Category: Kuwait

That’s a side by side comparison of the new Zain MiFi next to my BlackBerry. It’s pretty tiny.

Update: The Zain MiFi is a portable wireless internet router that runs on battery. The price is KD30 with a 1 year internet subscription.

For the first time ever the Concours d’Elegance is going to be held in Kuwait this month. I honestly never heard about Concours d’Elegance before today but after doing some research it turns out to be a pretty important and prestigious event. Here is some information which I took from the official event website:

What is the Concours d’Elegance?
Concours is a French word meaning competition. The concept of Concours originates in 17th C. France when aristocrats used to choose their best horse carriages to parade around parks of Paris during the summer week ends and holidays. Later these traditions changed to automobiles from the 20th C. Concours today have strict regulations and cars are inspected by qualified judges. Trophy winners are carefully chosen.

Kuwait Concours d’Elegance Highlight
The first Kuwait Concours d’Elegance set to take place on January 2010 will highlight the great passion for automobiles that the country has had ever since the 1910’s decade when the first car, a Belgium-made Minerva, arrived on its shores. In fact, the year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary since the first car entered Kuwait thanks to Sheik Mubarak bin Sabah Al Sabah (1896-1915).

Date
January 20th to 23rd 2010
10:00AM – 10:00PM

Location
Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn.

It should be a very cool event and its taking place right next to my house so I will definitely be passing by. The designer of the Nissan GTR will also be at this event, Shirō Nakamura who is the Senior VP of Nissan and Infiniti.

For more information here are some links:
Concours d’Elegance – Kuwait
Concours d’Elegance on Wikipedia

Thanks Rita!

[YouTube]

I was at Avenues two nights back and spotted a girl wearing a Free Kuwait sweatshirt and since then I’ve had the Nabil Sheal song stuck in my head. So I thought I would look for it on YouTube when I accidenty found the videos above and below. I don’t remember ever hearing them before and the one below has a guy that looks like Borat singing. Very weird. Anyway here is the link to the Nabil Sheal version of the song. [Link]

[YouTube]

Fereej took the time and effort to round up the top blogs in Kuwait based on Alexa’s rankings. I decided to take his list and one by one get all the actual rankings of the blogs and put together a Top 20 blog rank list. Now there are actually two lists that differ slightly. The first list is the Top 20 Kuwait Blogs in Kuwait. The second list is the Top 20 Kuwait Blogs in the World. Whats popular in Kuwait doesn’t necessarily make it popular outside of Kuwait and its interesting to see the differences. Here are the lists:

Top 20 Kuwait Blogs in Kuwait
1- mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com 260
2- ilSul6ana.com 1,000
3- KuwaitStay.com 1,126
4- Frankom.com 1,379
5- ma6goog.com 1,403
6- Buzberry.com 1,799
7- 360Dewan.com 1,804
8- freejsaud.blogspot.com 1,894
9- SomeContrast.com 2,042
10- 4thRingRoad.com 2,926
11- P0ach.com 3,752
12- 3grbgr.blogspot.com 3,760
13- BlushBerry.net 4,035
14- kuwaitpaperdump.com 4,011
15- confashionsfromkuwait.com 4,878
16- Q8BlackMarket.com 5,764
17- blog3amty.blogspot.com 6,349
18- loft965.com 6,670
19- HiKuwait.com 6,751
20- couchavenue.com 7,574
21- catism.org 7,814
22- Qortuba.org 8,029
23- YearOfTeddy.com 8,859

Top 20 Kuwait Blogs in the World
1- mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com 68,092
2- loft965.com 212,939
3- zDistrict.com 247,540
4- Frankom.com 351,00
5- ilSul6ana.com 373,252
6- SomeContrast.com 569,120
7- 4thRingRoad.com 588,836
8- kuwaitpaperdump.com 596,987
9- Buzberry.com 606,637
10- ansam518.wordpress.com 636,523
11- 360Dewan.com 656,446
12- ma6goog.com 689,286
13- BlushBerry.net 765,799
14- Uptill1.com 874,165
15- freejsaud.blogspot.com 956,647
16- P0ach.com 1,109,988
17- MeBlogging.com 1,224,863
18- catism.org 1,394,504
19- Rayboy.org 1,494,994
20- couchavenue.com 1,505,123
21- Blog37.net 1,512,128
22- 3grbgr.blogspot.com 1,569,294

Update: I updated the list with a blog called Catism that wasn’t there before. The previous #20’s got pushed off the list and are now crossed out. Every time a new blog gets added a blog will get pushed off the list.

Note: If your blog is not listed above, check your blogs rating in Alexa and if it turns out your blog should be in the top 20 email me or comment below so I can update the list. [Alexa]

I really like the old buildings in Kuwait and its very sad to see them crumble. So when I found out about this exhibition by Architect Deema Abdullah Al-Ghunaim I thought it was really interesting since it involved two things I liked, photography and old buildings:

|Tæ’boõq| طابوق
This exhibition is a starting study to trace architectural conceptions in Kuwait through series of screens photographed around Qebla, Merqab, Dasman, Hawalli and Jeleeb Shyoukh. The buildings studied are standing from 1960s as time sensors of placement, displacement and improvisation.

Time
From January 5th to January 7th 2010
January 5th from 7pm till 9pm
January 6th from 9am till 4pm and from 7pm till 9pm
January 7th from 9am till 4pm only

Place
The Sultan Gallery
Sabhan, southern entrance, Sadeer Co., block 8, street 105, building no 168
Telephone: 24714325/26 ext 110
Here is a map [Link]

You can find out more by visiting Deema’s blog where she also has scans of the invitation [Link]

via ProjektCyan

I woke up today hungry and after checking a few blogs I found Ansam’s post on The Noodle House. The food looked and sounded good so I decided I would pass by them for lunch.

I got there around 2:30 expecting the place to be packed but surprisingly there was just one table occupied. Thats a good thing since I don’t like places that get too packed. I quickly knew what I wanted to order since I was having everything Ansam had recommended, chicken satay for appetizers, fried honey & sesame chicken for the main course and I ordered plain steamed rice on the side. Nat ordered spinach and vegetables dim sum for her lunch.

The chicken satay arrived and the first thing I notice is how huge the quantity is. I grabbed a stick and dunked it in the accompanying peanut dip and took a bite. It wasn’t that great. It was fine enough to eat right then but I wouldn’t order it again. The chicken was over cooked, it was hard and tough while I could barely taste the flavor of the sauce. Then when the fried honey & sesame chicken arrived I noticed it looked different than the one Ansam had. I actually pulled up her blog on my phone to compare with the picture she took. Her chicken had a nice color and looked soft while mine looked overcooked. I took a bite and again the chicken was very dry and tough.

Before I get to the positives there was one more thing that I didn’t like and that was the way the different types of noodles were presented. Those of you who’ve been to a steak house like Gaucho will know how before you order a steak they bring out all the cuts to show you what is what. Well they brought out a little plate with different types of noodles on it. In theory it sounds like a good idea but their execution was horrible. First the plate was white and so were the noodles which made them invisible. A second reason why you barely see them is because they display only a tiny piece from every type of noodle. Not a little pile of noodles, just a single 2cm long piece. They looked taped to the plate with their names stuck on top and then the whole thing covered in a clear plastic wrap. It looked horrible and not appetizing whatsoever.

Now the positives. Nat enjoyed her dim sum but I wasn’t interested in trying it. The service was really good and it was a beautiful day so the view was nice. It’s too bad I didn’t enjoy my food, maybe it was a bad day or maybe I ordered the wrong things. The next time I think I am going to try their Sweet & Sour Chicken and maybe a prawns dim sum.

Prices
Chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce: KD2.500
Spinach and vegetable dumplings: KD1.600
Wok fried honey and sesame chicken: KD3.250

Since I have a long weekend I decided to pass by Extreme Hobby and pick up a small indoor helicopter. I played with it in their store a while back and since then it’s always been on my mind. Unlike the crappy toy helicopters you find at regular toy stores, this is a proper tiny hobby grade helicopter. It comes with a 4-channel 2.4Ghz digital transmitter with four AA batteries for it, the actual micro helicopter and a 1-cell LiPo battery.

The helicopter is very tiny which makes it perfect for flying around in the living room. Helicopters in general are difficult to fly and so this micro helicopter for me is a good way to get into them. As a beginner its a bit mind numbing still trying to fly this thing around. The left stick on the transmitter controls the throttle and the direction the helicopter is facing. The right stick controls the flight direction, front back left and right. You charge the helicopters battery in the actual receiver, there is a slot in the back where you can insert the LiPo battery and it takes around 5 minutes to fully charge it. You can then fly the helicopter for around 8 minutes. Because its a hobby grade helicopter Extreme Hobby carry all the spare parts for it so if you need another battery or if you break something you can get a replacement part.

[YouTube]

As I mentioned above I’m a beginner so I am pretty crap at flying it still. But if you want to see the helicopter in action there are a ton of videos on YouTube. The one above is my favorite since the guy is pretty good. The cost of the helicopter is KD26 and it comes with everything you need to get it up and running. It costs KD29 on Amazon so its cheaper in Kuwait. They only had around 4 more helicopters left so if you’re interested you can pass by them in Dajij. Their phone number is 24348123.

The local IKEA website got hacked again, just a day after I posted about the previous hack this time by a guy calling himself “This Turkish HaCKeR | For PALESTİNE”. He seems to really not like Americans… [Link]

Thanks Nabil!

It seems someone hacked the local IKEA website. There is nothing there except for a message saying “Red Eye ownz you! – by Z4i0n”. [Link]

Thanks gunsmoke!

I should have posted about this last week but I just started catching up on all my emails. Luckily the exhibition is still on so you’ve still got time to catch it.

“Our exhibition is about “عتيج الصوف ولا يديد البريسم؟” rethinking the way we view our Kuwaiti culture from its proverbs to its simplest and quirkiest words illustrated through traditional calligraphy but digitally enhanced to create an art piece.” -Jassim and Anas

The exhibition is being held at thenumber4 in Shuwaikh Industrial area, Mahdi Habib street, opposite the BMW showroom. [Map]

The exhibition started on the 24th but will be there till the 5th of January.

Confashions passed by and took some pictures which you can check [Here]
And here is a link to the exhibit [blog] and [Facebook Group]

Alghanim Electronics dropped off an iRiver Story eBook reader for me to check out. I’ve been wanting an eBook reader since the Kindle first came out but never got one because of the hassle involved with buying eBooks from Amazon (its US only). When the Barnes & Noble Nook got released I quickly pre-ordered one but when I tried to buy an eBook I ran into the same problems as Amazon so I canceled my order. I am not sure yet where I can get books for the iRiver Story, I just did a quick search and found out the Story is compatible with UK’s Waterstones so will try it out and see if I have any luck with them.

I haven’t had much contact with eBook readers, I think I’ve only interacted with one once at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 duty free. So far the iRiver Story looks pretty, it’s very similar to the Kindle just slightly more stylish. Once I spend some more time with the Story I will post more details. I just need to find a book I actually want to read…

Update: Just realized it’s only compatible with Windows which means connecting it directly to my Mac will only charge the device. To get books onto the iRiver with my Mac I need to upload books onto an SD card and then place the SD card into the iRiver.

The Aramex Ardiya branch has new working hours. Starting today, the Ardiya branch is now open from 8:30AM to 9PM from Saturday to Thursday and Friday from 12PM to 6PM. I am guessing this is in reponse to DHL EasyShop who’s Ardiya branch is open daily till midnight except for Friday when they close at 9PM. I hope this is a sign that Aramex is going to try and improve so that they can compete with other mail forwarding services. I just hope packages go back to taking a few days to arrive to Kuwait and into my hands instead of the 10 days its taking now.

If you’re staying in Kuwait for New Years then here is something for you to do. GUST is holding a talent show on December 31st from 5pm to 7pm at their university campus. The students will be performing a wide range of shows from a comedy play to song and dance. A blogger called Mish is giving away 4 tickets to the show which you could win just by leaving a comment on his post. So if you are interested, here is the [Link]

Found out about Capital District from iLSuL6ana’s blog and I think I like where they’re going with the brand. Their clothing are unique in that they’re based on Kuwait and it’s past which automatically differentiates them from everything else out there. They have a few designs at the moment which you can order at very reasonable prices. If you’re interested in checking out their designs and placing an order visit their Facebook group [Here]

Note: You can see their designs in the photos section.

I previously posted about how Planet Hollywood was going to open at Olympia Towers this past summer but they never did. Now it seems they will be opening in March 2010 according to a reader who also sent me a picture of the exterior. I also previously mentioned that I had heard Sylvester Stallone was coming for the launch and I will say this again. If he comes I am going to be there with my Cobra DVD for him to autograph. I will not let him leave Kuwait before he does!

Thanks Farah