Category: Interesting

A friend of mine was set to open a ceramics design studio called From Mud before the pandemic hit and now is forced to push back the opening date.

In the meantime, she’s decided to put together a “Clay at Home” starter kit for people looking for a new hobby to get into, or a fun activity to stay entertained with at home. If you’re interested, check out her instagram account for more details @frommud

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.

It’s starting to look like one of those abandoned Soviet parks. On the bright side, they’re building a new Entertainment City soon in its place although as a nostalgic person I just wish they keep the park as is and just refurbish it.

Thanks Alex

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

Nick Ingman is an English arranger, composer and conductor who’s worked with a lot of musicians including Blur, Oasis, Madonna, Elton John and even worked with Radiohead on ‘OK Computer‘ which is one of my favorite albums ever. I hadn’t heard of Nick until a few days ago when a reader made me aware that his 1976 album ‘Terminator’ used the Kuwait Water Towers on the cover. Since it was released around the same time the water towers were completed, this might have been the first time the water towers were ever used in an artwork.

I found three copies of this record on eBay, I just bought one and so there are two more left if you’re interested in picking one up.

Thanks Adam

Someone on Reddit noticed that Murouj have an “I ❤️ Kuwait” message written on top of one of the roofs. Not sure if you can see it from a plane as you’re landing or leaving Kuwait, but it shows clearly when you view Murouj on Google Maps.

I wonder if there are any other secret messages around Kuwait?

Thanks screamIscream

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

There is a new and still vacant building on the Gulf Road called MEDC which I pass by every night. What caught my attention is that every time I pass it they seem to have a different pixel art up created by turning on and off the lights of the different vacant spaces. Last night they had a flower emoji up but I’ve also seen different messages in Arabic spelled out.

No idea who has the time or patience for this but I keep imagining it being some creative building caretaker who is doing this out of boredom.

I don’t listen to many local podcasts mostly either because the subject matter doesn’t interest me , or the podcasts just sound like they were recorded inside a bathroom. ABAIH! on the other hand are always discussing interesting subjects, they’re really fun to listen/watch and the production is really well done with some great editing.

There are four core people on the ABAIH! podcast and they click really well together and seem like they’re having a blast. They’re currently on season 3 and this season they’ve started filming their videos in the vertical format which I think works out a lot better since the majority of people are on their mobile phones anyway.

The only thing I need to point out is that the podcast is in Arabic, and even though they do mix in a bit of English every now and then you still need to understand Arabic to get it. If you do understand Arabic then definitely check their podcasts out, they’re not too long (well not anymore anyway) and you can find all the episodes here.

If you want to follow them on instagram they’re handle is @abaih.world

If you’re a fan of the Netflix series NARCOS then you might be interested to know that Pablo Escobar’s son (real-life son Juan) is in Kuwait at the moment. I think he’s here because of a local YouTube show called Power Owners since they’re airing an interview with him on December 10.

Going through Juan’s Instagram account it seems like he’s doing all the touristy things of Kuwait like visiting the Kuwait Towers and JACC, as well as visiting places like The Avenues. If you want to see what he’s up to then check out his Instagram @juanpabloescobarhenao

Thanks @inspirededibles!

Last night I visited Expo 965 after a friend told me about it. I had a difficult time trying to understand what it was about at first or even where it was being held since all the information was in Arabic. But, I eventually found the place on Google Maps (after going to the wrong location first) and it turned out to be a really interesting experience. The Expo features Kuwaiti heritage and craftsman but there were a lot of private collectors there displaying family-related or old Kuwait related items.

When you first walk in the place doesn’t look very impressive but I ended up spending nearly two hours there. It’s two medium-sized halls filled with tables and stands and just random Kuwait related stuff on display. In my head, I was like let me check things out quickly and then walk over to BBT for a burger which was right next door. But the expo turned out to be way more fun than I was expecting.

The first display that ended up grabbing my attention had old radios and TV’s and it turned out to belong to the vintage radio shop guy. I hadn’t seen him since he moved his shop to Hawalli (and now it’s back in the city) so after catching up with him I decided to check out the rest of the expo. Basically it turns out it’s all about the people behind the displays. Everyone there was a volunteer and wanted to talk to you or share with you interesting information. Whenever I spotted anything interesting I’d ask the person who owned the stuff about it, and not only would they show me the item but they’d also take the time and explain the whole story behind it. Like literally every person I spoke to had an interesting story to share from the guy who’s dad was the first Kuwaiti dentist to the guy who collected vintage food wrappers and cans. I was not expecting to have so much fun.

So if you’re looking for something to do over the next few days the expo is being held until Thursday. Pass by and check it out and make sure you talk to the people.

For location and timings click [Here]

Thanks Aisha AlSaif!

When the Thunayan Al Ghanim Building was constructed back in 1954, it was considered to be one of the most advanced buildings in Kuwait at the time and one of the first to have an elevator. There are many stories on bedouins coming in from the desert to watch “the flying horse” that can go up and down. Back then the Thunayan Al Ghanim building housed the original KOC offices, the British Consulate, the first English bookshop in Kuwait, and later on the Rolls Royce dealership.

The building was originally designed to be 10 floors tall but during construction, the Kuwait City municipality changed the law and set that buildings in that area to be no higher than 4 floors since they wanted to spread out the city instead of having highrises with everyone located in a smaller area.

Below are some photos of the building from the 60s compared with photos taken last week.

Thanks Noura Anwar Al Ghanim!

Yesterday night I dropped by Calma, the first float center in Kuwait. Float centers (sometimes called spas) use large pods called isolation tanks that you float inside of in complete darkness to deprive your mind of external senses. The pods are soundproof and filled with extremely salty shallow water that is heated to your body temperature. The saltwater allows you to float effortlessly on the surface while zoning out in complete darkness and silence.

People use flotation tanks for muscle relaxation, to lower anxiety and to help with depression.

When you first walk into Calma it feels like you’ve just walked into a spa. After a small introduction on isolation tanks you’re led into one of their four flotation rooms where you’ll have access to your own pod and private shower. There you’re given some more instructions before you’re left alone to start your float session.

Although I had heard of flotation tanks before, I only got to try it for the first time yesterday. I was curious to know how it would feel floating in the tanks but I was also curious to see if it would feel claustrophobic or not. I did an MRI scan once and it felt extremely uncomfortable and so was worried this would feel the same. It surprisingly didn’t! The pod actually feels spacious once you’re inside, even after you close the lid. Then, once you turn off the lights it no longer feels like you’re inside a pod, it feels like you’re floating in the ocean in complete darkness or even in space.

The flotation sessions last one hour and cost KD30. Compared to prices abroad that’s fairly reasonable considering we’re in Kuwait and that Calma is located in the basement of Symphony Mall and not some shady first-floor building in Salmiya. Right now they’re in their soft launch phase and only accepting bookings through direct message on instagram. So if you’re interested in trying this out you can find them on instagram @calma_kw

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A post shared by Deliveroo Kuwait (@deliveroo_kw) on Jul 19, 2019 at 2:50am PDT

Explains how their delivery guys manage to stay so lively and cheerful in this heat.

Back in September, I posted about a cool new 3D printing service at Best Electronics where you can get a very realistic miniature figurine of yourself (and of you and your friends). That didn’t last long since the very next day Best were forced to close down the service due to religious reasons.

But, Best recently opened up a new store in The Avenues, it’s near Saveco in the basement in a pretty hidden location. But, the good news is they’ve brought back the 3D printing booth and have it set up there. So if you previously wanted to 3D print yourself but missed out, you should probably pass by Best quickly before it gets shut down again.