2:48AM

Yesterday the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a decision where all restaurants and cafes in Kuwait will now be obliged to have tap water as an offering. Now that this was announced I realized how odd it was that this wasn’t a thing considering the tap water in Kuwait is actually really clean and safe to drink straight out of the tap.

Years ago I was invited to the Water Resources Development Center located in Shuwaikh where they explained to me how the water sent to homes is clean and safe to drink. The Water Resources Development Center also has two laboratories, a chemistry lab and a bacteriology lab and every single day water samples are collected from various institutions around Kuwait (schools, hospitals, mosques etc..) and delivered to their laboratories for testing. If the water is contaminated, the source of that water is closed down right away and only reopened once the problem has been fixed.

The government is responsible in providing you clean and safe water up until the building meter, after that point it becomes the building owners responsibility. If the water you’re getting at home isn’t clean, thats most likely because of a problem with your building pipes, boilers, or storage tanks. In that case, you’re recommended to use a filter which is what most restaurants will also be using.

But the answer is yes, Kuwait’s tap water is safe to drink but only if your building or home is maintained correctly, if not, you’ll have to use a filter.

A new Korean supermarket opened up last week next to my place in Salmiya call Haeng Bok. It’s a pretty tiny place and it opened in the same place where the clothing store Rima used to be located for nearly 50 years.

Because of the size of the supermarket they only sell Asian products, so you’re not going to find Pepsi for example or any item you can find at your local Coop. That makes it easier to shop but I’m not sure if they have anything you haven’t already seen in Singarea. Because the store is smaller, it just feels more curated than Singarea.

For me this place is convenient because it’s a 2 minute walk from my place so I can drop in pick up noodles or chips easily. Not sure I’d recommend you drive all the way to old Salmiya and spend an hour looking for parking just to shop there, I think it opened just to cater to the neighborhood. If you want to pass by, here is the location on Google Maps. At the moment they’re open from 4PM to 12AM.

I wasn’t planning to sign up for a new phone line, I was playing around with the Red Bull Mobile app checking out their prices for my post when I decided to just get a new number. Mainly because I wanted to separate my blog number from my personal one, but also because it would give me the opportunity to experience the process for my post.

Red Bull Mobile is Zain and it’s not a secret since it’s plastered in all their communication. It’s also why their prices are pretty similar with Red Bull having a slight edge. Below are the cheapest and most expensive Red Bull Mobile ready plans:

Cheapest:
– 100GB (4G)
– 100 Local Minutes
Price is 6KD a month or 4.2KD a month if you sign up for 6 months

Most Expensive:
– Unlimited GB (5G)
– Unlimited Minutes
– Free Gold Number
Price is 18KD a month or 12.6KD a month if you sign up for 6 months

I went with the unlimited package just so I could pick a gold number that had the digits 248 in it. I don’t really need an unlimited package since I have one with my personal Zain line, so I will be downgrading to the cheapest plan I can get next month.

The process of getting a number was super easy and quick. You just pick a plan in the app and then when you’re ready to check out, the app uses your Mobile ID to authenticate and connect the new number to your Civil ID. You then just pay and choose if you want to install the number as an eSIM, or if you want to have a physical SIM card delivered to you. I chose eSim and a few moments later I got an email with the QR code so I could install the number.

So what are some benefits? If you renew your plan on-time you get double the benefits in the second month, and triple in the third. Your remaining GBs and minutes also rollover to the following month. You get access to special zones at local Red Bull events and access to Red Bull TV. Finally, you also get access to some interesting Red Bull rewards. For example, there is a draw coming up for a trip to Qatar to watch the Formula1 race. So F1 fans like me and sports fans in general will most likely benefit from these rewards.

And that’s pretty much it. If you have any questions about the sign up process or want me to test anything out, let me know in the comments. Here is a link to their website.