2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Back in August, I posted about a place called Tea Party Sweets that had Sunkist and Vimto flavored soft serve. Now the same place have created a new flavor based on the popular Yan Yan snack and the ice cream is served in the actual Yan Yan package similar to how the Sunkist ice cream was served in actual Sunkist cups.

I haven’t tried it yet but it looks pretty good from the photos although I didn’t think much of their Sunkist and Vimto ice creams. I do wonder though what other old-school based soft serve they’ll come up with next. Check out more photos on their instagram @tea_party_sweets

Around a month ago Zain sent over a 5G router for me to test out at home. I’ve already posted a first and second impression post and now after trying out the device for a full month, I’m convinced it’s a must-have connection. There isn’t anything faster right now on the market, not even close.

Clearly 5G is super fast but there are two important questions that need to be answered here:

1) Do you really need 5G speeds?

No, I don’t think so, I don’t think the majority of people need 5G speeds, I personally don’t. Someone left a comment the other day under my iPhone 11 Pro post saying it sucks that the new iPhone doesn’t have 5G, and I have to ask, why would you need 5G speeds on your phone? On my home computers, I rarely download torrents anymore which is where I can see speeds of 500 or 700Mbps making the biggest difference and maybe for downloading a new videogame on my PS4 every now and then or a software update but that’s really it. For normal use 100Mbps would be more than enough. The reason I see the need for 5G is because not everyone can get a fiber connection at home and rarely anyone gets decent LTE speeds at home, so 5G is really the only other option.

When I tried downloading a torrent file over 5G, I hit speeds of around 10MB/s and I ended up downloading a 5GB file in around 7 minutes. 5G is so fast that it might have taken me longer to copy a 5GB file off my home server to my Mac. There is a wow factor when downloading large apps or PS4 updates and you see the progress bar fill up so quickly. 5G is so fast its stupid funny, and in my case where just until a few months ago the fastest connection I could get at home was 10Mbps, jumping up to 700Mbps is a HUGE difference.

So no, I don’t think anyone really needs full 5G speeds for normal use, but for the majority of people, 5G is the only way to crack the 100Mbps barrier at home.

2) Is it expensive?

I know a lot of people might disagree with me here but I don’t think 5G is expensive. If you compare 5G to fiber prices or how much I’m paying for Zain Beam, you’ll quickly realize the amount you’re paying for the speed you’re getting is actually great deal. Here is a quick comparison:

Zain Beam 20Mbps: KD25/m (unlimited bandwidth)
Fasttelco Fiber 50Mbps: KD35/m (unlimited bandwidth)
Qualitynet Fiber 100Mbps: KD32/m (unlimited bandwidth)
Zain 5G (500Mbps+): KD45/m (1TB bandwidth)

I think what really makes 5G seem expensive is the limited bandwidth. Optimally the minimum you would want is 1TB per month. I just checked my usage and from September 12 up to September 30, I consumed around 320GB of bandwidth which is a lot less than I was expecting so 1TB would work out just fine for my needs. If you download tons of PS4 or Xbox games, you’ll probably want more than 1TB and the next step up is a whopping KD65 for 1.8TB.

In conclusion, I want 5G at home even though I just signed up to Zain Beam a few months back. I did ask a Zain employee if I could “upgrade” from Beam to 5G and was told I could without any penalties so that’s good news. I am worried that once 5G becomes a lot more common the speeds would drop, but even if it drops to say 300Mbps I’d still be happy with it. If you haven’t checked out my previous posts on 5G here are the links:

First Impression: Zain 5G in Salmiya
Second Impression: Zain 5G in Salmiya

Also, here is the link to the Zain 5G website.

update: I was just informed that you can’t upgrade from Zain Beam to 5G so I updated my post to reflect that.

Kuwait Motor Town are starting their 2019/2020 season this coming weekend with an open track experience at the race track! An open track experience is when drivers sign up to race their cars around the circuit for fun and I’m super excited for the new season to start.

The KMT race track opened last year and it was incredibly fun not only racing around our great track but also just meeting other people and hanging out with friends. There are 4 car open track events and a bunch of bike open track and drift events up on their website right now. Since the weather is still pretty hot me and my friends signed up for the later dates (October 25, November 1) which are now showing as sold out. But, there are still spots available for earlier days if you’re interested.

The entry fee for a driver with a car is KD75 (which is really good) and the number of cars is usually limited to around 70 cars per open track day. If you want to find out more or if you’re interested in signing up then visit the KMT website [Here]

Here is also a link to their instagram account which is @kmwkw

Photo on top by @81gram

I have a series of old posts called “Life in Kuwait back in the 1950s” that still attracts some of the most amazing comments today by people who used to live in Ahmadi in the 50s. I’ve even previously posted about how a bunch of kids who grew up in Ahmadi together were able to reconnect after 60 years in the comments of one of these posts and now someone left another very interesting comment. Mike Green grew up in Kuwait in the early 50s and he converted some of his parents old 8mm film to digital and uploaded the footage to youtube. Below is his story along with the videos:

My Dad (Cliff Green) arrived in Kuwait in 1953, and the rest of the family left rainy Manchester in a Dakota the following year. My final time in Ahmadi was 1968 when I started work in the UK, and Dad left in 1971. I have converted some old Standard 8 film to digital and that along with some interspersed photos and modern film I have posted on YouTube.

Many of the “second generation” along with now very few older generation meet each year for an Ahmadi reunion which has been running now for nearly 50 years. In 2010 my sister and I visited Ahmadi on our way to Dubai and it was very strange to see the old haunts still there but there have been many changes to the housing (etc).

The Hubara Club has been renovated but there are still some remnants of the old days which were not destroyed during the invasion. Particularly (and how strange is this memory) the power socket on the outdoor stage is still the same one I used back in 1966 with Chris & Glyn Gustar, and Kerry Scott as our “holiday band” got into full swing – supporting, if I remember “The Twisters” I must consider putting down on paper more of the life we had as “privileged kids” during the 1950’s and early 60’s.

Over the weekend I passed by Digits and picked up an iPhone 11 Pro to replace my iPhone XS with. I’m going to be posting my opinion on it later this week but if there is anything specific you want to know or want me to try out, let me know in the comments so I can include it in my post.

Just read a terrible story on Reddit of a girl’s ordeal trying to report a rape case here in Kuwait. If you don’t want to read the full story, basically after having to repeat her story at least 6 times to different males on different occasions, being refused to have a female officer question her, refusing her request for a translator, got hit on by her lawyer, she was finally charged and arrested herself. It’s such a mess and really upsetting. You can read the full story [Here]

Here’s some good news, the ice skating rink will no longer be demolished! After it was decided that the ice skating rink was to be demolished to make way for Al Shaheed Park phase 3, the demolition was canceled thanks to the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).

The NCCAL determined that the Ice Skating Rink was a national landmark due to it’s historical and cultural value and so cannot be demolished. Al Shaheed Park phase 3 construction will continue without the demolition of the rink.

Thanks Mishal! Photo above by Zeri Crafts

Lots to do this weekend from exhibitions to carnivals so check out the full list below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Conversations in Colour
Outdoor Sports and Safari Exhibition
Circus 1903
SADI: Retrospect
Plamo Con Kuwait

Friday
Outdoor Sports and Safari Exhibition
Circus 1903
SADI: Retrospect
Plamo Con Kuwait
Play: Goodnight Mr. Tom
5 Player Bowling Team Event

Saturday
Yoga at the Park
Guided Tour: Arab Organization Headquarters
Exhibition: Conversations in Colour
Outdoor Sports and Safari Exhibition
Ultimate Frisbee
Circus 1903
SADI: Retrospect
Plamo Con Kuwait
Play: Goodnight Mr. Tom
Workshop: String Pull Art
Carnival 2019

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double-check with the organizers.

Screenshot from Born a King

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Abominable (7.3)
Born a King (8.8)
Cold Blood Legacy (4.5)
Little Monsters (5.9)
Prey (6.5)
The Informer (6.6)

Other Movies Showing Now:
47 Meters Down Uncaged (5.3)
Ad Astra (7.4)
Angel Has Fallen (7.0)
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (5.9)
Downton Abbey (7.8)
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (7.5)
IT Chapter Two (7.7)
Rambo: Last Blood (8.1)
Ready or Not (7.3)
The Angry Birds Movie 2 (6.8)
The Big Trip (5.8)
The Lion King (6.2)
The Rookies (4.6)
Toy Story 4 (9.0)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Backyard Wilderness 3D (8.4)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Volcanoes 3D (6.6)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.

I spotted this Alfa for sale online back in late March and I then flew to the Netherlands a week later to check it out in person. Once I got back to Kuwait I bought the car and since then it’s been a painstaking process to bring it to Kuwait. Most of the delay took place in the Netherlands were they needed around two months to register the car and get the paperwork in order before the car finally left Netherlands at the end of July and reached Kuwait earlier this month. My shipping company had a bunch of paperwork to do before it was finally released from Shuwaikh port and was delivered to me late last night. I still need to get the car registered since it doesn’t have any license plates yet but at least it’s now with me and parked in my basement.

When they dropped the car off around 12:30AM I decided to take it for a spin around the block. It felt so good driving the car and now I can’t wait for the remaining paperwork to get finished so I can drive it properly. The Public Authority for Industry gave me a temporary release for the car and I had to call a number and have someone come to inspect the car today. They actually just came took photos of the car and my car’s vin number. I had to pay them a fee of KD18 they will be uploading the photos to the Public Authority database for the next step of the registration process. Other than that I also had to pay a 5% customs fee on the car before it was allowed to leave the port.

Not sure what the next step is since my shipping company (Transcrate) are taking care of the whole process for me. I originally was hoping to create a sort of a “How to import a classic car to Kuwait” guide with all the steps you need to take, but I’ve now realized since I’m not doing the paperwork myself, these posts aren’t turning out that way. Hopefully, they’re still a bit helpful.

My internet was being super slow yesterday to the point where pages were taking minutes to load. I thought it was just me but according to a thread on Reddit, it turned out there was an internet line that was cut at the border Monday night. As of 2AM this morning, the issue was sorted and the internet is now back to normal.

You would think this would be an easy post to do for me but with so many burger options to choose from, it was actually pretty difficult to find my very top three. Here are the results:

#1 BBT (KD1.750)
Bun: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#2 White Robata (KD5.000)
Bun: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Accessibility: ⭐⭐
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#3 Little Ruby’s (KD4.750)
Bun: ⭐⭐⭐
Looks: ⭐⭐⭐
Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My biggest difficulty with putting this list together was the fact that there are so many great burgers in Kuwait, but in the end, it really came down to which places I personally keep going back to. Up until a few days ago I had even decided McDonald’s should be on this list since the Big Mac is probably the burger I have the most.

The BBT is a delicious burger thats well priced and easily accessible. There are no longer any queues and it’s a pickup place so you’ll have to eat in your car but I love that. White Robata on the otherhand isn’t a place you’d associate with burgers, but the owner of the place also has Burger Boutqiue and OFK which at point also had my favorite burger. The wagyu burger at White Robata is extremely delicious and melted in my mouth like hot butter, but, if you don’t like your burgers cooked medium rare and bloody then you’re not gonna like this. White Robata currently have a sort of a social experiment going on, all their best cuts of meat can only be ordered medium-rare. I love that they’re doing that. Finally, the Bronte burger at Little Ruby’s has been my go-to burger since 2010, but even their double cheeseburger could have easily made this list.

What’s your favorite burger place in Kuwait?

Last week the Ministry of Electricity and Water rebranded and you can see their new logo above. I kinda liked the old logo, probably because I grew up with it and as a kid. The new logo feels a lot more generic and I kinda wish they had just facelifted the original logo slightly.

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A post shared by وزارة الكهرباء والماء والطاقة المتجددة 🇰🇼 (@mew_kuwait)

On a side note, I just visited the website of the Ministry of Electricity and Water to see if I could find info on the new logo and realized they don’t have an English section. Has that always been the case? I don’t pay for electricity but I’m assuming there are non-Arabic speaking expats that do?

via Reddit

Last week JACC released the new full season calendar spanning from now up until April of next year and sadly there doesn’t seem to be any interesting English events coming up. In fact, there are just two, a circus act at the end of this month and an orchestra in November. I’m hoping there will be more English events added down the line but for now, if you want to check the current schedule then click here.

A couple of years ago I ordered a NOCO battery booster off Amazon after reading a lot of great things about it. Since then I’ve kept it in the trunk of my FJ in case my battery after dies and I need to boost it. I haven’t had to do that yet but I have used my battery booster a number of times to help other people start up their cars and you can read my review on it here. I’ve been wanting to order another one to keep in the trunk of my Lotus but I didn’t want to go through the hassle of ordering one online again.

But, now there is a place in Kuwait called Garage Shuwaikh that started selling NOCO products and I got mine yesterday (another GB40) for basically the same price as Amazon. It’s actually cheaper than what I paid since the booster I got costs KD30 on Amazon without tax and shipping, while here in Kuwait it’s selling for KD32 including delivery. If you’re interested in getting a battery booster (every car should have one) they have special launch prices right now which is why they’re so well priced. Here is a list of products they have with the ordering number below:

Battery Charger
G750 .75A Smart Battery Charger KD10
G3500 3.5A Smart Battery Charger KD17
G15000 15A Pro Series Smart Battery Charger KD55

Battery Booster
GB20 Sport 400A Lithium Jump Starter KD25
GB40 Plus 1000A Lithium Jump Starter KD32
GB50 XL 1500A Lithium Jump Starter KD45
GB70 HD 2000A Lithium Jump Starter KD60

Cases
GBC013 Boost Sport/Plus EVA Protection Case KD6
GBC014 Boost HD EVA Protection Case KD9

To order just call or whatsapp 99605057