2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
The architectural model above shows how the Avenues will end up looking like once the final phase 4 is completed. The two tall buildings are the Conrad Hotel and Hilton Garden Inn. You can view a larger version of the image above [Here]
Thanks lovelykuwait!
Ministry of Information has banned the publishing and broadcasting of any commercial advertisements of the sale of mass destruction weapons including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in newspapers, audiovisual media, and electronic media, reports Arab Times Daily. [Source]
And right before Christmas. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Alghanim Industries will be bringing the American franchise Slim Chickens to the region next year and they will be opening their first location in the same complex where they’re opening Wendy’s on Plajat Street. [Source]
I hadn’t heard of Slim Chickens until a few moments ago but the reason I find this partnership interesting is because back in August I posted about a rumor that Al-Sayer was bringing Chick-fil-A to the region. I mentioned then that burgers and chicken seem to go side by side when it came to franchise ownership, and Alghanim bringing Slim Chickens gives that theory more merit. Americana have Hardees and KFC, Alshaya have Shake Shack and Cane’s Chicken, Alghanim Industries will have Wendy’s and Slim Chickens and hopefully Al Sayer will end up with Five Guys and Chick-fil-A. Yum.
A redditor has mapped out some of the most important bus routes onto Google Maps. If you use the bus (or ever thought about going on what) you can check the routes out [Here]
KPTC already have a similar thing where they’ve mapped out the routes onto Google Maps as well, the only difference is with the KPTC version you need to go through the routes one by one to see the actual route while with the redditors version all the routes are displayed on the map at the same time and you can just select the one that interests you. Here is a link to the KPTC version. [Link]
CityBus also have their bus routes online but its in Flash (why?) and it’s made to look like a subway map and is just not as easy to understand. You can view that map [Here]
Thanks bluzomby!
According to statistics, about 100,000 cars head to downtown everyday but the holding capacity of parking lots there is not more than 60,000 cars. [Source]
When you have huge towers allowed to be built in the city without any parking spots, then you’re obviously going to have a parking problem.
The Ritz-Carlton Kuwait was supposed to be built on the empty plot of land on the Gulf Road next to Safir Hotel around 5 years ago, but the project never ended up getting the green light.
It’s sad really since by the looks of it, the Ritz-Carlton would have been one of the nicer hotels we would have had in Kuwait. [Link]
Thanks ChaoticTranquility!
I tend not to post about instagram businesses mostly because the majority are not that interesting but, @brushed965 is one I think is actually pretty cool. For a price, Brushed 965 will customize your personal items like wallets, purses and sneakers by painting them. Its a great way of customizing a popular item like a Chanel or LV purse. Based on what I’ve seen on their instagram account, their work ranges from simple monograms to detailed illustrated designs like the one above.
If you’re interested to check out their work or to commission a job, check their instagram account is @brushed965
A reader just passed me a link to an interesting Economist article which I thought would be worth sharing on the blog. The two paragraphs below kinda sums up the article for me:
Innovative Dubai is the comparison that most frustrates Kuwaitis. That is in part because Kuwait was once the Gulf’s trailblazer. It set up the world’s first sovereign-wealth fund in 1953 and was a leader in health care. It started one of the first airlines in the region. But the decline of Kuwait Airways is instructive. As its fleet aged and losses piled up, carriers from Qatar and the UAE began offering better service and more routes. Politicians have talked of privatisation. But parliament, reluctant to mess with one of the country’s biggest employers, has frustrated these efforts.
…
The government’s failings extend to public services. It has neglected public hospitals and schools. Low electricity prices and a sweltering climate make Kuwait one of the world’s biggest consumers of energy per person. But the government, which is the sole provider of electricity, has invested little in infrastructure. Parliament has delayed efforts to boost the supply. In 2014 a power outage shut down all three of the country’s oil refineries, crippling fuel production for a week. Endemic corruption completes the dismal picture.
It’s not that long of an article and is worth reading fully, so check it out [Here]
The picture on top is currently my favorite Kuwait skyline photo and was taken by @ziadgram
Hello everyone, its holiday season and since I know a lot of people are going to be consuming alcoholic beverages over the holidays, I thought I would just post a reminder about alcohol in Kuwait.
Alcohol in Kuwait can be very confusing to foreigners as there are alcohol related restrictions and crimes, yet the act of drinking in itself is not illegal. The middle east as a region in general has many alcohol restrictions compared to other regions around the world. Even a place like Dubai which is known to have a big party and drinking scene has restrictions on alcohol consumption and international lawyers have written about UAE laws claiming them to be “strict”.
In Kuwait drinking alcohol privately is not illegal, but buying and/or selling, bringing alcohol to a public place, or being intoxicated in public areas are all crimes. What happens when you are caught in public with alcohol? If you are a first time offender then most likely you will be kept at the police station until you sober up. I am assuming you weren’t driving and you did not hurt anyone. If you aren’t a first time offender and other people have been hurt then you could face a fine or jail time.
Please be very careful this holiday season and do not do anything illegal. I’ve seen many expats that have been accused of alcohol related crimes because they weren’t aware of the specifics of the local laws and instead were comparing the law in Kuwait to their countries law. One person that was pulled out of a taxi by police because he was intoxicated was really confused, his claim was that “I was not driving”. Although in developed countries being intoxicated is a crime while driving only, in Kuwait being intoxicated is a crime in public or even in private if you could be seen by someone in public. So being intoxicated in a car is a crime even if they weren’t driving. For more details on the different laws related to alcohol in Kuwait, check out my previous post.
Stay safe everyone and respect other cultures and religions, I wish you and your family a great holiday.
For any legal inquiries, please email me on [email protected] and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
The fourth season of Qout Market took place yesterday at their new location in Al Shaheed Park and today they started accepting vendor applications for their upcoming markets.
If you’re interested in taking part, head over to their website and fill out the vendor application form [Here]
Supposedly there are very limited spaces available this year so good luck.
The garden and fountain area where the restaurants are located at the Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre is now open. The timings are as follows:
Weekdays 8AM to 11PM
Weekends 8AM to 12AM
A few of the restaurants are also currently open including Beit Shoukri, Shishawarma, Googoosh, Kashounat Al-Bait and The Chocolate Gate.
To stay up to date on the cultural centre, you can follow their official instagram account @jacc_kw
Photo on top by @nosa50
This little bit of info is for the car nuts in Kuwait. I just found out that automotive superstar, Akira Nakai of RWB / RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF is currently in Kuwait working on a Porsche. Akira is master builder known in the car world for crafting widebody kits on Porsches like the one pictured above and was contracted to come to Kuwait to work on the Porsche pictured below.
If this interests you then you can follow his progress by checking the accounts @garage_shuwaikh and @rwb_rauhweltbegriff
Update: The car is done, check out the result below. So hot!
Lots of great events taking place this weekend. One event which that doesn’t sound that exciting but should be pretty cool is the Auto Works Show. Although their instagram account doesn’t mention it, I was told most of the big car clubs in Kuwait will be taking part in this exhibition. From what I understood, the parking lots outside the exhibition hall will just be packed with all sort of classic and show cars. So if you’re into cars you should pass by and check it out. I’ll be passing by later today so will probably post an update after I do. For now, check out the full list of this weekends events below:
Thursday
A Fifteen-Year Journey: The Art of Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Precious Fragments
3D Artwork Festival
16th Super Bazaar Exhibition
Auto Works Show ★
Plamo Con ★
Korean Street Food Festival ★
Friday
3D Artwork Festival
16th Super Bazaar Exhibition
Auto Works Show ★
Plamo Con ★
Family Seasonal Concert ★
Tai Chi in the Park
Holiday Bazaar
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering
Digital Magic Show
Salwa’ Walk and Socialize Meetup
Saturday
3D Artwork Festival
16th Super Bazaar Exhibition
Auto Works Show ★
Plamo Con ★
Qout Market ★
JUMO Community Brunch ★
Car Boot Sale ★
Failaka Ceramics Trip
Yoga with the 3
Christmas Special Shelter Open Day
Camel Races
Letter Earthlings Meetup
Q8 Books Literary Nights
Live Visual Demonstration
Concerto Balla la Nuova Italia
★ marks events which I think are interesting.
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 movies below are now showing at Cinescape and Grand Cinemas:
New This Week:
I Am Not a Serial Killer (6.2)
Italian Race (7.5)
Man Down (6.3)
Underworld: Blood Wars (6.7) ♦
Other Movies Showing:
Allied (7.2) ♦
Arrival (8.4) ★
Bleed for This (6.4) ♦
Doctor Strange (8.0) ★
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (8.3)
Ghost Coins (7.5)
Hacksaw Ridge (8.8) ★♦
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (7.4) ★
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (7.2)
The Accountant (7.8) ★
Trolls (6.7)
Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.
The RAF Red Arrows put on a show near the Kuwait Towers this past Monday and I saw some great photos yesterday taken by Dherar Al-Rashoud. The one above is my favorite of the bunch but you can check out all his pictures [Here]
