2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Cars, trucks and now buses are using the emergency lane during traffic. On the bright side, I was on the 5th Ring Road the other day heading to Avenues and people were driving on the emergency lane (even though traffic wasn’t that bad). Turns out there were cops parked on the emergency lane further down the road and they were stopping all the cars on the emergency lane and giving them tickets.
Photo by Musaed
According to Arabian Business, Apple will officially be launching the iPhone 5 in Kuwait and the GCC on December 14th. So if you were planning to purchase an iPhone 5, put it on hold until it’s officially out. My guess is the 16GB version will end up costing around KD220 when it’ officially launched here. [Link]
A 48-year-old passenger who owns a reptile shop in Kuwait smuggled a cobra onboard an Egypt Air flight to Kuwait from Egypt. Right after takeoff the snake bit the guy and then escaped slithering under the passenger seats. That’s pretty freaky. CNN has the full story [Here]
Thanks Naveen
‘Inside the Middle East’ meets chop shop owner Hussain Salmeen, who builds and customizes bikes in Kuwait.
I’ve seen their bikes in person before and their customization is pretty extreme. [Link]
Thanks Andrew
Old school. [Link]
I went to have dinner tonight at the Singarea Korean Restaurant and to my surprise I found it closed (even though it wasn’t a Tuesday). So I asked the Korean supermarket downstairs what happened and she told me they shutdown. There was a language barrier so I couldn’t understand why but I’m really upset. It’s such a unique place and it’s sad to see it go.
Anybody else suddenly interested in becoming a butler? [Article]
A friend of mine runs a local women’s fashion magazine and is looking for full time graphic designer (preferably female) to work on the magazine layout. If you’re interested send her an email [email protected]
Manchester United are going to be holding their #IAMUNITED fans party in Kuwait on December 9th. The party will feature a live broadcast of the biggest game of the season between Manchester United and Manchester City.
Alghanim Automotive is giving away 10 tickets to five winners to attend the #IAMUNITED fan party. The five winners will be able to bring a friend along to watch the Manchester derby match at the Scientific Center with the presence of legendary goalkeeper and club ambassador Peter Schmeichel.
If you’re interested in winning tickets all you need to do is leave a comment below.
Rules: Only one entry per person and please make sure you use a working email since the winner will be contacted by email. If winner doesn’t respond another winner will be randomly chosen.
Update: The comments have now been closed.
Update2: The five winners according to Random.org are comments #79, #94, #7, #59 and #17. I drew one more as backup in case one of the first five don’t respond and that number is #89.
According to Eat Like Mira it’s actually not bad at all. It’s baked not fried and the whole bag is just 100 calories. [Link]
This story begins with an honest truth: A summer survey of Kuwait’s public access desert would reveal a landscape comprised primarily of farm animals, garbage, and earth (sand, dirt, and dust). A careful eye would notice some plants, but very few, very small, and nearly dead. I’m talking about those areas outside of the city, where urban civilization ends and nature begins. The obvious reason for the lack of plant life is that we live in a desert. We get very little precipitation. Plants need water. Sand is the natural substrate of the desert. These factors combined equal a quasi-moonscape, right? If you’ve made these conclusions, you are, I’m happy to say, mistaken, and it is my goal in writing this to amaze you with the beauty of Kuwait and encourage everyone to do better for the sake of our natural heritage.
The images of giant drifting sand dunes and storms that swallow up entire houses that so many of us associate with the word desert simply do not represent Kuwait. Our ecosystem is harsh: it’s hot, it’s dry, it’s wind-swept, it’s dusty, but most importantly, it is positively teeming with life. Actually, it SHOULD be positively teeming with life, but for the most part, it isn’t. It would be teeming with life if nature were allowed to take its course. Instead, we see the results of decades of under regulated grazing, off-road driving, and winter camping. It seems grim, I know. I’m here to tell you there is hope. More than that: there is life out there, just waiting for a safe place to live.
Enter the Abdaliya Nature Project.
The Abdaliya Nature Project was conceived in late 2010 by Kuwait Oil Company employees with a particular interest in seeing the restoration of Kuwait’s desert. These employees, acknowledging their role to utilize petroleum resources while protecting Kuwait’s natural environment, took the initiative to preserve an area of desert approximately 1.5 million square meters in size. Prior to reutilization as a nature project, this area was in the public domain and was being used for winter camping. Winter camping in Kuwait, while originally nothing more than a traditional way to enjoy the cool winter months has become so invasive and destructive that the desert ecosystem cannot compete with the concrete, garbage, tires, and other pollution dumped annually upon the spring abandonment of the campsites.
The project began with months of clearing garbage and debris left behind by more than a decade of camping. The most common forms of waste removed included water tanks, concrete blocks, concrete septic tanks, car tires, food and beverage containers, and materials used for shade. With a clean slate to work with, the next steps included constructing access roads and water pipelines followed by the planting of nearly 40,000 seedlings and saplings. Why not simply let the plants return on their own? The answer is diversity. While the “if you build it they will come” model is less costly and much more simple, the result is an imbalance of species. Much like a farmer’s field left empty and consumed by weeds, bare desert in Kuwait will result in a few species taking over the entire ecosystem, thus absorbing nutrients and precipitation and excluding other plants. From the very beginning Abdaliya was planted with a diverse group of native species.
Replanting commenced in early 2011. In less than a year, the Abdaliya Nature Project transformed a barren and utterly destroyed wasteland patch of desert into a unique and incredibly beneficial oasis of flora and fauna. During this period, K’S PATH has proudly been working with KOC on this project doing clean up, wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching, feral dog management, and more. Even in this relatively short period, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of birds, lizards, snakes, rodents, and insects in the project, none of whom were introduced. Our goal for the next two years is to introduce fox and hedgehogs to the area as we continue to strive toward a natural, balanced, and well-managed ecosystem. KOC is also planning to build an education center at the site so that we can begin to spread this message of diversity and protection for Kuwait’s future. The fact is that it will take all of us working together to protect Kuwait’s natural heritage for future generations.
If you participate in winter camping or drive off-road, please consider the implication of your actions. Properly dispose of your waste, remove everything you bring into the desert, and stick to established driving tracks.
For more pictures click [Here]
Post by John Peaveler
Managing Director
Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat (K’S PATH)
Ouch that’s gotta suck. [YouTube]
Thanks Eric
This is a remix to “Niggas In Paris” by Jay-Z & Kanye West made by Kuwait’s Army of One. I think its good. [YouTube]
Thanks Faisal
Tonight was such a crazy evening. Me and a friend headed to Avenues at 2:30PM so we could get into Millions of Milkshakes before the mall got crowded. Kim was supposed to arrive at 4PM but she ended up coming around 2 hours late. I wasn’t too surprised really since this was Kim Kardashian and I was expecting her to be fashionably late although I figured she might be around an hour late and not two. I was planning to stream Kim’s arrival live from location but for some reason the alleyway where Millions of Milkshake was located didn’t have a strong 3G connection so the video that I was streaming online turned out to be very choppy and low res. That’s why I decided to stop the live stream and shoot a regular video and upload it to YouTube instead. As soon as Kim arrived everyone went crazy as you can see in the video below. I have no idea why people over react like that.
[YouTube]
Once Kim got into Millions of Milkshake things didn’t get any better there either. Although there wasn’t a large crowd inside people were still pushing and shoving trying to get to Kim. We stayed out of the way as much as possible and tried to take our shots from a distance. I then got some really great and close up shots of Kim when she was making milkshakes. Because the crowd was so chaotic they ended up changing her schedule a bit and I didn’t manage to get my video interview done tonight. I am disappointed but it’s fine since I know how unexpected events can screw up schedules. Hopefully I’ll be able to get it done tomorrow night at the gala dinner. On the bright side I did get my picture taken with Kim and I think she looked really hot. I took a bunch of shots tonight but my favorites are the ones below. Overall I had a good time tonight and I got to make some new friends. Tomorrow tonight things should be less dramatic.
