2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) retracted its plan to build a nuclear power plant, as Kuwait had planned earlier to obtain a license from the UN in this regard. MEW said its decision to scrap the project was because studies proved it was unfeasible and of high cost, in addition to having alternative projects that are better in production and cost such as solar energy and wind. An official said Kuwait needs water desalination stations, but as for power stations, plans provide for several stations. Some of them will be built soon, and some between 2020 and 2030. [Source]

Back in 2010 the Ministry of Electricity had stated Kuwait was going to build four nuclear reactors and they would be up and running by 2022. But then in 2012 after the Fukushima disaster those plans got scrapped. So no idea why they’ve just announced it again that they’re scrapping their nuclear plans, unless somewhere between 2012 and 2016 they had reinstated the plan.

In any case, solar should have been the priority in the first place and our neighbors UAE are already ahead of the game in the region with their Shams Solar Power Station (pictured above and video below) which is one of the largest solar power plants in the world.

Update: Just a few figures to help you understand why Kuwait looked at nuclear power plants to begin with.

– Kuwait consumes around 13,000MW of electricity
– The new Shamal Al Zour Al Oula gas power station in the north of Kuwait that is under construction will produce 1,500MW when complete
– The Shams Solar Power Station in the UAE produces 100MW
– The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the USA is the largest solar station in the world and it produces 392MW
– The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan is the largest in the world and produces 7,965 MW

So one nuclear power plant could supply more than 60% of Kuwait’s power needs while the largest solar station would supply just 3%.

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

New This Week:
Don’t Breathe (8.3) ♦
Genius (6.8) ♦
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (8.4)
Life on the Line (5.1)
Mechanic: Resurrection (6.5)
Monkey King: Hero Is Back (7.3)
War Dogs (7.3) ★ ♦

Other Movies Showing:
Free State of Jones (6.7) ★ ♦
Jason Bourne (8.3)
Rabid Dogs (5.6)
Riot (5.2)
Skiptrace (6.5)
Suicide Squad (8.2) ♦
The BFG (6.8)
The Conjuring 2 (7.8)
The Legend Of Tarzan (6.7) ♦
The Secret Life of Pets (6.8)

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

It was around 5AM and I was sitting at Johnny Rockets Salmiya waiting for my meal when it suddenly hit me, the place hadn’t changed one tiny bit since it first opened back in 1995. I quickly snapped a few pictures and decided to send it to my high school crush who I used to frequent Johnny Rockets with all the time. A minute later she responds… Memories!!!!

Back in 1995/1996, during my senior year in high school, Fuddruckers was the place to go. I mean there weren’t that many options anyway, none of the restaurants you see on the Gulf Road today existed back then, we didn’t have any malls like we do today except for Laila Gallery, Zahra Complex and Salhiya. So as teenagers we spent most of our time either hanging out at each others homes or the ice skating rink which was honestly pretty cool back then with Snap and Soul II Soul being blasted loudly by the DJ while we played with the arcade machines and watched people skate. So when Fuddruckers opened everyone in Kuwait was there on the weekends. It used to be super crowded and such a fun place to just chill and meet up with teens from other schools. Then Johnny Rockets opened and everyone started going there.

We were around 5 in my group, 2 girls and 3 guys and we started going to Johnny Rockets instead of Fuddruckers like most other teens. I lived on Salem Mubarek Street so my friends would just get dropped off at my place and we’d hang out in my room for a bit before walking down to Johnny. We usually headed to the Video Club first which was across the street from Johnny so we could check out the latest music tapes and CDs. We’d then visit the bookshop next door and flip through the magazines before heading over to Johnny. By the time we’d get to Johnny we would all have spent whatever little money we had on music tapes or magazines so we’d put whatever change we had together and order one cup of tea. I only ever ate there a handful of times as a teenager, and the first time was on a date with my high school crush. Our love affair with Johnny Rockets didn’t last very long though. Since the place was small and Johnny became the “it” place to be, it used to get overcrowded and mostly with teenagers like us who would only order a couple of drinks and then sit there. Forever. So, Johnny Rockets started implementing a minimum order, I think it was KD1.750 per person, so we couldn’t afford hanging out there anymore. Instead we started chilling outside Johnny Rockets, on the sidewalk until a short while later McDonalds opened up above it and it became our hangout spot.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that sometimes we don’t appreciate things until they’re gone, but I want to take this moment and appreciate Johnny Rockets while it’s still here. Thank you Johnny Rockets for not changing and still being here.

It’s a tiny list but there are a couple of cool things taking place this weekend. On Friday there is The Comedy Garage featuring some hilarious comedians and then on Saturday you have #IGNITEKuwait hosted by The Burrow in collaboration with Puma. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
The Divan’s Movie Night: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Friday
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Summer Sunshine – Family Fun Day
The Comedy Garage

Saturday
#IGNITEKuwait

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.

Back in April I posted that Conrad Hotel and Hilton Garden Inn both might be coming to Kuwait as part of The Avenues phase 4 expansion and today this news was officially announced. Conrad Hotel will be part of The Prestige section of the mall while Hilton Garden Inn will be connected to the new section of the mall thats being built called The Forum.

Hilton Garden Inn will also be the brand’s largest hotel in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region with 430 rooms. According to the article, both hotels will be opening in 2019. Here is the link to the article [Link]

The other day I posted about sailing lessons and also briefly mentioned the Kuwait Sailing Club. Well there is also another club related to sailing called the Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association. While the Kuwait Sailing Club is based out of Messila, KOSA are based out of the Sea Club Marina in Fahaheel.

They seem to be pretty active, they have different types of memberships available and they also offer training although they don’t mention the cost on their website. This is their promotional text I got from their flyer:

The Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association is a small but active yacht club offering a range of cruising, racing, training and social activities throughout the year.

KOSA sailing events include racing every Friday much of which is held on the waters off the coast of Fahaheel. Some longer races go offshore to the local islands of Kubbar or Falika.

Social sailing is also held weekly which allows new and seasoned sailors alike to enjoy the waters of Kuwait as well as practise those sailing skills.

In addition to sailing, KOSA has a calendar of social events which include BBQ’s, trips out to the neighbouring islands and sailing traditional dhows.

So whether you are living in Kuwait or just visiting, KOSA has something for you. Membership is open to everybody and with the competitive subscriptions you could be enjoying one of Kuwait’s nicest experiences for as little as KD5 per session.

It seems like a lot of fun and an opportunity to meet new people and socialize so if you’re interested in sailing or learning how to sail, check out their website [Here] or their Facebook page [Here]

Usually I tend to find and share photos of Kuwait from the early days like the 50s and 60s but recently I came across a whole bunch of photos of Kuwait taken in 1980. What I find fascinating with these specific photos is that Kuwait usually tends to look really great in the really old photos I share but in these Kuwait just looks really gritty. I think the early 80s were a transitional period between old and new and based on the photos it’s as if all the beautiful old buildings were just starting to fall apart.

Photos taken from the MIT Libraries

I wasn’t planning on posting this since I didn’t think anyone would notice but I’ve been getting emails about it all morning. The Community section of the blog is currently down due to the fact I’m upgrading the software. Earlier this morning I realized I had an old forum software running and Google was giving a “Deceptive site ahead” warning when trying to access the section. So decided I might as well just do a full on upgrade.

Technical Details
The Community runs on Invision Power and I had version 3.8 installed. I’m currently trying to update it to version 4.1 which has new features and an overall fresher look. The upgrade should have taken around 30-60 minutes but turns out my server is running PHP 5.4.45 and I need at least PHP 5.5 for the upgrade. I’m currently waiting for my host to upgrade the PHP version on the server and once that is done I will complete the upgrade process. This should have no effect on the main blog since mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com is running on a different server than community.mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com.

Update: I completed the upgrade but then managed to completely mess things up again. Now have to restore from backup and restart the process. On bright side the google warning should be gone now.

Update2: The upgrade is now complete. There is still lots of work to do like redo the whole Community theme but for now at least it’s back up.

No Man’s Sky is a exploration and survival game that takes place in a procedurally generated universe that features 18 quintillion planets. You have your own space ship that allows you to fly from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, discovering new planets, animals and plants, while trading with various different races.

The game starts off by placing you on a random planet with a broken spaceship. Your first task is to look for resources to help you repair your ship and take off from the planet. This first area serves as a light tutorial that should help you get a grip on the games loop. After you successfully take off from the first planet, the universe opens up to you and you can either choose to follow on the games set path to the center of the universe or you can choose travel to any galaxy and any planet you like as long as you have the fuel.

The problem with having procedurally generated content though is that a players experience is based off luck and chance. I’ve seen people complain that planets look the same, feel the same and there is truth in that, but my personal experience has differed. I’ve been lucky enough to discover a wide variety of planets, ranging from planets that have nearly zero life on them with intense weather to planets teeming with life. So even though I’ve seen planets that look similar, I’ve also been lucky enough to see enough variety that I’m still interested in exploring and taking screenshots of planets I like.

Whenever I fly to Dubai I tend to take FlyDubai and land at the main Dubai International Airport (DXB) like most people. But on my last trip I decided to fly out to the less popular Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) instead. The timings worked better for me compared to the DXB route and since I was staying in Dubai Marina, the distance from DWC to Dubai Marina was practically the same as DXB to Marina so that worked out in my favor.

The Al Maktoum International Airport isn’t anything close in size and amenities when compared to DXB Terminal 3 where Emirates flies in and out from, but compared to Terminal 2 which FlyDubai uses, Al Maktoum is pretty much the same. The biggest difference between the two is the amount of traffic inside and outside the airport since Al Maktoum doesn’t have anywhere near as much crowds as Terminal 2 does, or at least when I was there. On arrival we were the only plane that had landed and on departure I think there was one or two other planes leaving besides mine. The airport was pretty much empty the whole time and even once I walked out of the airport it was the same story there, no need to wait in line for a taxi and the highway to Dubai Marina was barren with barely any other cars on the road. On departure there was plenty of seating surrounding a pretty large sized duty free area and you also had your usual suspects like Starbucks, Costa and McDonalds in the food court.

Depending on where you’re staying in Dubai though it might or might not make sense to fly out to Al Maktoum International Airport. In my case staying in Dubai Marina allowed me to choose between the DXB or DWC airports since both were similar distance apart. But if you’re staying in downtown, the distance from DWC to downtown by car would be considerably longer than DXB to downtown (40 mins vs 15 mins). Personally, I’ll be using Al Maktoum again the next time I’m staying in Dubai Marina, it was just a chill experience without all the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded terminal 2.

It was probably inappropriate to do so, but I couldn’t stop laughing while watching this short film. It’s meant to be based on a true story but because of the amount of inaccuracies relating to Kuwait I just couldn’t take it seriously.

The funniest part had to be the Kuwaiti male stalker in the film pictured above. I just loved the gold necklace and open button look, kinda like how I’d imagine an Armenian Kuwaiti to look like. But, the all time Arab lookalike fail though will forever be Hussain from Bloodsport (pictured below), you can’t really beat that.

Up until recently if you wanted to learn a new water sport it would have had to be either wakeboarding or kitesurfing since those two sports are fairly easy to get lessons for. But now a new center opened up called Kuwait Watersports that offers two new activities you can add to the list; windsurfing and sailing.

Their lessons vary in prices but 1 hour of private windsurfing or sailing lessons is KD30 which is similar in price to say an hour of private wakeboarding (KD35). They also offer lessons for kids and you can even rent or buy equipment from them. Personally I’d be interested in trying windsurfing but other than that and sailing they also have paddle boarding and kayaking.

So if you want to try a new watersport, check out their website [Here]

Note: Also, in case you weren’t aware, there is a sailing club for expats that has been around since the early 90s called Kuwait Sailing Club. You can check those guys out as well but they don’t offer sailing lessons. [Link]

Someone posted this on Reddit yesterday, supposedly taken at Holiday Inn. Some important things to look out for?

– Inappropriate clothing
– Shaved and clean beard
– Strong perfume smell
– Tension anxiety severe sweating

Is it me or does that sound like the average guy on a first date?

Thanks asad_ayaz

Yesterday an ice cafe opened up in Kuwait called Minus 11. If you’ve never been to one its basically a cafe that is basically a freezer and everything inside is made of ice from the seats, to the sculptures to the cups. According to Minus 11 they’re the largest ice cafe in the world and also the coldest with the temperature reaching a freezing -11 degrees.

I’ve been to an ice pub before which is similar except involves alcohol and I got bored so don’t think I’ll be visiting this cafe anytime soon. But if you’re interested in checking it out they’re located in Al Tijaria Tower in Kuwait City. The entry price is KD10 for children under 12 and KD15 for everybody else. Included in the price is 1 drink with free refill, the winter outfit they lend you and the ability to spend up to 45 minutes inside the cafe. For more details check out their instagram [Here]

Until last week I didn’t know there was anything called Mexican Coca Cola but then I got a crate of it delivered to my office. According to wikipedia, the biggest difference between Mexican Coke and regular coke is that Mexican Coke is sweetened using cane sugar as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup.

Mexican Coke is supposed to taste better or at least have a more “natural” taste to it but after trying it out I couldn’t tell any difference between it and regular Coke. On the plus side the bottle is pretty cool and since Narcos is starting 12 days, Colombian Mexican Coke might be a good pairing.

If you’re interested in trying Mexican Coke they’re being sold for a limited time at Eighty Six Burger for KD1 a pop.

Update: A reader shared an interesting NYT article of when the ban on Coca Cola was lifted in Kuwait back in 1988. You could check that article out [Here]