2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003If you’re into How It’s Made style documentaries then you’ll appreciate this video on the making of the Sabah Al-Ahmad Sea City Marina. The most interesting part for me is the fact that you can take Styrofoam, cover it with cement and then end up with a 20ton floating concrete deck. It’s only 11 minutes long so check it out. [YouTube]
On the bright side, the government has decided to retender the new airport project after the ministry rejected all the bids back in February. [YouTube]
Thanks Salem
I’m in contact with one of my readers who has some old photos of Ahmadi and I’ll be posting some every now and then. Kinda like what I was supposed to do with the KOC Archive posts which I realized I’ve completely forgotten about. Anyway this post is about the Ahmadi Hospital and this is what he had to say about it:
Ahmadi Hospital is known to many people especially the oil sector. Ahmadi Hospital was in inaugurated in April 1960 by Kuwait Oil Company and was called then “Southwell Hospital” after Kuwait Oil Company Sir Philip Southwell who was KOC president from 1946 to 1959. Sometime during the 80’s it was changed to “Ahmadi Hospital”
Before the hospital was built in Ahmadi town, KOC had a hospital in Magwa area (North Ahmadi Town, separated with Kuwait airport by the 7th ring road). That is where I was born and many others in that period. Attached are some pictures of Magwa Hospital.
I’ve also uploaded the two photos of the hospital staff in high resolution in case you’re interested in seeing them up close. You can view those [Here] and [Here]
According to an instagram post by the Ministry of Interior, the emergency lanes on some of the major highways are now open to the general public to use from 6AM to 10PM as long as you don’t exceed 45km/h. The roads are the ones highlighted in blue in the map above. Their post is in Arabic so I couldn’t understand most of it but looking at the map my best guess is the emergency lanes they’re talking about are on the 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th roads, as well as the 5th and 6th Ring Roads.
Now for a bit of venting…
Why isn’t this information on their website? What about all the expats like me who can’t read Arabic? Why is the road open only from 6AM to 10PM? I mean if it’s open during the whole day why not just keep it open 24/7 instead of making it illegal after 10PM. It just complicates things. And why are they limiting the speed to 45km/h? Why don’t they just pave the road and turn it into a proper lane and again simplify things. It’s as if they still haven’t made up their minds on if they should completely cancel the emergency lanes or keep them.
According to the 40 minute film below, the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Center that is currently under construction will be the largest museum in the world once completed. The museum will be located next to Shaab Park on the Gulf Road and include:
– A Natural History Museum
– A Science Museum
– A Museum of Islamic History
– A Space Museum
– A Fine Arts Center
– A 350 seat Theatre
[YouTube]
I knew the project was huge but I didn’t think it would end up being the largest museum in the world. I still find that hard to believe. Check out the film above and for more information on the project including 3D renderings click [Here]
Thanks Arad
“Kuwait – Small Country, Big Heart” is a short 10 minute documentary on Kuwait that was requested by Kuwait Airways (most likely to use onboard its flights). It’s made by the same guys who did the Kuwait documentary for British Airways so it’s full of beautiful shots of Kuwait. Only the Arabic version is online and you can watch it above. [YouTube]
I was at LuLu in Salmiya earlier tonight and noticed they were selling the Apple Watch. They only had the 38mm Sport version in white and priced at KD229. To compare, the same model in the US costs KD165 KD105 before tax and shipping. Like the iPhone, as the Apple Watch becomes more readily available the price should drop.
Sandarah is a short animated film by Kuwait animator Yousef Al Bagshi. The film was uploaded 7 months ago but it seems to have just been discovered recently. It’s Yousef’s first animation and it took him nearly a year and a half of work to complete it. The film is gorgeous, I really love his illustration style and the way he renders the light in all the scenes. The story is also captivating and from what I’ve been told based on a true event that took place during the 1990 Iraqi invasion. The film is under 7 minutes long so make sure you watch it.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
I didn’t know what “Create Your Taste” was until last week when someone in Australia built a colossal burger and the video below went viral. Now it turns out the same concept is launching in Kuwait by the end of the week.
[YouTube]
The way it works is pretty simple, you go up to the “Create Your Taste” kiosk at a McDonald’s and you create your own burger using a touch display. You choose the kind of bun you want, the amount of patties, the different types of cheeses, how many cheeses, the sauces etc.. etc.. and you then head to the cashier and pick up your creation. The guy in Australia basically tried to build the largest burger the kiosk would let him and ended up with the burger below.
Right now it looks like they’re launching the concept at the Gulf Road location since I spotted the kiosks set up there. Should be interesting to see what some kids are going to end up building.
The world’s fair officially launched in Milan on Friday and with it Kuwait’s pavilion pictured above. Here is some information on the architecture being the pavilion:
The Pavilion’s architecture evokes the Kuwaiti Dhow, the triangular-sail boat still used in the Arabian Gulf. The lateral facades display examples of the greenhouse and hydroponic cultivation used in Kuwait.
The first section of the visitor’s itinerary illustrates the country’s features and climate. The second shows how scientific study and research have made it possible to create fertility in arid landscapes. In the last section, guests can immerge themselves in Kuwaiti culture. [Source]
The three mini water towers in the front seem a bit tacky but other than that I like the sails structure. For more information on the pavilion check out this [Link] and also check out the Kuwait Pavilion instagram account @kuwaitexpomilan
Good Afternoon Kuwait!!! DQ Opening Soon @ Marina and Avenue's Malls. pic.twitter.com/AcWVsKNIC3
— Dairy Queen® Kuwait (@DQKuwait) April 29, 2015
As I’ve previously mentioned, Dairy Queen is coming back to Kuwait after being absent for nearly a decade. Based on their tweet above it looks like they’re starting off with two locations, Marina Mall and The Avenues. No word on when but looks like it’s pretty soon.
Last summer I posted about how tap water is safe to drink even though the general consensus was that it wasn’t. Now a video is making its rounds around social media where four different bottled water brands have their pH levels tested alongside tap water and it seems tap water scores another win by being alkalized. According to proponents, alkalized water can neutralize acid in your bloodstream, boost your metabolism and help your body absorb nutrients more effectively. Check out the video above or on [YouTube]
A couple of weeks back I asked if anyone had any difficulties ordering fitness supplements online. I got a variety of answers back but generally the response was that customs wouldn’t give me a hard time unless they were in a bad mood. So I went ahead and placed an order of seven different supplements and sent them to my Aramex Shop & Ship mailbox. Earlier this morning the courier dropped them off without a hitch.
So the answer is yes you can order supplements online and save a ton of money compared to buying them locally. Two of my supplements turned out to be pretty heavy (one was basically a kilo) and that kinda screwed up my savings but, for my next order I will be leaving those two heavy supplements out. The amount of savings I can achieve range anywhere from 50% to 75% off the local cost including shipping and customs. The only thing to keep in mind is not to order from the brands I’ve listed below since according to Aramex, the customs department are instructed to hold these brands:
– Muscle Tech
– Vitol Products
– Ultimate Nutrition Inc.
– Labrada Nutrition Inc.
– Bio Engineered Supplement & Nutrition Inc. “BSN”
– Nurtex Research Inc.
– USP Labs LLC
– Pharma Freak
– ISS Research
– Diamond Nutrition Inc. “DMI “
– Nutrabolics
– Experimental and Applied Sciences “IAS”
I ordered all my supplements from Amazon since they have some of the cheapest prices I found online [Link]
The weather last weekend was horrible so hopefully we’ll get clear skies this week. If the weather is good then I would recommend hitting one of the outdoor movies on Thursday evening and then on Friday head out to Khiran for the Wakeboarding Competition. Since I’m half Armenian I would also recommend the Armenian Cultural event for Friday night. On Saturday there isn’t much going on except for the Madeenah night at the Secret Garden which should include great food and music. Here are all the events for this weekend:
Thursday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: New Species by Hunt Slonem
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
Sirdab Lab Movie Night: Lord of War
Rooftop Movie: La Promesse
Friday
Kuwait Dino Park
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
18th Asian Individual Squash Championships
Wakeboarding Competition
Toastmasters Conference 2015
Book Club Meeting
Armenian Cultural Evening
David Hanners Live at The Southern
Saturday
Kuwait Dino Park
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
18th Asian Individual Squash Championships
ManateqMe – Somu Square Clean-up
Madeenah: End of Season Mixer
Rooftop Movie: Before Midnight
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
Update: Added the Squash Championships and the Somu Square clean-up to the list.
Update2: Added the live music event at The Southern
Update3: Added the Cinemagics rooftop movie on Saturday