to try out, let me know in the comments.

Some of you might not know this but the Bayan Palace has a botanical garden inside. It was designed by Dutch architect Peter van der Toorn Vrijthoff from the firm ALLDESIGN, and it was officially opened in 2015.

The botanical garden is composed of 3 large glasshouses containing 6 different gardens with 4 different climate zones and exhibiting tropical, dry, Mediterranean and European plants. It’s one of the main attractions for official state visitors and until a couple of years ago, was actually open to the public.

I passed by for the first time back in 2016, and looking at my notes from my visit it seems I had mixed feelings about the place. The garden was smaller than it looked but it was still pretty interesting with most of the exotic plants inside labeled with their names. One thing I didn’t like about the place was the limited accessibility; the gardens were only open to the public on Thursdays, from 9AM to 1PM. So if you had a day job you wouldn’t be able to visit the gardens unless you took time off work.

For reasons unknown to me, the botanical garden closed to the public a couple of years ago and hasn’t opened again since. I even passed by last week to double check and it was indeed still closed.

If you’ve never been to the gardens before, check out my post on Instagram where I have more photos up plus a couple while it was still under construction @248am.

You can also follow the botanical gardens instagram account to be notified once/if they reopen again @botanicalgardenkw

Last week artist Jad El Khoury was brought back to Kuwait to create a new mural in place of his erased one, that project was just one of many that the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters have in the pipeline.

NCCAL recently underwent a leadership transition that is instigating significant changes. They want to transform the public art scene starting with a commitment to providing increased opportunities for both local and international artists. By fostering trust between artists and the public sector, they hope to cultivate a vibrant public art community in Kuwait.

Their first project launched earlier this year and they called it “Al Fenn Al Thalith Murals Project” (roughly translates to “The Third Art Murals Project). The project is an open platform for artists that streamlines the process of obtaining permits to create murals on public property and spaces. They launched the project with an open invitation for people to submit their designs and if chosen, they’d then be able to paint them onto the electrical substations in that area.

With their first projects out of the way, NCCAL are now working on the next ones. One of the future projects targets what they call “trouble zones” all over Kuwait, breathing life into them with mural art. They also want to collaborate with a variety of entities such as Jedareyat, the Australian Embassy (future project in the works), and various private sponsors/collaborators.

I also found it interesting that NCCAL supports all local artists, regardless of where they’re from. Additionally, they aim to continue inviting international artists so they could bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the local scene.

NCCAL are currently in the process of setting up social media pages and an official website that will encompass all these projects, but for now, if you’re interested in obtaining a permit to create a mural on public property, you can do so through the NCCAL website, nccal.gov.kw