2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Since Mogahwi closed down next to my place in Salmiya, I’ve resorted to going to Jarir in Boulevard Mall since that’s currently the closest decent stationary shop to me. But, I might stop doing that after dropping by Mogahwi’s Kuwait City location yesterday.

I used to pass by the Kuwait City branch whenever I needed anything urgently for work since it’s right down the street from me. But the store was old and outdated and I generally didn’t like shopping there.

But recently they gave the Kuwait City store a much-needed facelift. Other than the fact they’ve improved the lighting and given the space a paint job, they’ve also expanded the store and brought in a lot more brands and new items. They’ve now got a much larger variety of arts and crafts supplies as well as a large variety of spray paint brands including popular brands like Montana. They even have their own resident artist.

So if you’re a fan of Mogahwi but hated the Kuwait City store like me, then you should pass by now and check it out. They’re open daily from 9AM to 9PM except for Fridays when they open from 4:30PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

PS: If you’re a Copic Markers fan they now carry a very large assortment of their pens. (they still cost an arm and a leg though)

Even though the local Mercedes is changing ownership starting January 1st, the current dealer is still getting new cars. The completely redesigned 2019 G-Class is now available in Kuwait and the prices are as follows:

2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G500 – from 43,000 KWD
2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G63 – from 55,000 KWD

They currently have one on display in their AMG showroom if you want to check it out in person, but their whole stock is currently sold and so they’re only taking preorders.

Yesterday, Kuwaiti race car driver Zaid Ashkanani scored a second-place victory at the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2018. The race took place on the Belgian GP Spa track, the same track the Formula 1 race took place on yesterday. Zaid is now 6th place in the overall rankings.

I couldn’t find any articles online with more details on the race but you could watch the start of the race above (he’s in the grey and white Porsche starting in 4th place) and make sure you check out his instagram @zaidashkanani

Last night I was at The Avenues and decided to pass by the newly opened Pick. When I got there I walked up to the tiny 2 person line behind the cashier and waited for my turn. While waiting, I noticed a long queue on the left side of the place lined up behind another cashier. I realized it might be a one-line queue for two cashiers and that I might have been cutting the line. Or maybe the other people didn’t realize there was a second cashier?

I decided to leave Pick because the situation was confusing, but decided to message them on Instagram just out of curiosity to see if it was actually two separate lines, or one line with two cashiers. My exchange with them was so good I felt it was worth posting about.

Firstly, someone saw my DM right away, they then quickly responded to my question and were apologetic and admitted the situation was actually confusing. The whole conversation was so friendly and sincere, they made me an even bigger fan of the brand.

The situation made me realize again how amazing social media has become for communicating with brands, especially when you have a problem. I’ve DM’d brands a ton of times either to complain, give feedback, ask questions or even to try and cut through lines at clubs (Thank you @the.garten). Other than my internet provider I no longer contact brands any other way. When I had an issue with AVIS in the US I tried calling them on the phone and after spending an hour either on hold or trying to navigate their robotic call center, I decided to tweet them. I ended up getting a response back on twitter in less than 5 minutes! In Kuwait it’s been no different, other than the local Ikea and Jeep dealer (still waiting for a response guys), my experience with customer service on instagram has been pretty good so far. I love it.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday addressed an ultimatum to Wataniya Airways to resolve problems such as recurring flights’ delay and cancellation.

The DGC warned in a statement that in case the company failed to fulfil its duties properly, its permit would be suspended, effective September 6 for three months as an initial penalty, while compelling it to fulfil its financial and legal liabilities toward passengers.

If Wataniya Airways fails again to tackle these problems, it will be stripped of the license permanently.

The directorate said several warnings had been given to the company to no avail. It assured passengers that it would do its best to ensure their safety and rights, vowing to follow up on Wataniya’s commitment to secure their comeback either on its aircraft or planes of other companies. [Source]

I knew they were having delays and flight cancellations for a few months now but didn’t think it was this severe of an issue even though someone had even sent me a video of the crew loading up supermarket bags of food on the plane because at one point they had lost their catering contract. I hate seeing the airline fail like this since I worked with the original Wataniya Airways on their launch many years ago so when the airline came back again from the dead last year, I had high hopes. And even though I had an average experience flying with them back in November, it was still good having an extra airline to choose from when planning trips. Maybe this will be their turning point…

The Kuwait Harps are starting a new season of Gaelic Football and are looking for new faces to join the club. Gaelic Football is a form of football derived from the Irish ball games. There are some major differences between regular football and Gaelic football like the fact Gaelic football is played with 15 players per team and you can also hold the ball with your hands.

The Kuwait Harps compete primarily in tournaments based in the Gulf region and new players are always welcome and immediately feel at home within the club. The majority of the current squad were actually new to Gaelic Games when they first arrived in Kuwait. While many clubs in the Gulf region can depend on a strong pool of Irish players, this is not the case in Kuwait. While a core of the club may be Irish, it relies heavily on the support of players from the international expat community. Kuwait Harps Players have come from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Canada, USA, Australia and even Sudan to name but a few countries.

If you’re interested in joining the club, they’re holding taster days. Taster days are just for people to come along and see if they like the sport and want to join. It’s aimed at all abilities (both fitness and Gaelic wise) so anyone can come along and there is no reason to sign up. All you need to do is come out in your normal workout gear and bring some sunscreen, water and maybe a hat or sunglasses.

When: August 31st, 10AM to 12PM and September 5th, 5PM to 7PM
Where: GUST Univsersity [Map]

For more information email [email protected] or visit their [Facebook Page] or on instagram @kuwait_harps_gaa

If the five H&M stores already in the Avenues weren’t enough, H&M are now planning to open another one! The new location is where the old Debenhams used to be in phase 1 of the Avenues and according to the hoarding, it’s going to be the largest one in the world. It’s crazy that we need the largest H&M in the world first of all but it’s even crazier that is opening in a mall that already has five other locations.

Update: Reminds me of this hilarious (and real) scene from The Simpsons…

A lion was on the loose in Kabd earlier today. The video above went viral quickly and so did the authorities when it came to capturing it. According to KUNA, the security police along with the environment police managed to capture the lion and take it to the zoo. They believe the lion escaped from his owner who had kept him as a pet.

Surprisingly according to the news article, the maximum penalty for owning a lion is three years in jail or just KD50 fine. [Link]

If you’re looking for something to do this Eid, iLuminate are going to be in Kuwait to perform at JACC from August 22nd to the 25th. Tickets are reasonably priced starting from KD15 a person so it should be pretty accessible to a lot of people.

For more info, click [Here]

A few readers emailed me to let me know that access between the new Jazeera terminal and the main terminal has been closed off. Previously you could walk from one terminal to another which was convenient since the Jazeera Terminal didn’t have enough seating nor any duty-free shops or restaurants.

I don’t have any idea why they closed access but it sucks that they did. From what I have been told, the only thing open at the Jazeera Airways terminal right now is a Costa that has the longest queue in the world. Not fun.

Over the years Cinescape has gotten multiple of new logos with the last one being in 2014. My first impression, I don’t think I like it. I think my biggest issue with the new logo is that it’s two different logos slapped together to make one.

The red icon with KNCC written under it is the logo of the Kuwait National Cinema Company. Then you have the Cinescape wording with its unique typeface and sideways letter A “<" forming a secondary logo. In usage, they're either using the wording Cinescape with the KNCC icon combined as above, or they're using the < as their icon by itself. So they're flip-flopping between two icons constantly and that seems messy. I also see the shape < in two places, the first in the Cinescape wording and in the second in the red KNCC icon which makes it repetitive.

Their previous logo didn’t have the KNCC logo attached to it so not sure why they’ve attaching it now in this one. Personally, I think I might have preferred it simpler like in my mockup above. That way they can use the < as their icon when they want to and not have a secondary confusing icon next to the brand. I'm curious to see how the brand will develop over the next few months once all their theaters get the new facelift.

Screenshot from The Equalizer 2

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

New This Weekend:
BlacKkKlansman (7.7) ★ ♦
Christopher Robin (7.9) ★
Crazy Rich Asians (7.2)
Down a Dark Hall (6.1) ♦
Harvie and the Magic Museum (6.2)
Help, I Shrunk My Parents (5.7)
Mile 22 (6.6) ★
The Equalizer 2 (7.1) ★

Other Movies Showing Now:
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
The Meg (6.8)
The Spy Who Dumped Me (6.3) ♦

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

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

I’m in Lebanon on a short vacation which is why posting has been slow this week. I should have posted this at the start of my trip but I originally thought I was going to continue to post normally which I’m clearly not doing.

News tips are appreciated a lot more than usual when I’m on holiday so if you have anything interesting for me to share on this blog, send it in!

For non-coffee drinkers out there, you’ll be interested to know that a new matcha place has opened up in the downtown area, specifically on Coffee Boulevard. The matcha place is called Cha Matchacha and they’re describing themselves as the first matcha bar in Kuwait.

I haven’t tried them since I prefer coffee over matcha, but if you’re looking for a new non-coffee shop to try out, they’re located at the start of Coffee Boulevard, near Koi and Little Purple Door. Here is their location on [Google Maps] and their instagram is @cha_kw.

Screenshot from Blindspotting

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

New This Weekend:
Blindspotting (7.7) ♦
Duck Duck Goose (5.5)
Enchanted Princess (4.6) ♦
The Catcher Was a Spy (6.0)
The Meg (6.8)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Ant-Man and the Wasp (8.0)
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (6.5)
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa (5.4)
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Ocean’s Eight (6.3) ★
Our House (5.3)
Patrick (5.8)
PLOEY – You Never Fly Alone (5.5)
Shock and Awe (5.0) ♦
Skyscraper (6.0)
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (6.8)
The Lullaby (5.8)
The Spy Who Dumped Me (6.3) ♦

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

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.