2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Last Thursday I was at the National Library looking for a specific book related to the Iraq invasion when I found a book called “Kuwaiti Resistance as Revealed by Iraqi Documents“. From the cover, it didn’t look like much but after flipping a few pages I was hooked. I knew I wanted that book so I went online to buy one from Amazon or eBay when I noticed the book was published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait. The center was located next to my office so after work I decided to head to their small bookshop to see if they had it. They did, in fact, they had the book in English, Arabic, and French and for just KD3!

I’ve been meaning to post about the place for some time now ever since I found out they had a book shop. It was a small shop with just their publications so didn’t think it would be an interesting post but then on Thursday I also found out they had a library with a lot of interesting books and it was open to the public!

The Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait was established in 1992 with a number of objectives but mainly to collect various documents and studies relating to the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait. The book I purchased is one of many books the center has published on the invasion but they also have a wide range of books on Kuwait (history, environment, wildlife, etc).

The center has a library which although not as big as the National Library at least is open in the afternoon so people with jobs can pass by after work. The library is mostly filled with Arabic books but they did have a pretty decently sized section filled with English books as well as an archive of researches and presentations including proposals on the Kuwait Water Front Project (the Gulf Road basically) and original plans for the Kuwait Radion Television Centre which I had never seen before. They also had an archive of LIFE magazine issues dating from 1956 to 1963, two copies of the Saba Shiber book The Kuwait Urbanization and another book by Saba I didn’t know existed called Recent Arab City Growth (also dating back to the 60s and there is a copy on eBay for $375 so someone, please buy it right now because I can’t afford to buy all the rare books on Kuwait by myself).

If you’re looking to buy some books or spend some time in a library flipping through old books on Kuwait this is the place. Like I said it’s nowhere near as big as the Nationa Library but at least they have better opening hours. The center is open from 8AM to 1:30PM and then again from 5PM to 7:30PM. Here is their location on Google Maps.

Over the weekend I passed by a place called Tea Party Sweets that had Sunkist and Vimto soft serve which in theory, sounded like the best idea ever. They have two locations, one in Ardiya and one in Salmiya right off the 4th Ring Road. I went to the Salmiya location since it was nearest to me and the place looked like one of those random dessert shops that open up and never get a single customer. Except in this case, the place was packed and everyone was there for the exact same reason, Sunkist and Vimto soft serve.

I picked up both to try out and was looking forward to the Sunkist one the most but sadly it didn’t really taste like Sunkist. If anything it tasted closer to Tang than Sunkist. The Vimto one, on the other hand, tasted exactly like Vimto but in soft serve form.

It’s a fun idea and probably doing really well since it’s a great Instagram gimmick. I just wish the Sunkist tasted more like Sunkist. You can find Tea Party Sweets on instagram @tea_party_sweets

Apartment hunting has always been a hassle and tedious task no matter where in the world you go. Finding a modern apartment with all the necessary and basic amenities as well as additional facilities can be a time-consuming chore. At Tijaria real estate, we combine the notion of modern living with luxury, comfort and the benefit of convenience. With our huge real estate portfolio, finding the perfect home for you and your loved ones is no longer a challenge.

In this months’ pick of prime real estate spaces, we bring two unique and exceptional properties in the residential location of Mahbula. Our first pick is the Thatcher Residential Complex (Symphony Furnished Apartments – SFA) located on the Fahaheel expressway.

This property has:

• 3 connected buildings over 16 floors, 77 apartments, 1 commercial store, 6 villas that consist of 2 floors with 4 master bedrooms each, a garage that fits 2 cars and 222 parking spaces.

• All apartments are uniquely furnished, serviced and managed with state of the art facilities and amenities.

• The property includes facilities for both adults and children such as a swimming pool, Health club, Squash Courts, Sauna & Jacuzzi as well as a Barbecue area and a Green area perfect for creating memories with your loved ones.

• In addition, each residential unit at Thatcher Complex comes with a spacious balcony overlooking the pool and kids play areas as well as offering fabulous sea-facing sunset views.

Our second pick of the month is the gorgeous Juman Residential Project also located on the Fahaheel Express Road in Mahboula. Designed to consist of Two building complexes, 12 floors each, consisting of spacious and pristine,

• One, two and three-bedroom apartments, 3 and 4 bedroom duplex apartments along with townhouses consisting of 3 floors and commercial shops.

• In the center of the project, we have an oasis of luxury facilities such as swimming pools, gymnasium, squash court, children’s playground area, fountain, and a multipurpose hall both suited for adults and children within the residential complex.

• Amenities also include underground parking, Garbage Chute, Internet, and selected sports and OSN channels. Both properties have 24×7 Security present on site.

Home is where you come back to unwind and relax, it is no longer concrete and walls, we at Tijaria understand and imbibe this concept of creating spaces that not only bring comfort but also combine the concept of modern living and creating spaces that you can enjoy just at your doorstep. We build modern comfortable luxury spaces that you want to come back to with your loved ones no matter where in the world you go.

To get a tour or more information about our properties please call 22285616 – 97272745.

If you’re looking for something to do tonight there is a stargazing trip taking place which sounds like fun. For more info click here.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the 1990 Kuwait Invasion, and every year on the anniversary, I like to share some links related to the war. This year though I noticed two of my favorite websites related to the invasion are no longer up and running, Free Kuwait and The Evidence.

Both those website contained a large archive of photos related to the invasion and I’m pretty upset that they’re both no longer working. I’ve already emailed the people behind those two websites to see what the issue is, hopefully, it’s just a technical hiccup but in any case, below are the rest of the links.

Free Kuwait
This is a website that focuses on the campaign that was led by Kuwaitis in exile and is loaded with photos and information.

Kuwait Invasion – The Evidence
This is a website that contains over 1,200 pictures taken right after the 1990 invasion as photographic evidence to all the destruction caused by Iraq.

Short movie: Hearts of Palm
Hearts of Palm is a short movie set in August 2nd 1990 and deals with Kuwaiti students living in Miami Florida during the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait.

The Class of 1990
This is a short documentary about reuniting class mates years after the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

Homemade video from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
Video clips taken by a Kuwaiti family during the Iraqi invasion

Desert Storm Photos
Photos taken by soldiers during Desert Storm.

Short Animation: Sandarah
A captivating story based on true events that took place during the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

First Account of Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait
Interviews with various Kuwaitis that were in Kuwait during the 1990 invasion.

Iraqi Invasion Pictures
Photos of the Gulf War aftermath.

Politics of Wor
A tumblr account with some not so commonly seen photos from the Gulf War. (Warning some are graphic)

Magnum Photos
A gallery of images taken during the Gulf War by some great photographers. (Warning some are graphic)

BBC Documentary: The Last Flight to Kuwait
A series of documentaries on Iraq begins with a look at the fate of British Airways flight BA149 to the Far East in 1990. As the plane landed in Kuwait, Saddam Hussein invaded, capturing its crew and passengers.

Photos in this post are by Bruno Barbey

Update: I just bought a hard copy of the books The Evidence and Evidence II which is what the website The Evidence is based off. Now looking for “A Testimony from London” which the Free Kuwait website is based on. If you know where I can find it let me know.

Screenshot from Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

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

New This Weekend:
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (7.5)
The Devil’s Doorway (5.2)
The Queen’s Corgi (4.7)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Aladdin (6.5)
Annabelle Comes Home (7.0)
Avengers: Endgame (9.2)
xEscape Plan: The Extractors (4.4)
Lying and Stealing (5.1)
Spider-Man: Far from Home (8.2)
Skin (6.6)
Spider-Man: Far from Home (8.2)
Stuber (5.7)
The Lion King (6.2)
Toy Story 4 (9.0)

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

New This Weekend:
Great White Shark 3D (7.3)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Fly Me to the Moon (4.5)
Galapagos 3D (8.6)
The Lion King – 1994 (8.5)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Volcanoes 3D (6.6)

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

Early this year I decided I wanted to get a cool classic car and not sure how exactly, but I ended up deciding on an old Alfa Romeo, specifically the 1750 GTV. So I started looking all over the web for a car that fit my requirements and I ended up finding a couple in the US, one in Sweden and one in Germany but in the end, I found a perfect one in the Netherlands at a family-run classic car dealership called Gallery Aaldering. After a few emails back and forth, I decided to fly out to Holland to check the car in person. The place was insane! It was 4 floors and filled with so many beautiful and pristine condition classic cars. It was like a museum except everything was for sale. While there I actually didn’t give the Alfa much attention at first because I ended up falling in love with a Lancia Fulvia Coupe 1600 HF. But after I test drove the Alfa and left the dealership did it start to settle in and I knew I wanted it.

This was back in April and once I got back to Kuwait I proceeded with the purchase. It took around 8 weeks to finalize the paperwork and get the car registered for exporting and it finally shipped to Kuwait this past Monday.

One thing I realized through this whole process is that very few people in Kuwait know what the process is for importing a classic car. There is a lot of misinformation and the whole thing is just confusing so I decided I would share the process on the blog.

So this is what I was told, but keep in mind laws change all the time and there are various exceptions that can be made so use this info just as a starting point. Firstly cars are divided into three categories and each has different rules:

New Cars
Cars less than 5 years old are considered new. Both expats and Kuwaitis can import these cars without much of a hassle.

Old Cars
Cars older than 5 years but less than 40 years are considered old. Expats aren’t allowed to import old cars while Kuwaitis are allowed to import one old car in their lifetime.

Classic Cars
Cars that are older than 40 years are considered classics. Expats aren’t allowed to import classic cars while Kuwaitis are allowed to import one classic car every two years.

Now I’ve also heard from people I know that cars older than 20 or 25 years are considered classic. I can’t verify that since I was told by a car importer that it has to be older than 40 years old. But I was also told exceptions can be made. If you get a paper from a dealership stating the car you’re importing is special or rare, then from my understanding, the car doesn’t follow any of the rules listed above.

Since I’m not Kuwaiti I’m importing the car under a friends name. I’m using a local logistics company called Transcrate to get the car from the Netherlands to Kuwait and they’ll also be getting all my paperwork done. They’re pretty pricey compared to other companies, but their customer service is great, I’m communicating with them in English by phone and email (haven’t visited them in person yet), and they’ve been updating me with photos on the progress of my car. The company also belongs to a friend of mine so I feel really comfortable dealing with them. Other companies I approached either didn’t take me seriously, only communicated in Arabic or were pretty slow in responding to simple questions or requests.

The car is now expected to arrive at the end of August and once the car arrives I’ll post Part 2 with information on the registration process.

According to a recent article on Tennis World, the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy will be opening up in Kuwait at the new tennis complex that’s part of the 360 Mall expansion. It had been previously announced that Serena Williams coach would be opening up a tennis academy in Kuwait, but either that plan fell through, or we’re now getting two world-renowned academies opening up.

The tennis complex once open will have a combined stadium seating for over 7,600 people across two main arenas, each with the capacity to hold 4,000 and 1,600 people respectively. There will also be eight indoor courts with over 500 seats, and eight outdoor courts with 1,500 seats. It’s expected to open January of next year.

I recently found out from a reader about a small store in Al-Rai called Sahm Sports that specializes in archery supplies. The store opened up earlier in the month and they sell everything you need to get into archery from bows and arrows to targets and accessories. They even have a small archery room you can book for target practice and lessons (KD7 for 30 minutes).

What I like about their instagram account is that they’re posting videos and stories explaining what the various items and accessories do, so it’s a bit interesting if you want to know more about the sport. The store is located across from Avenues and here it is on Google Maps. Their instagram account is @sahm.sports.kw

Thanks Mohamad!

The popular Italian restaurant and marketplace Eataly opened up last week at Avenues Phase 4. I dropped by over the weekend and although the place was fairly busy I did manage to get seated after a pretty short wait.

I ordered a pasta which was good but one of our other mains arrived fairly dry and the service was pretty sloppy. But, both those issues are understandable since they’ve just opened up. I was impressed by their gelato though (the mango is soo good) and their small market place had a pretty good variety of products. They even had a cold cuts section which I wasn’t expecting since I thought they would only sell boxed items à la Marks & Spencer.

Prices ranged from around 4KD+ for their pasta with I think the most expensive dish coming in just under 10KD. I still need to go back and try a few things once they settle in. They’re located in Avenues Phase 4 near the Mercedes dealership and for more info you can check them out on instagram @eatalyarabia

Yesterday I passed by the newly opened Momo Zaa for a late lunch. I nearly bailed out since I was starving and when I’m starving I generally don’t like trying anything new just in case the food turns out to be crap. But, I was having lunch with my brother and he wanted to try it so he convinced me to try it and I’m glad I did.

Beef, chicken and vegetable momo’s

Momo Zaa is a small hole in the wall opposite Boulevard Park in Salmiya. There were around four tables inside and the place felt cozy with pictures up on one wall and Ashtamangala symbols up on the other. Momo Zaa describes themselves as the first Bhutanese restaurant in Kuwait and I heard the place belongs to the daughter of the Bhutanese ambassador (Update: Turns out it doesn’t). It was my first time experiencing Bhutanese food and I honestly didn’t know much about it, just that they had dumplings which I never say no to.

The menu had a variety of options including noodles, momo’s (dumplings) and curries. I took pictures of the menu and you can check out the front page here and the back here. We decided to go with three kinds of dumplings (beef, chicken and vegetables), a dry chili and cheese curry, Wai Wai Chow fried noodles and the crispy chili potatoes. Everything was pretty good except for the steam vegetable dumplings, I didn’t like it much but I did like the steamed beef and fried chicken dumplings. My favorite item though had to be the crispy chili potatoes.

Crispy Chili Potatoes

If you’re looking for a new place to try or want to experience a new cuisine then you can’t really go wrong with Momo Zaa. The service needs a bit of work since the waiter wasn’t very knowledgable, but the chef was super helpful and took our order while explaining all the dishes to us. Their prices are really reasonable and if you like dumplings then you should definitely check them out. They’re open from 11AM to 11PM but closed on Sundays (but they will be open today from 6PM). Here is their location on Google Maps and they’re also on instagram @momozaa.kwt

It’s a tiny list but there are some pretty cool things happening this weekend. Check out the list below and if I missed anything let me know.

Thursday
Al3ab Village
Cultural Festival – South Korea

Friday
Al3ab Village
Cultural Festival – South Korea
O I Summer Residency featuring Kade B.
Vi by Vogularity x Bunka Pop-up

Saturday
Al3ab Village
Cultural Festival – South Korea

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 Skin

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

Advanced Booking:
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

New This Weekend:
Axel 2: Adventures of the Spacekids (6.9)
Lying and Stealing (5.1)
River Runs Red (4.9)
Skin (6.6)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Aladdin (6.5)
Annabelle Comes Home (7.0)
Avengers: Endgame (9.2)
Crawl (7.1)
Escape Plan: The Extractors (4.4)
Finding Steve McQueen (6.3)
Spider-Man: Far from Home (8.2)
Stuber (5.7)
The Lion King (6.2)
Toy Story 4 (9.0)

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

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Fly Me to the Moon (4.5)
Galapagos 3D (8.6)
The Lion King – 1994 (8.5)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Volcanoes 3D (6.6)

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

Last month I posted about how I was going to be switching to MyUS from Posta Plus’s MyBox service because based on the MyUS online rate calculator, I would be saving a ton of money.

Spoiler: That didn’t happen.

In fact not only did I not save any money by switching (I ended up paying a lot more), but the whole experience has caused me a lot of frustration. Not even sure where to begin because I’ve basically had issues and unexplained costs with 4 out the 5 packages I’ve shipped with them. Firstly for those of you who don’t know what MyUS or MyBox is, they’re both US mail forwarding companies. This means they provide you with a US mailbox and you can ship stuff to it and they’ll then ship the items to you here in Kuwait.

Since the start of the month, I’ve used MyUS five times. The service has been pretty quick, the package would arrive to the MyUS facilities in the States and then within a day it’s shipped to me in Kuwait. The problem is with all the hidden costs, the inaccurate “Shipping Rate Calculator” and how all my packages were being repackaged into heavier boxes to increase their shipping weight.

According to MyUS, when a package first arrives they weigh it and list the weight in your account. Then before shipping, they re-weigh the package and then charge you for that weight. This is where the problem occurs.

Weight According to UPS: 1.1 lbs.
Weight According to MyUS on Arrival: 1.3 lbs.
Weight According to MyUS on Departure: 2.5 lbs.

I confronted MyUS about this. How did my 1.1 lbs. package go from weighing 1.1 to 2.5. They denied any wrongdoing and sent me a photo of the shipping label from UPS which states it weighs 2 lbs (pic below).

I was like ok great so will you be refunding me the 0.5 lbs. difference I was charged? They responded with the following:

Thank you for contacting us. It is not an error. If you see the photos the indicated weight of your package with UPS Tracking #: 1ZE617090393761544 is 2 lbs when we received it from your merchant. And all packages arrives in our facility undergo re-weigh. So the final weight for this package with AWB# 100044466726 is 2.50 lb.

That email actually contradicts them because inside my account it shows that when they received it from the merchant the package weighed 1.3 lbs. (screenshot below). But in any case, how did a re-weigh increase the package weight? And where did the 1.3 lbs weight come from? Nobody knows…

But that actually summarizes my experience with MyUS. They’re definitely more expensive than MyBox for sure but that’s only half the problem. Their biggest issue is that nothing is ever clear. I had one package that had an unexplained charge of $18.5, when I asked them about it turned out because inside my package was a small bottle of cleaning fluid and that’s considered hazardous and requires special handling. Ok fine at least let me know ahead of time or at least after charging me that amount let me know what it’s for. Why do I have to email and ask about it?

My MacBook Air was shipped with the option “FedEx Economy” instead of “Budget Economy” which is the preference I have in my mailbox settings. When I asked them why they told me any item with a battery can’t be shipped with “Budget Economy”. That would be understandable except the option “Budget Economy” actually uses “FedEx Economy” as the carrier to ship. They’re over-complicated and have a lot of holes in their system.

Overall they just felt sleazy and I really don’t like that. I asked people on Reddit if they faced similar issues and turns out I wasn’t the only.

On a positive note, they seem to be good to use on very heavy packages. The only issue I didn’t have with them was with 1 package and that package weighed 18.48 lbs. It cost me around KD28 to ship with them which was that only time their online shipping calculator had quoted me accurately. That same package would have cost me at least KD35 with PostaPlus.

So would I recommend MyUS? For regular shipments no I would not. I faced an issue with every single package except for one and four out of my five packages would have cost me less to ship with MyBox. The only time I’d recommend MyUS is if you have a really heavy shipment but other than that I’m personally heading back to MyBox for my day to day purchases and I’m going to continue to recommend them.

Update: Just got a shipment from MyUS today and it’s a total disaster. Firstly they charged me $18.50 extra for the shipment because they said my shipment contained flammable liquid, turns out the liquid isn’t flammable. Then they ripped open one of the packages inside and completely damaged one of the sleeves from a vinyl record. They’re a mess!

Google just made taking the bus a lot easier in Kuwait by integrating it into Google Maps. You can now plug in your location and destination and Google will guide you to the nearest bus stop and tell you which bus to take, how often that bus comes by and how long the ride will be. Try it out yourself!

via Reddit