2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

A friend of mine found Tupac’s Centerpoint card on the floor near Ruby Tuesday. [Link]

I was being sarcastic earlier today with my worlds largest hummus post in which I also jokingly stated that the next record would be the world’s largest tabbouleh. Well a couple of hours ago they actually went ahead and broke the record for the world’s largest tabbouleh weighing a massive 3.5 ton and kicking Israel’s ass once again who only managed to put together a 2.6 ton tabbouleh. Is the largest shawerma next? We can only hope. [Link]

Today I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of Infunity which will be one of the largest indoor amusement parks in Kuwait once completed. Three things that grabbed my attention there, the first is they will have a pretty cool indoor roller coaster that’s designed by the same people who build ones for Six Flags. Secondly they will have Go-Kart Drifting which I didn’t know existed but sounds pretty cool. Finally my favorite thing, they will have a huge proper climbing wall! The place will launch early next year and they will be located on the top floor of 360 Mall near the bowling and arcades.

Abdulaziz from Jukebox Society emailed me to tell me that the short film SHARQ is now available to watch online via Vimeo. I never got the chance to watch it so it’s pretty cool I can see it online now.

“SHARQ” from Jukebox Society on Vimeo.

I got two packages awhile ago from Aramex and I didn’t have to pay the new customs fee. Some readers are also saying the same thing.

If breaking the record with the world’s largest kebbe dish wasn’t enough Lebanon has just broken the record for the largest hummus. Take that Israel! Coming soon, world’s largest tabbouleh… [Link]

Note: I am being sarcastic

Update: No fucking way!! I just read this in the news..

Only one day after breaking a Guiness book record with a huge Hummus plate that weighed more than two tons, Lebanon broke today a third Guinness record for food this year, this time with a 3557 Kgs plate of Tabbouleh.

That’s freaky how my sarcastic comment turned into a reality.

Also another news source stated the following:

The newly acquired title surpasses Israel’s 2.6 ton by 3557 kilograms.

So take that Israelx2!

Just when I finally get comfortable with their website they suddenly go and drastically change it. I hate it when they do that. Last time they redesigned was back in 2007 but I thought it was their best design yet. But, they dumped that design for one that I think is more entertainment based than news based. Why? If you check the screen shot above, the first column on the left is where the news is, the other columns to the right don’t have any news. Sucks. [Link]

The new A-Team movie is going to get released next year and the picture above is the first picture showing the new team which is made up of Bradley Cooper (Nip/Tuck and The Hangover), Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson (UFC), Sharlto Copley (District 9), Liam Neeson (Taken). Rampage Jackson is actually a pretty cool replacement for Mr. T even though he’s being a dick in this seasons Ultimate Fighter. [Link]

My favorite dessert at the moment is the cinnamon sticks from Auntie Anne’s. I had it for the first time last week and since then I’ve had it nearly every day. If you haven’t tried it you should. 6 pieces for 900fils.

Watan TV interviewed the bloggers p0ach and Blushberry about blogging in Kuwait the other day and now the full interview is available on YouTube to watch. One thing I think Watan TV should have done was actually display the url’s of the blogs on the screen instead of just the blog titles. So instead of writing just “4th Ring Road” they should have had www.4thringroad.com under it to make it easier for the viewers to check out. Here is the interview split into two parts:

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

Does anyone here regularly ship stuff to their PO Box? When shopping on eBay I know a lot of people offer express mail shipping to PO Boxes, has anyone tried that? I know when I was in university back in Lebanon I used to order books from Amazon to my mailbox in Lebanon and it would take around 20 days to get there. How long does it take to get the items in Kuwait? Do you pay customs? How does one open a PO Box and what are the fees?

Update: I found this page with details. Mailbox annual fee is KD4 and KD2 as insurance for the key. I need to open a mailbox. [Link]

So you already have packages on their way to Kuwait via Aramex and yesterday like everyone else you found out you will have to pay at least KD20 to clear each package, what will you do?

Personally I have two packages on their way. One is valued at $20 and another at $30. There is no way I am going to pay KD20 for a package that’s worth just $20 or $30.

What are our options?
Did anyone receive any packages yesterday?
Did you have to pay the new clearance fees?
Can we refuse delivery of our packages?

I had seen this video before as a silent movie but someone added the 2001 Space Odyssey music and just made 10 times better. [YouTube]

Kuwait for Kenya will be holding a photo exhibit next week at Bayt Lothan under the patronage of U.S. President Barak Obama Mrs. Farah Pandith, Special Representative to the Muslim Communities for the U.S. Department of State. All proceeds from the exhibit will go towards the funding of future K4K projects. For more information about K4K visit their website [Here]

Location: Bayt Lothan in Salmiya near Marina Mall
Date: October 28-29, 2009
Time: 6-8PM

Update: I updated the time and date above.

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]