Category: Kuwait

According to Net Index, Kuwait ranks 104th place worldwide when it comes to the average internet speed while Luxembourg tops the list with an average speed of 41.01 Mbps. They also have a list of the fastest ISP’s and currently WiMD who are my current favorite ISP are leading the list by a good chunk. That probably has to do with the fact that the slowest speed they are willing to sell you is 6Mbps while with others like Qualitynet you could sign up to 1Mbps if you want to. Check out all the date on Net Index [Here]

The Q8 Expats Photography Club is organizing a star trails photography workshop this weekend. Star trails photography involves long exposure shots of either the sky or landscapes where the movement of the stars in the sky form light trails in your shots.

If you bring an extra camera or if you get bored trying to capture star trails they will also be painting with light so you could participate in that.

Here is a list of gear you need to bring:

1. A DSLR
2. A tripod
3. Cable release or intervalometer (for star trailing shots)
4. Bring extra batteries or at least fully charge yours
5. A high capacity memory card
6. Torch/Lights/Flash (for light painting)

The gathering will take place in Al-Rai outside The Sultan Center right next to McDonalds on the 4th Ring Road. It’s opposite all the car dealerships. The meetup will be at 4:30PM and they’ll then depart to the main location at 5:00PM. For more information visit their Facebook page [Here]

Photo above taken by Saleh AlRashaid

The first RaceRoom in the Middle East is opening up today inside Baroue at the Avenues. The RaceRoom is sort of an arcade but one that’s filled with realistic car simulators. They used to have one simulator before which was the Gulf Run simulator and I guess it was really popular because they’ve now expanded on that idea. For a bit more information you can check out their Facebook page [Here]

Update: I passed by Baroue awhile ago and turns out they’ve remodeled the whole top floor. It’s now a proper arcade FILLED with racing games. The place looks super cool and it’s just one racing game after another all around the place. Sadly they don’t have a vintage gaming section filled with original Daytona 1 and Sega Rally 1 machines, that would have been the icing on the cake for me. The actual RaceRoom is a private room located in the middle of the arcade floor filled with 6 realistic racing simulators. That room is going to be open from tomorrow but the rest of the floor is open right now. I took a bunch of pictures which you can check out below.

Spotted the above at a checkout counter in Sultan Center. After checking their Facebook page it turns out Sultan is having a competition to promote child safety in cars by asking parents to submit pictures of their kids with their seat belts fastened. Then, based on the amount of likes the photo receives and the relevance to the campaign they’ll have a chance to win KD500.

If you’re interested in participating you can check out their Facebook page [Here]

Kuwait Little Theatre celebrates its sixtieth year with a documentary produced by Panorama Pictures looking back at the history of the busiest and best little theatre in the country.

I can’t believe they’ve been around that long and I have yet to watch a single one of their plays. That’s just embarrassing! [Vimeo]

Just found out Alshaya are bringing the Sprinkles Cupcakes franchise to the region and the first branch will open later this year in Kuwait. Sprinkles are the world’s first cupcake bakery and they’re the ones that started the gourmet cupcake fad. If we’re lucky maybe they’ll set us up with a 24hour Sprinkles Cupcake ATM for those late night cravings. [Link]

Thanks Saba

Heaviest 10 (for nations with more than 100,000 people):
1. United States
2. Kuwait
3. Croatia
4. Qatar
5. Egypt
6. United Arab Emirates
7. Trinidad and Tobago
8. Argentina
9. Greece
10. Bahrain

[Source]

According to LWDLIK the picture was taken by a friend of theirs this weekend at Kubbar. Not sure who’d want to be on a small boat in the middle of the sea with a lion on board… [Link]

Update: P0ach has more pictures of the lion [Here]

I passed by Symphony Mall to check out the new Bang & Olufsen store but found it closed so I decided to wonder around the mall to check out what other stores are open. The whole mall is pretty much vacant except for a new store in the basement called Destination XL. It’s a big and tall men’s store that opened up just two weeks back.

The place from the inside looks pretty nice with the layout looking very similar to a men’s section in a large department store like Macy’s. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the inside but I spotted brands like Lacoste, Polo Ralph Lauren, Joseph Abboud and Calven Klein among others.

It’s too bad the store is just for the big and tall since I liked the fact they carried a bunch of brands all in one place. Symphony Mall is located in Salmiya right next to Missoni Hotel opposite American University of Kuwait. The entrance is from the back side and the mall looks like it’s still under construction but DXL are open in the basement.

StudioNUNS are supposedly two Kuwaiti Girls who have been making their own music videos covering various popular songs. The first song they did was Call Me Maybe last month and they released a new video a few days back covering Teach Me How To Dougie. In all their videos so far they’re wearing masks which allows them to have all the fun they want without being judged. Check out their YouTube channel [Here]

Thanks epetome

Starting this coming Sunday, Solo Pizza Napulitana will start opening for lunch. Previously they used to open up only in the evenings from 6 till 11pm which wasn’t very convenient. If you’ve never been to Solo PN check out my review [Here]

Update: Their timings will be 12:30pm to 3:30pm and 6pm to 11:00pm

PinkGirlQ8 spotted a Shake Shack coming soon hoarding outside Fanar Mall in Salmiya. I thought the location was a bit odd but I guess they want to drive traffic away from the Johnny Rockets branch that’s just a few shops away.

I also found out the Harvey Nichols launch date at Avenues Phase III is now confirmed to be around end of September early October. This will be their first store in Kuwait.

According to AlMaha, Pink Moon Boutique are inviting graffiti artists to come and spray paint the exterior wall of their shop located in the Seef strip near Slider Station. That should be interesting to see how the wall is going to be shared with different artists. For more information check out the post on AlMaha [Here]

I’ve seen shops and restaurants closed down by the Ministry before but never a whole supermarket.

Thanks Quintin

This was in the paper around 10 days back but I just read about it on “Traveler’s Random Mental Wanderings & Contemplations”

A man was taken to the Psychiatric Hospital after coastguards plucked him out of the sea where he had been, reportedly, looking for mermaid. Coastguards reported to the scene, near the Messilah Beach, following reports of a man walking into the sea with his clothes on in what passersby thought was a suicide attempt. After the man was located and rescued, he told officers that he was simply looking for a mermaid he believes to be in the area. After failing to convince the adamant man out of his plans, the officers offered to help him go to another beach and search for mermaids there. Their ploy worked and they instead escorted the man to the mental facility.

Pretty strange and funny. Anyway check out “Traveler’s Random Mental Wanderings & Contemplations”, I just started reading it awhile ago and so far I find the guy really entertaining to read. [Link]