2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I passed by the car exhibition tonight. I was expecting it to be really packed but surprisingly it wasn’t. The exhibit is divided into 4 halls, one is full of American cars, another European, a third was taken by Toyota and Lexus while the fourth was a mixture. The exhibition was ok, not too exciting but there were a few cars (and a bike) that grabbed my attention. My favorite has to be the Ford SVT Raptor (pictured above) but at KD20,000 I’m never going to own one. The Range Rover Evoque was on display surprisingly and priced very reasonably at KD17,000. Other interesting cars were the Aston Martin Cygnet, the Mini Countryman and the beautiful Confederate motorbike. There’s lots of parking space available and the entrance is free so it’s worth the visit. For more info on the exhibition click [Here]

[YouTube]

I contacted Chris, the guy who uploaded the original video of Kuwait 1984 – 1987 that included the old Salmiya and asked him if he could upload some more videos if he had any. He told me he would try his best and since then has uploaded 3 more videos. Sadly a lot of his videos were not readable but he’s sharing whatever he found working. I already posted the video of the car exhibition from the mid 80s the other day and the video above and below are two more new ones.

The video above features the Gulf Road (back when you could drive into the Green Island?), some of the old Salmiya, other residential areas and Kuwait City (including Muthana Complex during its prime). The video below features some National Day celebrations.

[YouTube]

Thank you Chris for sharing your personal family videos with us.

4th Ring Road posted the picture above taken at the Friday Market. I have no idea why these people aren’t being punished…

It seems there is a regional Gran Turismo 5 competition taking place now that I wasn’t aware of. The countries participating are Oman, UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Bahrain and currently players from UAE rank 1st and 3rd with a player from Lebanon coming in at 2nd (Kuwait isn’t even in the top 10). The competition is a time challenge, anyone can participate for free and the grand prize is:

The chance to be chauffeur driven in a SLS, at the Mercedes circuit in Germany.
1. Fully paid trip to Stuttgart and back including accommodation
2. Visit to the Mercedes-Benz Museum followed by lunch
3. Visit to the DTM race including hot laps at the Hockenheim circuit
4. Visit the AMG factory in Affalterback including an SLS emotion experience

I personally would rather drive the SLS myself around the circuit but I guess that’s not an option here. If you’re interested in participating and putting Kuwait on the map you can register on the GT5 Time Challenge website. The location of the local challenge is taking place at the X-Cite store in the Avenues. More details available on the GT5 Time Challenge website [Here]

Thanks Raed

I was excited when I first found out Obika was opening and then even more excited when they did but for some reason I never ended up going there. I guess not many people did either since I heard they’re closing down. Too bad since it seemed like a healthy place to eat.

The American Japanese chain Benihana opened up yesterday for business and I passed by today and took a quick peek. The place is much larger than I expected since although it has a small shop front it actually expands quite a lot to the back and sides. I didn’t eat there but took a look at their menu and the prices seemed pretty good if not cheap in some cases at first glance. They had 6 pieces of crab maki for example for KD1.500, 6 pieces of California for KD2.500 and their most expensive special maki was like KD5. Their teppanyaki dishes ranged in price as well with some of their more expensive lobster dishes hitting around KD16. I’ll probably pass by sometime this week and try them out. I usually enjoy sitting at the sushi bar and their sushi bar looked pretty good and big.

Benihana is located in phase II of the Avenues, in the area behind the escalator next to Dean & Deluca. They officially launch on the 20th but are open for business right now.

Note: Picture above is from last week before they opened. They’re the shop in the corner with the red sign.

A reader emailed me telling me that Caribou Coffee and BlackBerry had teamed up for an offer where if you show them your BlackBerry phone you get a KD2.5 voucher. Luckily I got the email while I was having lunch at Leila (Salhiya) and there was a Caribou Coffee right next door. After lunch I decided to pass by and see if it was true or not and if there was a catch. Turned out the offer was actually better than what the reader had emailed me.

Go to a Carribou Coffee at one of the following locations:
360 Mall
Avenues Mall
Al Kout Mall
Sahiya Mall

You will find a BlackBerry representative. All you do is show him your BlackBerry and fill out a coupon (your name, phone number, email) and you will get the following in return:

– Free coffee
– Free donut
– Free original BlackBerry rubber sleeve for your BB
– KD2.5 voucher
– A chance to win a BlackBerry Torch

You don’t have to buy anything to get all the above. I went in got all the above and didn’t even take my wallet out of my pocket. Now that’s a really good deal. The offer is available every Thursday this month only.

Thanks Babar

A reader sent me two pictures of a very long queue at Geant right now. Seems they have an offer on Samsung 1080 phones, they’re selling it for KD1 and that includes when you buy a KD5 phone line.

Thanks Yousuf

GoNabit is an interesting website that’s been around for awhile now I guess but just recently included Kuwait. It’s a website where they have new offers all the time. Last week for example you could open up an Aramex Shop&Ship account for half price, today for example you can get a KD10 voucher to use at Diva’s for KD5 or you can pay KD10 and get a KD20 voucher to use at Saso Ocean Groove. They have limited quantity on these offers and once they run out they move over to the next offer. For each deal to work a minimum amount of people is required to sign up. For example for the Diva’s offer 10 people need to sign up for it at least. If 10 people sign up then the deal goes through and you get your voucher. If less than 10 people sign up then you get your money back and the offer is canceled. [Link]

Thanks Ghinoua

Update: I added more details on how GoNabit works

This is one of my favorite events that takes place in Kuwait so I definitely will be passing by. I hope they have some interesting cars this year like the Lexus LFA or the Land Rover Evoque.

The Kuwait International Fair Auto Show is one of the oldest automobile exhibitions in the Middle East. To this day, the Auto Show is growing remarkably and has positioned itself as one of the foremost automobile exhibitions in the Middle Eastern region. This must-attend event is held once every two years, and 2010 will see its appearance once again, providing a wealth of opportunities for exhibitors, sponsors and partner organizations.

When: December 12 to December 18, 2010
Where: Kuwait International Fair, Hall 5, 6, 7 & 8

For more information you can check out the KIF website [Here]

I’ve got two tickets to give away for tomorrow nights stand up comedy show starring Nemr Abou Nassar. These are the KD20 tickets for tomorrows 8PM showing. If you want the tickets just leave a funny comment in the post below and tonight at 9PM I will use random.org to select a winner. Please make sure you are in Kuwait, use a valid email address and post something funny (I need a good laugh today).

If the winner doesn’t respond to my email by tomorrow 9AM I will have to give the tickets to somebody else. For more information on this event click [Here]

Update: Random.org chose the number 21. Winner has been contacted.

I love how all these random videos of Kuwait from the 80s are starting to pop up. This one is of a car exhibition that was held sometime in the mid 80s. [YouTube]

Just found this documentary about the KLT on their website. It’s really well made and interesting to watch (they’ve been around since 1948!). The documentary is divided into two parts, the first one is above and the second part if below. This is the description posted with the videos:

“From its humble beginnings as the KUOCO Independent Players in 1948 to its present day position as the leading amateur theater company in the region, Kuwait Little Theater (KLT) has undergone quite a transformation. Through archive footage, photos, interviews, and video clips dating back to the early days of The KLT, this documentary offers a fascinating stroll down memory lane of the busiest and best little theatre in Kuwait.

Join us on a journey back to times when sets were painted out in the 40 degree summer sun, theatrical lighting consisted of car headlamps, and staging a live performance in Kuwait meant closing down the local cinema for a night. Then, stroll through six decades of development as the Little Theatre is born and raised by a band of enthusiastic volunteers.

‘KLT – Celebrating 60 Years’ takes you on a journey, not only of the development of amateur theatre in Kuwait but also of the country at large as its members battle the climate, the culture and the aftermath of war to bring live entertainment to the stage year after year.”

Produced By – PANORAMA PICTURES (A division of Agrim Projects Services)
Script writer, Editor & Director – SONU SHARMA

Please write your reviews about this documentary to – [email protected]

Here is a link to the Kuwait Little Theater Documentary [Link]

I was at Dean & Deluca when I spotted the sign above and I could make out the word seedless underneath the sticker. I love seedless watermelons and always have them whenever I am in the States but never knew why we never got them in Kuwait. So I asked an employee there if they had any seedless watermelon and he told me they ran out but are getting some again in a couple of weeks. Finally seedless watermelons in Kuwait!

Found some high resolution photos of Kuwait back in 1982. Not too many photos just 20 but I hadn’t seen them before. [Link]

Thanks WTFDating