2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I was going through Kuwestions when I spotted a question by a reader who asked why taxis were so filthy? One person left a pretty interesting response which I’ve shared below (with minor editing):

Taxi drivers don’t have salaries (although on paper it says they do). The system works as follows:

a- The taxi company (most of the time it is just a small office with one owner) rents the taxi for the driver by day. According to the car, the condition of the driver (new in Kuwait or not) and how greedy the owner is, the rent can go from KD5 to KD7.5 per day.

b- The driver is responsible for everything in the car. The company doesn’t pay anything. If the car is hit, stolen, damaged or whatever, the driver pays for it and they have to keep paying the rent even if the car is in the garage being repaired.

c- The driver pays all the car registration fees, insurance fees, residency fees, etc.. usually the company should pay for these, at least the residency fees, but not in the case of the taxi drivers, they have to pay.

d- The drivers have to deal with greedy employees inside the taxi company as well. You want the mandoob to get your driving license so you can work today? Pay him KD5-KD10, otherwise just wait, maybe he will go there next week to get it for you while you are paying your daily taxi rental fees but not driving and making money.

As a result of all the above, the drivers get greedy as well and try to survive by any means. Another reason drivers don’t care about the cars is that most people here treat them extremely bad. So what is the point of cleaning the car, and wasting an hour or two when they can instead just rest, or try to find another customer who will eventually also leave their trash behind.

The taxis that are just plain white are “Call taxis”. These taxis are not permitted by law to stop and pick a customer off the street, they have to be ordered by phone. But, taxi companies just give these cars to drivers and let them go and pick customers off the street because the government stopped issuing “Gawwala” licenses (the licenses for the beige/white cars). These taxis get fined a lot because of that and they also have to pay these fines.

One more thing. Before the new taxi fares, taxis would not let you pay by the meter because the price of the meter was too low. And now after the new higher meter fares that were introduced, people are not willing to pay by the meter because its more expensive. So cab drivers are still stuck in the same place.

So basically unless major restructuring of the whole taxi system happens, things aren’t going to get any better.

The reader had gotten all this information from one of his best friends who is currently working as a taxi driver in Kuwait. You can check out the original thread on Kuwestions [Here]

Thanks Tarek!

Last week I was offered the opportunity to test drive the large Jaguar F-Pace SUV. But, I was actually curious to test drive their smaller SUV, the E-Pace. One of the things that attracted me to the E-Pace was the starting price of KD11,990. The car looked like it cost a lot more and so when I found out how much they were selling for, I became very intrigued by the car.

The E-Pace is a fairly new model by Jaguar that was launched last year. The car I picked up was what Jaguar calls “First Edition” and had a beautiful Caldera Red exterior with a full ebony black leather interior. The car looked really sporty and because it was the “First Edition”, it came standard with 20″ wheels, LED headlights, advanced drivers aids, a panoramic sunroof and a bunch of other cool features. I was really glad the car came with a black interior considering the exterior was a vibrant red. The black interior along with the “black pack” exterior which consists of blacked out parts and comes standard with the First Edition really helped tone things down.

I picked up the car Wednesday morning which was perfect timing since I had a Little Ruby’s event that night and I was picking up three friends on my way. Although the E-Pace is a crossover SUV, its still pretty spacious and my two friends who sat in the back had plenty of legroom. The interior looked very slick in black, with a large infotainment screen in the middle and contrasting red stitching all around. The car I drove had the upgraded Meridian sound system which I loved although not sure I’m a fan of the actual infotainment system as a whole. I was using the iPhone streaming music over USB and on multiple occasions, the infotainment system would just stop working with my phone. Annoying but not the end of the world since I solved it by just connecting by Bluetooth instead.

Personally, I love the way the car looks like and I’ve actually liked the design ever since the car was revealed. A lot of cars look good in photos but then when you see it in person its like bleh. Not in this case, although the striking red color with black interior might have played a role in this. Because the E-Pace is a crossover SUV it’s size is very manageable and not intimidating at all. I tend to love smaller cars since they’re easier and more fun to drive and although the E-Pace handled rough roads and smooth highways equally good, there was one thing I found super annoying, the sensitivity of the gas and brake pedals. I’m actually convinced the car I drove had some kind of issue since both pedals were extremely sensitive. Every car has different pedal sensitivity and usually, it takes maybe an hour of driving to get used to it. I had the car for three days and I still wasn’t used to the pedals to the point I was giving myself motion sickness. I solved the abrupt acceleration by putting the car in the snow/wet weather mode which skips the first gear on acceleration and so smoothened things out, but, I couldn’t solve the braking issue. Stepping on the brake pedal lightly didn’t really do much but then if I stepped on the pedal just slightly harder it would apply too much braking power causing the car to jerk. I couldn’t get comfortable with the ultra-sensitive pedals over the three days which was so bizarre.

Overall though its hard not to recommend the E-Pace with a starting price of just KD12,000. But, once you add options the car cost can balloon up past KD17,000, so if you’re looking for value, you’re going to have to sacrifice on options. I think the size is great for those looking for an SUV but don’t want something too big. The boot was also fairly large so you’re not really sacrificing much in terms of SUV practicality. Really the only major issue I had with the car was the pedal sensitivity, but since I couldn’t find anyone else online complaining about it, it must have been an issue with the specific car I drove. If you’re interested in test driving the E-Pace yourself, just pass by the showroom or get in touch with Jaguar, they’re on instagram @zayanijaguarkuwait

Recently I decided to get a S’well bottle to keep in my car since I have a habit of collecting water bottles which clutter up the interior. By having a S’well bottle permanently in the car, I could just keep refilling it from the water bottles I collect throughout the day and then just throw away the empty bottles.

I decided to go with S’well because of the multiple color and design options they have, but the only place in Kuwait that seems to sell them is Paper & Nest in KIPCO Tower.

They’ve got a pretty good selection of bottles to choose from and their prices are pretty similar to US prices. For example, my bottle cost me KD12 while the same one on Amazon sells for around KD11. They also have most of the bottles available on their website so if you don’t feel like going to KIPCO, you can just order it online. If you’re looking to get a S’well bottle, here is a link to Paper & Nest’s [Website]

Since the weather is getting cooler I decided to get my bike serviced in preparation for riding season. After having the bicycle parked during the long hot summer months, all the cables tend to loosen up, the gearing lubrication dries up, and all the air leaks out of the tires and shocks.

Luckily, I live walking distance from an Extreme Sports shop, so whenever I see the weather cooling down, I just walk my bike over to them to get it serviced. They’re my favorite place to service my bike mostly because they know their bikes, the guys who work there are super nice, plus they carry good brands in case I need to upgrade a part or purchase a new accessory. Once I get my bike back from them it tends to look and feel brand new.

So if your bike is lying around gathering dust and you want to get it ready for riding season, I’d recommend you take it to Extreme Sports. Their Salmiya location [Google Maps] tend to have the bike serviced and ready in under 24 hours and the cost is KD15. Here is a link to their instagram @extremesportskw

I got the photo above over WhatsApp. It’s an aerial photo of Kuwait from 1957 and the numbers correspond to the different areas below:

1- Al Shamiya
2- Shuwaikh
3- Kaifan
4- Al Faiha
5- Al Khalidiya
6- Al Qadsia
7- Al-Dahiya
8- Nuzha

#8 is the old airport that was located in Nuzha. I actually have a bunch of pictures of that airport which I got from the KOC Archive and you can check those photos out [Here]

I hate molokhia but, @cosmicxcircus somehow convinced me that I’ve been having bad molokhia all my life and that I needed to try it at her favorite place. She sold me on the theory and told me about a small hole in the wall in Hawalli called Layali Zamaan that supposedly made the best molokhia in Kuwait. So I decided to head there with her and a couple of other friends to try it out.

There are mainly two kinds of molokhia, the soupy Egyptian molokhia and the leafy Lebanese version. As this was an Egyptian restaurant they made the soupy kind. The molokhia meal at Layali Zamaan consists of bird tongue soup (chicken broth with orzo pasta), leafy veggies, rice, protein, Egyptian bread, and of course, the molokhia.

You have five different proteins to choose from, duck, chicken, meat, pigeon, and fish. I was curious to try the pigeon since I’ve never had it before but, since I was already out of my comfort zone with the molokhia, I decided to stick with meat.

The bird tongue soup which didn’t really look appetizing turned out to be actually really good, and I love carbs so the bread was great, and that is about it. Turns out I still really dislike molokhia because I hated it at this place as well. The whole time I was there I was thinking about what I would order off Carriage once I was back home. Everyone else I was with LOVED the molokhia but I have no idea why.

The best thing about Layali Zamaan for me was that it was located around the corner from the popular ice cream shop Bikdash Al Sham. The second best thing about Layali Zamaan was the price. We were four people and the bill came out to KD5.500 which I guess is a steal if you like molokhia. If you’re interested in trying the place out, they’re located in Hawalli, here is their location on [Google Maps]

Not a lot happening this weekend but the Hot Dog Pop-up Party tonight seems like something fun and you’ve got Herbie Hancock performing this weekend. Check out the full list of this weekends events below:

Thursday
Hot Dog Pop-up Party! (Pet Friendly)
Shinsawi: Wild Game Night

Friday
Concert: Jazz Legend – Herbie Hancock
Extreme Challenge

Saturday
Scott Kelby’s World Wide Photowalk
Messages of Coexistence
Concert: Jazz Legend – Herbie Hancock

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.

The Eggslut hoarding went up a few days ago and it looks like it’s now been changed with the one above where they’ve covered the “u” in the word slut with an egg. Doesn’t look like they’re actually going to call the place Eggslot or else they would have already gotten the @eggslot account on instagram and the accompanying domain names.

Below is the first hoarding they had up:

Out of curiosity for those of you who were offended by the name Eggslut, if they do end up calling it Eggslot does that make it ok for you? Even though you know the name of the place is actually called Eggslut and they just replaced the letter “u” with an “o”? What if they added letters so for example they decided to call it Eggslutkt or maybe Eggslud, would that also be ok with u?

Screenshot from Venom

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

New This Weekend:
Singularity (4.0)
Venom (7.1)

Other Movies Showing Now:
211 (4.3)
Alpha (7.0)
Johnny English Strikes Again (6.7)
Luis & the Aliens (6.0)
Peppermint (6.0)
Searching (7.9)
Smallfoot (6.8)
The Bouncer (6.4)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (6.0)
The Nun (7.0)
The Wife (7.3)

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

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Tiny Giants 3D (7.9)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.

My personal favorite has to be the Johnny Rockets apple pie.

You’ve probably seen the Land Cruisers 70 series on the road, they look like old cars because they originally came out in the early 80s but Toyota actually still builds them today with just minor changes. They’re probably one of Toyotas best sellers locally and on more than one occasion I’ve passed by the dealership only to be told the whole range was completely sold out. It’s mind-boggling which is why I’ve always been curious to drive one. Why are they so popular?

Personally, I became a big fan of the LC70 after coming upon Andrew White’s youtube channel. I was at one point considering getting a Land Rover Defender when I found one of his videos where he compares the two. Soon I was watching hours and hours of videos of him talking about his LC70 and all the stuff he’s done to it on his YouTube channel. At one point I was even contemplating renting an LC70 camper vehicle similar to his and going overlanding in South Africa.

My FJ is turning 9 years old in a few months and so I’ve been looking for a possible replacement for the past few years. Whatever I replace the FJ with has to be comfortable, durable and spacious. I was considering the 4-door LC70 because I loved the way they looked and their simplicity. The exterior hasn’t changed much since the early 80s so the cars don’t really get old in the same way the Mercedes G class or Land Rover Defender don’t get old. So last weekend I borrowed a friend’s 2-door Land Cruiser to test drive, and after giving it back I’m not sure I want one anymore.

The problem I had with the car was that it was just exhausting to drive. I drove the LC70 an hour out into the desert and then an hour back, and it felt like I had just gone on an 8-hour adventure. I can’t really pinpoint why the car exhausted me so much, it might have been because of the simple seats or the rough suspension, it might have been because the AC wasn’t cooling properly or maybe because the cabin noise was just too loud. Most likely, it was because of all of the above combined. Because the car hasn’t really changed much from the 80s, it lacks a lot of comforts. There’s no sound isolation which meant the interior was pretty noisy, it also meant there was no weather insulation so although the AC was blasting ice cold air, the car interior just wasn’t getting cold enough. The ride was pretty rough even on highways and the car I drove had an upgraded suspension so I can only imagine how much worse the ride is with the stock setup. The car was draining, even on short trips, driving felt like a chore.

On the other hand, I really love the way the car looks and I also love the barebones interior. Do we really need 3D surround view, heads-up displays, lane change and parking assist, massage chairs and digital dashboards? No, we don’t. The interior cabin although not that spacious was very bright and had incredible visibility because of the large windows and very small pillars. Most importantly though, the Land Cruiser felt like it would take a lot of abuse (and it can). But my favorite thing about the car has to be the fact when you’re buying an LC70, you’re actually buying a brand new vintage car.

The Land Cruiser 70 series starts close to KD9,000 and goes up past KD12,000 so they’re not cheap. You also don’t have many options locally, for example, the car comes with either a grey or beige/brown interior but the local dealer only gets the beige/brown one. Exterior colors are also limited to like 4. Do I love the car or do I hate it? I’m not really sure. I want to say I love it, but would I trade my FJ for one? The answer is no.

Yesterday the New York Times published an article relating to Kuwait, but like most of the times we make the news, it wasn’t for a good thing. The New York Times had an article on the increase of book bannings that have gotten so extreme, we’re actually banning books that are not banned in Saudi Arabia. If that’s not absurd I don’t know what is.

Some of the books that were banned were written by local authors, so it’s not just foreign books that are being affected by this recent banning. Over 4,300 books have been banned so far since 2014 with 700 of them being banned just this year alone. Check out the New York Times article with more details on this [Here]

Last month I posted about an emergency lane tragedy where a mum lost her 4-month old child to a speeding motorist. The mum had pulled over into the emergency lane because of a problem with her car when a driver who was speeding in the emergency lane crashed into them. The mum has now written about the tragedy in the Kuwait Times. You can read her article [Here]

Does anyone have a Bang & Olufsen CD player they want to sell? Doesn’t matter which model, if you have one let me know! I’ve got like a million CD’s and just an old Technics discman to listen to them with.

Thursday night I passed by Digits in Marina Mall and picked up the new iPhone XS a few hours before the official launch. Digits always hook me up with a phone ahead of launch and even discount the phones for me because they know they’re going to get publicity from me. I like this arrangement because it means I don’t need to wait in line or worry about the phone getting sold out. This year I actually had another company approach me with a better deal on the new iPhone, but my history with Digits goes way way back.

I’m a very nostalgic person and I’ve got a lot of nostalgia with Digits. I’ve been a customer of theirs since before they were called Digits, since before they were called Mac&More, since way before the iPhone or iPod ever existed, back when their store was simply called Apple Computer. Back then they were located across from Salhia and had beautiful beige Power Macs on display which I sadly never got to own. But, since the very beginning, they’ve been hooking me up with stuff like when I got my Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh from them or when they let me take their Think Different banners after their Salhia store closed down. And then I got my 15 seconds of worldwide fame because of them when my pictures of their abandoned store made their way around the web. So yeah, I’m a big fan of Digits and very loyal. I think their service center is great and I just love dealing with them which is why I’m always promoting them.

This year I had two options of phones to choose from, the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max. I was pretty tempted to get the Max but I already thought the regular XS was too big and so I knew I’d struggle with the Max. Since I sold my water damaged iPhone X around 3 months back I’ve been using an iPhone 8. I loved how small it felt and how I could easily reach all four corners of the screen with my thumb, but I did miss the full screen and I majorly missed the ability to switch between apps by just swiping left or right at the bottom of the screen. Although I was tempted to get the Max because it was a new phone and would give me more to write about on the blog, I knew the regular XS was the one I really should get. Judging by the poll I held on my instagram story though, it looks like the majority of you would prefer the Max.

The XS and X are virtually the same phone. Even though Apple could spend an hour talking about the differences, in reality, there isn’t that much of a difference. The only thing you might notice being different is the camera, the new camera is an improvement over the previous one but unless you’re taking two photos with the two different phones in the same spot and then compare them side by side… you won’t really notice a difference. Battery life still isn’t that great, when I went from the X to the 8 I was kinda surprised at how much better the battery life on the 8 was, I could spend all day on the phone and the battery wouldn’t drop down past 50%. With the X and now the XS, I could be down to 50% by lunchtime.

But truthfully, I’d rather be on the X or XS over the 8 any day. The iPhone 8 and any non-fullscreen iPhone really do feel and look outdated compared to the new iPhones with the fullscreen. Although I loved the battery life on the 8, I don’t mind the sacrifice for a larger and better screen. So moving from an iPhone 8 (or 7, 6, 5 etc..) to an XS is a no-brainer, the question really is if you have an iPhone X now, is it worth moving to an XS? The answer is no, not at all.