Last year I posted about how I lost out on an auction for an Andy Warhol signed catalog from his Kuwait exhibit. I had put my max bid at €1005 but someone else ended up winning it for €1200. Yesterday I found out that the person who won the auction is now trying to sell the catalog for KD1,500 (around €4150).
I’m really disappointed since I thought whoever bid against me wanted the catalog a lot more than I did, and that was ok. But to lose against someone who just wanted to get it to resell it at a higher price, that kinda sucks. Oh well.
Early this year an ice skating rink opened up in Bayan called the Kuwait Winter Games Club. The 2020 Open Championship for Professional Arab Ice Hockey Clubs took place there and the Kuwait Ice Hockey team was using the rink for practice. Now they’ve also opened it up to the public.
The cost is KD5 for 1.5 hours and KD15 for the whole day and that including the rental of the skates. There are also some hockey matches going on if you just want to go and watch.
But this is the thing I don’t get. How is Kuwait Motor Town, where everyone is inside a car by themselves racing around an outdoor track closed due to the pandemic, but close-contact sports like hockey and football are allowed? It doesn’t make sense!
The American sportswear company Under Armour opened up in Avenues Phase I last month. I actually came by the store by accident while walking around Avenues to see if there was anything new. I didn’t expect to see Under Armour there especially since all the other big brand sports stores are located on the opposite end of the mall in Phase 4. The store is pretty large, they have sneakers, sportswear, a separate Project Rock section (a collection by “The Rock”) as well as a small accessories section where I spotted some cool workout gloves which I think I’m gonna end up getting.
If you want to find the store they’re on the top floor of Avenues Phase I, near Borders.
Update: Turns out they’ve been open in Al Kout since last year.
It’s been a year since I first tried 5G and so I wanted to post a quick update on how it’s been. Since my initial review last year, a lot more people have now gotten 5G and the prices have dropped considerably. When 5G first came out we got it at the office and our monthly fee was KD45. When I got mine last year, I was paying KD19 for 1TB. Earlier this year prices dropped even further and so Zain called me up and told me that they were changing my package from KD19 for 1TB to KD19 for 4TB. A cool gesture considering on two occasions I had exceeded my 1TB bandwidth before the end of the month.
But, because there are now a lot more people on the network, the speeds aren’t what they used to be. When I initially reviewed 5G I was getting speeds of 650-750Mbps on average with the occasional 1.0-1.2Gbps. For the past 6 months, the highest speed I’ve seen is 390Mbps which I was actually surprised to see this morning when I ran the speed test for this post. In full transparency, that was actually the fastest speed I achieved over a number of tests this morning with the lowest coming out to 290Mbps which is close to the speeds I’ve been getting recently. On CITRA, the highest speed I got was 366Mbps.
The fastest connection I could get where I live before 5G was 28Mbps with Zain Beam. So although I’m not getting the 600+ speeds I used to get, I’m still getting speeds 100x 10x faster than my previous connection. I think as long as it stays around 300Mbps I’m good, if it drops down to the 100s I’d still be ok I guess, just annoyed because I used to get 700Mbps. According to Open Signal real-world download speeds, the average 5G connection speed in Kuwait is 185Mbps (one of the telecoms must be killing the curve) so I’m above average. Kuwait actually has the 6th fastest 5G connection speeds in the world according to the same data.
So do I still recommend 5G? Yup, 100% especially with the current prices (10KD for 1TB). So if you’re still on 4G it’s definitely worth upgrading.
I found out about a website a few days ago called Yalla Compare which is a financial comparison website. It’s actually a website that sells insurance but is made to look like a financial comparison website but they do actually have comparissons. Using the website you can compare the different requirements and rates for personal and car loans between the different banks but more importantly, you can also see all the different credit cards offered by the local banks and compare their costs and benefits.
I’m not sure if people choose a bank based on credit card benefits, I’m assuming no. But, if you’re at least curious about what other banks are offering compared to what you’re getting, check out the list by clicking here.
There’s a distinctive looking red and white boat that’s been parked off the Gulf Road in Salmiya for a few weeks now and I’m curious as to what it is. Does anyone know?
Update: Turns out its the new Failaka ferry called Obu Alkhair
There is an interesting conversation currently on Reddit regarding companies who either reduced salaries because of the pandemic, or who missed or aren’t paying the salaries. Not sure how many of my readers are going through this issue but if you are and want to file a complaint you can do so by contacting the Public Authority of Manpower:
A local instagram account has one PlayStation 5 that they’re selling which would be delivered to the buyer between November 1st and 5th. That’s around 2 weeks before the official regional launch and a week before the US launch. But, they’re also selling it to the highest buyer in an auction with the starting bid at KD220. Nobody should be paying anything higher than KD167 really since that’s the cost locally but, in case you’ve got extra money to throw away and don’t want to wait for the official date, head over to @nintendoq8 to name your price.
Anyone know if the console will even work before the launch date?
When I posted about the National Library last year, most of the comments were regarding their operating hours which is 9AM to 1PM because it was as if they didn’t want anyone to visit the library. Well now with the pandemic, things just got a bit more complicated.
Last week I dropped by the National Library because I needed to flip through their newspaper archive. Usually you just give the security guard at the entrance your civil ID and then go in. But, because of the pandemic, they now have an appointment system like all other government offices. So while at the security desk I created an account at meta.e.gov.kw and booked an appointment before being let in. Once inside I had to have my photo taken at another security desk for some reason, that wasn’t there last year and they took my photo with my mask on so not sure what the purpose is.
I was told that nobody was allowed to go upstairs where all the books were. Instead, I needed to wait in a small room for someone to come to me so I could tell them what I wanted so they would go get it for me. This works if you know what you want exactly, but part of the experience of going to the library is finding books on a subject that you also didn’t know about.
I must have been the first person to ask to check their newspaper archive because they didn’t know how to go about it with the new rules. I spoke to two girls first who then had to call their boss who then told them to go get another guy, who then came and left again to go get someone else who finally could help. But he needed to know exactly what year and month of the archive to get (they’re large books archived by year and month). Luckily I knew which month and year so he was able to go fetch it for me but if I didn’t, not sure what the process would have been like.
So if you were planning to visit the library during the ongoing pandemic it’s no longer a good experience. I used to love dropping in randomly every now and then to go through their books and newspapers so it sucks that I can’t do that anymore. If you want to check out my previous post on the library, click here.
If you missed out on pre-ordering the PlayStation 5, Xcite now has them back in stock (as of this post at 8:30AM). Only the KD166.900 optical drive version is available, the digital version is sold out. If you want to order one, here is the Link
Local musician and artist Zahed Sultan has a new music video out that is a cover of the old school Bandaly Family song, “Do you love me?“. Here is what Zahed had to say about the track:
Recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown in London, ‘Layl’ is a reimagination of a famous Lebanese disco song from the 70’s by the Bendaly Family ‘Do You Love Me.’ In this song, I reframe the original version as a contemporary cinematic piece; placing it in a more melancholic and sombre space. With spiraling vocals, deep synths, and rich violin textures, I give greater meaning to the song by expanding on its themes of love and loss; particularly fitting in light of the tragic explosion in Beirut and the crippling of its creative community.
I found a personal connection in ‘Layl’ through the original version’s music video which was shot in Kuwait on the Waterfront, a project designed by my late father Ghazi Sultan. The release of ‘Layl’ marks a new path for me as I dedicate myself to rethinking Arab culture through music and multimedia performance.
It’s getting harder to find shows to watch since I’ve basically watched everything on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon video but thankfully, there are still new shows coming out all the time. Here are some recent ones I’ve watched:
Cobra Kai
If you’re an 80s kid you’re going to love this. Cobra Kai is a TV series that is a sequel to the original movie starring both Ralph Macchio (karate kid) and William Zabka (the kid he fought). It’s a series that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is pretty funny at times especially how they keep making the karate kid look like a bully in the original film and Zabka the victim. This series recently became available on Netflix but has been out for two years (it was a YouTube Original) and so there are two seasons to watch.
Euphoria
I had been putting this series off for some time because I thought it was going to be very teenagery but wow, what an incredible series. I think this might be one of my favorite shows I’ve watched this year. The story, the art direction, the music, the cast, everything about it is just so amazing. Euphoria follows around a bunch of young high school girls who are all friends showing us their different stories. It’s dark, it’s shocking, it’s controversial and it’s really entertaining. If like me you’re a fan of Sex and the City and the series Girls, then you’re going to love this. Euphoria does to Girls what Girls did to Sex and the City. I highly recommend this show, I binge-watched it over a weekend and it’s definitely a must-watch. Euphoria is on HBO.
Raised by Wolves
I just finished watching this series last night and I have mixed feelings about it. The show started off great and interesting, but then past the halfway point, I started losing interest. I was then hoping things would turnaround towards the end of the season but it just didn’t do it for me. I know a lot of people loved it and it scored pretty high on IMDB so I don’t know, maybe its because one of the main characters played by Travis Fimmel (Ragnar from Vikings) started getting on my nerves the same way he started pissing me off in Vikings, or it could be because I wanted the show tp head one direction (more adventure) but it took another (more philosophical?). If you’ve run out of things to watch then I’d watch this, it’s also on HBO.
Totally random and insignificant post to everyone but this post is for people googling looking for a certain brand of oil for their car. My FJ and Lotus get their oil changed at the dealer, but my Alfa and Datsun I change the oil myself. Previously I was getting my car oil from Auto1 on Canada Dry street but they only carried the Lukoil brand and the last time I went they didn’t even have the right viscosity grade I needed. There’s a BMW spare parts store nearby that carries the Liqui Moly brand of oil but they also never seem to have the viscosity I needed and they’re overpriced. But, I recently found a place in Shuwaikh that carried a ton of oil from different brands and grades and its now my goto place for oil.
If you’re looking to buy oil for your car they carry a number of brands including Liqui Moly, Lukoil, Lucas, Kassel, Kendall, Mercedes-Benz, and Shell. Their Instagram account is @q8.oil.center and here is their location on Google Maps (large sign outside that says Motor Plus and also Kuwait Oil Center).
Firstly, I think the place should actually be called Cleopatra’s Records based on the Arabic but their Instagram account name is Cleopatra Recorders so we’re just gonna stick to that. Cleopatra is a music shop in Hawalli that’s been around since back in 1969. I only found out about it last week from a friend and was pretty disappointed in myself that I didn’t know the place.
The store isn’t even hidden in some back alley of Hawalli, it’s actually on the main road opposite Promenade Mall. The store doesn’t look like much from the outside, nor the inside frankly. It’s a long skinny store with shelves filled with cassettes as well as some CDs and 8-track tapes. According to the employee, the original store owner had passed away and the son had taken it over.
I ended up buying a bunch of cassettes of old Kuwaiti music at an average price of KD1.5 each. What’s great is you can listen to the music before you buy it so I was randomly picking up albums off the shelves based on haircuts and outfits, and then I’d listen to them and if I liked it I got it. If you’re looking for old Arabic cassettes this is your place. Their Instagram account is @cleopatra_recorders and here is their location on Google Maps.
This is such a heartbreaking thing to wake up to, the colorful and beautiful wall mural by the artist Jad El Khoury has been destroyed. The artwork titled “Single Man” was commissioned back in 2016 on the side of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. Jad left Lebanon and came to work in Kuwait and the artwork represented a single person trying to fit into a new chaotic environment. The project was sponsored by Jedareyat, a local volunteer group that scours the city and crowdsources for dead walls and artists who can transform them into picture-worthy landmarks.
I think I’m finding this extremely sad because of what the idea of destroying an artwork like this means. If the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters doesn’t appreciate art, then who does? Actions like this and the destruction of important landmarks like the Ice Skating Rink make me feel like we’re moving backward and not forward which is really worrying me. I want to express more of my feelings but I also don’t want to get deported so I will just keep it all bottled up inside instead.
