2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

A bunch of interesting events are taking place this weekend. Tonight I’m heading to the Staged in Kuwait Improv Comedy night, I went to it last year and it was hilarious so looking forward to it again. Tomorrow there is an interesting event hosted by the Korean embassy, if you’re looking for a unique cultural experience then it should be worth going to. Finally there is the Fit4Life Expo taking place at Murouj on Friday and Saturday which should also be worth visiting. Check out the full list of events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Still (Curated by Mark Dean)
Exhibition: Al Maqama
Mix N’ Mentor
Diwaniyya en Español
Staged in Kuwait: Improv Comedy
Outdoor Sports & Safari Expo

Friday
Flying Start Triathlon
Time and Space in Harmony – Korean Cultural Performances
Fit4Life Expo
Outdoor Sports & Safari Expo

Saturday
The Secret Garden Project
Fit4Life Expo
Outdoor Sports & Safari Expo
Writing at the Park
US Military Band Performance

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

A good friend of mine is hosting a Zumba event early next week. She’s bringing the international recording artist and world renowned Zumba instructor Liana Veda to Kuwait for this event. If you’re interested in taking part, it’s for women only and you can get more details [Here]

Update: Just remembered I previously posted her impromptu dance in Japan with a bunch of strangers [Here]

The Aquarium Lounge is the ideal touristic platform for exploring sensational dining while enjoying top-notch panorama: a truly one of a kind experience. The dining outlets carefully handpicked exclusively present unparalleled offerings at Aquarium Lounge that features only the finest restaurants.

Because we need another restaurant complex, Aquarium Lounge is another one that’s being constructed in Mahboula. It will be trying to set itself apart from all the other food complexes by having restaurants overlook a huge aquarium. No word on completion date but the project has already started. For more information click on the different sub-categories of “Projects” on the developers website [Here]

Thanks lovelykuwait

Early last month I posted an article about Abdulai Shani, a former teacher back home in Ghana who got an opportunity to come to Kuwait to work as a security guard and earn good money. On arrival it turned out all the promises were empty ones and he was taken instead into the middle of the desert to live in a tent surrounded by a barren landscape to take care of sheep. If you haven’t read that post then check it out [Here]

After posting that article I asked if anybody would be able to help Abdulai get a better job. I received a lot of responses (thank you everybody!) and after filtering through them I ended up connecting Abdulai with a reader named Abdulrahman. Abdulrahman visited Abdulai in the desert and after meeting him decided to contact his sponsor. To quickly summarize things, he managed to convince his sponsor to let Abdulai go, at first the sponsor agreed and then on the day Abdulai was supposed to leave, the sponsor backtracked and asked for money. Abdulrahman ended up paying the sponsor off and once he collected Abdulai’s passport and civil ID, he handed them to Abdulai and then they drove off towards the city and back to civilization.

Abdulai is now living in Mahboula in an apartment he is sharing with a couple of other guys from Ghana. His new sponsor Abdulrahman is a great guy, they called me last weekend from the Avenues where they were out having lunch. Abdulai’s paperwork is currently being finalized and he’ll be starting his new job soon. He’s clearly in a much better place and he’s thankful to everyone.

Markaz Al-Kuwait has started selling the collectors edition of Halo 5: Guardians seven days before the world wide release date and for KD150. Amazon in comparison is selling the collectors edition for $250 which is around KD75, so it’s obviously a lot more expensive here.

No word on if the regular version of Halo 5 is out yet, chances are shops will try to sell as many as these collector editions before making the regular, more affordable version available!

UPDATE: As Yousef points out in the comments, the Collectors Edition doesn’t even include a CD of the game, but a code to download it. So even if you buy this version of the game you won’t be able to play it until the release date.

There’s a huge Lego store opening at 360 Mall on the top floor opposite the bowling alley. No idea when its set to open up but the first store in the Middle East just opened up in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

The Kuwait Government Online website is getting a facelift and you can get a preview of it right now. The redesigned website looks a lot cleaner and up to date than the current version as well as being easier to navigate. The new website is still in beta form so not everything is working yet but you can get a sneak peek at it by clicking [Here]

A redditor started a list of online shopping websites in Kuwait and I decided to add a few more and share the list here. I’m sure there are a bunch of places I’m missing so let me know about them in the comments. To qualify on the list below they need to be locally based websites.

Gaming
Games Q8
Digumz
Game Center Kuwait

Electronics
X-Cite
Blink
Best
AAB World
Eureka
Yeeeba

Computers
Q8 Quadra
Smartek
Cameo Computer Services
Want it Buy it
Personal Computer Center

Food Products
Taw9eel
SaveCo
Natureland
Lulu
FAME
Gourmet Shelf
Gourmet ME
One Stop
Prime Cuts
Kuwait Fresh Fish
On Cost
Sultan Center

Ready Made Food
6alabat
Alshaya Delivery
I Eat Online
Nespresso
Maachla
Tadco
Bilbayt

Variety of Products
uBuy
Quick
Mr Babu
Fen’Teg

Fashion
Yacob Behbehani Sons Co.
The Yard
Pink Moon
Thouqi
Grain
Shop #4
Soccer Scene
Nables

Other
Sheeel (Daily Deel)
Beidoun Online (Perfumes + Cosmetics)
Timeless Baby (Baby Stuff)
K7L (Cosmetics)
Pet Zone (Pets)
Pet Pal (Pets)
Pet House (Pets)
Oleana Boutique (Baby Stuff)
Boutiqaat (Cosmetics)
Dowa (Pharmacy)
Craft and Company (Lifestyle)
Bleems (Flowers, Chocolates, Gifts)
NHE Group (Satellite Receivers)
ProSports (Sporting Equipment)
Pharmatee(Pharmacy)
Page Turner (Books)
Cavaraty (Phones)
Mobile 2000 (Phones)
KWT Cover (Phones)
Digits (Apple Products)

Update: I’ve reorganized and updated this list under a new post [Here]

Will I get slower WiFi as an expat?

Update: For those arguing that this is “just for research” purposes, replace the nationality question with one asking if you’re Sunni or Shia or if you’re straight, gay or bi or if you’re white, black, colored or whatever… Would that be ok even if it’s “just for statistics”? Obviously not and asking if I’m Kuwaiti or an expat is exactly the same thing. It’s invasive and it’s promoting segregation and all just for free wifi.

A reader was watching a Lexus car concept video and noticed something peculiar. The last scene of the video shows the concept car driving off into a futuristic city but on closer inspection, the city features buildings from Kuwait. If you enlarge the video full screen and look carefully you can spot Al Hamra Tower, Arraya Tower 1, Arraya Tower 2 and KIPCO Tower (there might be more). So it kinda looks like Kuwait City in the future, check out the video [Here]

Thanks Sulaiman

I’m going to be hosting my first event tonight at the Avenues. A couple of weeks back I was approached by the brand ECCO telling me they were launching their Soft 7 series and if I would be interested co-hosting the launch with Monstariam. I told them it sounded cool but I needed to see the shoes first because if they were ugly I wouldn’t be able to do it. So they emailed me pictures of the shoes (pictured above) and they actually looked good so I agreed to do it.

They let me and Mo choose the DJ so we’re getting my favorite guy Empty1/4 to take care of the music. We also got to put together a small list of invitees mostly made up of interesting people we know like musicians, artists, athletes and actresses (no Instagram celebrities). On top of all this I’m actually getting paid to host this event. So basically they’re paying me to wear sneakers, hangout with interesting people and listen to good music. I should seriously start considering hosting more events.

If you’re interested in dropping by and saying hello, we’ll be at the Ecco store in Avenues Phase II from 7PM onwards. Monstariam will also be customizing sneakers on the spot for anyone that buys a pair.

Last month when I visited the GCCJPPI headquarters in Kuwait I requested a few things from them. One of the things I requested were a few episodes of the 80s show Salamatak so I could upload them onto YouTube. So last week they gave me four full episodes which I’ve uploaded onto YouTube for everyone to watch. I believe these are the only full episodes available on YouTube so check them out below for some nostalgia:

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

[YouTube] (kinda NSFW)

Thanks Nawaf

Over the holidays I worked a bit on the blog layout and I’ve done some more changes. First thing I did was update the Classifieds and Community sections to match the new look of the blog. The second thing I did was reduce the amount of main sections on the blog by removing the Fashion and Entertainment section. I will continue to post music videos, gaming and movie reviews and fashion related topics but, depending on how interesting the post is it will either end up on the main page here or in the B-Sides section. So if there is a great music video I want everyone to watch I’ll post it here, if not it will go in the B-Sides. Easy-peasy.

Shakshooka, the nomadic farmers market is making a come back this year. If you are a passionate person who likes making things from scratch, are crafty and a foodie then they’re looking for someone like you.

To be part of the Shashooka market contact Mimi on [email protected]

I just found out and was able to confirm that Bloomingdale’s, the American chain of luxury department stores is coming to Kuwait end of 2016. They’ll be opening up at 360 Mall although I have no idea where in 360 exactly. Sadly Bloomingdale’s in Kuwait will only be catering to women and not men.

Thanks Khaled