2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

The Civil Aviation just announced a few moments ago (3:15PM on the first day of the airport reopening) that there are in fact countries that are banned from flying to Kuwait. The countries on the banned list are the following:

Armenia – Bangladesh – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Brazil – Chile – China – Colombia – Dominican Republic – Egypt – Hong Kong – India – Indonesia – Iraq – Iran – Italy – Kosovo- Lebanon – Macedonia – Mexico – Moldova – Montenegro – Nepal – Pakistan – Panama – Peru – Philippines – Serbia – Singapore – Spain – Sri Lanka – Syria (source 1, 2)

So if you live in one of those countries and had booked a flight to Kuwait, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be able to fly back for the time being.

Update: One airline had to inform their passengers that only Kuwaitis would be allowed to land in Kuwait after the late Civil Aviation announcement barring planes from certain countries from flying to Kuwait. That must have been so disheartening to the passengers who thought they were finally coming back home. Link

The Civil Aviation have posted a list of requirements for passengers that are flying in and out of Kuwait. Check them out below:

Departing Passengers
• Must register in the application (Kuwait Mosafer) and submit the relevant barcode throughout the phases of travel.
• Must obtain health certificate issued by laboratories approved by the Ministry of Health, confirming negative infection with COVID-19 disease, if required, depending on the requirements of each country, together with adhering to the required period of its validity.
• Citizens must obtain health insurance for the period of travel, covering treatment of infection with COVID-19 virus.
• Must abide by the health requirements respective to wearing masks and gloves, using the sanitizers and adhering to physical-distancing.

Arriving Passengers
• Must register in the application (Shlonik) prior to boarding the aircraft.
• Must obtain approved health certificate (PCR), proving negative infection with COVID-19 disease, with 96-hours validity from the testing date.
• All arriving passengers will be subjected to home-quarantine for 14 days.
• Body temperature of all passengers will be checked prior to boarding the aircraft and upon arrival.
• A random (PCR) test will be conducted on 10% of the passengers of each flight upon arrival.
• Must abide by the health requirements respective to wearing masks and gloves, using the sanitizers and adhering to physical-distancing.

If you leave or arrive to Kuwait August 1st onwards, let us know in the comments about your experience.

Source

I’m a bit late to the party with this, but only because I’ve never been a fan of Apple earphones. I’ve never used the ones that came with the iPhone, and I have a major dislike for the way the regular AirPods look with their long stems. But recently I started riding my bicycle again and needed a new pair of wireless earphones.

For the past couple of years I was using a pair of Shure wireless earphones, I liked them because of the way they fit around my ears which meant it was impossible for them to fall out. But, I had two major issues with them. The first was that they were in-ear headphones which meant they isolated the sound around me which I didn’t want to do because I want to be able to hear cars or other riders around me while riding. The second issue is that both earphones were connected by a wire, and the wireless and battery module hung between both earphones on that wire. That’s a bit cumbersome with today’s technology and I hated how the battery module would bounce on my neck while riding my bike.

So after a bit of research, I decided I’d finally give in to Apple and get the AirPods Pro. The Pro versions are different from the regular AirPods in that they are in-ear headphones so they sit inside your ear and not the outside, they also have a shorter stem (you can see a comparison here). The main reason I went with Apple over other better sounding options like the Sony WF-1000XM3 and the Beats Powerbeats Pro is the size. I wanted something small and light and the AirPods Pro were the smallest of the three.

After owning the AirPods Pro for around a month now, I’m loving them. They have two features which make them really great, the first is something I’m wondering why no other in-ear headphone manufacturer has done. Usually with in-ear headphones when you stick them inside your ear you get a bit of pressure which after a long period of time gets uncomfortable. The AirPods Pro are designed in such a way that they release the pressure which has made them super comfortable when I ride. The second feature is the transparency mode. A lot of people purchase the AirPods Pro because of the active noise-canceling feature where the earphones cancel out the sound around you. That’s great when in a busy coffee shop or on a plane, but not so great when you’re out exercising on public roads. Apple thought of that and have included a transparency mode where the tiny mics outside the earphones transmit the sound around you into your ears. So you can still hear your music and also your surroundings.

When it comes to sound quality they’re not great, they’re actually pretty crap compared to all my other earphones and headphones I own but then again, I knew that would be the case before I even bought them. When riding my bicycle sound quality doesn’t really matter honestly. Battery life has also been great with me but I also am constantly charging them whenever I’m close to a charging cable. The biggest surprise for me really was how well they fit really in my ears and how they never fall out.

Really the only negative I have about these earphones is the price. The cheapest I found was 70KD which I’m fine to pay for excellent sounding earphones, but it felt wrong paying so much for these since they don’t really sound great. But I’ve justified the price by the convenience factor and how often I’m using them. So I’ve for example started using them when I take my Alfa out since that car doesn’t have a stereo. They work great while driving since with the transparency mode I can still hear the traffic around me.

So overall I do recommend these earphones even though they aren’t the best sounding. I never thought I’d like them but I do understand now why they’re so popular. If you’re looking for great sounding earphones there are much better alternatives out there, but as an overall convenience and comfort factor, I don’t think these can be beaten.

So turns out a friend of mine had a Kids ‘r’ us catalog lying around because she modeled in an issue back when she was a kid. I then found out I knew two of the people on the cover, one of them being Chef KB.

I’m now kinda super jealous that I was never a Kids ‘r’ us model, but in any case, I scanned all the pages of the catalog and combined them into a single PDF which you can download from here.

Traveling next month into or out of Kuwait? The Kuwait Civil Aviation Authority has launched a web-based application to help make it more convenient for travelers that are departing or arriving to Kuwait post-August 1.

The app provides a variety of different services including booking your airport check-in visit time so you don’t have to wait at the check-in counters, you’ll also be able to get your boarding pass online (finally, it took a worldwide pandemic to make this happen) and the app also gives you baggage notifications which I am assuming is so travelers don’t huddle up around the conveyor belt waiting for their bags to come out.

The app looks pretty impressive and you don’t need to install it since it’s web-based, just visit kuwaitmosafer.com

Thanks Zaydoun

This a fun little game, how many people can you spot in the photo above not wearing a mask? If you want a clearer picture click here.

If you want to know how many I found, I’ve circled them on this picture.

Dear Avenues,

I pass by once or twice a week and although the majority of people are adhering to the rules and wearing a mask, I’ve noticed a lot of people who aren’t or wearing them under their chin. People who are “exercising” and people who are eating/drinking tend to be the ones mostly abusing the rules, but I’ve also seen a lot of people who I guess simply just don’t want to wear a mask. If you make sure everyone wears a mask I’d spend more time shopping instead of running in to grab something and then running back out. I’m sure its the same with other people. More time spent = more money spent. So forget about the health benefits, its a financial benefit for you to make sure people wear masks.

Thank you
– mark

I found a seller on Instagram that had a Kids ‘r’ Us catalog for sale. Kids ‘r’ Us was the largest and most popular toy store in Kuwait back in the 80s but during the 1990 invasion the store got burned down. After the invasion, a smaller location opened up in old Salmiya and that later closed down and was turned into X-cite.

The catalog had already been sold for KD50 but the pictures were still up and they brought back a lot of memories. KD50 sounds expensive and it is, but anything Kids ‘r’ Us related is near impossible to find so you’ll always have collectors willing to pay that much.

There is actually someone on eBay selling the Centurions Walkie-talkie pictured in the catalog above for 35KD brand new in the box. Please buy it before I do! Check out the rest of the catalog pages below.

If you have one or know of someone that wants to sell this record, let me know!

For those of you too young to know what “Iftah Ya Simsim” is, it’s basically the Arabic version of Sesame Street that was filmed in Kuwait and came out in 1979 before going off the air in 1989. I found these behind the scenes photos yesterday and had to share them because I hadn’t seen them before and they’re just so great.

Sucks about the resolution of some of them but I couldn’t find better quality versions. Better than nothing though so check out the rest below.

The hoarding has gone up around the area that will become the third phase of Al Shaheed Park and there are a bunch of renderings showing what will eventually be built there. I also have some PDFs dating back to December 2018 showing the plan for Phase III so combining whats in the renderings and the PDFs, here is what Al Shaheed Park Phase 3 might contain:

Outdoor cinema and amphitheater
Clock fountain
Kids shaded playground
Mountains playground
Maze garden
Outdoor skate and BMX park
Outdoor parkour and sky trail
Karting
Extreme sports building
Ice skating rink and snow park
Indoor Skydiving

I don’t have any info on when Phase 3 will be completed but, if its anything like the other Al Diwan Al Amiri projects, expect it to be done in around 2 years’ time. You can download the PDFs I have from this link.

Update: Added indoor skydiving to the list above and you can check out some renders of the park here.

I don’t think I’ve seen any KDD ice cream guys yet but the Petra ones are back out on the roads. Going through their products list, I don’t think I’ve ever had Petra in my life, maybe back in the 80s when I was a kid so I don’t remember, but definitely not in my adult life.

I’ve always been a KDD guy.

Vintage KDD shot from @moath9

For those who don’t know me, I go by the nickname FajerTheLawyer and I’ve been trying to make the law accessible for everyone which is why I am so excited to be sharing this news. I just launched the first online legal platform in Kuwait called Simple Law which is accessible by visiting makinglawsimple.com

Since I started my career I have been getting questions like How do I calculate my service indemnity? How do I start a business? or How do I register a trademark? This made me realize that people needed to have easy access to our laws.

The main services the Simple Law platform will offer are:

COVID-19 Resources: Laws and rights related to the current situation

Small Business Advice: Simple documents with infographics to help you understand the law. A lot has been uploaded already but we still have around 180 more to upload for you.

Find-a-Lawyer: Book a consultation and we will make sure you get the right lawyer for you (you will be able to view lawyers and law firms directly on the website soon)

Simplified Laws: An easy to understand copy of the local law

Employment Laws: Find out your rights and the laws related to employment

Download Contracts: You can download ready to use contracts

Courses: Take legal courses – we currently have one with KFAS

Questions and Answers: View answers to commonly asked questions

Next week we will also be launching memberships, so you can pay a monthly fee and have lawyers available when you need them.

I have made everything COVID-19 related completely FREE as I know it is a tough time for everyone. Also you now have the option of booking a consultation pro bono (your documents will be reviewed first) and we will connect you with a pro bono lawyer. We have an app coming soon as well but because of the situation right now, we decided it was important for us to launch the website right away instead of waiting for the app to finish.

Most of the employment documents are in English, Arabic, Hindi, and Tagalog with more languages on the way. Business-related documents are in English or Arabic.

Although the platform is for any legal questions, we focused more on employees, small businesses, and tech startups. We really hope that this website will help make the law accessible to everyone so that more people know their rights. This is a soft launch and all feedback is welcomed [email protected]

Website: www.makinglawsimple.com
Instagram: @simplelaw.kw

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel

Snail Trail is a small home business based in Kuwait that breeds snails and finds them homes. I didn’t really think having a snail as a pet was a thing but after checking out their account I’m tempted to get one for myself. Snail Trail sells different kinds of snails as well as everything you need to set up your own snail terrarium.

They sell snails starting at 2KD but can be as cheap as 1KD depending on how many snails you get. They also sell a terrarium set with everything you need including soil, moss, twigs + pines, healing stones, shells, and cuttlebone all for KD10. Or you could buy the items individually all from them as well.

It’s a pretty cute idea and snails seem easy to care for so if you’re interested to find out more check out their account @snailtrailkw

I think I might turn this into a series of posts on interesting Kuwait related items that I lost bidding on. The previous ones I’ve posted about were the “Andy Warhol Signed Catalog from Kuwait Exhibit” and “Ahmadi Desert Motoring Club Car Badge“. Adding to those two, I just lost a bidding war on another car badge, this time one belonging to the Kuwait International Touring and Automobile Club. Not a lot of info on the badge but I’m guessing its dating back to the 60s which would make it a nice addition on my Alfa Romeo. I hope whoever bought it isn’t going to hide it in a drawer somewhere, I was actually planning to mount this on my car’s front grill for everyone to see and enjoy.

On the bright side, I did find a copy of “The Kuwait International Touring and Automobile Club – Tourist Guidebook to Middle East Countries” dating back to 1966. You can download the PDF by clicking here.

My cousin used to go to Al-Jamil but I had no idea it was that old. I actually just googled it and found out it originally opened back in 1960! This is from Wikipedia:

Al-Jamil Private School, Salmya was created in 1960 by a partnership including its first principal, Khawla Rizk, a Lebanese woman who was residing in Kuwait at the time. Al-Jamil started out as a private school in a hangar belonging to the Caterpillar, Inc. dealership in Surra, now a suburb of Kuwait City. In the late 70’s the school had nearly 1200 students in 1st through 12th grade. It produced some of the top students at the national level. In 1980 three of the top 10 national secondary school certificate list came from Al Jamil. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the Surra school campus became deserted and was later relocated to Maydan Hawalli. The old campus still remains deserted a reminder and a standing testimony to the damage caused by the tyrant of Iraq.

Does anyone have any footage from Sunshine School between 1980-1990? If you do, let me know I’ll help you digitize it.