While on vacation I read an article that said expats who were in countries with high rates of the coronavirus like Thailand and Italy wouldn’t be allowed back into Kuwait while Kuwaitis would be quarantined either at home or at a government chosen location depending on which country they would be arriving from.
It got me really worried since it meant if while in Tbilisi a large outbreak occurs, I might not be able to get back into Kuwait.
Yesterday a friend was telling me it happened to her expat friend who was in Italy on vacation. He wasn’t allowed to get on the plane back home to Kuwait. I know everyone is freaked out about the coronavirus but I really think this is unfair since a lot of people like me count Kuwait as our home. If it was me in Italy and I wasn’t able to hop on a plane back here I wouldn’t know what I would do or where I would go.
Over the holidays 360 Mall opened up their new extension which is located in the same building as the new Tennis Complex. The extension has it’s own parking lot but you could also continue to park in the old 360 and then cross over via a long bridge that connects the two buildings.
There are a few new brands in the extension including the sneaker stores Dropkick and FILA. Lakeland is also back in Kuwait after previously closing down its locations in Marina Mall and Avenues. My two favorite breakfast spots Lunchroom and Cocoa Room are also both opening up in the new extension soon. It’s not that big of an extension but it’s still worth passing by to check out.
I just got back from my Tbilisi trip yesterday. I wasn’t expecting to disappear like this, I figured I’d lazy post while I was on vacation but I really needed to disconnect from work and my blog for at least a week and it felt great to do so. I continued to post on my instagram story since it gave me a reason to try and take some nice photos on my trip but other than that I really wanted to disappear.
I’m so glad to be back in Kuwait though. The whole Corona thing blew up while I was out and after the whole Iran outbreak thing I got freaked out. Not because I was afraid of getting the virus but afraid of being locked out of Kuwait. I read an article that said that they were stopping all flights from Iran and that Kuwaitis would be evacuated and quarantined on arrival while expats would be refused entry. So the whole trip I was worried Georgia would suddenly develop a mass Corona outbreak and I wouldn’t be allowed back into Kuwait and then where would I go?
For those of you out of Kuwait or for those of you wondering what the entry process at the airport is like right now, it’s pretty much similar to how it was a few weeks ago. As in there is a doctor with a thermal camera that scans every arriving visitor. Children and babies would have their temperature measured individually, I’m guessing because the thermal camera doesn’t work well on them? Whats really changed though is the mood of everyone. You can clearly tell everyone is now afraid of getting the virus from passengers to the passport control employees. A lot of people were wearing masks and my passport control lady even wore disposable gloves (which is probably more useful than masks).
When I got up to the passport control desk I was asked to place my finger on the fingerprint scanner and that’s probably the only time on my whole trip I got freaked out about getting the virus. I looked at the officer and was like do I really need to put my finger there? She said yeah so I put my finger on it and got it scanned. Thankfully once I was done she got her bottle of hand sanitizer and squirted it in my hands so I could disinfect it.
Anyway, I’m back now and catching up on stuff so I could start posting normally again starting Sunday. I noticed a lot of events have gotten postponed which is a smart thing to do for now. Some of the events that have gotten postponed include COMFEST, Redbull Car Park Drift and all the Kuwait Motor Town activities. I’m assuming things are gonna be pretty slow for the next two weeks or so…
Oscar Winning Movies Back in Theaters: 1917 (3 Awards, 10 Nominations) Jojo Rabbit (1 Award, 6 Nominations) Ford vs Ferrari (2 Awards, 4 Nominations) Little Women (1 Award, 6 Nominations) Parasite (4 Awards, 6 Nominations)
I knew we had at least one automated parking facility in Kuwait (at The Palms) but I didn’t know we also had the largest one in the world. The parking lot of Al-Jahra Court Complex is fully automated and provides 2,314 parking spaces.
The automated parking facility provides 3 times as many car parking spaces as it would in a regular car park of the same volume – and only takes around 177 seconds for car retrieval (source). If you want to see how it works watch the short video on top. Pretty random tidbit for you guys today.
Last May, I was lucky enough to be invited on a private tour of the new Al Salam Palace Museum which was recently restored. The museum was expected to open end of last year but I guess due to some delays it just opened now.
Al Salam Palace was built in the late 1950s and was used to accommodate visiting heads of state. During the 1990 invasion, the palace was completely destroyed and stayed abandoned for years until the restoration project started back in 2013 to turn it into a museum. The palace is located right next to JACC and consists of three main museums:
Museum of Kuwait’s History through its Rulers
Museum of Al Salam Palace History
Museum of the Civilizations that inhabited Kuwait
You can only get a tour of the museum and there are two kinds right now:
Standard Tour (English or Arabic)
Duration: 120 minutes
Cost: KD8
VIP Tour (Arabic)
Duration: 60-120 minutes
Cost: KD20
The Al Salam Palace website is up right now with more information and booking options, you can check it out at aspm.com.kw. You can also follow them on isntagram @aspm.kw
I haven’t been this excited about a new place opening up in quite a bit but last night I passed by Smash Hub and I had a blast. So much fun that I’m actually headed back there tonight again.
Smash Hub houses two games:
Smash Therapy
This is why I basically dropped by. Their Smash Therapy section is composed of two rooms where you go into and destroy stuff. You have different packages you can choose from, I ended up choosing the Troublemaker in which they provided me with 12 glass cups and 1 electronic item to smash. I could choose between a receiver or printer and ended up going with the printer. You can also destroy other items like a TV but at an additional cost. Once you select your items they set it up in the room and provide you with disposable overalls and protective gear to wear. You also get to choose two weapons of choice, I ended up going with a sledgehammer and a baseball bat. I was tempted to go with an axe but figured with my clumsiness I might not leave the room in one piece. Finally, I also got to choose my on smash playlist which was a nice surprise. I didn’t have much time to think but I think I made the right choices:
Once inside the room they take you through some basic rules and then leave you to it. I have to say, this was so insanely fun. It didn’t take long to smash 12 glass cups and a printer, in fact, I didn’t even get past my first song on the playlist, but damn it was fun. After I was done I told the guys they should create a monthly membership package since I’d love to drop by once a week just to vent out on a flatscreen TV. Below is a video I shot of the guy before me smashing some glass cups. Even smashing something so small and fragile like a glass cup was fun. I also have a short video of the guy smashing a TV with an axe, it’s a vertical video though and you can watch that here.
Axe Throwing
The other activity Smash Hub offers is axe throwing. I was just very recently having a conversation about this with a friend since it’s an activity thats gaining popularity in the States right now and I was telling them someone should bring it to Kuwait. Well it’s here now. It’s similar to throwing darts except you throw an axe.
I tried it out and it wasn’t as much fun as smashing a printer, but maybe if you’re with a group of friends it’s more enjoyable. Also maybe with lots of beer and loud music.
So lets talk prices. They currently have launch prices which are as follows:
Smash’n’nGo: 6KD for a dozen glassware or a dozen axe throws
Specials:
Smash Special (for 2 people): 35kd = Therapy Box + Smaxe (50% off yard sale)
Smash Hero: Hit Bullseye 3x in a row = Free TV (valid when purchasing a Therapy pack)
Yard Sale:
Glass pack = 5KD
Small electronic = 10KD (receiver/printer)
Glass panel = 10kd
TV = 20KD
I went with the Troublemaker and Axe Pack so my total came out to KD20. In hindsight, I would have taken the Troublemaker pack and added a TV to it for an additional 20KD. And maybe a glass pack on top of that as well. In case you want to bring your own items to smash you can, but they would have to approve it first.
If you want to try out Smash Hub they’re located inside Sirbb Circuit in Shuwaikh (go all the way to the left once you walk in). They’re open daily from 6PM to 10PM and you can check them out on instagram @smashhubkw
The ice skating rink which has been around since 1980 will be closing down tomorrow to get demolished. In its place I’ve been told they’ll be building a concert hall which will be used to hold the Hala February concerts.
It doesn’t make sense I know, and whats worse is that I don’t understand why they can’t just keep the ice skating structure and just turn the interior into a concert hall. In any case, the decision has been made and this historical site will be demolished in the same way many other significant structures have been demolished in the past.
Today (Monday) from 4PM to 6PM there will be a last skate at the ice skating rink as a way of protesting this decision. So if you want to experience the ice skating rink for one last time this is your chance. See you there.
This past weekend I picked up a Mercedes GLE to review for the blog and since it was a pretty comfortable car to drive, I decided I needed to go on a long road trip. So I headed to Al Bohayra Farm on Friday to check it out.
Getting there was a bit dramatic. Other than the fact it was a long drive (around an hour and a half) but Google Maps took me on a strange route. I took the causeway bridge to the other side and everything was great for a while after the bridge but then suddenly the highway ended with barriers and was diverted to a small pothole-ridden road (pictured above). The remaining highway was still under construction but oddly some cars were going through the barrier and driving on the semi-finished highway. I drove for a while on the pothole-ridden road but it just got really bad and even though I was in an SUV it was still really bad. So I got off the small road and drove down onto the unfinished highway which was pretty finished actually not sure why they had it closed off. But, after a while, even the unfinished highway ended with barriers diverting all the cars onto the adjacent road going against the flow of traffic. Some cars drove through the barriers into the even more unfinished highway while the rest of us were suddenly driving on a highway with cars coming towards us. It was super confusing and after a few minutes, we found a way to enter the unfinished side of the highway where we continued driving until we got back to normal roads. There definitely must be an easier way of getting there but it must have been one of those days where Google Maps wanted to mess with me.
Once we got to Al Bohayra Farm I was surprised at how busy it was. There were tour buses parked on the main road and their huge parking was pretty full. There is no entrance fee, you just walk in through the main gates and explore the farm. There are various things to do on the farm including renting bicycles, picking strawberries, exploring the farm, shopping at the farmers market and having delicious corn on the cob or lunch at one of the many fast-food restaurants like Burger King, Applebees, Pizza Hut and a few more (no farm to table restaurant if you’re wondering). There are various play areas for the kids, pony rides and lots of farm animals to see.
Even though there were so many people on the farm it never felt too crowded. The farm is large and the facilities there are made to handle a large number of people. Even some of the restaurants like Burger King had two branches on the farm. I really had a good time and I want to start checking out some of the other farms now that are also open to the public.
Al Bohayra Farm is located in Abdali which I had never been to before. I drove around the area a bit after visiting the farm and it felt like I was driving through one of those random towns while doing a U.S. road trip. There was also a bit of a wild west feeling which I kinda liked.
Al Bohayra Farm is worth checking out if you’ve never been. The farm is open every Friday and Saturday from 10AM to 9PM. Their instagram account is @albohayra and here is their location on Google Maps.
I got the email below from a reader who used to live in Kuwait back in the 50s. Not sure how I never came across the video above myself!
Ahmadi In the 50s
I moved out there in 49 and went to the Anglo American school as did my sister Vivienne, In 54 I was sent to school in England and returned every summer to Kuwait on the lollypop Special flights. Most of the Holiday was spent at the Hubara Club around the pool and I remember going to the outdoor cinema with just a chair on the sand.
My last visit was in 1966 with a friend from the uk and I took some movie pictures of my time out there, this has been on Utube for some time under the title “Holiday in Kuwait 1966” which some of you may find interesting enjoy
I’m not sure why this isn’t made a bigger deal of but one thing that really bothers me is how Kuwaitis are discriminated against when it comes to renting apartments. It’s one area where expats have it much better and I don’t understand why no one seems to be protesting this. It just doesn’t make any sense how everyone seems to be ok with ads advertising homes and then having a large note stating its “Only for foreigners” on it. How is this even legal?
I’ve had a lot of friends struggle to find apartments because they were either single male or female Kuwaitis. There is a post on Reddit right now by a Kuwaiti guy who had to leave home due to family issues and ended up living in his car because he couldn’t find an apartment that would rent to him. Eventually, he managed to crash at a friend’s place for a couple of months but now he needs to move out and he still can’t find a place that would rent to him.
salam people of r/Kuwait. some of you may have seen my post slightly less than 3 months ago about how i am homeless due to family issues and could not find a place that would rent for a single Kuwaiti male. i wish they would trust me because i am a nerdy guy whose day only consists of going to work and playing video games so i never have anyone over. i am very responsible with spending so inshallah i would never be late for monthly rent payments unless a great emergency occurs.
some compassionate people have messaged me either offering emotional support or offering to help me find a residence to rent. i was planning on accepting one of those offers after getting my salary but a chance for free stay came up and i took it. i am sorry for ghosting on those who offered me help but i felt too awkward to tell them that i didnt need it anymore (rude and stupid of me).
now unfortunately i have stayed more than was comfortable (2.5 months) for the friend who provided me with free stay. i need to find a place of my own before Friday otherwise i will have to sell most of my stuff and go back to sleeping in my car. it will make me so happy to find a clean place where i can sleep comfortably without hearing shouting all day and without worrying whether i will be told to leave the next day. source
It’s pretty absurd that a single guy who has a job and the ability to pay rent is forced to sell his belongings and live in a car because he is Kuwaiti and can’t find an apartment to rent. I’m not sure if it’s because a lot of Kuwaitis aren’t aware of this housing issue and that’s why it’s not a big deal, but if I was Kuwaiti I’d be calling up MP Safa Al Hashem daily to get this changed.
Not a lot going on this weekend but there s the ABBA tribute concert taking place on Saturday which should be good. Check out the full list of this weekends events below:
