Category: Information

I had two packages delivered to me after Aramex set up the new rules and my experience has been mixed and here is why.

I had two packages, one containing a computer the other tshirts.

T-shirts
Arrived in mailbox on: 23/10/2009
Shipped from mailbox on: 29/10/2009
Arrived to Kuwait on: 08/11/2009
Paid: KD5.5 for shipping + KD1 handling charge

Computer
Arrived in mailbox on: 31/10/2009
Shipped from mailbox on: 02/11/2009
Arrived to Kuwait on: 08/11/2009
Paid: KD18 for shipping + KD1 handling charge

So the good news is computers don’t get held in customs. The KD1 extra charge is annoying on small packages but not a big deal on big important ones.

The bad news is it took over 2 weeks to get my tshirts.. whats up Aramex?

Cinemagic’s rooftop movie nights are starting again now that the weather is getting cooler. Here is their schedule of upcoming movies:

Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 07:00 p.m
THE BANISHMENT, RUSSIA 2007
Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev
Genre: Drama | 146 min | English Subtitle

Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 07:00 p.m
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, SWEDEN 2008
Director: Thomas Alfredson
Genre: Drama | 115 min | English Subtitle

Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 07:00 p.m
SURPRISE FILM

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 07:00 p.m
DEATH NOTE 1, JAPAN 2006
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Genre: Adventure | Mystery | 126 min | English Subtitle

Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Attendance is free of charge and snacks and refreshments will be served.

A week back I posted about how I wanted the HPI Baja 5b, a giant 1/5 scale radio controlled buggy. Well since then I’ve changed my mind. Turns out the buggy is too big to be allowed to race on the new off-road track that’s being built by the Radio Control Car Club of Kuwait near the 360 Mall (29°16’16.34″N 48° 0’10.48″E). The off-road track is going to be one of the largest in the world (they’re checking to see if it’s actually the largest) so it would be a shame if I couldn’t take advantage of it.

The track (pictured above) should be ready in 2 weeks time and anyone will be allowed to use it. Members have to pay KD2 per day of track use while non-members pay KD5. It’s going to be very cool and next year they’re planning on holding the Asian championship here in Kuwait. The picture above is made of multiple pictures combined since my wide camera lens wasn’t enough to fit the whole track. You can see a larger version of that picture [Here]

If I want to compete in the weekly friendly races on the track I need to get a nitro 1/8 scale buggy and I am currently leaning towards a 2009 XRAY XB808 (pictured above). I hadn’t heard of the XRAY up till yesterday but from what I’ve read it’s the Rolls Royce of R/C cars.

If you would like to get more information about the Radio Control Car Club of Kuwait (RCCCK) who are responsible for building this track and setting up all the events then visit their website [Here]

Al Watan Daily published a new article where they basically say I was wrong and they were right with regards to the Friday Market fiasco. Here is a recap of what has been happening the past couple of days:

On Monday, Al Watan Daily published an article where they stated that the municipality wasn’t allowing the shop owners at the Friday Market access to their animals. The article stated that the shop owners haven’t opened their stores in 15 days and all the animals were dying from hunger and lack of air. Here is a link to that article [Link]

But, according to three different sources, I stated Al Watan Daily were wrong. Here are my sources from the least credible to the most:

Source 1 – Anna (anonymous reader):

I just called a store owner there who I’ve dealt with extensively with my salt water fish tank. The good news is that all stall owners sneak in at night to feed the animals. The bad news is that the animals are there in total darkness, and sanitary conditions are even worse than usual (if you can imagine that).

Source 2 – Mrs F (a very good friend)

My husband spoke to a few shop owners and they mentioned that they were actually allowed to open their shops in order to clean and feed their animals.

Source 3 – Ayesha (founder of Animals Friends and K’s Path)

We have investigated the situation and most of the information around is incorrect. The shop keepers are able to enter their stores and care for the animals. We have a volunteer that knows many of the shopkeepers very well and he has visited them multiple times and spoken to them throughout the last two weeks of closure and they are still able to enter their shops. In fact you can even buy things from them they just can’t officially open their doors for business. On the weekends and evening you will see them outside on the road selling so clearly they can get in. Also the area has been closed for two weeks, if it was true that these animals have not been fed then they would all be dead at this point but you can hear them in the shops.

I will leave it to you to decide who’s right and who’s wrong. Here is the link to their “Citizen Journalism” article [Here]

iLSuL6ana has pictures and information on the new mall that opened near the 7th Ring Road called Al Bairaq. It doesn’t seem very interesting compared to 360 and Avenues but it could be convenient for people who live there. [Link]

There is going to be a protest tomorrow (Monday) at 4PM in Mishref to raise awareness about the whole issue with the sewage plant problems and the construction that’s taking forever. The protest which will be more of a walkathon will take place near the sewage plant on the side of the 6th ring road in Mishref. Everyone is invited.

Thanks b19

I got the following by in my mail about an Improv Comedy Troupe that’s in affiliation with LOYAC:

Are you the funniest person in your family? Do you make people laugh with your clever wit and humor? Is Jokey your favorite Smurf?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then
Audition for Kuwait’s first ever Improv Comedy Troupe

When?
Saturday, November 1st from 4:30-6:30pm
Monday, November 2nd from 6:00-8:00pm

Where?
Bayt Lothan – Room 78 (Drama Studio)
Bayt Lothan is located right next to Marina Mall in Salmiya

Who?
Males and Females, age 18+, all nationalities are welcome, proficient English speakers only.

No preparation necessary.
For questions, contact Hassan at 97211327.

Since we don’t get that many world class sport events here in Kuwait I would think an event like this deserves a bit more publicity…

The Kuwait Men’s World Open will be staged from the 1st to 7th November 2009 and will boast a record prize fund of US$277,500.

The championship is the climax of a three year agreement with the Professional Squash Association (PSA) which has already seen the successful staging of Super Series Platinum events in 2007 and 2008.

As well as offering the largest prize money of any World Open, the championship will also include spectacular opening and closing ceremonies as well as an Official Championship Gala Dinner.

The championships will bring together all of the world’s leading players from the PSA World Tour. World No.1 Karim Darwish of Egypt will head a star-studded field including compatriots Ramy Ashour and Amr Shabana, Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou from France, Australia’s former World Open Champion David Palmer and England’s British Champion Nick Matthew.

The quarter-finals, semi finals and finals will be played on a dedicated court being built on Green Island which sounds cool considering the weather is great at the moment. For more information visit the official website [Here]

Thanks Akbar!

Aramex and the Kuwaiti customs have come to an agreement. From now on all goods that are valued at $100 and up will be subjected to a 5% customs charge and a KD1 handling charge. No additional delays or charges.

Thats actually not a bad compromise at all. I would rather pay 5% than pay KD20 + 5% they were talking about last week.

Update: Some readers have brought up an interesting theory which is there never was any issue with customs and that Aramex created all this so they could just increase their prices. Some readers have also written that they had contacted USWS and DHL both of which had said they didn’t receive any letter from customs and that it was business as usual for them. This is just a conspiracy theory but an interesting one nevertheless.

Today I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of Infunity which will be one of the largest indoor amusement parks in Kuwait once completed. Three things that grabbed my attention there, the first is they will have a pretty cool indoor roller coaster that’s designed by the same people who build ones for Six Flags. Secondly they will have Go-Kart Drifting which I didn’t know existed but sounds pretty cool. Finally my favorite thing, they will have a huge proper climbing wall! The place will launch early next year and they will be located on the top floor of 360 Mall near the bowling and arcades.

Watan TV interviewed the bloggers p0ach and Blushberry about blogging in Kuwait the other day and now the full interview is available on YouTube to watch. One thing I think Watan TV should have done was actually display the url’s of the blogs on the screen instead of just the blog titles. So instead of writing just “4th Ring Road” they should have had www.4thringroad.com under it to make it easier for the viewers to check out. Here is the interview split into two parts:

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

Does anyone here regularly ship stuff to their PO Box? When shopping on eBay I know a lot of people offer express mail shipping to PO Boxes, has anyone tried that? I know when I was in university back in Lebanon I used to order books from Amazon to my mailbox in Lebanon and it would take around 20 days to get there. How long does it take to get the items in Kuwait? Do you pay customs? How does one open a PO Box and what are the fees?

Update: I found this page with details. Mailbox annual fee is KD4 and KD2 as insurance for the key. I need to open a mailbox. [Link]

So you already have packages on their way to Kuwait via Aramex and yesterday like everyone else you found out you will have to pay at least KD20 to clear each package, what will you do?

Personally I have two packages on their way. One is valued at $20 and another at $30. There is no way I am going to pay KD20 for a package that’s worth just $20 or $30.

What are our options?
Did anyone receive any packages yesterday?
Did you have to pay the new clearance fees?
Can we refuse delivery of our packages?

Just got the following email from Aramex:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for choosing Aramex as your transportation partner.

The Kuwaiti Customs Authority has recently notified us that all courier shipments containing non-documents shall undergo customs inspection upon arrival at Kuwait airport. While Aramex shall continue providing its clearance services, we are unable to provide a specific time frame as to the duration of the clearance period, which may exceed five working days. Aramex therefore encourages all its customers who require speedy clearance to collect their shipments’ documents for self-clearance at the Aramex Ardiya office.

Should you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us on + 965 1820011.

Best Regards,
Aramex Shop&Ship Team

I wonder if this applies to other carriers like U Shop We Ship and DHL?

Update: I just called Aramex to get more details. Basically everything is still exactly the same as before except now once the package arrives to Kuwait it will take a few days to get delivered to you. You don’t pay anything extra with this new rule, you just have to be more patient. But, like before, if customs decides to hold your package you would need to either clear it yourself or have them clear it for you for a fee.

Update2: I just called Aramex again and spoke to a person I know there. According to her I can expect ALL my packages to be held in customs from now on. Which means I will have to pay a fee to get my packages cleared. The fee is around KD15 (I think) which is just ridiculous!

Update3: Here is the breakdown of what you will have to pay from now on for EVERY single package you get via Aramex

a. 5% CIF.
b. 10 KD Kuwait airways.
c. 2 KD Bank Commission.
d. 1 KD Handling Charges.
e. 5 KD Clearance charges, if your good selves choose aramex to clear on your behalf, otherwise 2 KD only for self-clearance for customs declaration form.

That’s over KD20 per package! I still haven’t verified if USWS and DHL Easy Shop are effected by this since their offices were closed at the time of this posting.

Update4: Want to know how complicated it is to clear the stuff from customs yourself? Check my Kuwaiti Customs Clearance post with step by step directions and a map. [Link]

I just got an email from a friend at NBK about this new service they will be trying out in Kuwait which is payment via NFC (near field communication). Instead of paying by cash or plastic cards you could pay by just waving your phone. The service is going to be called Bouky and they’re launching a 6 month pilot which you can sign up to if you’re interested (link at the end of the post).

This service is already used in places like Japan and the Far East but it will be the first time here in the Middle East. Another cool feature will be that you could wave the phone in front of “smart” posters and redeem offers or download free pre-paid visa cards. My friend signed me up for the 6 month trial so I will get to try it out. During the trial period I will be able to pay by waving my phone at some 100 outlets in The Avenues. If you’re interested in trying Bouky out they will be choosing only 500 customers for the trial period. To sign up follow this [Link]

Note: You need to be a Zain mobile user to beta test this service