Last year BNK become the dealer for Volvo cars and since then they’ve been busy acquiring the rights to more brands in Kuwait. So far from what I can tell these are the brands they’ve gotten so far:
I haven’t seen the Vanderhall on the streets yet (pictured above), but I did see a Polestar a couple of times on the road last week. Vespa, on the other hand, existed in Kuwait before and I had one, but the previous dealer closed down and BNK instead has now taken it over. I loved my old yellow Vespa but sold it after I bought my first Datsun 240z.
Someone on Reddit shared a vintage RCA ad for air conditioners that mentioned Kuwait. They shared a black and white version but I managed to find a colored version which you can check out here. If you want to read the text on the ad click here.
At the start of the pandemic, I shut down the events section since everything obviously stopped. But, a few things are starting to pop up and I’m going to start posting about them here and once things really take off, only then reopen the events section again. For now here are a few things taking place this weekend:
This is super random which is why I find it fascinating. Someone from the roller coaster community (I guess a roller coaster geek?) posted on reddit asking for videos of a roller coaster that used to be in Shaab Park called the Spiral Coaster. Turns out it was an ultra rare roller coaster with only one ever made by Intamin Amusement Rides, a major player in the amusement park attractions industry and based out of Liechtenstein.
The Spiral Coaster was a pipeline coaster meaning the train rides between the tracks as opposed to a traditional roller coaster where the train rides above them. The Spiral Coaster concept was originally designed by the US company Arrow Dynamics and was featured in the National Geographics special on the company. You can actually see the prototype of the coaster in the video above (starts at 16:00). Arrow Dynamics couldn’t produce the roller coaster so Intamin took the concept from them and built it themselves.
Originally the roller coaster was called the Comet and was located inside a recreational complex in South Korea called Sky Plaza from 1996 to 1999. Sky Plaza eventually failed and the building demolished and Shaab Park acquired the roller coaster. Shaab Park renamed the roller coaster to Spiral Coaster and it was active in the park from 2000 to 2005.
Eventually, the ride was marked as SBNO from 2005 to 2017 which is amusement park lingo for standing but not operational. I actually found some pictures I had taken back in 2012 with the ride in the backdrop in poor condition. The area underneath the coaster was used as part of the MILSIM airsoft battleground.
If anyone here has any videos or photos of the ride, please let me know or share it. They’re rare and the roller coaster community would love it.
Kei, the first Japanese restaurant in Kuwait is closing down their JW Marriott location at the end of the month. Kei first opened up 40 years ago and were originally located at the Hilton Hotel in Bneid Al Gar but had to move because the hotel got demolished. They moved to JW Marriott 20 years ago and now have to move again because the hotel is also getting partially demolished. They still haven’t found a new location to move to, so it will be awhile until they’re back again. If you want to pass by one more time before they close, their last day of operation is December 31st.
Regarding the hotel what I understood is happening is that Salhiya Mall will be expanding into the lobby area of the hotel and the first few floors of the hotel will be converted to offices. The hotel will still remain but will move up a few floors above the offices.
A couple of weeks back I noticed a shiny silver box popped up on my usual bike route and turns out they’re smart public toilets. The toilets are pre-fabricated which is why they suddenly popped up out of nowhere and are smart in the sense they have an automatic self-cleaning and washing mechanism as well as the ability to be monitored and controlled remotely.
The toilets look like they’ll be coin operated and I spotted two on my route, one next to the Swimming Pool Complex near Corniche Club while the second one near the new Burger King. Both had two CCTV cameras on the outside I guess to try and deter any vandalism or more likely, couples trying to hook up inside one of the toilets.
Update: A bit of extra info, these public toilets operate on solar power, recycle waste up to Greywater for irrigation and have airconditioning.
Pre-Covid we weren’t known for taking care of our environment and now during Covid with everyone staying here things have gotten worse. People here have a terrible habit of littering be it at the beach or in the middle of the desert and with the increase of kashtas, its become even more apparent. So the EPA launched an awareness campaign in the hopes of making people more aware of the garbage they’re leaving behind.
It’s a great short animation with humor which I think works since more people will end up sharing it. But, it’s in Arabic so not all my readers will get it. @EPA_kw
There is a clinic in Kuwait called DHAMAN that is now offering a saliva Covid-19 PCR test that is also certified for travel. With regular PCR tests, they shove a swab deep into your nose and it can be very uncomfortable. With the saliva test on the other hand, you just spit into a container and that’s it. You get the results within 24 hours and the cost is 40KD. That’s more expensive than the regular swab test but for now, you’ll be paying the premium for comfort. If you’re interested in getting the saliva Covid test click here for more info.
Over the weekend the MOH launched a vaccine pre-registration website which you can access by clicking here. I’ve read both that this website will help prioritize those who register early to get the vaccine first, and I’ve also read that this website is just for the government to get an idea of how many people are interested in the vaccine. In any case, the plan is to start by vaccinating 10,000 people a day beginning with essential workers and other priority groups first. I’m guessing that number will eventually increase once private clinics start offering the vaccine as well.
Oddly I keep hearing about people not wanting to vaccinate and are worried it would become mandatory. I’m personally going to vaccinated as soon as possible just so I can go back to living life without worrying about contracting the virus. It’s pretty difficult to run a blog about Kuwait without being able to freely go around the country discovering and trying new things. I just want all this to be over with already.
I always wondered what came first, the mosque or the roundabout and I still can’t figure it out from these pictures. The top photo is from 1958, the bottom black and white one from 1965 and finally the last photo from 2020. What’s interesting between the 1958 and 1965 photo is the amount of old Kuwaiti homes that were demolished. Kinda sad.
The Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC) is planning to renovate Messilah Beach from the ground up. The club first opened in the late 1980’s and I’ve been to it a few times back in the 90s when I was still in school but haven’t really been there since so don’t really have any attachment to the place.
The new renovated Messilah will contain:
6 Restaurant blocks
Swimming Pool and Wet Recreation areas
Jogging Track
Hard and Soft Landscaping
450 Car Parking spaces
No start or completion date was mentioned but you can check out more renderings of the beach here.
Also found the picture below of the club I’m guessing from the 80s or 90s which I thought looked cool.
I’ve lived on Salem Mubarek Street in Salmiya for the past 40 years so I basically know it inside out, yet for some reason, I just found out that the first Wimpy opened up on my street back in 1969! There used to be a Hardee’s on my street which I’ve known since I was a kid but turns out before Hardee’s it used to be a Wimpy. The photo above is supposedly from 1972 and below is the last photo I have of that building dating back to 2008 when it was about to get demolished. The corner store is where Wimpy and Hardees used to be.
I recently found out that the oldest Persian restaurant in Kuwait was located down the street from where I live. Layali Tehran was the first Persian restaurant in Kuwait and has been around now for over 50 years. They were originally located in Sharq but had to move to Salmiya years ago. I don’t know much about Iranian food other than kebabs so I’m not the best person to ask about the food, but, I think the most interesting thing anyway is the idea of dining at the oldest Iranian restaurant in Kuwait.
If you want to try it out they’re located on Amman Street. Parking is a bit difficult but I parked across the street where there was less traffic and just crossed over. Their phone number is 25613312 and here is their location on [Google Maps]
This got me thinking, I wonder if the first Chinese or Italian restaurant in Kuwait still exists? I previously posted about the oldest restaurants in Kuwait and there were some good examples in the comments, check those out here.
Kuwaisiana is a New Orleans-based band led by Kuwaiti singer-songwriter +Aziz. Kuwaisiana recently released a new music video called Bara7a which means sandlot. It’s a song about adolescence and dealing with bullies, and is the lead single off their upcoming EP, ‘Chapter 2’. Check it out the track above.
Looks like Nike is planning to open a much larger store at The Avenues since new construction boards went up under their current store with their branding on it. They recently opened a huge location at the new 360 Mall extension and I’m guessing this new larger location at The Avenues is a reaction to Adidas taking over the Cafe Coco spot right next door.
The reason I’m posting about this is that I find it fascinating how some areas in malls thrive while others are super dead. This alleyway where Nike is planning to open is one of those dead zones so I’m curious to see if a new large Nike store would drive traffic there. I’m gonna be pessimistic and say I don’t think they’ll be able to drive traffic into that alleyway.
