Category: Personal

This is going to be a long post but I wanted to document my process in detail mostly for my reference in the future. But I’ll give each section a headline in case you want to skip to a specific part.

Back in 2022 I bought a Toyota Hilux. It was my first pick up truck experience and although I was hoping to keep the car for at least 10 years, similar to how I had my previous FJ for 12, I couldn’t do it. Nothing was really wrong with the car but I guess as I’m getting older I wanted something more comfortable.

Unlike normal cars, the Hilux has a leaf spring in the rear instead of the more common coil spring suspension found in nearly every car. The leaf spring is better at dealing with heavy loads in the truck bed but it sacrifices comfort. I’d mostly feel it on speed bumps where the rear of the car kinda jolts. So I decided to change the car and started looking at options. It was getting very annoying and sometimes I just wanted to fill the bed with heavy things just to try and make the ride more comfortable.

The Lexus GX550 Overtrail

I think what got me thinking about changing the car was when I spotted the Lexus GX550 Overtrail while I was in LA in the summer. The GX is the Lexus version of the Prado but looks much nicer both on the outside and inside. They were priced around KD22,700 in the US with the specs I wanted which is pretty similar in price to the top end Prados here. The Kuwait Lexus dealer didn’t get this model but I had a relative who’s a car dealer in LA so I started the process with him of finding a car in the specs I wanted and then getting it shipped to Kuwait. Turns out it was more complicated than I had expected to get a brand new car shipped (used cars are much easier). Firstly the listed price at the dealership wasn’t the price you’d pay to get the car out of the door. After taxes, dealer markup and various other fees the car was KD27,000. Then you need to store the car for a month or two somewhere before the title comes out and that was added cost but also you risk getting car stolen or damaged or something you never know. Once the title comes out then you need to start the export process and ship the car over. So the 27,000, after shipping and local customs ends up 30,000 at the very least.

All the Cars I Checked Out

I bailed on the whole idea and started looking for something locally. I didn’t want to get a Prado or Landcruiser since they’re too common on the roads and wanted something different. I love the new LandCruiser LC76 with the automatic gearbox but I’ve driven them before and they have less creature comforts than my Hilux and aren’t as comfortable. But, I really need one in my life eventually.

Ineos Grenadier

One car I love looking at on the roads is the Grenadier. So I headed to the Ineos dealer and test drove the Grenadier. I remember liking the car when they first came out but disliked some quirks about it. But it’s been around 3 years since I last drove one and I wanted to give it another chance since I really love the way it looked. After driving the car for a day I realized I wasn’t really getting a car that was much more comfortable than the Hilux. I actually found the Hilux quieter and easier to drive and even more comfortable (as long as I avoided speed bumps). I also didn’t like the infotainment system of the Ineos which was small and sluggish. What was really cool about Ineos was the dealership. They have a small showroom and the experience of shopping for a car with them felt very personalized. They allow customers to build a car with their own specs and order it. A huge benefit which many other dealers don’t allow. The car I built was going to cost me KD26,900, so less than the GX. In the end I bailed on the Ineos since it wasn’t as comfortable as I was hoping it would be.

Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392

From Ineos I then headed to Jeep to check out the Wrangler Rubicon 392. The 392 is the souped up Wrangler with a V8 6.4l engine producing 470hp. I think they were priced at KD33,000 but they were all sold out and one car arriving the following month and also sold out. But I sat in the Wrangler and it wasn’t more comfortable than my Hilux and it was too little of a car for 33,000.

Landrover Defender

From there I went to LandRover to check out the Defender. They didn’t have many models in stock and they wouldn’t let me build a car. I would have to buy whatever they decided people in Kuwait wanted so beige or cream color interiors, one tone exteriors and the features that they felt people needed, not what I wanted. The 4 cylinder was also around 27,000 while the 6 was I think 31 or 32,000. While at Ineos I felt I was buying a proper off-roader, at Landrover it felt like I was just buying a normal boring car and I didn’t like that feeling.

Genesis, Mercedes and Denza

Since I was now looking at normal cars I decided to go test drive the Genesis GV80. I forgot what the price was, maybe around 26,000. Very comfy car with a ton of cool features but just wasn’t for me, maybe when I’m a lot older but I just felt like a dad in the car. I then decided to check out the G-Class since I figured if I’m looking at cars around the 30K mark I might as well check out the Merc. I remember years ago you could buy a G500 for around 38K. That’s long gone cuz the cheapest G500 on display was I think around 55K and the G63 was like 65K.

I also went and checked out the Denza B5 and B8 and although both were very tempting (700hp, lots of features, great sound system etc) but there weren’t any non-sponsored reviews online.

Ford Ranger Raptor

Finally, my last stop was at Ford. When the new Ranger came out I thought the Raptor version was ridiculously cool but it was priced at around 21,000 which was too expensive. But, after looking at all those much more expensive cars the Ranger Raptor seemed more affordable (19,500 after discount). The more I read about the Ranger Raptor and the more videos I watched the more it actually seemed like a steal compared to everything else I saw. Online in every review it beat out any other car they put it up with. The only real negative was fuel consumption and the small fuel tank which isn’t really an issue when you’re living in Kuwait. The Raptor had literally everything I wanted, a coil spring suspension in the rear, front and rear diff locks, huge brakes, 405hp, all the comfort features including electric seats, 360 degree cameras, adaptive cruise control, wireless charging and CarPlay, a B&O sound system and various safety features. I was convinced I wanted it so I took it for a test drive. It took one short drive around the block on a few speed bumps to convince me to get it and I did.

Now that I’ve had it for over a month and driven over 2,000KM with it I think it’s one of the best cars I’ve ever driven and I’ve driven a lot. It’s difficult to describe it but it feels like a sports car that has huge wheels. It’s so comfortable on the road over any terrain, it’s also so fast and handles really well, I’ve never driven anything like it. At first I didn’t think I needed 405hp in a pick up truck but now I realize how that can be beneficial, not necessarily for going fast, but for the acceleration aspect. If I was to sell all my other cars and be left with just the Ranger Raptor I’d still be satisfied.

The suspension is incredible, it’s stiff and doesn’t sway much when turning or stopping, but as soon as the road surface is rough or you go over a speed bump the car just floats over them so softly. It’s an incredible suspension system but the interior is so comfortable as well, and it’s such a cozy place to be in. Usually when I buy a new car I want to modify it but in this case there really isn’t anything for me to do. I ordered a cover for the truck bed and I got the windows tinted and that pretty much all I’m going to be doing. There is an official Ford Performance upgrade that adds an additional 50hp to the car which I might end up doing once the warranty runs out. Oh I did take the car to a Ford Programmer (who knew such a thing existed) to activate some cool features though.

Ford Programming

For some reason the Ranger Raptor in Kuwait comes with a few features deactivated, but with the help of a Ford programmer you can get them working. The two features I really wanted to activate were steering assist and the ability for the car to read the speed signs and display it in my dash so I always know what the speed limit is. The car comes with lane assist in Kuwait which is a feature found in most cars. When the car sees that you’re leaving the lane you’re in it nudges the car back into the lane. Steering assist on the other hand is a bit different. It’s used when you have adaptive cruise control active and the car steers itself keeping you in the middle of your lane. It feels like the car is driving by itself since it speeds up and slows down with traffic and steers for you. I guess Ford Middle East doesn’t think we’re responsible enough to use that here? Another feature I got activated which I thought was cool is internet. The car now has free internet anywhere I go in the region. It’s a cool feature that I won’t use much, but I do like that when working out of my car my laptop now just connects to the car’s hotspot.

Dealership Issues

The only negative thing about the car for me really was the buying experience. There was a lot of misinformation shared constantly during the purchase process and I think it was my least favorite car buying experience which is a shame since it involved buying my favorite car yet. A small example is with the colors, I was originally told they had the color Carbonized Gray in stock, so I started doing the research on that color and getting all hyped up about it but then the salesman they told me the grey color they actually have is Meteor Grey. I was also told they had 4 colors in stock, white, blue, black and grey, but then when I showed up to pay the reservation fee I saw a 5th color on display. When I asked why I wasn’t told about that color they told me they only had 1 in stock which didn’t make sense but whatever, I wasn’t interested in that color but I would have been very pissed if it was a color I wanted.

I was then told the car would be ready in 5 business days, that didn’t happen. I actually had to get really upset with them to get it 10 days later. If they had told me from the start it would take 2 weeks to get the car I would have waited but when they said it takes 5 days, but the 6th day I’m going to be like where is my car. They mismanaged my expectations and it only got worse since they did the same with my wife’s car.

Wife got a Bronco

Since I can’t own a pick up because I’m an expat, the Raptor has to be in my wife’s name. When she came to the dealership to sign some papers she fell in love with the Bronco and decided to buy one as well. They told us she would get the Bronco a few days after my car but that didn’t happen.

First issue is that my wife was trading in her car for the Bronco. The salesman said she could keep the car with her till she picked up the Bronco. A week later the Bronco still hadn’t popped up in her Mobile ID so I followed up with the the salesman and he was like oops, we can’t register the Bronco in her name until she hands over her car. I couldn’t believe anything he was saying anymore and that wasn’t all of it yet!

I then kept following up on the delivery date since it was getting close to our Japan trip and we wanted the car before we left. The salesman kept assuring me the car would be done by then and he kept saying they were working on her car and that he is following up with them every day by email.

Well two weeks later he calls me to tell me not only were they not working on the car, but the car wasn’t even with them, it was still at the port. Supposedly there was some mixup and the system was showing the car in their warehouse but in reality it was still at the port. So all the messages about them working on the car’s PID (which really takes a day) wasn’t true. He now didn’t know how long the car needed to leave the port and be sent for PID.

I had sold my Hilux by then as well since we were meant to pick up her car any day now, and since that didn’t happen, my wife didn’t have anything to drive anymore (she had been driving my Hilux after handing her car over for the trade in). I asked the dealer if she could have the test drive Bronco for a few days until we traveled and they agreed, they also gave her a 3 year service for free as a we’re sorry gift.

While we were in Japan we got the call saying her car was ready and we ended up picking it up the day we arrived. You’d think by now the negative experience would be over but there’s more! As part of the purchase they email you a survey form on how your experience went. I filled it up and mentioned all the issues we had. Someone from the dealership then called me and instead of being apologetic which is really all I wanted, the person on the other end was just coming up with excuses. Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with the salespeople ever again.

The Bronco is Also Great

On a side note, the Bronco is also a really great car, surprisingly good. I wasn’t expecting to like it but after spending time in it and driving it around I really like it a lot. The interior is very cool and even though she got the Big Bend which is the entry model the 2025 model comes with a huge center display, a fully digital dash and new for the Bronco sears, rear AC vents. If I didn’t get the Ranger Raptor I think I would have gotten the Bronco Badland. They’re reasonably priced as well.

So yeah, that’s about it. We’re suddenly a Ford household now and both loving it.

Later today I’m heading to Failaka for the first time since 1989 which is when the photo above was taken. I’m pretty excited since it’s been on my todo list for decades now but I kept putting it off mostly because I get sea sick and didn’t want to be on a boat for so long. But, a few months back I got accepted as a resident of season 3 at the Failaka Institute for Knowledge and Arts Research (FIKAR) and so I’m heading there today for my first stay. It’s a short one night stay for now just to get my bearings and then will head back for a longer visit. Already the whole process of getting there with my car was more complicated than I expected.

I was meant to be on the island from November 25 to 27 (Tuesday to Thursday). I initially contacted Ikarus Marine but turns out their car ferry is only available on weekends. I then got in touch with Joan Al Kuwait (KPTC) and they had daily ferries so decided to go with them. I was supposed to leave yesterday but yesterday’s ferry got canceled. So I moved my stay to 26 to 28 (Wednesday to Friday). When I went to book the ticket yesterday turns out they have daily ferries except for Friday. So now I’m just staying a night which is fine but yeah, if you want to head there with your car it’s a bit more complicated then it should be.

One interesting point. Ikarus doesn’t allow pets onboard while Joan do as long as they stay in the car. So if you want to take your dog to Failaka you can with the Joan ferry.

Anyway, if you’re curious about anything to do with Failaka let me know and I’ll try to get the answers for you.

On a side note, the only memory I have of the island involves the Philips Moving Sound walkman I had with me on the trip. The walkman has a speaker so you can listen to music with friends without headphones and I remember I was on small metal watch tower of a sort listening to music with the walkman with a couple of friends who were on the trip with me. I have four of those walkmans (don’t ask) and so gonna have to take one with me and try to find that spot on Failaka if it’s still there.

I woke up this morning to find 48 credit card transaction messages from NBK. It was a bit confusing at first because my iPhone had grouped up all the messages and given me a summary and I thought at first it was one declined transaction. But, I quickly realized it was more than one transaction and that my card had been compromised. The first thing I did was log into my NBK app and block the card until I could wake up and figure out what was going on.

Based on what I could tell, only 1 transaction might have gone through and it was for a small amount of $4.99, but then it was later credited back to my account. Everything else seems to have gotten declined.

I called NBK up to report my card as being compromised and to issue a new one. The employee checked and turns out NBK had already blocked my card before I did because of suspected fraudulent transaction which is why all the transactions had gotten declined. They’re now going to issue me a new card which I should get before I travel next week. He mentioned it takes 3-4 working days so I should be fine.

Last year my brand new debit card was compromised and two transactions had gone through which were returned back to me a week later. I barely use this credit card that got compromised since I have another prepaid one I use for most of my transactions since that one gets me miles. So I was pretty lucky that NBK blocked my card as soon as they detected anything weird or else I might have been out of a good chunk of money just before my trip.

I’m getting a Raptor next week so selling my Hilux. Before I list it on the market I wanted to see if any of my readers wanted it. If you’re interested, get in touch with me. Here are some specs:

Toyota Hilux Adventure
Model: 2022
Mileage: 84,000KM

Upgrades:
Old Man Emu Shocks and Springs
Original BRAID wheels
BFG KO3 Tires (Less than a year old)
Mountain Top EVOm roll cover
Mountain Top Sports Bar
Rival Underbody guard
FOCAL Audio for Hilux Sound System
Front PPF
Ceramic Tint

Asking KD9,000

Can someone recommend a labor lawyer they’ve worked with and had a good experience?

Earlier this year I quit my job because my employer hadn’t paid salaries for three months, and now they aren’t paying my indemnity either (even though they split it into a ridiculous 14 payments!). I found a labor lawyer through google already but I would rather work with one that comes through a recommendation. So if you’ve worked with a good labor lawyer and had a good experience, email me their contacts.

Thanks!

Update: Thank you everyone for your emails (and WhatsApp messages). I wasn’t expecting to get so many recommendations so now I have to organize all the contacts and spend the rest of the week doing a bit of research. I might end up putting together a post with the list of lawyers for anyone in the future who also might be in a similar spot and are looking for recommendations.

Back in June Amazon started offering free delivery to Kuwait which I’ve obviously been taking advantage of. One incident recently happened to me which I thought was worth sharing.

I was looking for a DAC that would take digital audio from my Mac mini and convert it to analogue to send to my KEF LSX speakers. I was using the Apple USB-C to headphone jack dongle but wanted something better. I previously ordered an optical in analogue out converter but it didn’t allow me to control the volume from my Mac mini, I had to do it from the speaker which I didn’t want to do. Anyway, after a lot of research with ChatGPT, and a limited budget of under $100, ChatGPT recommended I get the iFi UNO. According to ChatGPT I’d be able to control the volume from my Mac which was perfect.

ChatGPT was wrong. Last time I’m using it to help me buy electronics. Once plugged in I had to control the volume either from the speakers or the DAC but the volume control on my Mac wouldn’t do anything. I had bought it for around $80 plus I had ordered some high quality cables with it so I was down over $100. I was just going to dump it in my electronics box but decided to see if I could return it. I had thrown the box and manuals out already so wasn’t hopeful. I checked the return policy for Amazon and it turned out that if I returned the item even though it was without the box I might be entitled for possibly a 50% refund. Figured that was better than nothing.

So I applied to return both items. Returning the items was free of charge, I just had to print the DHL labels Amazon gave me and go to the DHL store to drop them off. Process at DHL took like 5 minutes, I didn’t even have to bring any packaging, they just dumped them into the standard DHL bags and shipped them. I mailed them back July 25, on July 31 I got a full refund back from Amazon!

That’s crazy. Forget the fact that they’re shipping the stuff for free to Kuwait, you can actually return the items for free as well, that’s really insane.

Today marks 35 years since Iraq invaded Kuwait, starting the Gulf War. I was in Kuwait and just 11 years old when I woke up that morning to find out what had happened. We had just finished celebrating my younger brother’s birthday the night before, so it took a while for me to grasp how much life was about to change.

My family stayed in Kuwait for six weeks before fleeing by road to Lebanon, where I lived until the war ended and we moved back to Kuwait in the summer of 1991. Although I was young, I have vivid memories from that time, mostly tied to the media, from CNN’s Operation Desert Storm coverage to the “FREE KUWAIT” and later “Free Our POWs” campaigns, and even small things like anti Saddam car bumper stickers.

I remember as a kid desperately wanting a “FREE KUWAIT” badge or t-shirt. It was such a strong and meaningful visual that, 35 years later, it’s still a powerful image.

The “FREE KUWAIT” logo was designed by Michael Lorrigan with the help of the British design firm Bostock & Pollitt (now called Pollitt & Partners). Michael, who was a teacher and deputy headmaster at New English School at the time, was in England on summer break when the invasion happened. After the war broke out, he discovered the newly formed Kuwaiti media committee in London and joined them, eventually becoming one of their most dedicated members. The name “Free Kuwait Campaign” was chosen as a unifying label for various London-based groups supporting Kuwait during the invasion. When Michael shared the sample logos with the campaign group, a member called Ali Al Mulaifi suggested making the word “FREE” larger than “KUWAIT.” That became the final version. source

There is actually a great interview you can watch (it’s in Arabic) that details Michaels role in the Free Kuwait campaign which you can watch here.

The photos in this post were all taken in London by Dr. Adel Al-Yousifi. They are part of his photo-book “A Testimony from London” and are also available online at his website, free-kuwait.net. Dr. Adel also created the website evidence-kw.net, which documents the impact of the war on Kuwait and is based on another photo-book he published in 1994.

After my last post on watching AC/DC live, I ended up watching Nine Inch Nails the following day, they were actually why I ended up in Berlin. This was the second time I booked for NIN in Berlin, first time was back in 2018 but never ended up going (I don’t remember why now), but I’m so glad I went this time.

I knew going to the NIN concert I had good tickets since I got them within the first 15 minutes of the tickets going on sale. They were 3rd row seated and near the stage off to the side, but not too much to the side. When NIN started their tour a couple of weeks ago, they revealed they’d also have a second smaller stage in the middle of the arena. I was hoping we’d get that as well since my seats would turn out to be perfect, and we did. My seats turned out to be between both stages so I couldn’t have asked for better tickets.

The concert itself might be the best one I’ve ever been to. The only reason I’m not sure is because I did Foo Fighters in a stadium and I was like front row middle standing in front of the stage which is hard to beat. Also I had to get to that concert 5 hours before the gates opened to stand in line and then run to the stage to get that done so there was quite a bit of work involved. I also watched Smashing Pumpkins with Marlyn Manson live in LA, and Smashing Pumpkins have always been my #1 band. So I guess this NIN concert is my top 3.

Performance wise, I think they were than Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins and I had such a great time. I was actually so upset when the show finished since it felt too short. I just checked how long it was based on the first and last photo I took and turns out the concert was 2 hours and 35 minutes long. That’s crazy because I was just going to type the concert was 1:30-2 hours long max but figured I’d double check. I can’t believe it was two and half hours long, time flew by so quickly. The crowd was great, the lighting and sound was great, and the band were just incredible.

Anyway, I’m mostly posting this for me, as a personal diary note. But, if you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails I highly recommend you try and watch one of their shows. This was my second time watching them, first time was at a festival, but it’s so much more personal when it’s the bands tour and in a much smaller arena and everyone there is a super fan and knows all the lyrics.

I’m in Berlin for a week because of a Nine Inch Nails concert, but yesterday while out shopping I started noticing a lot of people wearing AC/DC t-shirts. It seemed odd seeing so many people with the same band shirt, so I went up to one guy and asked if AC/DC were playing in Berlin. Turns out they were, and the concert was starting in less than three hours.

So I told my wife we had to go. I quickly found two tickets still available online, no idea how, and they were good seats too. I figured someone must have decided last minute not to go and put them up for resale. We ended up rushing back to the hotel, dropping everything, and then heading straight to the historic Olympic Stadium, the same one built for and used during the controversial 1936 Olympics.

The experience was epic. I’ve only ever been to a stadium concert once before, and that was for Foo Fighters, which was a completely different experience. The AC/DC crowd was so different, a lot older thats for sure but you can tell they used to be party animals when they were a lot younger. Basically the same as the band who I have no idea how they can still perform live with so much energy and passion.

I first heard AC/DC when I was a kid in the mid 80s. My older cousin was a fan, along with bands like Iron Maiden and The Rolling Stones. I never imagined that 40 years later I’d be watching them live. It’s crazy.

ERA is a new fitness and wellness club that opened a few months ago. I first found out about it because my wife was looking to join a gym and ended up signing up as a founding member. So when they approached me for this post, I already knew who they were.

ERA isn’t your typical large and busy gym. They describe themselves as a premium fitness and wellness hub. It’s an exclusive club designed for a limited number of members, offering personal training, a variety of classes, Pilates, private studios, consultations, workshops, retail space, and a smoothie bar.

I hadn’t seen the space until they shared photos with me, and after going through them, I decided to check it out in person. For the past couple of months, I’ve been thinking about joining a gym again since my old one shut down. I don’t like large gyms, I don’t like mixed gyms, and most importantly, I needed a place with personal training (the only way I’m going to work out is if someone forces me to). ERA ticked all the boxes, so I ended up joining too.

The team and trainers behind ERA are fairly well known, many of them having come from the now-closed Corniche Club. They’ve been working in Kuwait for years and genuinely love it here, which is reassuring because it means my PT or the quality of service isn’t suddenly going to change in a few months.

ERA is spread over three floors: a women’s floor, a men’s floor, and a floor for classes. The space has large windows that stretch from one end to the other and overlook the sea, so there’s plenty of daylight, which is something I really care about. I also liked the design, not just because it wasn’t dark and moody, but because it had a really calm and welcoming feel. That was another reason I ended up signing up.

I half-heartedly don’t want to promote the gym now that I’ve joined, since I don’t want it getting too popular. But they’ve capped the number of members, so I know it’ll never get too busy. If you’re looking for a new gym, you can check them out @eramembers.club

Design by @saccaldesignhouse, Photos by @mashkanani

We had two major back to back events this weekend. Fluffy performed his standup show on Thursday, followed by the Craig David concert on Friday night. Most of the feedback I’ve heard and seen has been pretty positive, with the main complaints being traffic and parking, which is pretty common for big events anywhere in the world. Although having these events in Kuwait is pretty cool, one thing I noticed when I initially posted about them is the negative comments. Yeah, it’s the internet and that’s expected, but I feel like this negativity also exists in the real world.

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A post shared by Mohamed Sameh | Content Creator (@mosam.ph)

When I posted about Blue and Craig David, a lot of people criticized the choice of artists. Why them and not someone more relevant? I get where that’s coming from. I’m super picky with the music I like too, and if I’m going to a concert, I want it to be a band that matters to me, like Nine Inch Nails or Foo Fighters. But realistically, neither of those bands are coming to Kuwait anytime soon and that’s ok for now (think baby steps). Some people also mentioned that being seated for the concerts didn’t make sense. The reality is, seating at concerts isn’t the end of the world. I’m seeing Nine Inch Nails this summer and I’ve got seated tickets — no big deal.

But honestly, I’ll take whatever we can get here because we don’t have many of these events.

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A post shared by Craig David (@craigdavid)

When Sting performed in Kuwait back in 2017, I thought that was going to be the start of more live shows. That didn’t happen, and things stayed pretty quiet until just now. It’s still only May and so far we had Blue, Fluffy and Craig David perform in Kuwait. I didn’t go to Fluffy, but I did go to Craig David. From the videos I saw of the Fluffy event and the crowd at the concert, it looked like everyone was having a blast.

This weekend proved there’s a real appetite for live shows here, and as long as this momentum keeps going I think it’s good for everyone, even though we aren’t getting Taylor Swift or Dave Chappelle.

A few days ago I got back from a 5-day trip to Milan. I was there for Kruder & Dorfmeister’s world tour, and Milan was one of the most convenient spots to watch them since Kuwait Airways flies direct. There was so much I wanted to do but five days just wasn’t enough. Still, here’s a list of lesser-known spots you can add to your Milan itinerary next time you’re there:

Eat
Breakfast was mostly at NOWHERE since they were a short walk from my hotel and had great coffee. For pizza head to Denis, get there early or book a table. I did seafood at Pescherie Riunite twice because it was no frills and so good. The Mogo Hi-Fi bar opened while I was there so I did their bento box lunch. The menu is by Michelin-star chef Yoji Tokuyoshi but it wasn’t expensive. Missed connection: June Collective, I ran out of time so didn’t pass by, but they’re still on my to do list.

Drink
My two favorite coffee spots were NOWHERE and Orsonero. Both served excellent coffee and delicious pastries, but Nowhere is larger, making it easier to find a table. I also made coffee stops at Il Cafetero and Cafezal, as they had convenient locations around the city.

See
Check out Time & Style for beautiful Japanese objects, and 10 Corso Como and End for fashion. If the weather’s nice, visit the Brera Botanical Garden and the Monumental Cemetery of Milan. Trust me on the cemetery, it was one of the most jaw dropping and beautiful experiences on the trip, plus Chinatown is just next door. For hand-painted ceramic plates, stop by Laboratorio Paravicini. Lastly, for art, head to Fondazione Prada, though exploring the different spaces on the property was actually more interesting than the art itself.

Sleep
I stayed at Case Brivio and loved it. Great, quiet location yet close to everything, and reasonably priced for the size of the room (Junior Suite). My plan B was Crossing Manzoni, but I chose Brivio mainly because of its location.

For my previous travel guides, click here.

I have both MyUS and Shop&Ship accounts but I tend to use my Shop&Ship the most since the prices were always cheaper than MyUS. MyUS only used to make sense for me when an item was expensive but not that heavy since I don’t pay tax when shipping to my MyUS address. But, a few days ago I was ordering some parts for my car and I realized it would be much cheaper shipping to MyUS.

Item Cost Shipped to MyUS: $256
Item Cost Shipped to Shop&Ship: $278.71 (includes 8.87% tax)

Item Weight: 10.95 lb
MyUS Shipping Cost (using DHL Express): KD14.278
Shop&Ship Shipping Cost: KD22.3 (because I get the 31% S&S FLEX discount) or KD31.1 (if you don’t have S&S FLEX)

So just by choosing to ship this one item to MyUS I saved a total of KD15. Even if I paid tax it would still be cheaper to use MyUS. It wasn’t like this before so now I’m curious to know if their prices became cheaper. I think I’m just going to straight up use MyUS from now on. The package also arrived super quick, shipped April 3, got delivered to me April 6. Oh I have to mention, Shop&Ship charge KD1.5 for custom clearance, DHL charge KD4. But I still save more with DHL.

I’m a huge fan of Ai and its potential, so when I heard about Bee and saw the price, I knew I had to try it. Even though reviews weren’t that great, the idea of Bee intrigued me and it was only $49, so not really a huge investment. I figured it was worth getting just to play around with especially since there wasn’t a monthly subscription or anything additional to the $49 I needed to pay for. I’ve had it now for a couple of weeks and my first impression, I really like it, well the idea of it at least.

Bee Ai is basically two things, a mic you wear on your wrist like a Fitbit, or you can clip it onto your shirt. The second part to Bee is the software. The Bee mic constantly records everything around you and the software with Ai keeps track of everything for you. So for example, I went to Xcite last week to check up on some Dyson vacuum cleaners. The next day I asked Bee “How much did the guy say the Dyson vacuum was?”. Bee responded telling me the price of the handheld model I asked about and the larger model. It’s like ChatGPT but for my real life in a way.

But, Bee is also totally unreliable at the same time. It can’t tell the difference between a real conversation I’m having with an Xcite employee, or me watching an episode of White Lotus. It’s really unreliable, but also so accurate and great at the same time which is why I’m loving Bee more than hating it. When it gives me summaries of my day it’s generally accurate and the way it words it makes me feel good about the day, like I did so much and it was epic.

When Bee gives me suggestions to add to my to do list they’re usually very accurate. Actually, more like wow how did it know that kind of accurate. Like Bee knows I have a dog called August, it understood I was trying to teach my dog tricks and my dog was struggling. So Bee added the following to my suggested to do list:

I was talking to a friend about one of my cars and an interior trim piece I needed to get, Bee added it to my suggested to do list.

I had a conversation with another dog owner about the possibility of getting a second dog. I didn’t know the dog owners name at the time but Bee still added the reminder for me to follow up with Waldo’s owner about the potential of getting a puppy. Bee did’t know the name of the person but recognized that the owner has a dog called Waldo and so referred to them that way. Thats common sense smart.

It’s actually a bit unreal how smart (and how stupid) Bee can be. It’s still too early for it to be really useful, but the potential down the line, it’s similar to the Apple Vision Pro, like you need to think much further down the line with improvement in technology and abilities. The idea of having basically an Ai assistant taking notes down for you throughout the day has so much potential, an Ai memory. I already use the blog as my digital memory, especially since back in the day I used to share more personal stuff here, but now something like Bee can become my real world memory. I mean it even recognized that on Sunday the talk of the day was the Ya Hala drama.

If you want to try Bee out, they just started shipping their 3rd batch. Here is the link to their website.

I’ve been in Sri Lanka now for close to a week, and it’s pretty insane, and I don’t think in a good way.

I landed here on the 20th and checked into the Uga Riva Hotel in an area called Negombo that’s around 20mins from the airport. It’s kind of a getaway spot and the experience was pretty great although the amount of bugs was just pretty crazy.

I rented a car for my stay and the first two minutes of driving out of the rental lot were the most chaotic 2 minutes of my driving life. Firstly, other than the fact everything is the opposite here, steering on the right, the lanes are the opposite, the driving is pretty wild. Like I learned how to drive in Lebanon and find the experience driving there very relaxing even though most people find it chaotic. The driving in Sri Lanka on a scale of 1 to 10 is like a 7 or 8. Lebanon would be like a 6. People are completely carefree and everyone just relies on everyone else not crashing into them. It’s like organized chaos? The only people who seem to drive differently are bus drivers who drive with full confidence as if they’re the only people on the road and everyone else will get the fuck out of the way. We all really do get the fuck out of their way.

Anyway, first place I stayed in was great. Then I headed down south to an area called Ahangama. I was meant to stay at a place called Dreamsea for the first few days. The reviews online were really great, the place looked amazing in the photos, but once I checked in I was like wtf were all these reviews about? I mean just basics like the room door wouldn’t close, the bed had dried blood stains, room had bugs all over, bathroom looked very dirty. Basically it was horrible and I wouldn’t spend the night there. Thankfully I had booked another spot around a 15 minute drive from that resort for my last 4 nights called Trebartha East. It’s a small hotel located on a hill inside a cinnamon plantation. I whatsapped them asking if they had any rooms available right away and they had one, so ended up checking in a few days early and been staying there ever since.

The place is incredible, every morning I wake up and feel like I’m on a safari in the middle of the jungle. There is nothing around me except a jungle. I love it here, I’m actually sitting by the infinity pool writing this post out overlooking a valley where at any given moment there are a heard of water buffalos with white cranes grazing, or peacocks just casually strolling. It’s very surreal and beautiful. I wake up to the most beautiful views and the hotel has like 4 rooms so it feels very private and we are very secluded from the chaos thats just a 15min drive away.

But everything else here seems to be such a hit or miss. You can’t trust any reviews since most were left I assume by backpackers who have very low expectations or requirements? I’d head to a restaurant that has 4.6 rating on Google but walking by the kitchen I’m like no fucking way I’m eating here. Thankfully I’ve found a few spots that were surprisingly great.

I’ve also gotten the hang of driving here. You just need to be alert the whole time, at any moment you can hit a motorbike, Tuktuk, bus, tourist, grandma, dog, cat, cow, school kids, dog, cyclist, dog, or dog. No one ever gets out of the way, you’re always expected to maneuver around them, dogs included who just want to sleep on the side of the road. Their main road here is just two lanes, their inside roads are one lane, and I swear at one point google took me up a walking path cuz I could barely fit my tiny SUV on it and thankfully didn’t come across a Tuktuk coming the opposite way.

It’s been such a wild experience, totally love or hate moments with nothing in between. I can’t wait to get back to Kuwait.