Category: Kuwait

Ace Hardware surprisingly are selling these wooden LED clocks. I had previously seen them only online and they look pretty cool. They’re priced very reasonably with the small ones for around KD5 and the big ones for KD6.

Sports Corner in Salmiya is getting rid of all their athletic equipment because they want to focus just on sports clothing. So they’ve got 50% on all their sporting gear from treadmills, to Mongoose bikes, pool and table tennis tables, baby foot, boxing gear, workout equipment etc.. They’ve put all the stuff on their top floor and everything is half off. They have an elliptical machine for example that originally cost KD1300 and is now priced at around KD600. Even the Nike + iPod sport kit is now KD11.500 instead of KD20.

The beautiful Slider Station garden was destroyed by the baladiya. Another victim of the green is bad campaign…

Thanks B!

On Friday morning I went to the junkyards to sell my old beemer wheels. Once I was done I decided to drive around and take pictures since the weather was good and the sky nice and blue. I really love the place, you can find everything there from the old double decker buses to broken down tanks. There was this one place I found which I think was a huge government impound lot that looked really cool. It was surrounded by a barbed wire fence but I managed to sneak inside from a hole in the fence and walk around a bit. The place is amazing, I found a lot of old trucks and cars, it was beautiful. If anyone can help me get in there legally again so I could take pictures that would be great. If not I guess I would have to jump the fence again.

Update: Higher resolution pictures now available [Here]

I passed by Intersport at 360 Mall today. They’ve been open since 360 launched but I only went in a few days ago and really liked the place. The shop feels really cozy and calm because the place is still brand new and there isn’t that much foot traffic. I used to like GoSport when they first opened up but now it feels hectic and the way things are laid out reminds me of Costco.

Intersport is smaller than GoSport but still manages to have a bit of everything. They’ve got sport watches, workout dvd’s, bicycles, skateboards, camping and beach gear, gym equipment, clothes, sneakers, a football section etc.. in addition to a few items here and there you can’t find anywhere else. The staff is also pretty friendly which is always a plus.

Intersport is located on the third floor of 360 Mall.

Note: I am organizing my categories and decided to create a new one called InFocus where I post about random places I find interesting or worth a visit.

I hate the way Pepsi and Coca Cola have reduced their can sizes back down to 250ml. One of the reasons I used to prefer Like Cola was the fact that they had 330ml cans while Pepsi and Coke had 250ml. Maybe someone should bring back Like…

Desert Girl sent me the most amazing thing today, a PDF of scanned pages from a National Geographic issue from 1952 which talks about Kuwait. The article is 20 pages long and contains 25 pictures of which 11 are in color. It’s incredible I love it. The caption under the picture above says:

A Mobile Medical Clinic, Bought with Oil Wealth, Tours Kuwait Villages
For ailing Arabs who cannot travel to the capital, the Sheikdom provides an American-built trailer unit staffed by a physician, nurse, and technician. Here the doctor examines an elderly man at an outlying village; other patients wait their turn. Treatment costs them nothing. New hospitals, including one for animals, are part of Kuwait’s heavy investment in its own well-being.

Here is the PDF for you to down. It’s around 4MB in size. [PDF Link]

Thanks Desert Girl!

The new location is open under Coffee Republic at the 360 Mall and the seating area is pretty nice.

This is a new photo Eng.Aljamea has uploaded onto his flickr account. The previous one was the Gulf Road picture and this time its a picture of a gas station. There is no date mentioned but I guess it could be the 60’s. [Picture]

Someone shot a video of Kuwait while up in a paramotor (powered paraglider). I don’t recognize the area but it looks beautiful. [YouTube]

Even the US embassy is on YouTube. The video starts off interesting but quickly gets boring. I’ve never been to the US embassy here in Kuwait but it looks huge. [YouTube]

After Aramex increased their prices last month many readers decided to sign up with DHL’s version of the same service which they call EasyShop. If you happen to be one of the readers who signed up with DHL and started receiving packages with them could you please post your feedback about them below in the comments. I am curious as I am sure many other readers are to see how they differ from Aramex. Both DHL and UShopWeShip have kept their prices the same.

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]