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Yesterday afternoon I dropped my Datsun to Omid’s Garage in Shuwaikh to have a few things worked on, mostly installing an AC system as well as replacing all the car’s bushings among other things. After dropping the car off I walked to the main road to find a cab and then not sure what got into my head but I tweeted that maybe I should just walk home since I was already in gym gear. I wasn’t planning to go to the gym, but since my car didn’t have AC and I was expecting the weather to be warm, I figured I would wear my gym gear since I wouldn’t mind sweating in it. I opened up google maps just to get an idea if it was actually doable and it gave an estimated time of around 2 hours and 44 minutes. It was around 6PM then and I was invited to an Audemars Piguet event at 7PM, but other than that didn’t really have any plans for the evening. So I was like fuck it, I’ll ditch the event and walk home. A friend on twitter replied to me saying it would take me three hours, I replied back that I would make it in 2 and a half and so the challenge was on.

I left the garage at 6:06PM with just a small bottle of water, my wallet, my keys and my phone. The garage is located in the Shuwaikh Industrial area which is the area across from Al Rai and on the other side of highway 60. I started walking towards Canada Dry street cuz I decided I’d take the 3rd Ring Road down towards the Gulf Road and then take the 35 towards Salmiya. Although Canada Dry Street takes just a few seconds to get from the start to the end by car, it took me 20 minutes to walk. I thought that was just too slow of a pace so when I was done from Canada Dry and crossed into Khaldia where I spotted a walking/running track, I decided I would try to run back home. Although I was in my gym gear I didn’t have running shoes on, I had my crossfit ones (Nike Metcon 1) which barely have any padding and are terrible for running. But I’d figure I’d give it a shot since walking was just going to be too slow for me.

I hadn’t really gone running in over two years and I’ve barely been doing any cardio but I just wanted to get home in under 2 and a half hours. I had already run out of water but luckily kept finding public water fountains to keep refilling my bottle (I didn’t get sick!). By the time I got to road 35 in Hawally, I realized there was a big chance I could make it home in under 2 hours so I pressed on. Mentally I was strong but physically I was just starting to break down. Half way down the stretch of the 35 my right foot and right knee were in pain. I wasn’t out of breath even though I was tired but my legs were just not prepared for this. By the time I got to the end of the 35 and crossed into Maidan Hawalli I could barely run and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get home in under 2 hours. It was demoralizing but then I just went back to my original plan of trying to get there in under 2 and a half hours. I tried to run but by the time I got to Salmiya I was limping, my right leg was in so much pain. But once I saw my building I somehow managed to sprint the last 20 meters or so. I ended up making it home in 2 hours and 14 minutes. A total distance of 14KM. Kinda disappointing since I ran a 10K once in 57 minutes, but I did train for that. On the other hand I did get a better time compared to when I walked home from my work in Kuwait City.

I still don’t know why I decided to do that yesterday, this morning I can barely walk up and down stairs due to how sore my legs are. The weather was great yesterday which might have been what pushed me but in any case I did it and I’ve got a few observations I want to highlight.

Kuwait isn’t really a pedestrian friendly place but I was pretty surprised at how the route I took was fairly pedestrian friendly. From the start of the 3rd Ring Road till highway 40 there are proper walking/running paths all along the main road. The only issue is the fact these paths aren’t connected to other paths in adjacent areas. Meaning to cross from Khaldiya to Adailiya wasn’t easy. Not only aren’t the walking/running paths connected, but the normal sidewalks aren’t even connected. In some areas I had to walk over greenery or climb over barriers, and then when there were paths like the one pictured above, they led to the middle of the road instead of the other sidewalk. Each area is isolated from the adjacent ones which is pretty annoying. Then once you pass the 40th into Hawalli, the paths start disappearing. By the time I got to Salmiya I was basically running in the streets trying to avoid cars. Such a contrast to how my run started, even the public water fountains disappeared after the 40.

Still, I was expecting it to be a lot more difficult to make it back to Salmiya on foot so I was actually impressed by the experience. I just wish Kuwait was more pedestrian or bike friendly, I’m sure there are a lot of people who wouldn’t mind walking to places if the weather was good.

This weekend is surprisingly busy and there are a few interesting events taking place. I’ll personally be trying to connect to my roots by attending the Armenian Dance Show on Friday night. Been wanting to go to one of their shows for some time now but they used to be held in Mangaf which was too out of my way. This Friday though they’re going to be at the Salmiya Theater which is close to where I live. The comedy show Urban City Tour was supposed to take place this weekend as well featuring Marlon Wayans, but it sadly got canceled. Anyway, check out the full list of events take place this weekend below:

Thursday
Exhibition: It’s a Mad World
Exhibition: What’s Your Location?
Japanese Modern Art Exhibition
Exhibition: F160 – Only Byrds Move The Skies
Exhibition: Tensile Modulus By Omar Khouri
Mindfulness for a Healthy Mind Workshop (Meditation and Yoga)
The Divan Movie Night: Sherlock Holmes
Spinal Dance
Rooftop Movie: The Elephant Man

Friday
Japanese Modern Art Exhibition
Urban City Tour – Kuwait
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
Catomania (Cat Quiz Night)
Armenian Dance Show

Saturday
Japanese Modern Art Exhibition
Yoga with the 3
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Reclaim Your Voice; Reclaim Your Life
Mental Health Movie Night
Walks at the Park
Rooftop Movie: What We Do in the Shadows

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so double check info with organizers.

This accident took place yesterday in Hawalli. Super nasty, no idea why that guy took the turn so fast. On the other hand with dashcams becoming prevalent, we’re bound to see more WTF videos like this.

Back in March while driving on the 40th I nearly ran over a body lying in the middle of the road. It was a scary moment which I was able to capture on my dashcam. You can watch that video above, it’s not graphic, but there is a dead body involved so you might want to skip it if you’re squeamish.

via Frankom

Looks like opening up an Indian restaurant is going to be the next new thing for small Kuwaiti businesses. After the success of places like Namaste and 12 Chutneys, a lot of people seem to be jumping on the Indian cuisine bandwagon. I know of at least 4 new Indian restaurants that are opening up soon with the one pictured above opening up next to Slider Station (where Atari used to be located).

I find this pretty annoying.

Since it’s a holiday tomorrow I figured I’d share this list today. The standouts this weekend are the AlSalmi Meteor Shower Trip, Matilda the Musical, the Kuwait National Triathlon Championships and the Cross Cultural Diwaniya. Check out the full list of events taking place over this long weekend below:

Wednesday
Conference: Women in the Corporate World
Exhibition: It’s a Mad World
Exhibition: What’s Your Location?
The Art of Yoga 2

Thursday
Exhibition: It’s a Mad World
Exhibition: What’s Your Location?
Profoto Light Shaping Seminar
AlSalmi Meteor Shower Trip
Aim High Toastmasters Club 4th Anniversary Celebration
Kuwait Vape Festival

Friday
Matilda the Musical
Taichi in the Park
Toastmasters Division “I” Annual Speech Contest

Saturday
Matilda the Musical
Kuwait National Triathlon Championships
Cross Cultural Diwaniya

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so double check info with organizers.

Over the weekend the gaming expo GX2016 took place here in Kuwait. I was going through the hashtag #gx2016 on instagram and was pretty impressed at how good some of the cosplay was.

Cosplay, a contraction of the words costume play, is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.

It’s pretty impressive mostly because it’s taking place in Kuwait, you wouldn’t expect for there to be a scene like this over here. And I’m not talking about just 10 or 20 people dressing up, based on the photos I’d say there were at least 50 cosplayers who passed by GX2016. Just check out all the photos [Here]

Photo on top by UrbanQ8 Films

I’ve been a Lotus fan for sometime now and a few years ago when a friend of mine sold his, I regretted not buying it off him myself. The fact that there’s a dealership now makes me even regret it more but I got over it, or at least I thought I had until this weekend. Thursday morning I picked up a brand new Lotus Exige S from the dealership to use over the weekend, and after giving it back yesterday my feelings on it haven’t changed, I still love and want the car.

Let me get this out of the way first, this isn’t the car for you. Well at least 99.9% of you and I’ll explain why.

Notice I use the side pillars in the car like a bookshelf for my phone and wallet.

As a regular car the Exige is horrible and I don’t even know where to begin. The seats? The most uncomfortable seats I’ve ever sat in and you can’t adjust them. The car is super tiny on the inside, I mean my Datsun is tiny but it’s actually huge compared to the Exige. It’s so tiny that the passenger seat is stuck to your seat, I actually kept buckling my seatbelt into the passenger side seatbelt accidently because they’re so close. It can be pretty awkward on a first date but you know whats even more awkward? Getting in or out of the car. There is no way, and I really mean no way to get in and out of the car gracefully no matter how hard you try. This mostly has to do with the fact that there is a huge pillar you need to climb over to get into the seat and the fact the car is so low it makes the whole process very awkward. There are even videos online that show you how to get in and out of the car! Watch [This One] and then [This One]. The fact you need to watch a video to show you how to get in and out of the car should give you an idea that this isn’t a normal car. Also when I say this is a low car I mean this is a LOW car. I drove by a mini cooper on the Gulf Road and all I could see was the mini’s door handle. The Exige is so low it can drive under parking gates.

But wait I’m not done yet! There is so much more that doesn’t make sense in the car. To turn the lights on at night you press one button, to turn it off you need to press two different buttons. Why?? Before getting the car I thought the AC might not be good enough for Kuwait’s weather but my issue with the AC this weekend was that it was too much for the Exige. For a car thats slightly larger than an iPad I don’t understand why it has 8 AC vents, 4 in the front, and then 4 right behind you facing the front. At the lowest fan setting there was still too much AC for the size of the car. I spent most of the time closing vents and opening the window to balance the temperature inside the car. If there is a place I want to be in the summer its the ice skating rink and the inside of this Lotus. What else did I find terrible in the car? The stereo, easily the worst sound system in any car I’ve ever driven, it’s slightly better than my Datsun’s sound system from the 70s and that’s because I could plug my iPhone into it. I really need to go back and talk about the size of the interior again, the car is so small that without moving from my seat, I high-fived a friend who was standing outside the passenger side window. I’m not exaggerating, that incident actually happened. Interior glove compartment? Nope. Trunk space? It’s big enough to fit a backpack… maybe. The steering wheel also isn’t powered so I hope you’ve been working out since parking this car is a workout. Speaking of parking, the visibility out of the rear window is terrible and there are plenty of blindspots all around. Reversing from my parked position back onto a main road involved so much back and forth head movement, to a passerby I must have looked like I was having an epileptic seizure.

Thats how close the seats are!

But, with all that being said, when you buy an Exige you know what you’re getting into. You wouldn’t get into a Formula 1 race car and then complain that it doesn’t have a cup holder. You’re not expected to be able to pick up your visiting relatives from the airport in an Exige or even doing something as simple as dropping your mum off at the hairdresser (she either won’t be able to get in or won’t be able to get out).

The Lotus Exige S weighs only 950KG 1175KG but has a 345HP supercharged engine. It does 0 to 60mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed that is electronically limited to 233km/h. It’s small, it’s very fast and most importantly, it’s a ton of fun. This weekend I had a blast with the car and I wish I could do it again the next weekend and the weekend after that. It’s all the negatives in the earlier paragraph that makes this car so great. Sure I would have loved a better sound system but I’d rather have a shitty sound system and keep the car small and simple, than an amazing sound system that would add weight, need a larger interior and add complications to the car. Every decision in this car was made not to sacrifice performance and performance is what you get here. Just ask Chris Harris. The car is really easy to drive fast which makes it very driver friendly.

The interior is very barebones, all you will get is 3 knobs for the AC, an Alpine stereo, 3 buttons for the lights and then buttons for changing gears. That’s the whole interior. Even the speedometer cluster doesn’t contain any information other than your speed, RPM, a digital read out of your speed and a few warning lights. It’s going back to basics which is something I’ve started appreciating because of my Datsun. You don’t need a large touch screen, you don’t need 12 cupholders, you don’t need automatic folding mirrors or interior mood lights, you don’t need majority of the stuff in your car. With the Exige, it’s just you, the car and the road. No distractions.

Visually the car is a work of art. From all the cars I’ve ever driven, none got me as much attention as this one did. Everywhere I went people were checking the car out. Even hotel valets who’ve come across everything where checking the Exige out. Actually pulling up to valet in an Exige was fun, I was like I want to park here and they just moved a car for me and I parked in it’s place right at the front of the hotel entrance. Park an Exige next to a Ferrari and more people will likely check out the Exige just because it’s such a rare and over the top looking car.

With all the misgivings of this car I actually loved it and I now more than ever regret not getting if off my friend. The only thing I really would want them to improve on is the seat but other than that I didn’t mind all the weird issues the car had. The price? The Exige S starts at KD27,000 which I think is a fair price… if it was a car I could drive everyday. But it isn’t which makes this price difficult to swallow. This isn’t a daily driver, it’s barely a car you want to drive even just on weekends. This is a track car first, road car second which is why it would be perfect in countries that have race tracks like Bahrain and UAE. It’s a car you can take to the track on the weekend, be competitive and then drive it to work the day after. But sadly for us, we don’t have a race track here so it’s hard to justify the Exige. But, I’ll be test driving the Lotus Evora soon which is supposed to be everything the Exige is except with the extra amenities that make it a better everyday car. So I’m looking forward to that.

For more information on Lotus cars or if you’d like to test drive one, check out the local dealers instagram account @alghanimlotuskw

Looks like all my posts today will be car related which I guess is appropriate since theres a Formula 1 race taking place today. There are renderings of a Kuwait racetrack that are being circulated on whatsapp, supposedly of the proposed Kuwait International Circuit. The following text is attached with the images:

تم اعتماد حلبة الكويت الدولية كحلبة للجائزة الكبرى GP للفورمولا ون.
موقعها بيكون على جون الكويت بالقرب من محطة الدوحة للكهرباء. طولها 6.3 كيلو وتتكون من اربع مسارات:
GP Track
West Track
East Track
Outter Track
تتكون من 20 كورنر في الGP
نقطتين DRS
وبتكون عكس عقارب الساعه.
تتضمن مجموعه من المنعطفات التتسلسله ذات التقنيه العاليه..
جميله هذي الحلبه.. بإذن الله نشوفها قريب..

The Arabic text basically talks about the location of the circuit which will be near the Doha power station and the different specs of the race track. Sadly though, these renderings aren’t official nor is the information. This track design was actually done by a Reddit user who goes by the handle Cssnsm and who just likes creating race circuits for fun. In fact, you can check out his original post of this circuit along with a fictional story he created to go along with it [Here]

If you just want to see the renderings, here is the [Link]

I hope we do actually get a race circuit some day, last year a circuit design was finalized and presented to proper authorities for approval but since then haven’t heard anything about it.

Update: A contact just passed me a video of Kuwait Motor Town which supposededly is set to start construction in September. I couldn’t find any information on this online other than this video so not sure how accurate this information is.

Lots of quality events taking place this weekend. First of all you have the mega gaming event which my brother posted about yesterday, GX 2016 Gaming Expo. That’s taking place from Thursday through to Saturday. Cinemagics is playing Snowpiercer this weekend, a great movie if you haven’t already watched it. Also tonight Staged in Kuwait are holding their improv comedy night which is always hilarious (only 22 tickets left as of this post!). Check out the full list of this weekends events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: It’s a Mad World
Exhibition: Sibeel Water by Ammar Al Attar
GX 2016 Gaming Expo
Red Bull BC One – Kuwait Cypher
Japanese Movie Night
Traditional Kuwaiti Food and Dishdasha Night
Sirdab Lab Movie Night: Donnie Darko
What makes Kuwait giggle? The IMPROVengers!
Rooftop Movie: Snowpiercer

Friday
GX 2016 Gaming Expo
Beach Fridays at Al Kout!
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park (Hatha Yoga)
ShutterXpose Photography 101 Workshop

Saturday
GX 2016 Gaming Expo
Yoga at the Park (Vinyasa Flow – Women Only)
Madeenah Tour: Salem Almubarak St. Salmiya
Unleash – Color Therapy
The Debate Tournament
Rooftop Movie: The Look of Silence
Peak Vertical Marathon

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so double check info with organizers.

This weekend gamers in Kuwait are going to be treated to two events revolving around video games that will be taking place simultaneously at the Millennium Hotel & Convention Center. The first event is GX 2016 which is a general video game convention where people will have stalls selling video game merchandise and where you’ll also be able to check out cosplayers (famous cosplayer Tali xoxo pictured below will be there) and take part in some competitions to win prizes. The big news here is that two renowned video game companies will also be taking part: Tecmo Koie and Square Enix. Both will be holding mini-press conferences to announce some important news for this region and Square Enix will also have a special video message for us.

The other gaming event taking place will be the Kuwait Battle Royale. The Kuwait Battle Royale is a local video game tournament featuring 7 of the biggest current fighting games: Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Mortal Kombat X, Pokken Tournament, Dead or Alive 5, BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Xrd. The cool part about this event is that the organizers have flown in the official EVO commentators to take part and the contestants will be a mix of regional and international talent so it should be pretty fun to watch.

The event will start on at 5PM on Thursday and end on Saturday. The full schedule can be found on the organizers website.

Post by Patrick

I love posting about random finds and Aleppo is one of those. I was looking for a very tiny screw for a part on my Datsun 240z and turns out Aleppo is the go-to place for nuts and bolts. The hardware store has been around for nearly 50 years and they supposedly have the largest collection of nuts and bolts in Kuwait.

I ended up finding what I was looking for so figured I’d post about them just in case someone for some odd reason like me needs a specific screw. They’re located right off Canada Dry street and are open daily from 8AM to 8PM except on Fridays when they’re open from 8AM to 1PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

Update: They’ve moved to a new location, here it is on Google Maps

Arnold Schwarzenegger was spotted at the Kuwait Airport by D’Ron Maingrette, the popular Esports commentator who’s here to attend the GAME Expo thats taking place this weekend. Anyone have an idea why Arnie’s here? Gold’s Gym maybe? [Link]

Update: Arnold just posted the photo below on his instagram account with the caption “Only I can fly around the world, land in Kuwait and run into one of the top bodybuilders at customs @roellywinklaar“

There is a HUGE plot of land right across the street from the Green Island and right adjacent to all the embassies on the Gulf Road. Recently they removed all the greenery on that land and demolished all the structures. They’ve basically flattened out the land in preparation for construction and are now in the process of putting up a temporary wall around the plot. It’s the huge block of land I’ve highlighted in the image above. Does anyone have any idea what they’re going to be building there? Here is the location on [Google Maps]

Update: Turns out its going to be a huge real estate project called “Balamlaq” that will transform that plot of land into an area that will contain residential and commercial buildings, hotels, parks and entertainment facilities. It’s being handled by KIPCO who are aware of how unique and rare this plot of space is which is why they’re going to be setting an example with the high level of planning and construction. So thankfully it’s not a new giant food complex. For more information click [Here]

Someone on Reddit asked where to find beard grooming products in Kuwait so I figured I’d create a small list for the guys who have beards (or for their girl friends who are looking to get them a gift). Here are the places I know that have beard products like oils, shampoos and balms:

Spaloon
They carry both “The Bearded Man Company” and “Beard & Company” products.

His Essentials
They carry “Beardition” and “Brooklyn Grooming” products.

Bearded Kuwait
They carry “Beard & Company” products.

If you know of more places let me know and I’ll add it to the list.

SnappCard is a digital loyalty card app that I’ve previously posted about on the blog. They’ve been adding new restaurants since they launched but since my friend is running the app in Kuwait, there are two places I had been nagging him from the start to include in it, Elevation Burger and my favorite Döner kebab place, Slice. These were the only two places I went to that had loyalty cards and because I don’t keep the cards in my wallet, I sometimes don’t have them on me when I visit them. Since last week though Slice is now part of SnappCard and their offer is actually pretty good. Previously after 7 orders you would get a free sandwich but now all you need is 6 orders and you get a choice between a Slice box (carbs free option which is what I take), a Rice box or a combo (sandwich, fries and drink).

While we’re on the subject of SnappCard, Poêle, one of my favorite lunch spots is also in the app. If you haven’t heard of SnappCard before, check out my previous post on it [Here]