2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I’m not a coffee drinker but I know of the brand Caveman Coffee because of the Joe Rogan podcast and also because the company was founded by one of my favorite UFC fighters (well back when he used to be in the UFC) Keith Jardin and also ex UFC fighter / actor Tait Fletcher (who’s always fun to listen to on Joe Rogans podcast). Basically if I ever was going to start drinking coffee it would be Caveman Coffee and I recently found out through a friend it’s now available in Kuwait.

A small snack bar called FORCE opened up at the Circuit Plus gym in Shuwaikh and you can buy the Blacklisted and White Gold packets of Caveman Coffee there. Right now the only way to buy it is to go there yourself but they will start offering a delivery service soon. For more details check out their instagram page [Here]

Avenues now have signs up banning hoverboards in the mall. I haven’t found them to be a nuisance yet but they must be causing issues for them to want to ban them. In traditional Avenues fashion, I don’t think the rule is being strictly enforced since I did see a kid on a hoverboard while I was shopping there.

But if anything, Sultan Center should be the one to ban hoverboards just because of how lame it makes people look pushing carts while on them.

The Kuwait Airport duty free has been under construction for awhile now but I noticed they’ve now partially opened parts of it. The new revamped Duty Free looks a lot better and fancier than the older one, but the rest of the airport still looks like crap.

A number of interesting events are taking place this weekend from a Peruvian Textile arts and crafts Exposition to a Korean Street Food Festival. Check out this weekends list of events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Four Hands Can’t Clap
Exhibition: Behind the Crisis
Peruvian Textile arts and crafts Exposition
Rooftop Movie: The Thin Blue Line

Friday
DAI’s Fall Festival
The Divan’s Salon – The Lord of the Rings

Saturday
Yoga at the Park
Qout Market
KTAA Bazaar at the Sadu House
Writing at the Park
The Secret Garden Project
Guided Tour: Dickson House
Korean Street Food Festival
Protein Sheikhas: Bootcamp
Rooftop Movie: Annie Hall

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Not sure how to begin this post, I’ve already written and deleted a few intros already because I didn’t think anything I was writing was good enough to explain what I saw a few hours ago. I don’t even think my pictures do the place any justice. Last week a friend of mine told me about a new gym that was opening up in Murooj called The Burrow Life. I checked their instagram account out of curiosity and right away realized there was something special about them. From their branding to the style of photography they were using I knew they were aiming for something different. I got in touch with them and asked if I could pass by and check the place out, they agreed so I passed by earlier today.

The first thing they wanted to make clear to me was that The Burrow Life wasn’t just a gym, it was a lifestyle brand and I knew exactly what they meant. Although they’re starting off as a gym the brand could grow and develop later on into other things like a clothing line or a restaurant or a whatever and I liked that approach. Their name and concept for the place is based off of Alice in Wonderland, when Alice went down the rabbit hole she entered a completely different world and they’re applying the same idea here. When I walked into The Burrow Life I was transported into a completely different world and it was beautiful on the other side.

The Burrow Life is focused around 5 different fitness activities, cross fit, bootcamp, boxing/Muay Thai, spinning and yoga. They’re all class based activities so as a member you’ll have to download their app and see what classes are available during the day and sign up for them. It’s a mixed gym but the classes are segregated, so guys could be doing cross fit while girls could be boxing at the same time, but you wouldn’t have guys and girls doing the same cross fit class together.

The space is HUGE, when you first walk into the gym you walk into a living room like area since they didn’t want you to walk into a reception like all gyms do. From there you have a yoga room and then a really long corridor with a guys locker room on the left and a girls one on the right. There are showers and changing rooms of course but a cool feature is the lockers that all have USB ports inside so you could charge your phone while you train. At the end of the long corridor there are two glass rooms, on the left a spinning room and on the right a training room with kettle bells and TRX. Once you leave the corridor you enter a really large open space with a boxing ring in the middle, cross fit stations on the left, punching bags all along the right and some weight stations on the opposite end behind the ring. Finally there are stairs that take you up to the top floor where the bootcamp training section is along with a lounge for members to sit and chill while they wait for their classes or just to socialize. The place looks amazing and as I mentioned earlier, my pictures really don’t do it any justice.

The Burrow Life is set to open this coming Saturday. They’re only going to offer semi annual and annual memberships. I can’t say how much the cost is since that’s the only thing they didn’t want me to mention in my post but I can say it’s very similar to Inspire. Personally I think this is by far, and I mean BY FAR the best looking gym in Kuwait and the best looking gym I’ve personally ever seen be it in person or in photos anywhere. Sometimes pictures make a place look better than it actually is but I’m telling you in this case my photos really don’t do the place any justice. It looks much better in person. I’ve literally been sending these pictures to every gym goer I know telling them how great the place looks. Anyway, I’ve got all the photos I took below but also make sure you check out their instagram account for more details [Here]

Figured I’d post about this gym (Al Hamra Thermae) since I just passed by to check it out awhile ago. It’s not the nicest looking mens gym, but they’re located on the 74th floor of Al Hamra Tower and they’ve got a pretty good offer at the moment. They’ve brought down their price to KD700 year plus will give you a month free which brings the price down to around KD50 a month.

The nicest thing about the gym though is twice a week they swap with the womens gym on the 3rd floor and you get access to use the outdoor running track. If you’re interested you could call them up on 97997797.

Not sure if the womens gym have a similar offer, I tried calling them up but no one picked up (60660060).

You can now shop for Adidas products on the Adidas Kuwait website. Not sure how new this is but I just spotted an ad for it yesterday on Twitter. Shipping is a flat charge of KD2 and you can pay either by credit card, paypal or cash on delivery. Here is the [Link]

The trailer for “Airlift”, the upcoming Indian film based on the 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait just got released. The movie is based on a true story and is set to be released in January. Here is the synopsis:

Ranjit Katyal (played by Akshay Kumar), a wealthy and powerful Indian businessman, who has always seen himself as a Kuwaiti, rather than an Indian, realises that he no longer wields any influence on the Iraqis, and that he and his family are in as much danger as anyone else. Ranjit unknowingly becomes the man who all 170,000 Indians look up to for getting them out safely from Kuwait. Airlift is the story of Indians stranded in Kuwait during this traumatic time. A story of how they, with the help of Ranjit Katyal, managed to survive the Iraqi invasion, and against all odds travelled a thousand kilometres across the border into Amman, Jordan. From Amman, 170,000 Indians were brought home by the largest and the most successful evacuation ever attempted by any country, in the history of the world. Over 59 days, the Indian government systematically flew over 488 Air India commercial flights into a war zone to evacuate all 170,000 Indians and safely bring them back home. Airlift is an uplifting and entertaining edge-of-the-seat thriller and is the story of the biggest ever human evacuation in the history of mankind.

Airlift, directed by Raja Krishna Menon, starts filming April 2015 and is presented by T-Series and Cape of Good Films; produced by Crouching Tiger and Emmay Entertainment. Bhushan Kumar, talking about the film, said, “It’s my conviction that the story will be equally appreciated once on celluloid as much as I loved it during narration. The character that Akshay plays is filled with heroism and I am sure he will add to the perfection with this central character role that he essays.”

The trailer is in Hindi and doesn’t have any English subtitles but there’s lots of explosions so it’s still entertaining to watch. [YouTube]

Thanks Rayboy and Nand

Back in September when I posted about Abdulai (the school teacher from Ghana), I had a feeling we would be hearing a lot more similar stories. With more people having access to smartphones and internet, I was confident more people would come forward to share their story. Then last week I got the following email from a domestic worker in Kuwait:

Journalism have been one of my passion since childhood but I had these infantile reasoning that being into journalism might also mean you re signing your death warrant.I have witnessed some renowned journalists being killed and other being put into prison custodies with out persecution but that doesn’t move me to give up on ma dreams of becoming one the worlds finest journalists.To be frank this blog has motivated and inspired me a lot.You have given me the reason why I shouldn’t give up on ma dreams I always say “HARDWOR AND DETERMINATION LEADS TO SUCCESS” .Am an African working in Kuwait as a househelp an I will really fight hard to accomplish my dreams when my contract is over

So after a bit of back and forth by email, I convinced her she didn’t have to wait and that she could start writing from now. I told her she should start a blog and I explained to her how she could set one up and be able to post articles from her phone. So she did that and got back to me today to let me know that not only was she able to set up her blog but she had also posted her first post. I’m not sure how often she will be updating the blog, she told me she will try to whenever she is free but in any case its still a big step forward. So check out her post and story on how she ended up in Kuwait by clicking [Here]

So Burger & Lobster finally opened up in Kuwait and guess what? Their prices surprisingly are similar to that in London. You can order a burger, lobster or lobster roll for just KD8.950. I think that makes them the cheapest place to get lobster in Kuwait, no idea how they managed to make it so affordable but better for us. [Link]

Update: Just found out they’re opened by Gourmania International, same company that has Sakura and Fauchon.

Update2: I passed by and had the lobster roll for lunch. It was pretty good and similar to the one in London (ask for the lemon garlic sauce). They also have a combo option where you could order the three dishes, the burger, lobster and lobster roll for around KD26 and also get a dessert for free. Not bad.

Last month I posted a list of Online Shopping Websites in Kuwait but I found out there is a website called Tisawaq with the sole purpose of listing all the online shopping websites in Kuwait. The websites are split up into categories and there is even a Tisawaq app. Check out the site [Here]

If you’ve never been to a camel race before it’s worth checking out and now would be the time to go since the weather is great. I went to one a couple of years back and had a blast so figured I’d write about it again now since the AWARE Center is organizing a trip to a race next month. If you’re interested in joining them, click [Here] for more information.

You can of course go without them, just check out my old post for details [Here]

Ever since I was a kid, I loved having a pet. I’ve had a turtle, rabbits, birds and a dog (not all at once thankfully). Ever since getting married my wife and I have been debating whether or not we should bring a pet into our family. Problem was, my wife loves cats and I was never a cat person, I love dogs. My opinions of cats were pretty generalized. They’re independent, have an attitude and just aren’t really affectionate (at least not as much as dogs). But, owning a dog would have been challenging because of our work schedule among other annoyances (like walking a dog in the heat). So I decided to research different cat breeds and discovered that even though cats can’t be as affectionate as dogs, they can still be loving and they can still be great companions, but only if you pick the right breed for you.

Last week, as chance would have it, K’s PATH posted a picture on Instagram of a lovely Balinese kitten. Balinese cats are related to the Siamese and they’re similar in temperament and in looks. They’re also Hypoallergenic which means they’re good cats to own if you have allergies to them (like both my wife and I do). The Balinese are also very vocal and love to communicate with their owners, they’re friendly and don’t mind having anyone petting them or playing with them. And even though they are independent to a certain degree, Balinese enjoy chilling on the couch with their owners.

So the next day after seeing the Instagram post I called K’s Path. The process for adopting a cat from them is pretty extensive, but simple. You book an appointment for an interview at their facilities in the morning from 10AM to 1PM either on Wednesday, Friday or Saturdays. The entire family (or whoever is going to interact with the cat extensively) has to go. So I made an appointment and my wife and I drove up there Friday morning. The drive was pretty long, about an hour or so from where we live in Salwa. Once we got there we were met by friendly staff and their offices are pretty laid back with cats relaxing or playing out in the open. We were interviewed for about 30 minutes and asked various questions from our history with pets, what kind of environment our house is like, if we have any knowledge on raising cats and so on. Once we were done with the interview, we were taken to a room with the Balinese kitten. They do this to make sure that the kitten would interact well with us and to make sure that it’s the kitten we actually wanted. The Balinese was sharing a room with a couple of other kittens and we got the chance to play around with all of them and even though I nearly picked a different kitten, we were certain we wanted the Balinese.

Once we were done with that room we went back to the interview room to finish up the process. Normally the charge to adopt a cat is KD35, which includes vaccinations, neutering, and a microchip. But if you adopt a cat in November, the fee is just KD10 and if you don’t bring an animal carrier, K’s PATH would supply you with a used one for an extra charge of KD5.

So if you were ever on the fence about owning a cat, pay them a visit this month. I’m absolutely in love with the kitten we got (named him Link, duh) and couldn’t be happier.

Visit the K’s PATH website or instagram account for more information.

Posted by Patrick

I know there are a lot of people interested in Muay Thai training in Kuwait so figured I’d post about a new place that opened up that offers it. A new gym opened up in Shuwaikh called Empower 31 and one of the services they offer is Muay Thai training. They’ve brought in a world class trainer (Joesoef Henri) who has worked with top fighters all over the world including:

Remy bonjasky – Former K-1 Champion, One of the best kick boxers in the world.
Raphael Assuncao – UFC #3 Ranked Bantamweight
Andy Souwer – Dutch welterweight. Currently a Glory top contender. He is two time K-1 World MAX champion as well as a four time shoot boxing world tournament champion.
Dhiego Lima – #6 ranked welterweight in the world – currently in the UFC

The trainer is from Holland so he’s bringing the Dutch style of Kickboxing to Kuwait which is something new according to the owner (All of the K-1 finalists are usually Dutch or have a Dutch style background).

So if you’re interested in Muay Thai, Empower 31 is offering beginner and intermediate/ Advanced Muay Thai classes. The cost is KD85/month, KD220/3 months, KD385/6 months or KD620/year. This cost gives you access to their whole facility, not just Muay Thai, so you’ll have access to “strength and conditioning coaches who are all highly educated and have past experience within professional sports teams as their strength and conditioning coaches”. For more information including contact details, check out their instagram account @empower31

The Shakshooka Market in the video above took place a couple of weeks back. For those of you who haven’t been to any of the Secret Garden events, this should give you an idea of what you’re missing. [YouTube]