Category: Kuwait

Does anyone know what they’re building next to the airport. It looks like a large dome.

Picture by MacaholiQ8

I just got the following in my email from a passenger on a Kuwait Airways flight who’s currently stuck at the Cairo Airport. This incident just happened awhile ago:

Hey Mark –

I wanted to contact you for a [potentially] new post you might want to write. First off, what I’m gonna write about isn’t in the news yet but it will almost definitely be in the morning, so you get the insights before they do.

I was on Kuwait Airways flight 542 from Cairo to Kuwait today with my family. Basically, after the plane left the gates and was on the runway, we stopped and the crews opened up the doors claiming there was an apparently major technical problem with one of the engines. About a half hour later, they said it was fine and we could be on our way. Plane taxis once again, but I noticed that the ride was strangely bumpy.

We took off, and about 20 seconds after take off with the plane going up rapidly, the right engine exploded. The plane shook hard, another explosion went off with another hard shake, and then one final boom and the plane dipped. Passengers in the back started screaming that fire was coming out of the engine and the plane began to lose altitude freakishly quickly. People were screaming, panicking, praying and getting out of their seats. I was flying first, but even from there, I managed to see flames and smoke billowing out of the engine. Mix all that together, and voilà, a scene from Hell. I thought it was all over, and clearly, so did the 200+ others on that nightmare flight.

Lucky for us, after thirty minutes or so spinning around in the air, the pilot managed to stabilize the plane and we made an emergency landing at Cairo International again, complete with fire trucks and ambulances. The plane stops just off the runway, they offload everyone and the airline offered to set us up in a hotel. Things got a bit messy on the ground when a passenger blacked out and collapsed on the runway, but I hope he’ll be fine.

Definitely adds to Kuwait Airways’ stellar reputation lately, don’t you think?

I’m on the next Kuwait Airways flight out of Cairo in an hour or so. Wish me luck.

I hope to hear back from you.

– Khaled

Thats really freaky, I am never going to fly Kuwait Airways again. I just checked the Kuwait Airport website and it’s showing the plane as currently being delayed. This is crazy!

Update: I couldn’t find a mention of this incident in the Arab Times but the Kuwait Times have written about it. [Link]

Its the time of year again when AUK hold their annual car boot sale in their parking lot. If you’re interested in selling items out of the trunk of your car, one parking space is for KD10 while two is for KD15. The car boot sale will be held on January 10th, 2009. [Link]

Kuwait ranked 31st in the world in computer ownership. Doesn’t sound that bad until you realize Estonia, Slovania Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Latvia scored higher than Kuwait. Not that I have anything against those countries mind you! [Link]

Update: I just purchased the ebook version of The Pocket World in Figures 2008 and here are some interesting facts I found related to Kuwait…

– Kuwait ranks second in lowest death rate per capita. UAE is first, Qatar is third.

– Kuwait ranks 20th in most deaths in road accidents, I used to think we were first?

– Kuwait ranks 2nd in most injured in road accidents, Qatar is first with more than 3 times the amount!

– Kuwait ranks 3rd in death by diabetes, UAE is first, Saudi is second.

– Kuwait ranks 2nd in largest amount of carbon dioxide emissions per person. UAE is first.

– Kuwait ranks 4th in “Proportion of a country’s population residing in a single city”. That city being Kuwait City which doesn’t make sense since not many people live in Kuwait City.

– Kuwait ranks 3rd in Least economically dependent on agriculture. I don’t know if thats a good thing, I doubt.

– Kuwait ranks 1st in Largest consumption of energy per head (oil). UAE is second, the US is 5th.

– Finally, Kuwait ranks 5th in most crowded road networks. Qatar is first, Hong Kong second and Germany third.

Back in September I posted the logo Nataly designed for the Choowy Goowy New Yorker Cheesecake. Well the packages are now also finally done and printed and they’ve started delivering the cakes in them. So if you haven’t tried the New Yorker yet now is the perfect time. It’s KD11.5 for a full cake and you get to choose any crust you want, my favorite is the brownie crust.

To order a cake call them on 22620011 or 22626559.

Beautiful weather today so I took my Tamiya car to a parking lot across the street from my house to play around with. I even tried shooting a video (below) which didn’t come out as I planned! Its a really cool car but I keep wishing I had the real version instead. I am going to get soooo much more Tamiya cars though, its like I finally found myself a hobby! [YouTube]

I just got an email from a reader saying he saw a Schlotzsky’s opening soon sign at opposite Alraya Mall in Kuwait City. I used to LOVE Schlotzsky’s back when they were open in Lebanon. They make the best sandwiches ever!

Thanks Aliman!

It seems Starbucks is having a Toys Drive where all toys collected will be donated to the orphans at Dar Al-Atfal. A reader spotted the sign above with a basket full of toys at the Starbucks branch located at The Palms so I don’t know if this is something that’s exclusively being done at that branch or if all branches are participating in this. If someone can clear that up it would be great and also does anyone know when will this toys drive end?

Thanks Someday Red!

Update: The following email was sent to me from Alshaya containing more details on the Toys Drive…

Thank you for your interest in Starbucks “Holiday Joy” toys drive. I am happy to share with you an overview of the toys drive, the first time to launch in the Starbucks Middle East Markets, in selected stores in Kuwait, UAE & Lebanon.

Participating stores in Kuwait are:
Al Kout, Palms, Mishref, Jabriya, Behbehani, Keifan Sporting Club, Flagship, Hilton Hawally Plaza, Souk Sharq, Shamiyeh and Free Zone.

Duration of the drive is from 1st week of Dec. till 1st week of January.

The idea originated mainly as we were looking for ways to give back to our communities, especially during the holiday season, so we are inviting our customers to join our partners (employees) in sharing the joy of the season, by donating a toy to an orphan.

Warm regards,

This looks like an interesting place to try out. Amaya Seafood as you can guess from the name is a seafood restaurant which is located at the Mishref Coop. I haven’t been there but judging by the picture above it looks like a cozy place. Amaya also seems very affordable, KD1.900 for sweet & sour prawns or prawn curry is actually really cheap. They have a website with more details on what they offer including the prices. I am going to try and pass by this weekend. [Link]

Thanks miss ghesquiere!

Does anyone by any chance have anything related to Kids ‘R’ Us? Pictures of the branches, the koala bear doll, an old ad, ANYTHING related to Kids ‘R’ Us? If you do please contact me, I want to try and preserve the brand by collecting or documenting as much Kids ‘R’ Us stuff I can find. [Email Me]

Don’t know when this match took place but it was between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Pretty messed up but I’m an Ice Hockey fan so I find fights in sports entertaining. [YouTube]

I got the following in my email today:

You are all cordially invited to attend FIVE60’s first Flea Market featuring handcrafts and arts, anime cartoonist, fashion & accessories, gardening & nurseries, food vendors (candy + pancakes + desserts + corndogs) and more.

The market is held on December 26th – 27th from 4:00PM to 10:00PM in FIVE60 HQ @ Al Rawada – Block 5 – St 60 – House #4.

For more information please give us a buzz +965 9785 3033 or drop us an email [email protected]

Cheers!
FIVE60 Group

Some Contrast posted some pictures of the plane a couple of days ago but I couldn’t until I got approval from Wataniya Airways since they are my client. The above and below are pictures of the plane parked in Toulouse, France where Airbus plant is located. Hopefully next month I am going to be in Toulouse for the official unveiling and take some of my own photos but for now here are some of the photos taken by Airbus. The Kuwait Towers are proudly displayed on the tail of the plane and I think it actually looks pretty good. Definitely much better than the new MEA design which I HATE.

Back in October my agency pitched for and won the Wataniya Airways account. For those of you who don’t know, Wataniya Airways is the new “premium” Kuwaiti airline. I am highlighting the word premium because many people including me originally thought Wataniya Airways was going to be competing against the likes of Jazeera Airways as an economy no frills airline, it’s not. Wataniya Airways won’t even be using the regular airport instead they will be flying in and out of the new Royal Aviation Terminal, the exclusive terminal used by private jets. Anyway, the TV commercial is finally completed and here it is. I might later add some behind the scenes (making of) pictures but only if I find interesting ones. [YouTube]

update: Added a few behind the scenes photos below, might add more later.

I just saw an Electrozan ad in the paper for an “officially unlocked” iPhone 3G 16GB for only KD239. Thats pretty cheap if it is in fact officially unlocked.

Update: It seems Electrozan lied in their advertising. According to a reader who passed by Electrozan the phones are NOT officially unlocked.

Update2: OK, now someone is saying the iPhones at Electrozan ARE officially unlocked. I guess the best way is to go there and find out yourself.