2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Last week a car crashed into a juice store called Frullato and it was captured by the shops security camera. That guy on the left is incredibly lucky, check it below.

[YouTube]

via Frankom

If the car started off on the right hand side of the ditch, the front wheels should have gotten stuck before the rear. But, if it reversed into the ditch from the left side, how did it get over that dirt hill?

via @instaq8cars

Although it was a lot more popular in the 80s and 90s, ice skating can still be fun if you go with a group of friends and when you want to escape the summer heat. The place is usually empty and theres a McDonalds there plus Fat Burger and Maki across the street if you want to combine it with lunch or dinner. Below are the timings and prices:

Skating Sessions:
8:30AM to 10:00AM
10:30AM to 12:00PM
12:30PM to 2:00PM
2:30PM to 4:00PM
4:30PM to 6:00PM
6:30PM to 8:00PM
8:30PM to 10:00PM

Fees:
Entrance + Ice Skates – KD1.500
None Skating Escort – KD0.500
Monthly Membership – KD40.000
Lessons – KD10 for 4×30 minute lessons
Skate sharpening – KD1.000
Lockers small/large – KD0.250/KD0.500

Telephone: 22411151/2/3

Last month I was contacted by Bazaar for an in depth interview for their May issue. That issue is out now and if you’ve ever wanted to know more about me or my personal views on the whole blogging thing, check it out either by picking up a copy from one of their many locations (like Starbucks) or read it online [Here]

Thursday
Exhibition: 50 Years of Printmaking
GAME Expo 2014
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Frances Ha
*CANCELED*
Friday
GAME Expo 2014

Saturday
GAME Expo 2014
3rd French Short Movie Festival
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Nostalghia

Photo above by Allan Santiago

It’s pretty staggering how high these drones can fly! Check out the video below to see a guy fly his drone higher than the Liberation Tower.

The Liberation Tower – kuwait city from husain_ on Vimeo.

First I need to make a confession, I haven’t been in a Ferrari since my dad had one back in the mid 80s. It was a gorgeous silver Ferrari 308 but I was too young to appreciate the car back then, I just remember it was loud and it looked like the one on Magnum P.I. Strangely I hadn’t been in a Ferrari ever since which is weird because Ferraris are pretty common in Kuwait. A few months ago when I went to test drive the Jaguar F-Type I found out the same dealer (Zayani) had a Ferrari 458 Spider to test drive as well. I started harassing them to loan me the car for the weekend to test drive until last week I finally got the phone call telling me I could pass by and pick up the car but I would have it only from 10AM to 5PM. After a bit of negotiation I was able to extend that from 9AM to 7PM. It wasn’t the weekend I had wanted, but a full day with the Spider was still going to be a great day.

Sunday morning I got up early and headed to the dealership where after giving me a short tour of the showroom I was taken to the car which was waiting for me in a large pristine white room. The car was in silver blue (Grigio Alloy) fitted with a custom two tone leather and suede interior. I got in the car and the salesman showed me where everything was and how to work them. It’s not complicated to say, it’s just that majority of the options are not in their usual place (spoiler: they’re all on the steering wheel). For example, the turn signals are located on the steering wheel as well as the wipers, high beam switch, the cars start/stop button, the “bumpy road” button, the horn and most importantly the Manettino dial which allows you to control the cars settings with a flick of a switch. I’m not sure why they haven’t adapted this idea to all cars yet but after spending a day with the 458 I started wishing all my FJ’s controls were on the steering wheel, it just makes a lot more sense than having all these nobs spread out behind it.

Once he was done showing me all the controls we drove out of the dealership for a ride around the block just so I could get a feel for the car before heading out. I then dropped him back off to the dealership and headed out on my own… without a chaperon. There I was sitting in a brand new Ferrari 458 Spider all on my own, free to do with it whatever I pleased. First thing I did was send the mandatory snapchat to my friends and then I decided to head out to the desert where I had previously shot the Porsche Cayman. I figured the roads would be empty there and I wanted to get rid of the photography so I could enjoy the car the rest of the day.

Driving the car was a lot easier than I was expecting it to be even though the car produces 570hp out of its mid-mounted naturally-aspirated 4.5l V8 engine. I spent the first 20 minutes of the drive keeping my eye out on the speedometer since the car just wanted to speed and in the end I couldn’t resist the urge not to and just gave up and started keeping my eye out for cops and speed traps instead. When I finally got to my destination I realized it might not have been the best day to be out in the open desert since there was a pretty nasty dusty storm. But since it took me 40 minutes to get there I was not going to turn back now and kept on going even though at some points I could barely see the road because it was covered with sand. Finally I arrived to the location and got out of the car to snap my photos. It was really windy and I ended up getting sand in every crevice of my body but I also ended up with two fantastic photos especially once I converted them to black and white. I packed up my gear and headed back to the city but not before making a quick stop at home to shower and change.

As I mentioned the car is really easy to drive and can actually be very civil if you keep it in sport mode (Ferrari’s version of “comfort”) and aren’t heavy on the peddle. On the other hand if you’re a hooligan you’re also gonna love this car. Once I was back in the city I realized I could still have a lot of fun without breaking any laws (kinda) just by accelerating at full speed out of traffic lights, drifting slightly around corners and roundabouts and down shifting to second gear when going under bridges. Actually by switching the cars gearbox from auto to manual made a world of a difference because I could keep the gears low and have the car scream its beautiful loud Ferrari tones without even trying. But the car isn’t loud unless you want it to be and the interior can be pretty quiet while cruising at normal speeds. Speaking of the interior I was pretty surprised at how spacious it was. I LOVE the center console layout, it’s basically non existent with just AC controls and nothing else. In an age where center consoles are filled with large screens and buttons beyond buttons, it was great to see they kept the interior to a bare minimum.

What differentiates the Ferrari 458 Spider from the regular Ferrari 458 is the fact it’s a hard top convertible. With just a press of the button the roof folds away into the trunk and thats what I did once the sun started setting. Driving the car with the roof down is a whole different experiencing, if you really want to hear the engine sound that’s the best way of experiencing it. As the sun set I knew I would have to drive the car back to the dealer and I think it was the first time where I was both happy and sad to return a car. I was sad because I was obviously returning the Ferrari but also happy because at the end of the day I was driving an KD80,000 Ferrari and I was just relieved to be handing it back in one piece.

So what didn’t I like about the car? Not a lot honestly. The trunk is practically non existent if you opt to have a spare tire, like you might be able to fit one or two grocery bags there and thats it. The sound system also wouldn’t let me stream music over bluetooth which sucks although it did have iPod connectivity via USB. Finally I thought the gas pedal was too close to the brake pedal and so my sneakers kept getting clipped every time I was moving from one pedal to the other to the point I thought my sneakers might get ruined. But by the end of the day I got used to it and just shifted my foot far right so that wouldn’t keep happening. Even though I wasn’t expecting the car to be a disappointment it did surprise me in a lot of ways. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a drivable car and one which could be so civil. I didn’t even have issues going over speed bumps or parallel parking (thank you rear view camera) so I could totally drive this car every day if Ferrari agree on that 90% discount I asked for (pretty please).

The Ferrari 458 Spider starts at KD81,900 and is available at the dealers Zayani.

A couple of years back Discovery Channel aired an episode of Building the Impossible that featured Sabah Al-Ahmad Sea City. Back then I hadn’t heard of the project but ever since I did I’ve been frequenting the place as often as I can mostly for activities like wakeboarding. Anyway a reader left a comment on my old post letting me know you can now watch “Sea City – Building the Impossible” online. I’ve already watched them before but if you haven’t check out this [Link]

Shop and Ship who are known for their US forwarding mailboxes have given their website a much needed facelift. Other than the fact the website looks better it’s also a lot more organized and easier to navigate.

One new feature I noticed is the tracking page now gives you an idea on when your package will be delivered to Kuwait. This was a much needed option and I’m curious to see how accurate it is. Check out the redesigned website [Here]

The Guardian have a pretty long article on Kuwaiti musician Fatima Al Qadiri who just launched a new album yesterday. Her new album is called ‘Asiatisch’ and from the songs I heard off it I didn’t really like any of them and I’m not the only one either. But, its still cool she’s doing what she’s doing and you can check out the article on her [Here]

Thanks Simon

Monstariam who is a good friend of mine took off on a cool road trip a few days ago which he will be turning into a short documentary. He’s an extremely talented graffiti artist and he always has problems finding supplies locally so recently when he was looking for Montana spray cans he found out the closest dealer is all the way in Jeddah Saudia Arabia. So he got together with some friends and decided to go on a road trip in search for Montana. They’re documenting their journey all along the way and they already hit Jeddah yesterday so they should be making their way back to Kuwait soon. So check them out on instagram @sprayhunt

Last month when I posted my photographic journey of Salam Palace I mentioned that right next door to the palace a huge project is currently under construction. I was shown renderings of the buildings and they looked out of this world but due to the secretive nature of this project (they want it to be a surprise to everyone) I wasn’t allowed to take any photos to share on the blog. Luckily with a little help from a friend of mine (thanks Khaled!), I was able to source out the images of the project online.

The site of the huge project is the old flag square opposite the church in Kuwait City [Map] and when completed will house four structures, an opera house, a music center, a theatre and a library. The official name for this cultural centre I believe will be “Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre”. The buildings will be made out of titanium shells and will have no pillars at all on the inside. When I met with Al-Diwan Al-Amiri they told me the project was expected to be completed in 18 months and I truely believe that will be possible due to the amount of resources they’ve assigned for this project. The project is already two months ahead of schedule.

As you can see from the images this project looks really stunning and like nothing else we have ever done in Kuwait. Its also located on the coastal road so it’s in clear sight for everyone to see. This is the quality of design all government projects should have but sadly don’t and I personally can’t wait until the project is completed.

Enjoy the renderings, I found them [Here]

The image of the note above has been circulating on whatsapp and instagram as the new KD1 bank note that will be released at the start of Ramadan. The problem is the image thats circulating is not the new banknote, it’s actually a commemorative banknote issued back in 2001 on the 10th anniversary of Liberation Day. For details on this banknote and others visit the Central Bank of Kuwait website [Here]

Last month I mentioned that Edo was opening a new branch at Sahara Country Club and it turns that they are not the only restaurant thats opening there. A new “village” is being built right next to the resort and it’s going to be called the Sahara Restaurant Village. I was able to obtain some names of the restaurants and shops that will be opening there but this list is unconfirmed. The places I’ve been told that will open there are:

Slider Station
Burger Boutique
Villa Fayrouz
Tatami Japanese Restaurant
Edo Japanese Restaurant
52 Degrees
Caribou Coffee
Costa Coffee
Inspire Fitness
Athletes Foot

Construction recently started but all the restaurants and shops are expected to open at the same time on November 1st.

According to Kuwait Times, the government will no longer kill stray dogs but instead will capture them and deport them. Yeah I know deportation sounds funny but by that they actually mean they will be sending the dogs to countries who would want them.

That’s a lot better than the alternative which is having guys driving around with shotguns killing them or having the government poison the dogs. [Link]