2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Last week a friend of mine was telling me how he’s recently been getting into cabs and the drivers use the taximeter instead of making up their own fee up and yesterday the same thing happened to me. I took a cab and when I got in, the driver right away turned on the taximeter. Is this like a normal thing now? Because nobody was using the taximeter previously.
Someone posted the ad below in the classifieds section and I thought it deserved a mention on the main page just because of the effort they put into it to try and make it creative:
Are you tired of paying to have taxi drivers take you from point A to point B? Are you tired of climbing into taxis only to find that the inside smells of bad body odor or smoke? Do you want the FREEDOM that comes with car ownership, but the thought of possible future maintenance expenses has got you scared?
Well let me put your mind at ease, car ownership in Kuwait does not have to be scary. The key to SUCCESS with buying a used car in Kuwait is to find a car make and model that’s AFFORDABLE and RELIABLE. Ever wondered why so many taxis in Kuwait drive Mitsubishi, Lancers? Well I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s by no means because they are as glamorus as a Mercedes Benz, it’s because they are AFFORDABLE and RELIABLE. And now’s your chance to own one. That’s right, we are selling our super sharp 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer GLX that has only 70,000km (43,495mi) (1.6-litre, Automatic Transmission, Power Windows, Power Steering.)
We bought this car new directly from Mitsubishi and have taken care of all the routine maintanace. The car has never been in any major accidents and we just put on a new set of tires this year. It’s immediately available and with a price of only 2400KD obo, this opportunity won’t last long. Call Joshua today at 6653-9801 to set up a test drive.
Here is the link to the original posting [Link]
Here is the second part of the three part series “Old Kuwait”. All the photos below are from the KOC Photography Archive.
A lot of people think that bookstores won’t survive, I beg to differ! Yes a lot of bookstores are losing money but I think bookstores can be a beautiful thing if they are part of the community, and Q8books was. We had book clubs, writing clubs, writing workshops, kids reading, writing competitions and more practically on a daily basis. So we are all very sad that Bayt Lothan, the generous place that provided us and other young creatives a home closed down last month.
Luckily though, DAI (Dar Al Athar Alislamiyah) is becoming the new trendy place for creatives to go to and they have been generous enough to provide us and our community with a space.
Their Yarmouk cultural center is super cool with plenty of state of the art facilities, a museum gift shop (with lovely books and gorgeous accessories), a beautiful theater, a library, an exhibition hall and so on.
Q8books will be opening at 6pm on April the 23rd (World Book Day) and we would love to see you there. Please come and show your support. Just say hi to our hard working team that wants to make a difference in Kuwait.
Posted by Fajer
A new policy was introduced this month by the Ministry of Commerce stipulating that restaurants can no longer have a minimum order amount for delivery. They’ve also added that delivery charges can also not exceed 250fils if the delivery location is within the restaurants area and 500fils if outside it.
I know from a friend of mine who has a business that they’re not too happy about the change but from a consumer point of view this seems like good news. Talabat has already started contacting all the restaurants letting them know of this change but a lot still have a “Minimum Order Amount” in place. According to Talabat “it will take a considerable amount of time for the remaining restaurants to adhere to this new regulation.”
I rarely order delivery so not sure how bad the charges are or the minimum order amounts but I’m assuming they must have been ridiculous for them to create this new policy. I tried to find an English (or Arabic) source for this news but I couldn’t so if you find one let me know so I can link to it.
Because I can be so disorganized sometimes, I completely forgot about the photos I had gotten on my visit to The KOC Photography Archive back in 2014! I have a folder with around 175 photos of old Kuwait which I will be sharing in three parts, this is Part 1.
Last year I posted about the cop cars getting a facelift and it looks like they’re finally going into circulation now. The MOI posted the video above on YouTube showing off the new paint scheme as well as explaining what the different vehicles are for with the main ones being:
Black + Yellow: Rescue Patrol
Blue + Yellow: Traffic Police
Black + Grey: General Security Patrol
[YouTube]
Over the past few months I’ve been on a rigorous search for the perfect classic Datsun Z. By perfect I mean one that fit into my budget, had an original and intact interior and one that required some work but not too much. Finding an original series Z was not an easy task since there were so few of them popping up for sale and those that did either had been modified heavily or were in terrible condition. Then last Monday while jumping from one instagram account to another, I found a small car collector who had a beautiful orange 240Z in his possession. I decided to leave him a comment randomly asking if it was for sale and to my surprise, the next morning I woke up to find a reply that if I was serious to give him a call. So I did and after I was done with work I headed over to his place to check the car out.
The car had one owner for the past 11 years, the exterior was in great shape and the interior was all there, even the original tape player. After taking the car for a small drive around the block I knew this was the one for me. The asking price wasn’t very far off from what I thought was reasonable for a 240Z in this condition and after negotiating with the owner for a little bit, he agreed to drop down the price and take my offer with the stipulation that if I was ever to sell the car to let him know in case he wanted to buy it back. And so just like that, next day we got the paperwork done and I was a proud owner of a 1973 Datsun 240Z.
The car is mostly stock except for the engine and gearbox which are from the newer 280z, a common modification since engine and gearbox parts for the 280z are more readily available. For such a physically small car, the interior is actually spacious. I’m 6’1 and don’t feel squeezed in the car at all, in fact its pretty comfortable. I’ve been driving the car non stop since Wednesday and it’s just a ton of fun on the road. As a pretty OCD this car should in fact be driving me insane since there are a ton of rattles and so many imperfections all ovre. It’s like utter chaos but I think thats why I’m loving the experience so much, it’s the opposite of what I usually am.
[YouTube]
Right now I’m not planning any major work on the car, I’m just going to drive it the way it is until the weather gets too hot for it and then will start working on it. I don’t have any plans yet but I did get inspired a lot last night after watching the video above. Come summer I’ll probably do an engine rebuild, replace all the bushings, install an aftermarket AC system and also get a new suspension. I managed to make a deal with ProTech Monte-Carlo and I’ll be dropping the car off to them tomorrow for some extreme detailing. I’m really curious to see how the car comes out after that since it should look factory new especially the interior.
My dad used to have a similar 240Z back in 1973, it was the first car he purchased when he moved to Kuwait and I just recently heard the story on how he got it. My dad’s an interior designer and was working on the interior of one of the properties for Abdulaziz Al Babtain. Al Babtain were the dealers of Datsun and so most of his meetings would take place at the dealership. One day while walking into the dealership he saw them rolling in a 240Z onto the showroom floor. My dad asked Abdulaziz what that car was and he told him it was the new 240Z. He then asked my dad if he liked it and wanted the car. My dad told him it was beautiful but he had just moved to Kuwait and couldn’t afford to buy one right now. Abdulaziz then called the sales manager over and told him to take my dad’s ID and register the car in his name. He told my dad to pay for it whenever he could which my dad ended up doing over time with small installments. The picture above was taken back in 1973 on Plajat street in Salmiya and my dad wants me to reshoot him now in the same spot but with my car. That should be fun.
I hope the weather stays like this for just a little bit more so I can enjoy the car as much as I can. If you see an orange 240Z zooming down the Gulf Road, that is probably me.
They’re supposedly opening sometime in May or June across the street from Al Shaheed Park in Al Tijaria Tower. They brought down their hoarding today so May or June seems plausible.
Update: The hoarding is still up, the shot was taken from inside it
Found this video on Vimeo of what looks to be a setup for a wedding or some sort of other event that took place in Kuwait. Whatever the event was, the setup looks magical, like something out of a fairytale. It was done by the UAE based company DesignLab Experience and I’m super impressed. [Vimeo]
According to the weather forecast it’s going to be nice and sunny weather but there aren’t that many outdoor activities this week anyway. If you’re into photography there a Photographer’s Bazaar taking place at Symphony mall today. If you’re into Opera’s or want to experience one, the Ahmadi Music Group are performing Don Giovanni today and tomorrow with tickets for both nights still available as of this post. Finally the Madeenah Tour will be stoping by my neighborhood on Saturday which is fun so I might be crashing that. Check out the full list of events taking place this weekend below:
Thursday
Exhibition: It’s a Mad World
Exhibition: Sibeel Water by Ammar Al Attar
Calligraphy & Watercolor Workshop
Autism Awareness Lecture
Opera: Don Giovanni
Rooftop Movie: In a Better World
Photographer’s Bazaar
Friday
Calligraphy & Watercolor Workshop
Opera: Don Giovanni
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
Saturday
Yoga at the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Yoga at the Park (Yoga with the 3)
Madeenah Tour: Salem Almubarak Street
The Divan’s Debate Tournament
Rooftop Movie: Tokyo Story
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 double check info with organizers.
QCPTV just released their 3rd documentary on Kuwait which will be aired on British Airways flights this coming July. This 3rd part focuses on the changing economic and investment climate of Kuwait, as well as showcasing the lifestyle and vibrant city life Kuwait has to offer. This film will be aired onboard British Airways international long-haul flights across its global network throughout the month of July. [YouTube]
In April of 1991 following Iraqi military setting the Kuwait Oil Fields aflame, photographer Sebastião Salgado documented the environmental disaster. The New York Times featured some of his photos a few days ago which will be featured in his upcoming book, “Kuwait: Desert on Fire” which will be released by Taschen this coming August 2016. Check out his photos [Here]
If you want to purchase original prints of some his photos can you do so from [Here] but expect to pay on upwards of KD2,000 for a print.
There’s something about this instagram account that I find very liberating. The account belongs to a guy called Ahmed Abou Hameed and I found it by chance while looking for old Datsuns in Kuwait. Ahmed owns a beautiful classic Skyline GT and the account is just pictures and videos of him and his car traveling around the region. The guy seems very chill and also a poet since most of his captions are full of poetry.
Just flipping through his account kinda makes me want to take a road trip with him. He seems to love his Skyline and also picnics in the desert. It’s all so odd, I mean most of the photos look vintage because of the car and the way he looks but then you have his choice of music and all this poetry that just tops everything off. I love it and can’t get enough of him and I respect him a lot for actually driving his pristine condition Skyline everywhere instead of parking it to gather dust.
I think I’m the only guy who writes in English on his account although most of the time I’m tagging my friends who don’t understand what I find so fascinating about this guy. I like him, I love his car and he seems like a cool guy so check out his instagram account @a.a7mad.1973
Update: Ahmed somehow found out about my post and shared it with his followers on his instagram account along with the poem below. Now I need to give a call and see if I could have tea with him somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
For those of you who’ve been using some sort of VPN or proxy service to access the US version of Netflix you’ve probably realized that’s no longer working. Since Netflix has started cracking down on VPN and proxy users a lot of the services stopped working with Netflix. I was personally using StrongDNS and later moved to OverPlay but both now stopped working with Netflix. But after a bit of research and trial and error, I did find one provider which worked with Netflix, Smart DNS Proxy.
They have a page up with the necessary steps you need to take to get Netflix to work with their service. I’ve been using it for a week now and even though it’s slightly buggy it’s been working for me. Basically by buggy I mean sometimes when I want to play a video it gives me an error that I can’t because I’m using a proxy. But after pressing play a few times the warning disappears and the video starts playing. Just an update, the service is working perfectly and it’s now a lot easier to set up. And yes it works with HBO, Hulu and Amazon Video as well.
Smart DNS Proxy costs the same as the other providers which is $4.99 a month but a few days after I signed up to the free trial I got an email offering me a discounted rate and I ended up paying basically $20 for a year which is pretty cheap. So if you’re looking for a DNS service that works with Netflix USA, these are the guys I’m using right now. [Link]