2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Tonight there will be a discussion panel “Exploring a cultural shift” followed by the launch of youraok.net, a new creative networking platform. If you’re interested here are the details:
Date: Tuesday May 28, 2013
Time: 6:30PM
Location: Al Hamra Tower Skylounge on the 55th floor
Seats are limited.
I was in Beirut over the weekend and on this trip I ended up staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Downtown Beirut. The hotel is located in what I think is one of the nicest looking towers in Beirut, right in front of the very popular Zaituna Bay and so I was really looking forward to staying there.
Right from the moment I stepped out of my rental I knew I was going to be enjoying my stay at the hotel. The customer service at the hotel was just better then any other I had previously stayed in before and I’ve stayed at many. The feeling I kept getting is that every single employee wanted to help make your stay better, and by every single employee I don’t mean just the reception staff or managers, I mean everyone from the valet guys, to the housekeepers to the waiters. I think its the words they use but you just get this feeling that you can ask them for whatever you want and they’d love to do it and that made me super comfortable in asking them for stuff which I tend not to do.
Other than the excellent service my room was also very comfortable. I had overpacked on this trip but there was more than enough closest space and drawers to accomodate all my stuff. The room wasn’t that big but the bathroom was with a large sink area, tub, shower room, toilet room and a makeup table. The room had a balcony that was big enough to fit a table and two chairs and finally there was free wifi in the room and the whole hotel. My favorite part of the hotel though would have to be the roof. During the day the roof is a cool place to swim and tan but at night it’s an open air lounge overlooking the Mediterranean sea and Beirut.
I do have two minor complaints though. The first issue the hotel really can’t do much about but the view from my room could have been better if there wasn’t a large sand lot right outside. I live in Kuwait so I would rather not see sand lots when I travel. Even though the hotel is right in front of Zaituna Bay, my room was more on the side and I could only see the marina if I was on the balcony looking left which was disappointing. The other issue I had was with their breakfast. It’s not a breakfast buffet and one of the things I look forward to the most in hotels is their breakfast buffets. At the Four Seasons they have a dried fruit, fresh fruit and cereal buffet but if you want any hot dishes you have to order them. The advantage obviously is your breakfast is made for you and so is fresh, but the disadvantage is it takes time to make and you also can’t just fill up your plate with whatever looks good like you would do at a regular buffet.
In the end though I had a really good time at the hotel. I generally don’t tend to spend much time at hotels but on this trip I was having all my friends come over so we could just chill out on the roof. The incredibly friendly service and the lounge on the roof made me really love my stay. I’d most likely stay there again once I’m done reviewing other hotels in Beirut.
Here is the link to their [Website]
I’m in Kuwait and I’m in big trouble.
My dealer thinks his social networking sites are being tapped by Kuwaiti police. Can police or secret service or whatever see facebook chats? and can they still see it with Secure Browsing (https) turned on please, help an ent in need. I really don’t want to die. I’m going to delete this post after 24 hours
That’s too funny. [Source]
This would fit in perfectly with the Axe “Get a girl friend” advertising campaign. [YouTube]
Tonight I passed by the Al-Maidan Cultural Centre for a showcase of new Kuwaiti writing and directing talent. It was just a one night event and a friend of mine was taking part so I passed by with some friends to watch the performance. It was my first time at Al-Maidan Cultural Centre and I was surprised to find out that the place was located just a 2 minute drive down the street from my apartment in Salmiya. It has a very nice setup on the inside and there seem to be a lot of different events that take place there all year round.
If you want to check out some of the events and performances that take place at the Al-Maidan Cultural Centre then you should download their calendar from their website [Here]
Even though the old blue and white ghost house off the 4th Ring Road has long been demolished it looks like it’s still haunting people. There currently is a hotel being built where the ghost house used to be and according to one of the project engineers who works on the site, they’re facing problems with the laborers because they’re afraid of going down to the basement. They’re even afraid to work alone on any floor.
I still haven’t been able to find a picture of the ghost house but I did find the cute sketch above that was done by Mr Divi.
Update: Below is a photo of the ghost house taken from [Here]
Assistant Under secretary for traffic affairs at the Ministry of interior Major General Abdulfatah Al Ali has warned pedestrians against violating the traffic law.
According to Arab Times report, citing Al Rai news paper, Al Ali said pedestrians must use only the zebra crossing to cross the roads wherever there are such signs. He also stressed the pedestrians should wait for the road crossing pedestrian signal to turn green.
He added violators of this law will be fined KD 25, a maximum of 15 days imprisonment or either one of the two penalties.
Luckily you won’t get deported. [Source]
Thanks Goldy
The Ministry of Interior announced Tuesday it has started the operation of the newly-installed speed cameras which have been placed on most traffic arteries and intersections across the country.
Watch out. [Link]
How much are your body parts worth in Kuwait? From a legal perspective and a legal perspective only, according to the Decree on the Regulation of the Table of Blood Money (DIYAH):
If someone hurts you by mistake with no criminal intent then they pay you the amounts listed below. If someone hurts you with criminal intent, then they pay the amounts listed below in addition to also getting punished for the crime.
Just a small note, the body parts add up. Death is actually cheaper than breaking an arm, a leg and losing an eye. Some animals cost more than KD10,000 so you would think a human life would be worth more.
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
ATARI is an Asian influenced tapas restaurant that just opened up a couple of days ago across from Al-Seef Palace next to Slider Station. They’re still in their soft launch phase so they’re only open from 5pm to 11pm daily except for Mondays. For more info and some pictures including their menu, visit their Instagram account [Here]
Update: I was just told they’re not officially open yet but they’re taking reservations
I’m not really a musical fan, actually before tonight I don’t think I’ve ever been to a musical in my life. I’m still not a fan of musicals but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the performance tonight by the Kuwait Little Theatre. Right now they have Grease running and as of this post they still had one day left where tickets weren’t sold out.
If you’ve never been to a KLT show before you should, they have some really great performers and Grease was pretty fun to watch. If you want to book tickets visit their website [Here]
Note: You’ll probably wanna pass by Johnny Rockets when done.
These renderings are the final approved concept for Burj Al Shaya designed by Gensler, the same architects behind The Avenues. The building consists of two towers, the tall tower will serve as the new Alshaya headquarters while the second shorter tower will be the Four Seasons Hotel. The location of this building is next to Burj Jassim in Kuwait City and it’s expected to be completed by mid 2015. From what I understood Alshaya haven’t released the renderings to the public yet but some people have leaked them online. Those two in this post are the only ones I’ve been able to find.
Kuwait Airways plane, bound to Cairo, has returned after taking off from Kuwait International Airport due to technical error on Monday, the state-run carrier said.
The captain of the airplane discovered a technical error after taking off and returned to the airport in line with international standards, Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) public relations and media director Khaled Al-Khulaifi said.
The captain dumped some of the fuel to decrease the weight of the plane, a well-known procedure in such cases, landed normally and all passengers left the plane, Al-Khulaifi said in a statement to KUNA.
The passengers were well received by the ground staff until an alternative plane is provided, he added. [Source]
The video above was taken by one of the passengers showing the fuel dump. [YouTube]
If you want to create your own here is a blank canvas but it’s more fun if you actually go out in a group to a street sign in your neighborhood and do something, take a photo and send it to me on [email protected] so I could post it up here. Trust me, it’s a lot of fun.
Note: if you haven’t seen Bnaider 258 or 264 you won’t get this
The hacker group Anonymous released a video a few days back stating they were planning to attack a number of countries including Kuwait on June 20th. Why? Because oil is sold with the dollar and Saudi Arabia has betrayed Muslims with their cooperation. No idea what their strike would encompass but most likely they’ll be bringing down all the oil related websites. Check out the video they released above. [YouTube]
