Category: Kuwait

[YouTube]

The managing director of the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait sent me some information regarding their participation last week in the 24th International Youth Tournament in Rovereto, Italy. It turns out it was the first time in the tournament’s history, a team from out of the EU participates in it. Even though the Kuwaiti team did not win the tournament they still had a great performance. For those of you who don’t know, the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait is in collaboration with Loyac and is a non-profit program designed to support the youth and improve football in Kuwait. Fore more information visit their website [Here]

Way to go guys!

When I was walking back home from work the other day I spotted this shawerma place called Dandosh. What grabbed my attention was a red skewer of chicken which according to a friend of mine I met there was their “mexican mix”. So since I was taking a day off from my diet I decided to pass by tonight and try out their shawermas.

I didn’t try their meat but I ended up having three different combinations of chicken shawerma which are:

– Mexican chicken shawerma with regular garlic and fries
– Regular chicken shawerma with red spicy garlic and fries
– Regular chicken shawerma with regular garlic and fries

I had all the above without their onion/greens mix.

The Mexican shawerma was a bit too strange for me. It had a lot of different spices and I tasted a hint of green pepper which I don’t like. The regular chicken shawerma with their special red spicy garlic was good although I thought it was a bit too spicy. My favorite shawerma turned out to be the classic, regular chicken with regular garlic. The garlic wasn’t too strong and the overall combination I think might be better than Badar Al Badoor although I would need to go back and try it one more time just to be sure. They also have benches outside if you want to sit and eat.

I would definitely recommend the place and if you want to know how to get there here is a link to [Google Maps]. For those of you who know where Badar Al Badoor is then it’s very easy to get to Dandosh. Just go straight instead of taking the right turn that takes you towards Badar Al Badoor.

I used to be a big fan of the raft race when it used to be held at Messila Beach in the late 80s but haven’t really been to any ever since. This weekend though the annual raft race is going to be held at Shaab Sea Club in Salmiya so depending on the weather I might end up passing by.

I couldn’t find any details regarding the timings but their website does mention the following activities that will be available on the day:

Children playground
Beach volleyball
Beach football
DJ
Costume show
Face painting

Ticket prices are KD4 for adults and KD2 for children. For more information visit their website [Here]

Update: Sorry I forgot to mention the date which is May 6th. I also found out the start time of the event which is 9AM. (Thanks Rashed)

Over the weekend I spotted the new KDD ice cream package designs and names on iLSul6ana’s blog and I found them depressing. Gone are our Burgan’s and Failaka’s, gone are the cute little Kuwaiti kids on the package, they’ve now been replaced with generic Blitz. Maybe if we all complain loud enough we can get back the old names and package designs?

So Thursday after work I decided to walk home as a bit of exercise. My office is located in Kuwait City near Muthana Complex and my apartment at the beginning of Salmiya. I estimated the distance would be around 15km and I wanted to try and make the trip in 3 hours or less. Well the whole trip turned out to be 12km and took me around 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete. I thought that was disappointing because my regular walks around Salmiya are 11km long and Kuwait City to Salmiya sounded a lot longer than that. I didn’t feel tired or exhausted and it really wasn’t challenging enough. What was even more depressing was when I got home and was checking Facebook I noticed pictures of a friend of mine who had just gotten back to Kuwait after participating at the Marathon des Sables… a 6 day long 243km endurance race. I guess I’m taking baby steps? On the bright side at least it’s something I can do more often now. I took some pictures during the walk and was uploading them to twitter but in case you missed it you can see them at the bottom of this post.

On a different note I measured my body fat percentage today and it’s 13%. That means I dropped down 1.6% since the beginning of the month (I was 14.6) and I lost 1.2kg of body weight and all of it was fat, no muscle loss. So not what I was hoping for but still better off from where I was earlier in the month.

The progress on my XRAY 808E RC buggy build has been pretty slow since I’m taking my time with it. My brother has also started his first build ever (pictured above), he’s putting together the Tamiya 501x he won from the My Toy competition on Facebook.

An advantage I have over him though is the fact I’ve already started buying the electronics for my car while he hasn’t which means my car will probably finish before him. I ended up ordering the Tekin T8 1900kv motor with the RX8 electronic speed controller (both pictured above) as well as two 4s 4500mAh hard case batteries. I ended up ordering the motor/esc combo online since I couldn’t find it locally and I ordered the batteries online because they’re a lot cheaper than here. I still need to get a servo (the small motor that steers the car) and tires which I will most probably get from Pro-Hobbies since that’s where I got the XRAY from.

Now the aim of posts like this is to try and introduce people to new activities or hobbies to my readers. Building cars is a great way to kill time and it’s an activity that is heavily supported by the local RC shops and a hobby that I really love. I am by no means an RC expert, I’m learning as I am going along and the people who work and run the RC shops are extremely helpful. So don’t be scared to build a car if you haven’t before, it’s as easy as LEGO. I didn’t know the difference between LiPo batteries were a few days ago or even the difference between a 1900kv motor and a 2650kv motor for example. I’m still learning! But if anyone has any questions about RC cars post them below and I’ll answer them.

I thought April would bethe final month for Cinemagic’s rooftop movies since they usually stop playing movies once the weather gets really hot but they’re still on for May and they’ve got some very cool movies lined up for everyone.

Thursday, May 5th at 7:30pm
CUBE
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Country: USA
Release: 1997
Genre: Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi
Running time: 90 minutes Language: English | English Subtitle Awards: Best Director, , Best Cinematography
Rated: R

Saturday, May 7th at 7:30pm
LADY VENDETTA
Director: Park Chan Wook
Country: South Korea
Release: 2005
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Running time: 112 minutes
Language: Korean | English Subtitle
Awards: Best Film, Best Director…
Rated: R

Thursday, May 12th at 7:30pm
DANCER IN THE DARK
Director: Lars Von Trier
Country: Denmark
Release: 2000
Genre: Drama | Musical
Running time: 140 minutes
Language: Danish | English Subtitle
Awards: Palm D,or and Best Actress
Rated: R

Saturday, May 14th at 7:30pm
VOLVER
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Country: Spain
Release: 2006
Genre: Drama
Running time: 121 minutes
Language: Spanish | English Subtitle
Awards: Nominated Palm D,or, Winner Best Actresses
Rated: R

Thursday, May 19th at 7:30pm
UZAK
Director: Nuri-bilge Ceylan
Country: Turkey
Release: 2002
Genre: Drama
Running time: 110 minutes
Language: Turkish | English Subtitle
Awards: Grand Prize of the Jury, Best Actor
Rated: PG

Saturday, May 21st at 7:30pm
OF GODS AND MEN
Director: Xavier Beauvois
Country: France
Release: 2010
Genre: Drama
Running time: 122 minutes
Language: French | English Subtitle
Awards: Grand Prize of the Jury, Best Director
Rated: R

Thursday, May 26th at 7:30pm
THE HUNTER
Director: Rafi Pitts
Country: Iran – Germany
Release: 2010
Genre: Drama
Running time: 90 minutes
Language: Persian | English Subtitle
Awards: Nominated at Berlin festival for Best Film
Rated: PG

Saturday, May 28th at 7:30pm
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD
Director: Sidney Lumet
Country: USA
Release: 2007
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Running time: 117 minutes
Language: English | English Subtitle
Rated: R

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. There is a KD1 charge for the venue fees which includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

This is going to be a bit of a long post and it will sound like an advertisement but I don’t care since it’s something that’s very important to me.

I’ve never thanked Fahad for changing my lifestyle and I figured the best way to do it is by dedicating a post to him. For those of you who’ve been checking the blog from the start you might remember the amount of junk food I used to eat. Just check these old posts [Click Here] and check the dates underneath those posts. That’s basically what I used to eat on a daily basis and it wasn’t just a phase, it was my lifestyle from the day I left to college up until over a year ago when I signed up to Fahad’s gym Core Fitness.

I remember when I found out I had acid reflux the Dr told me I had to change my eating habits and start exercising I literally laughed at him. Told him no way that was going to happen since I’m just too lazy. Then one day I decided to try this exercise thing, I had a home gym which I had only used once before and figured maybe if a trainer came over to my place and trained me at home I wouldn’t be too lazy about it. I posted on the blog asking people if they knew any trainers and that’s when Fahad emailed me. I had met him previously on an offroading trip and so I kinda knew who he was, he told me he had a gym and I could sign up there. I was replying back telling him thanks but no thanks when I decided to check his website and that’s where I read “20 minutes just 2 times a week”. 20 minutes? That’s nothing, no matter how busy I am with work and my blog, fitting 20 minutes into my day just twice a week would be doable. So I signed up and ever since I’ve changed into a completely new person.

I’m so into the Core Fitness lifestyle I’ve become a traveling salesman for them. Everyone I know who tells me “Mark you’ve lost a lot of weight, you look really fit” I shift into Core Fitness sales pitch mode. Their first excuse when I tell them to sign up at the gym is “I wish I could but I don’t have time”. I hit back with “dude it’s just 20 minutes twice a week!” And that grabs their attention just like it grabbed mine the first time I heard it.

Thing is you start off twice a week for 20 minutes but after awhile you end up wanting more. I’m not going to post Fahad’s secret to how he hooks you in (yes I’ve figured out the formula!) but lets just say it works really well. I went from a junk food addict who hadn’t done any kind of exercise for over a decade into the fitness/health obsessed freak I am today. I started with 20 minute sessions twice a week and then it became three times a week and then four. Now it’s 1 hour sessions three times a week and if I could fit in more sessions into my busy life I would. I’ve been going to the gym steady for nearly a year and a half now. I don’t miss sessions and if I do it’s usually because of an emergency or I’m stuck at work. Food wise I’m eating incredibly healthy now and I don’t even find it tough anymore when Fahad assigns a new routine for me. He could tell me to eat beans and spinach three times a day for a whole month and I would do it without any issues or complaints.

Now what made me want to write this post today is the following comment a reader left under the “My Bike Ride” post:

I have 30% body fat. I smoke like a chimney. I eat whatever I want. I drink like a fish. The most exercise I get is working the gas and brake pedals. I’m so happy with my lifestyle choice, not having to do crazy things like walking home to achieve a target.

It made me realize that I don’t have to eat healthy, I don’t have to exercise, I don’t have to hit 12% body fat and I don’t have to walk home. I WANT TO do all the above. I like doing them and I want to do more and the reason for this drastic lifestyle change was Fahad. So for this reason I want to say THANK YOU FAHAD. Thank you for changing my lifestyle and I hope you manage to change a lot more people as well. And of course a huge thank to all the trainers at the gym who kept pushing me even when I was begging them to be easy on me.

Make sure you guys visit Fahad’s blog [Here]
And here is a link to the Core Fitness [Website]

So yesterday I ended up riding home from work. It was a fairly chilled out ride with the most difficult part trying to get from my office near Muthana Complex in Kuwait City to Souq Sharq. There are no bike paths and the sidewalks aren’t consistent but once I got to Souq Sharq it was pretty straight forward from there on.

It took me just over an hour to complete the journey and I was mostly cruising at a moderate pace since I didn’t know how long the journey would be and if I would run out of energy before I got back home. The weather was great and I had good music playing so it was pretty much enjoyable and I think I’m going to do this a few more times before it gets really hot. I did have some problems with my bikes gear shifting by itself and I noticed my brakes weren’t performing that well so I’m going back to Extreme Sports to get these 2 issues fixed before I go riding again.

Now tomorrow on the other hand I’m going to attempt to walk back home from work. I’m estimating it should take me around 3 hours but hopefully not more than that. I need to burn as much fat as I can before Saturday since that’s when I’m going to be checking my stats and hopefully I’ll hit my target of 12% body fat. This also means no cheat meal this Friday, it’s been pushed back till Saturday night instead.

I don’t know how many people have noticed this but right in front of the Scientific Center there is an abandoned Kenny Rogers Roasters. I never knew about it when it was open and I’m actually curious to know why it closed down. Does anyone know anything about the place? For those of you who are Seinfeld fans you might remember the episode below when a Kenny Rogers Roasters opens up across the street.

[YouTube]

I’m really not a good writer neither am I great in speeches which is what I believe this verdict deserves. I was extremely nervous today waiting to find out the outcome as you can imagine and it was such an incredible relief to find out I won.

I’m really not sure what to say other than the fact this ruling goes to show how much freedom of speech is highly respected in Kuwait. I love living here and I love having the right to state my personal opinion on this blog. I really want to thank EVERYONE for all the support that you gave me. Seriously what you guys did was just incredible and really gave me the courage to fight this out till the end. I also want to thank my lawyer Khaled Al Shamali from The Group Law Firm for taking this case and doing an amazing job. And most importantly I want to thank the judge and the court for their ruling.

I hope no other blogger will have to go through what I did and I hope the result of this case will serve as an example that you can’t stop people from stating their personal opinions.

Thanks again everyone!

PS: If you have no idea what lawsuit I am talking about click [Here]

Still alive… just not kicking.

Someone from the Herman Miller dealer in Kuwait left a comment under my old post on the Herman Miller Aeron chairs (picture above). When I had checked the price of the chair back in February 2008 they were selling it for KD420. Now though it seems they have an offer till the end of May and they’re selling the chair for just KD270. They’re like 3 years late since I already bought a different chair back then but if you guys are interested you can call Mr Sherif on 1834222 ext 405.

The weather is getting hotter and biking season will soon be over. Before it is though there is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now and that is ride my bicycle to work and back. Since my car is at the dealer getting serviced plus I’m trying to burn some fat before the end of the month I figured it’s the perfect time to try this. I wiped the dust off my bike this past weekend and walked to Extreme Sports at the end of my street in Salmiya to get some new tires. The service guy there was pretty helpful, ended up getting some meaner wider tires for my bike, plus some new inner tubes as well as a pump in case I get a flat. It cost me KD15 per tire, KD4 per inner tube (comes with slime inside them) and another KD17 for the air pump. Not sure if these prices are good or not since it’s my first time replacing my tires.

My bike is now ready to ride to work and I’ve basically planned the route in my head already. I live in the old Salmiya and my office is near Muthana Complex in the city. I’m going to be going out onto the Gulf Road and ride my bike on the seaside pathway from in front of Shaab Park all the way till Souk Sharq. If I remember correctly the path ends once you hit Seef Palaace. From that point I’m not sure what route I will take. There is no way I am going to ride my bike on the street and I don’t recall there being a sidewalk. So I might end up cutting across towards the Kuwait Stock Exchange and head to Fahad Al Salem street and continue on the sidewalk from there. It’s around 8KM from my house to the Kuwait Towers and I would say less than 8KM from the Kuwait Towers to Muthana so I think it should take me under an hour if I take my time.

It really sucks how we don’t have any bike paths in the city. I know the weather gets very hot in the summer but this year there were at least 6 months of nice weather. In Salmiya we have sidewalks but if it’s crowded you can’t really ride your bike on them and then you have problems with the curb (check picture above) where you have a slope on one side of the street but no slope on the other. That’s not wheel chair friendly yet alone bike friendly. Anyway the plan is to ride to work tomorrow so will post again once I actually do it.

Update: Does anyone remember the yellow siren below? I used to have one on my bike as a kid, I wonder if they still sell them in Kuwait…

I’m not a big Harley fan since I prefer sports bikes and Vespas but I know a lot of you might be interested in this. According to a reader it seems you can rent Harleys from the Harley Davidson dealer. This is the email I received with minor editing:

I am sure you might be knowing about this, but just wanted to add in your activities, renting a Harley Davidson. The 2011 models are out and I rented a Fatboy this weekend for only KD72 (KD36 a day for a KD6,895 bike is really good). There are three other bikes available for rent as well: The Sportster Nightster for KD54, Street Glide and Road King Classic for KD81.

Please note these prices are for 2 day rental since they are closed on Fridays. You need to rent the bikes on Thursday and return them on Saturday and you get these special rates. Or you can rent on a daily bases and the rates are: Nightster – KD30, Fatboy – KD40, Street Glide and Road King Classic – KD45.

It was the best experience with friends having different bikes like Ducati, MV Agusta, Kawasaki, Honda, however the Harley stood out and was an amazing and comfortable ride throughout the day. Looking forward to rent another one again and try out all their models.

The staff at Harley Davidson is also very friendly and helped me select the best ride. You can contact Mr. Marlon, he will help you in the best way possible – 24823041 /2 / 3.

To rent a bike all you need to have is a valid bike license, your civil ID, the rental amount and KD250 on your credit card (or cash) as a deposit. All bikes are fully insured and they also provide you with a helmet (6 different helmets to choose from).

That’s actually not a bad activity especially with this great weather. So I’ve gone ahead and added this post on renting Harleys to the activities page.

Thanks Fahad