2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Just got the following email from Aramex:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for choosing Aramex as your transportation partner.

The Kuwaiti Customs Authority has recently notified us that all courier shipments containing non-documents shall undergo customs inspection upon arrival at Kuwait airport. While Aramex shall continue providing its clearance services, we are unable to provide a specific time frame as to the duration of the clearance period, which may exceed five working days. Aramex therefore encourages all its customers who require speedy clearance to collect their shipments’ documents for self-clearance at the Aramex Ardiya office.

Should you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us on + 965 1820011.

Best Regards,
Aramex Shop&Ship Team

I wonder if this applies to other carriers like U Shop We Ship and DHL?

Update: I just called Aramex to get more details. Basically everything is still exactly the same as before except now once the package arrives to Kuwait it will take a few days to get delivered to you. You don’t pay anything extra with this new rule, you just have to be more patient. But, like before, if customs decides to hold your package you would need to either clear it yourself or have them clear it for you for a fee.

Update2: I just called Aramex again and spoke to a person I know there. According to her I can expect ALL my packages to be held in customs from now on. Which means I will have to pay a fee to get my packages cleared. The fee is around KD15 (I think) which is just ridiculous!

Update3: Here is the breakdown of what you will have to pay from now on for EVERY single package you get via Aramex

a. 5% CIF.
b. 10 KD Kuwait airways.
c. 2 KD Bank Commission.
d. 1 KD Handling Charges.
e. 5 KD Clearance charges, if your good selves choose aramex to clear on your behalf, otherwise 2 KD only for self-clearance for customs declaration form.

That’s over KD20 per package! I still haven’t verified if USWS and DHL Easy Shop are effected by this since their offices were closed at the time of this posting.

Update4: Want to know how complicated it is to clear the stuff from customs yourself? Check my Kuwaiti Customs Clearance post with step by step directions and a map. [Link]

You can now order Choowy Goowy cookies through BBM. Just scan the barcode above or add them the old fashioned way via PIN 2119FB77. According to the owner, if you currently order 3 cookie jars through BBM you get a 4th one for free.

I found this funny although if it happened to my dog I would also be pissed and sue:

In what must rank as one of the most bizarre lawsuits ever filed against an oil and gas company, it has been reported that Saudi Aramco are being sued for US$267,000 for allegedly causing the death of a female camel that had taken part in a beauty pageant in the KSA.

The attractive three year-old black camel died in tragic circumstances after she fell into a hole in the desert that the Saudi hydrocarbons giant had dug and filled with crude oil.

Her heartbroken owner, Abdullah Al-Saiari, had entered the animal into the Camel Beauty Contest, a hotly contested event that attracts camel breeders from all over the KSA to show off their most eye-catching beasts.

The case is currently being brought before the court in Saudi Arabia.

[Source]

via Desert Girl

I just got an email from a friend at NBK about this new service they will be trying out in Kuwait which is payment via NFC (near field communication). Instead of paying by cash or plastic cards you could pay by just waving your phone. The service is going to be called Bouky and they’re launching a 6 month pilot which you can sign up to if you’re interested (link at the end of the post).

This service is already used in places like Japan and the Far East but it will be the first time here in the Middle East. Another cool feature will be that you could wave the phone in front of “smart” posters and redeem offers or download free pre-paid visa cards. My friend signed me up for the 6 month trial so I will get to try it out. During the trial period I will be able to pay by waving my phone at some 100 outlets in The Avenues. If you’re interested in trying Bouky out they will be choosing only 500 customers for the trial period. To sign up follow this [Link]

Note: You need to be a Zain mobile user to beta test this service

Sooooo lucky… [YouTube]

The new episode of The Chef’s Table is out. The burgers in the video look really good and the fact that I am really hungry at the moment isn’t helping. According to the info attached to the video, Eighty6 Bistro is now open in the Avenues. Lunch is served from 1pm – 4pm, and dinner from 8pm to 11pm. [YouTube]

Until Shake Shack opens up in Kuwait next year, here is a link where you can replicate your own Shake Shack burgers at home. I am going to try and make the Shake Shack special sauce this weekend. [Link]

Note: At the bottom of the article there is a link to the detailed recipe.

Most of you know Cinemagic from their weekly rooftop movie nights but it turns out they’ve also got a small movie theater that they rent out. They originally called me because they wanted to participate in the giveaways last month but since I didn’t have any more space left I told them I would post about them anyway because their theater sounded interesting. They’re located near my house so I went to check the place out and was pretty impressed at how cool their set up was. They’re using the $100,000 Sony SRX-R110 4K cinema projector which is very cool, they had a movie playing when I was there and it looked amazing.

The theater has 12 comfortable reclining leather seats and they provide you with free drinks and munchies . You can rent the theater to watch live television so if there is a football match or a UFC fight you could watch it there. You could also rent out the theater to play xbox or PS3 games, they have both consoles just bring your own game. Finally they have both an HD-DVD and Blu-ray player with hundreds of Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies for you to choose from.

They have two rental prices, non peak and peak prices. Non peak price is KD96 for 3 hours while the peak price is KD144 for 3 hours. So if you are 12 guys thats KD8 per person during non peak hours and KD12 per person during peak hours. If you’re interested visit their website [Here].

For those of you who don’t know about their rooftop screenings you could also visit their website for more information on that.

There are a ton of dessert websites popping up in Kuwait every week but this is the first one in a long time that has caught my attention. Buzberry just posted about Sweet’n Cup, a new dessert start up in Kuwait. They only sell one item and thats a chocolate cup cake covered in chocolate sauce and maltesers. Maltesers by the way are my favorite chocolate so thats why I am probably very attracted to this. I haven’t ordered from them yet since I just found out about them but once I do I will post my feedback here. If you’re interested visit their website sweetncup.com

I was at Geant supermarket at 360 Mall and noticed they had a really good deal on a Compaq netbook (among other things). If you’re interested hurry up because I noticed these two guys filled up two carts with these netbooks, probably to sell them again at a higher price in Hawalli.

Update: If you don’t know what a netbook is click [here], they’re basically like laptops except smaller.

Update2: The same laptop as above costs KD95 on Amazon without tax or shipping to Kuwait so it’s a great deal [Link]

Took my Tamiya FJ out rock crawling with some friends today in Bnaider. The weather was good and the location was perfect for our cars. I shot some video which I am going to edit and upload later but here are a few pictures for now.

Update: Here is the video.

Tamiya FJ CR-01 in Kuwait

The YouTube version is [Here]

Even machines are losing their jobs due to the financial crisis.

Thanks Holla

The picture above was taken from the 65th floor of the Al Hamra Tower. When completed next year it will be 77 floors high and the tallest building in Kuwait. As you can see, The Monolith looks tiny in the picture above.

Thanks B

A reader sent me a link to a travel guide about Kuwait which I thought was a bit… strange. Here is the interesting piece which talks about the nightlife:

Well, you may not find any trace of Arabian Nights while visiting Kuwait, however, Nightlife in Kuwait has its own charm to add a different kind of flavor to your vacation at this small constitutional monarchy on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Nightlife in this city does not only mean Nightclubs and Bars in Kuwait, but also stands for lots of other Things to Do in Kuwait.

At the nightclubs and bars in this city, you may find the lack of alcoholic drinks. However, that will not affect by any means the tourists’ entertainment since the staff is specially selected to meet the extreme need for Nightlife in Kuwait. Visit clubs and find there provocative-futuristic style! But it’s true that sometimes the drinks become even more exotic when served by the European ladies-staff.

Nightlife in Kuwait also offers you a royal smoking experience with hubble-bubble available in bars. The smoke is drawn through a syrupy fruity mixture of flavors into a water bowl filled with cold lemon flavored water which cools the smoke before entering the pipe you draw on. Enjoy life in the form of Nightlife in Kuwait. Experience a relaxing atmosphere at any one of the nightclubs.

Nightlife in Kuwait also includes shopping and modest people watching. However, one of the best ways to enjoy the night is having a stroll along the seashore which is moonlit and converting the white sands into silvery in color. For ladies, malls, beaches and restaurants are the options; however, it is advisable not to stay outside after 10 pm without any companions.

In fact, at midnight tourists may enjoy car race by local people in Jahra Road. Besides, you can also go for camping or join the desert gathering tent with local people (Duwaniya).

Enjoy the Nightlife in Kuwait!

Does anyone else see a few issues with this article? Here is the link to the source. [Link]

I love Kuwait with all its flaws except for one, the tree cutting for no reason habit. I can never understand why beautiful green trees get cut down in Kuwait. I am also not the only one who hates this because their is a group on Facebook called “Keep Kuwait Green! Stop the Izala from cutting our trees!” which is fighting to stop this. Here is information about the group:

After the government came and removed our 35 year old Rubber trees without any warning, it made me realize that there are many other houses being effected.

People started calling about the same thing happening to them, and told me stories of horrible murder like incidents of the trees they once planted.

The mission of this group is to report and post pictures of all wrong doing by our government and the removal of trees. Please post the address of the places that you see them removing trees that were not used as a personal garden. If possible post your pictures also.

We will be posting and sending the pictures to all newspapers and blogs and anyone willing to listen to us. Some of the trees in Kuwait are a part of our history.

They have been here long before we have.
Let’s unite and try to keep Kuwait greener!

I would like to add one more thing which is the trimming of the trees and bushes. The Gulf Road area near Burj Hamam was looking pretty green and natural for awhile now and then suddenly yesterday they started trimming all the trees and bushes into cubes. Can someone tell whoever is responsible for that to stop. Trees that look like cubes might look pretty at Disney Land but not on the Gulf Road and they definitely don’t give any shade or protection.

So if you think the government should stop cutting trees down then please join the facebook group and voice your support. Here is the [Link]