Post by Mark
The 43rd International Book Fair launched last week during the big storm and is going to be on until the 24th of this month at the Mishref Fairgrounds. I dropped by on Friday and it was extremely packed, like I’ve never seen the fairgrounds that packed in my life.
This is the largest book fair that takes place in Kuwait and its spread out across three halls. Around three aisles in one of the halls are dedicated to just English books but the rest is all in Arabic. For more information on the fair, click [Here]
Post by Mark
If for some reason you need to leave your house during this storm, you can find out about road closures via Google’s Live Traffic feature. Just go to Google Maps and make sure the traffic overlay option is turned on and any closed roads should be highlighted. [Link]
Post by Mark
If like me you don’t have satellite (live TV) and rely on streaming for your entertainment, you can still keep up to date with what’s going in Kuwait by watching the news online. Both KTV1 and KTV2 have live online streaming and you can watch them both on the MOI website [Here]
Post by Mark
In case you aren’t aware, Spotify has now launched in Kuwait and anybody can sign up to it (no need for an invite). You have two options, either a free account that has limited features and ads, or the premium account. Strangely, the premium account in Kuwait is $4.99 a month which is half the price of the US.
I’m not sure if its because the music library for Kuwait based accounts is a lot smaller, or if its a launch promo to get people to sign up. Whatever the reason, Spotify is here so if you want to sign up, click [Here]
Post by Mark
A major storm is expected to hit Kuwait tonight, one that is supposedly stronger than the storm that hit us last week. Schools are off tomorrow (both private and public) while the public sector is also closing down. Stay safe everyone!
On a side note, are we going to have a day off every time it rains? Cuz I’d like that.
Update: Just tried to fill up gas at two different gas stations and both were so backed up they were causing traffic jams. I guess people are panicking.
Post by Mark
Not sure why, but it looks like the latest dessert trend in Kuwait is Japanese cheesecakes. I’m a fan of Japanese cheesecakes and if you like them as well, here are my favorite three places to get cheesecakes from:
The Cheezery
I’ve been getting Japanese cheesecakes from them for over a year now and they’re really good and the sizes of the cakes are fairly large so perfect for gatherings. They also have a location in Sharq for pick up across the street from Arraya.
Medium: KD14
Large: KD16
Here is their location on [Google Maps] and they’re on Carriage [Here].
Kotton
This is a new place that opened up recently and other than the fact their cakes are really good, they also come in a variety of sizes including mini ones. Their packaging is great and their cakes are the densest of the three here. They also opened up their physical location last week and you can pass by and have a mini cake with coffee if you don’t want it delivered.
Mini Cake (3pcs): KD4.5
Medium Cake: KD9
Large Cake: KD16
This is their location on [Google Maps] and they’re on Carriage [Here]
Japan Bakery
Finally, Japan Bakery is the most recent place I tried. Their cakes look the cutest and are fluffy but also are less cheesy tasting than the other two. They sell their cheesecakes on Carriage under the brand “Makers” which is a place that carries a bunch of different smaller locally created dessert brands. You can also pick up a cake from Hamra since there is a Makers kiosk there.
Medium Cake: KD8.5
Available in Hamra Tower or on Carriage [Here]
If you have another favorite place let me know in the comments below.
Post by Mark
Earlier today I got an email from Saveco about their new store that’s opening in Avenues Phase 4, entrance 28. Funny thing is I was actually in Avenues Phase 4 going down the escalator of entrance 28 when I got and read the email. Since I was already there I decided to check out the location and snap some photos.
Not sure why they’re planning to open in Avenues when their main store is located down the street unless they’re planning to close that location down. Since I always park at entrance 28, this location will be a convenient place for me to pop into on my way out of the Avenues, so I’m not going to complain.
Saveco in Avenues is opening this Thursday at noon.
Post by Mark
As I mentioned in my last Ferrari post, in the lead up to my Ferrari Portofino drive, the local Ferrari dealer and I decided I’d test drive the two previous models first, the Ferrari California, and the Ferrari California T. I wasn’t really excited to drive the California T after driving the California because I assumed they would be too similar. I didn’t think there would be much to write about but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I was lucky enough to pick up the car on Thursday last week when the weather was still perfect. It was going to rain that evening but it was clear during the day and the sky was really beautiful which really helped my shots come out great. Actually, the color and the lines of the car also helped with that as well. The California T looks similar to the previous California at first glance, but there are some defining differences. On the exterior, the biggest change would be the front lights and the slightly more aggressive styling on the side. While on the inside, the biggest change would be the updated entertainment system and the steering wheel. In my last California post, I mentioned how one of the things that made the car feel normal was the lack of buttons on the steering wheel. In the California T, the buttons that control the turn signals, lights and wipers are now all back and located on the steering wheel. Definitely overwhelming at first but you quickly get used to it and then wonder why other car manufacturers don’t do this as well.
But, the biggest change with the California T takes place under the hood. The T stands for turbo and the California T has two of those connected to a V8 engine producing 553hp and a 0-100km time of just 3.6 seconds. The car felt a lot faster than the first generation California and handled a lot better. The car felt a lot stiffer during turns but yet somehow still managed to eat up potholes comfortably. Really the only issue I could think of if I was being picky is the exhaust sound, I wished it was louder at normal cruising speeds. The car was a lot of fun to drive and while with the first California I dropped it back to the dealership earlier than I was supposed to, with the California T I actually wanted to keep it for the weekend.
The next Ferrari I’ll be taking out is the newer Portofino so I’m pretty excited about that. I saw the car on display at the dealership and it looks even better than the California T so can’t wait. The car I drove in this post is actually a 2016 model and listed on their for sale on their pre-owned website for KD59,000. But the dealer does have one starting at KD43,000 and you can check it out along with the one I drove and the rest of their pre-owned lineup [Here]
Post by Mark
The Cross Cultural Diwaniya have a discussion coming up this Wednesday on Kuwait’s urban infrastructure. It’s a perfectly timed discussion after all the chaos that occurred last week because of the rain. So if have an opinion or want to hear other peoples opinion on this subject, register for this event. For more info, click [Here]
Post by Mark
As I previously posted, starting January 1st, Al Mulla Group will be the new distributors for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait. There has been a lot of talk on where their showroom will be but this current rumor seems to be the most plausible one.
Volkswagon just moved to a new showroom in Al Rai (pictured above), so the rumor is that the Acura dealership will now move into the old VW showroom, leaving the current Acura showroom for Mercedes to take over.
To me, this makes the most sense since the Acura lineup is fairly small, and I don’t think is doing so well in Kuwait, so the old VW location should help cut down on their overhead. The current Acura location is actually pretty nice and spacious so should be enough for the full Mercedes lineup, at least until they build them a new larger location.
Update: Looks like the above isn’t a rumor anymore. A short while ago Acura sent a message to their customers informing them that the dealership is moving to the old VW showroom (including their service center).
