Search: “about the blog”

A couple of weeks ago, me and a friend where looking for places to travel this coming October and Cuba was on the top of our list. We didn’t manage to do much research other than finding out which airline would take us there but, the local travel blog Hello 965 just posted some information on Cuba including how to get there and what to do once you’re there. So if you’re ever considering flying to Cuba, this post should interest you. Check out her post over [Here]

I’m still on vacation and will get back to blogging next week but I was flipping through some old photos when I found the photos below of The Family Bookshop before they closed down.

It really pisses me off how they demolished the whole block of buildings three years ago taking away a lot of great stores as well as the street’s life from the area. Until this day there’s nothing to show for it except a large big hole in the ground.

They even closed off the sidewalk and parking spots adjacent to the construction site.

The mall that was supposed to be built in that place pictured above (here’s a video as well) was supposed to be completed this year but as you can see below, construction hasn’t even started.

Local instagram star Ascia was recently featured in Coca-Cola’s #OpenUp Ramadan campaign. The campaign pays tribute to the holy month by spreading happiness and encouraging people to open up to each other, rekindle lost connections and mend unresolved tensions. It’s pretty touching and both her and her husband “open up” in front of the camera which is never something easy to do, although I guess if Coca-Cola came knocking on my door I’d probably do the same thing as well. Checkout the spot below.

[YouTube]

via Life in Kuwait

For those of you who’ve been following the blog for a long time, you will know the story of the old photographer. Sadly, I just found out he passed away recently at the age of 84. May he rest in peace.

Local blogger MeBlogging recently was looking for a new apartment to move into and she’s gone ahead and written about her experience. She has even listed all the real estate websites she used along with her thoughts on each. If you’re apartment hunting you might want to check her post out [Here]

Over the weekend Uber launched their services in Beirut which means Uber is now available in Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Uber is probably going to launch in Kuwait one day but until they do there currently is a service running in Kuwait that is kinda like Uber, it’s called Easy Taxi.

Easy Taxi is an app that’s available on iOS, Android and Windows phones and once you install it and sign up allows you to request a taxi. If you’re not familiar with how Uber or other taxi apps work its pretty simple. Whenever you need a cab you launch the app which will automatically pinpoint your location. Once your location is found a button becomes active allowing you to request a cab. When you click the button it starts scanning the area looking for available taxis. I tried it when I was at Sultan Center in Shaab and found 5 taxis in my vicinity. I confirmed the cab request and it told me the cab was 7 minutes away and that I could chat with the driver or give him a call if I needed to. The app also gave me the cars description and license plate number so I could recognize it once it arrives.

It’s pretty similar to Uber taxi except for the fact you can’t get a fare quote before requesting the cab nor can you pay for your cab using your credit card or PayPal account. But, until Uber comes to Kuwait this is a pretty good alternative. For more information on Easy Taxi just visit their website [Here]

Thanks Roberto

If you’ve been following my blog for a few years then you’ve probably seen my previous posts on Tesco (here is a link that summarizes them). Originally I had posted that Alshaya were bringing the Tesco brand but then it turned out they were getting Florence & Fred, the clothing division of Tesco. I then posted that Sultan Center was bringing Tesco but that deal fell through and Sultan ended up getting Waitrose products. Now though my source tells me the new SaveCo supermarket will be bringing the brand to Kuwait.

The company that has an exclusive agreement with Tesco to supply their products to the Middle East is called MH Group and they already supply Spinneys in Lebanon and Qatar with Tesco products. Now they’ve supposedly signed with SaveCo who will start stocking the products in around a months time once they arrive.

Based on the order list my source sent me it seems they will mostly be stocking non-perishable food items like canned goods, sauces and spices. That’s similar to the Waitrose items Sultan Center stocks although it looks like SaveCo might be bringing in a much larger selection.

I can’t publish the list of products they’re bringing but if there is a specific Tesco product you’re interested to know if they’re getting, let me know and I’ll check and see if its on the list.

Host country Kuwait trailed 50-0 at halftime before eventually losing 91-0. In what looks to be a pretty accurate ranking, Canada is ranked No. 1 in the power rankings while Kuwait is ranked eighth. [Source]

I’m not surprised that Kuwait lost to #1 ranked Canada, what I’m surprised about is the fact this is taking place in Kuwait and no one knows about it. Also if they’re playing American Football in this weather all geared up then I don’t think the World Cup in Qatar is going to be an issue.

Thanks Ali

I’ve finalized the categories on the blog and the last and final addition is the Entertainment section. It was previously called the gaming section and was being run by my brother but I’ve now got two friends who will also be helping out in that section with movies and music.

Tarek J, the guy behind the weekly Cinemagics rooftop movies will be handling the movies part of the section. Tarek is a walking film encyclopedia and has pretty good taste in movies so I’ll be personally keeping an eye out for his recommendations.

Amin Fari is the second friend who will be helping out. Amin is a talented local musician and he will be handling the music stuff in that section. He’s already a got a few posts up and you can check them out [Here]

Next step is to update the iPhone app.

Kuwait has the second highest number of millionaire families among the GCC countries and fifth highest internationally with 9 percent, which means 99,000 families are millionaires. [Source]

That’s insane.

via Expat and the City

Post by Amy Freeman

As the saying goes, ’There is more than one way to skin a cat’, the same goes for fat loss and improving body composition. Just recently social media seems to be more swamped than usual with opinions on what works and what doesn’t and the funny thing about the fitness industry is that many of the people and trainers that have an opinion, believe that their way is the right way and the only way to get results.

I try to remain open minded, as fat loss and improving body composition isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ protocol, just like nutritional requirements will vary person to person. But, in my experience I have found that the German Body Composition Training is a good place to start. Now, like I said at the start, there are many people that have achieved massive results in a variety of ways but for the purpose of this blog, I’m going to talk about what I find works and if you are needing to change up your routine, or looking for some direction in the gym, then this may help.

German Body Composition (GBC for short) isn’t for the faint hearted. With that being said, everyone has to start somewhere so you can adjust exercises and rest times until you increase your lactate threshold and are able to handle more. Usually during a session of GBC I experience a high heart rate, I might feel a little queasy and am left dripping with sweat, but that’s the beauty of this little gem. You can achieve a lot in a short period of time you just have to tackle it head on and full heartedly.

GBC is good at increasing fat loss, increasing muscle mass (when you decrease fat and increase muscle, it results in that common term ‘toning’) and its also good for increasing muscular endurance. I also found it also took my anaerobic fitness to the next level.

Typically for GBC you will use compound movements to maximize muscle recruitment. When you train in this style it creates a lot of latic acid in the muscles which as a result releases more growth hormone. That is the ideal situation to be in for both woman and men when trying to lean out.

There are a few ways it can be programmed but for the purposes of this post I’m going to give an example super-setting an upper and lower body exercise for a full body workout. At first glance a lot of people will have a “That’s it?” look on their face but trust me, if you keep to the tempo, the rest time and use the correct weight and reps, you should have the same response as myself and my clients feel after a session, which is: ‘OOOOOOOOMMMMGGGGGGGGG’

There two iPhone apps I’ve recommended on the blog previously that have now become unusable, the E-Gate App and the KAFI airport app. Not sure what got into the developers mind (both apps were produced by the same company) but I can no longer use the apps, not unless I spam a friend that is.

Just out of the blue both apps locked up and now refuse to work unless I tweet, facebook, sms, email or whatsapp a friend with a message telling them to download the app. WTF? Obviously I refused and have since deleted both apps from my phone. I’m not going to be forced by a local company to send adverts to my friends just so I could use their apps especially E-Gate which isn’t a free app.

If you want to check your traffic violations do it for free [Here]
If you want to check flight arrivals and departures download the Q8 Airport app [Here]

Thursday
Movie Night: “The Message”
SHREK The Musical
Exhibition: 50 Years of Printmaking
Exhibition: Once Removed – Kevork Mourad
Exhibition: The Tour – Barry Iverson

Friday
SHREK The Musical

Saturday
SHREK The Musical

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]

Based on data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the home swapping site “Love Home Swap” compiled a top 50 up-and-coming countries to watch list and Kuwait came in #15 as a new and upcoming holiday destination. Business Insider has even picked up the story further adding to the credibility of the list. So strange, check out the top 50 destinations [Here]

Thanks Taz

Over the weekend a video went viral showing an endangered sea turtle being killed on a beach in Kuwait. In the very graphic video (which I won’t share on this blog), one man is seen sitting on top of the large turtle with a small kitchen knife in his hand while his family and friends can be heard in the background encouraging him to cut off the turtles head. You can even hear a voice of a woman and a child in the video, both in support of the killing. Once the perpetrator starts cutting off the turtles head, a second man comes into the video frame to help hold the turtle down. Once the head is cut off the child in the background yells out that he wants the head while everyone else watches the now dead and decapitated turtle bleed on the beach.

The Environment Public Authority (EPA) is now offering a KD3,000 reward to anyone who can identify the people in the video. It’s a very horrific crime but animal abuse sadly isn’t very rare in Kuwait. Last year some guys were driving around with shotguns shooting and decapitating stray dogs and then posting pictures all over Instagram and they were never punished so I am hoping this time around the perpetrators will be punished and made an example of.

Most of the articles on the sea turtle killing are in Arabic but KUNA have a poorly written piece on it which you could read [Here]