2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
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My good friends at Al Nata have started selling their baked goods on Talabat. They’re the guys behind the addictive Portuguese tart pastries (pictured above) which I posted about on the blog. Previously you could only catch them at various food markets on weekends with also a limited product placement at Sultan Center. But now their full product line is available on Talabat and that includes the Al Nata tart pastries, the Claudinos and their fluffy croissants. Check them out [Here]
The Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) is planning to increase the tickets of the Kuwait Zoo from 250 fils to KD 2, reports Al-Rai daily quoting informed sources.
They revealed that the Director of PAAAFR Eng. Faisal Al-Hasawi said this decision is part of a policy aimed to reduce the financial losses resulted from the bad behaviors of some visitors which affect the animals so badly that money is required for treating the animals and maintaining the zoo. [Source]
I would generally be against raising ticket prices since it would make the zoo less accessible to the lower income bracket. But, when I published my article “Why the Kuwait Zoo is a disaster“, the conclusion was that the biggest problem at the zoo were the visitors and one of the solutions I had suggested was to increase the ticket price. Not because the lower income visitors were the cause of the problems but by increasing the ticket prices, less visitors would end up going to the zoo overall which would be more beneficial for the animals.
Also aren’t ticket prices currently 500fils and not 250fils?
Last week I was at Boots and purchased two bottles of medicine at 880 fils each. When I went to pay the total was KD1.750. At first I thought Boots rounded up because the horrible mathematician in me calculated 880×2 to 1.740 and I was a bit bothered. But, the total instead was 1.760 and Boots had rounded down to 1.750. Then last night I decided to pay my phone bills, I’ve got two lines, my main line is with Viva while I have another line I don’t use as much with Zain.
My Viva bill was KD 17.502 and I ended up paying that exact amount with my knet card. On the other hand, my Zain bill was KD 1.994 but the Zain website refused to let me pay 1.994. Instead it kept rounding up my total to KD2.000. I tried to manually fix it but it would keep changing it back to 2.000 and in the end I was forced to pay that.
It doesn’t sound like a big deal, I mean it’s just 6 fils but if Zain are doing this with me they’re most likely doing this with all their customers. To give you a bit of perspective, they have over 45 million customers across their network and if they’re taking 6 fils from every customer then thats an extra KD225,000 profit every month!
Update: A reader made me realize the extra 6 fils goes back into my Zain account as credit. No idea why they’ve complicated things.
I just found out via Kuwait Times that the Sawaber complexes are being prepared for demolition soon. I think I’m more sad about Sawaber getting demolished than I am about Bayt Lothan. Why demolish the buildings instead of restoring them? They’re beautiful buildings, with huge apartments (295 square meters), lots of outdoor space and most importantly, they’re located right in the heart of the city. I’d love to live there and I’m sure many others would as well.
You can check out the article on Kuwait Times [Here], but if you’re looking for an interesting historical read on Sawaber, check out this research paper called “The Destruction of Modernist Heritage: The Myth of Al-Sawaber” by Asseel Al-Ragam [PDF]
I have no idea who the “fashionista” is, actually while we are at it, I have no idea what a fashionista is. But, I was inspired by Mark’s post and a few of the comments to write about this.
Hang on, just 10 days for traveling on a forged passport? Am I missing something here?
Yeah you’re missing quite a bit, you’re missing the legal system!! Let’s get a few things straight:
– She didn’t forge a passport she used another persons passport, forging a passport is her printing or changing a name on a passport
– 10 days is not her sentence. She is being held for 10 days “detained” and at this stage, it’s likely there is a investigation by the public prosecution. In other words she is just being held so they can investigate.
The next step would be for the prosecution to start at court where a judge will look into the facts presented by the public prosecutor. We don’t have a jury system in Kuwait, instead we have a “public prosecutor”. If you have been in a car accident in Kuwait, and you were taken to the nearest police station for an investigation, remember the guy you had to talk to (and I am going to stereotype)? The guy sitting inside an office, with the real nice dishdasha, stale cigarettes, Arabic coffee and an attitude, yep it is that guy. So in conclusion, those accused of crimes are usually held for an investigation and then taken to court until they are proven guilty.
As for the reader that commented:
Another Kuwaiti who thinks they are above the rules for the rest of us. problem is, Kuwait itself teaches that lesson
I will have to openly disagree with you… Take a stroll down the court rooms and see how many Kuwaitis are being prosecuted. The law is there, the foundations of the law in Kuwait are there, we have a competent and fair judicial system, a democratic parliament and our systems are better than anywhere else in the Middle East!
What went wrong? I know there’s a lot of idiots in Kuwait that think they are above the law, but trust me and I say this from experience, they aren’t just Kuwaitis, they come from all walks of life (except Israel) and the authorities are doing all they can to prevent this. But what really went wrong? I will tell you. What went wrong is that we allow people to say comments such as “Kuwait teaches you not to follow the law” when it doesn’t! Don’t believe everything you read in the media. If anything I should be saying that, I receive 20-30 emails a day from readers about legal issues. But I don’t say that! Cause I believe in the system. I just believe that we need to change our attitudes. Change the way we perceive things and we shouldn’t allow people to say such comments.
P.S. She’s looking at a fine or/and up to 7 years jail, as mentioned in the Kuwait Penal Law!
Feel free to email me on [email protected] with any legal questions. I do not have the capacity to answer everyone for free (but I try), and I am happy to announce that I am currently working with a great team and therefore we are able to reply back to all emails with a reasonable time frame.
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 Division has been out for quite some time now and it’s taken me this long to write about it because I wanted to make sure my opinions didn’t change the longer I played the game. The game has generally been received well by critics, but as always that doesn’t reveal the extent of a games quality. If you don’t know what the Division is, it’s a cover based shooter with RPG mechanics, that’s a quasi MMO. Think of Destiny, yeah. It’s sort of like that.
The set up for the Division is simple. A lethal virus breaks out during Black Friday and spreads across New York City, ravaging the city and killing thousands. Manhattan is quarantined and the US Government activates sleeper agents known as the Division to assist emergency responders to bring stability and order to the city.
The game puts you in the shoes of an unnamed Division agent. You create your character and you’re forced into action. After a few missions you unlock your base which is split into 4 distinct sections. You have the general area where the stores and your stash are located. You have the medical, the security and a tech area. Whenever you upgrade each section you’ll see your base grow, with more personal and more people populating the base. It’s a great thing to see and very satisfying to observe. Each base upgrade also helps your character by adding perks or abilities. So you have more then one reason to upgrade your base. It also makes you think about what upgrade to choose first. Think of these three sections and the abilities they unlock as different play styles: If you focus on the medical section you should consider yourself a healer, if you focus on the tech, a rogue and if you focus on security a tank. Obviously you can mix and match, but generally this is how I thought of it.
I enjoy enemy A.I. that is dynamic and that are smart. Bar some inconsistent moments the A.I. in this game is that. The enemies will try to outflank you so seeking cover in one place isn’t going to guarantee you safety. Your best bet is to shoot, cover and move. Staying out in the open will most likely lead to your death. The game features different groups of gangs that each offer different challenges. Within these gangs you’ll come to be familiar with the different types of enemies you’ll face. There are your melee enemies, who are probably the dumbest of all enemy types. They’ll just run up to you and try to hit you with a bat. They’re easy to kill, but if they do end up hitting you, they’ll deal a lot of damage. Then you have the other typical enemy types: a sniper, a shotgun, and regular grunt who uses automatic rifles. Depending on what gang you’re facing you’ll face more types of enemies. For example there is a gang called the Cleaners. They usually come equipped with flame-throwers and will burn anything that comes close to them. Then you have the boss-type characters who have a ton of armor and take some time to kill. Sometimes you’ll have to fight more than one and these fights can be pretty intense.
The official second episode of Double Jump has been delayed indefinitely because one of my co-hosts just got married. So until things settle back down with him, here’s a solo episode I recorded a while back. In the podcast I discuss a few 3DS games I’ve been playing, the closure of Lionhead Studios and the Nintendo Direct. Recording solo was a challenge since I’m used to having discussions with co-hosts, but it was an interesting experience nevertheless. Talking to myself for half an hour felt like I was back in school presenting a project to a class.
We’ll be recording “.5” episodes whenever there’s a lull in recording either due to busy schedules or if we have a few ideas that don’t fit into the main show. Recording this episode made me realize that I’d have to use a different format than the one we use for our full episodes so instead of discussing what I’m playing and the news, solo episodes will focus on one specific topic. So until we get back on track with our main show, I’ll be recording more solo episodes and should have another one recorded this week.
Until then, enjoy!
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Post by Patrick
The public prosecution yesterday detained a well known fashion blogger in Kuwait for 10 days and referred her to the criminal court on charges of forgery. She allegedly left the using her friend’s passport before the forgery was discovered at Dubai airport and she was returned to Kuwait. [Source]
Since I like gossip, does anyone have any idea which fashion blogger Kuwait Times is talking about?
It’s a sports filled weekend with rugby, volleyball and show jumping competitions. No markets oddly this weekend even though the weather is perfect for one. Check out this weekends events below:
Thursday
Exhibition: Edge by Abdulrahim Sharif
TedxAlShuwaikh
Show Jumping Competition
Rooftop Movie: Ai Weiwei – Never Sorry
Friday
Show Jumping Competition
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
Kuwait Men’s Local 7’s Rugby Tournament
Mamaste: Mother’s Day Restorative Workshop
International Men’s Volleyball Tournament
Saturday
Farmers Trip
Yoga at the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Guided Tour: Arab Organization Headquarters
Yoga at the Park (Yoga with the 3)
Madeenah Tour: Made in Kuwait – Subhan Tour
K’S PATH Shelter Open Day
Gardening at The Secret Garden
Rooftop Movie: Samba
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.
Gia have finally opened up their new location in Kuwait City after countless construction related delays. Their new location has a slightly revised menu to better cater to the employees in the area including different ready made sandwiches and munchies to go like muffins and manaeesh.
The new location has indoor seating as well as outdoor seating and they’re open daily except for Friday’s from 8AM to 4PM. Here is their new location on [Google Maps]
Ministry of Communications (MOC) prepares to undergo the largest privatization process in its history after a proposal has been already made to privatize the mail sector, long distance calls and landlines and their infrastructure, Undersecretary Hameed Al-Qattan said. Qattan added that the once established, the Telecom and Information Technology Authority would be responsible for offering those services for privatization.
Once those projects see the light, the MOC would only be responsible for marine transportations, he said. [Source]
I hope this means we’ll finally have a proper mail service.
Tonight is the final night of the Green Caravan Film Festival and it’s going to take place on the rooftop of CAP (Contemporary Art Platform). Other than short films there will also be live music and food tonight.
If you’ve never been to the rooftop of CAP it’s a great venue and the weather is perfect for it right now. Tickets cost KD5 and are available [Here]
For a map and more details of the event, click [Here]
As very early adopters of consuming flowers online and in looking for something already in existence they came across Q8flowers.com. “If you look at the region, the [online flower] community is fragmented, and if you zoom in on Kuwait it’s even more so,” AlOtaibi said.
The undisclosed investors, are, according to AlOtaibi’s office, a pool of angel investors who now can add Q8flowers.com as the seventh addition to their portfolio. “Like the PayPal mafia, we’re the Talabat Mafia,” one of the investors told Wamda.
According to a spokesman for AlOtaibi the user growth of the site has been growing at 100 percent year on year, “and this was with minimal traditional [marketing] efforts,” they said.
Going forward the new owners have a 12 month plan that involves, revamping the IP infrastructures of the site, expanding into other geographies and expanding into similar services within the same vertical of online and flowers. [Source]
Great for Q8flowers.com but I have to say I’m pretty surprised, I didn’t think they were doing that well.
A couple of days back I headed with a friend to AAB World in Symphony Mall to check out the Sony A7R II camera. She wasn’t planning on buying the camera from them since we figured it would be much cheaper from Amazon, but she did want to check it out in person before placing the order. When we got to AAB World to our surprise we found out it was actually considerably cheaper to buy the camera locally, which she ended up doing. Below are some popular camera price comparisons from three brands to Amazon, keep in mind with the Amazon prices below you still need to add around 8% tax and the shipping fee to Kuwait in addition to Kuwait customs. So the actual cost is even higher. AAB World is also slightly flexible with their prices, if you’re buying other stuff along with the camera they’ll more than likely give you a small discount.
Sony A7S II (Body Only)
Amazon: KD 962
AAB World: KD 949
Nikon D810 (Body Only)
Amazon: KD 841
AAB World: KD 799
Canon EOS 5D Mark III (Body Only)
Amazon: KD 752
AAB World: KD 649.950
If only more things were priced like this in Kuwait.