Categories
Kuwait Personal Politics

How I ended up right in the middle of the demonstrations last night


[YouTube]

Last night I was on my way to the Harvey Nichols launch event when I somehow ended up getting stuck in my car right in the middle of the demonstrations. I was with a friend and we decided to take the 6th Ring Road since we figured it would be quieter than the 5th but suddenly traffic started slowing down to a standstill and people started parking their cars on the side of the road and walking towards a pedestrian bridge.

Suddenly there were cops all over the place, people shouting and demonstrating and we were just sitting there bewildered to how we ended up being stuck right in the middle of the demonstrations that were supposed to be held miles away on the Gulf Road.

Then all of a sudden the riot police started firing flashbang’s and tear gas all over the place with a few canisters landing on cars ahead of us. It was crazy and that shit is strong! I opened the window for a bit to take pictures and the tear gas just overwhelmed my eyes and nose like nothing I had ever experienced before. Finally traffic started moving again after being at a standstill for at least 30 minutes and we got off the 6th and headed towards Avenues. A completely random night.

Note: I am closing the comments on this post since I don’t want to turn it political, this is just a post about my experience.




Categories
Events Sports

Event: Kuwait Charity Run

Kuwait Charity Run is a non-profit group founded to encourage community members, runners, and athletes to raise funds and donations for good causes and engage in outdoor sports activities.

I signed up for the 10KM run yesterday but they also have a longer 21KM run. It’s taking place on November 17th starting from the Scientific Center and ending at the Green Island (for the 10K run) or Kuwait Towers (for the 21K). If you haven’t signed up yet you can do so online from their website. It’s for a good cause and it should be a lot of fun. [Link]




Categories
Information

Fireworks Show Information

Early on in the week I posted about the huge fireworks show that’s going to be taking place this month on the Gulf Road. The show supposedly cost four million Dinars and will be held on the occasion of the 50th year anniversary of the constitution. Well it turns out the event won’t be taking place on the 11th as I wrote but instead the show will be taking place on November 10th.

The day will start off at 2PM with a parade and various performances from Green Island all the way to the Kuwait Towers. Then at 8PM the fireworks show will begin. This won’t be your regular fireworks show since there are a bunch of surprises that will take place (I’m not allowed to say what) but I can tell you it will include fireworks, sound, lasers and 3D projections. The fireworks show will take place from Green Island to Kuwait Towers, a 4.4km distance and the show will last for a total of 64 minutes. That’s over an hour of non stop fireworks. The event is expected to break a total of 7 Guinness World Records!

FYI: The best place to be to watch the show is the area between Kuwait Towers and Chilis although the show will be visible from much further distances.




Categories
Food & Drinks

Cheesecake Factory opening this week

Cheesecake Factory is going to be officially opening this coming Monday. I was there tonight for a tasting and I think the place is way nicer than the Dubai one. The location is really great and the place is open from three sides so the atmosphere should be really great. One thing I loved about Avenues Phase III is the lighting, I hope they keep it this dim and colorful once it opens (check picture above).




Categories
Animals Events

Reminder: Bark in the Park

The dog show Bark in the Park is taking place this Saturday at the Ahmadi Japanese Gardens. I’m going to be one of the judges so make sure you bring me cookies! For details on the event click [Here]




Categories
Cars & Bikes

A lot more speed cameras being installed

Over the Eid holidays I noticed a lot of new speed cameras being installed all along the 5th and 6th Ring Road, the 30th and the 40th. Only the poles were in place and they were similar to the ones in the picture above so my guess is they’re installing more of the same cameras.

If they seriously want to stop speeders then they should consider installing cameras that calculate the average speed similar to the ones in Dubai. Right now everyone just slows down at the camera and speeds up again right after it.




Categories
Events Information

Fireworks Show Preparation Underway

Preparations are currently underway for the epic fireworks show thats going to take place on November 11th 10th here in Kuwait on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the constitution. Speaker systems and projection boards are being setup all along the coast starting from the Green Island and going all the way to the Kuwait Towers. They’ve also started setting up the fireworks which reportedly is costing over KD4,164,000.

The event company behind this epic show is Filmaster MEA who’ve also worked on other large scale events like the Turin 2006 XX Olympic Games (opening and closing ceremony), the Juventus new stadium opening ceremony and the UAE 40th National Day Anniversary.

This so far looks like an event that shouldn’t be missed and will probably be the biggest show that Kuwait has ever put on.

Update: Check this link for more information [Link]




Categories
Animals

K’S PATH Open House

TJC passed by the recent K’S PATH open house and created a short film about the shelter. If you’ve never been to their shelter before then this film should give you a better idea about the place. [YouTube]




Categories
Sports

Fitness First opening at 360 Mall

Fitness First, the largest privately owned health club group in the world is opening soon at 360 Mall. They have another branch that supposed to open in Salmiya near my place but I guess the 360 Mall location is going to be their first.




Categories
Events Movies

James Bond World – Kuwait

On the occasion of the James Bond 50th anniversary, a James Bond World is going to be setup next month at the exhibition hall in 360 Mall. There will be a whole bunch of activities taking place at James Bond World but probably the biggest highlights will be the actual cars from the James Bond movies. Among the cars that will be on display is the Aston Martin that was used for the big crash scene in “Casino Royale”, the Aston Martin with mounted weapons used in “Tomorrow Never Dies”, the Vanquish DBS from “Quantum of Solace” and the DB5 featured in the latest James Bond movie “Skyfall”.

Originally the hot actress Gemma Arterton from “Quantum of Solace” was also supposed to attend the opening night but that was when the opening night was originally set for October 26th. Now that the event has been pushed back she most likely won’t be able to make it.

James Bond World is set to open to the public on November 1st. The pictures of the James Bond cars in this post were taken by my contact who also provided me with the information above.

Update: Just added all the pictures of the cars I received below.




Categories
Interesting

Radisson Blu Hotel Redevelopment Progress

I follow Radisson Blu (previously known as SAS) on Facebook and one thing about them I find cool is the fact they keep posting pictures of the build progress. Below is how the hotel will look like once completed and the above is one of their latest shots showing the progress of the hotel. Originally they were even supposed to have a live webcam but that didn’t work out. You can check all the latest shots of the place [Here]




Categories
Animals Guest Bloggers

Green Turtle Rescue 2012

Green Turtle Rescue 2012 from John Peaveler

Last week we were called out to the Chevron camp at Al Zour to help with a turtle found on the beach. A resident had found the turtle exhausted on the beach with fishing string wrapped around its flipper. We arrived very quickly as we had been working in the Chevron area all day. Since we have no experience with sea turtles, we went to the experts. First we paid a visit to Dr. Jill at Royal Animal Hospital. She gave the turtle a good prognosis since there was good movement, nothing broken, and just some minor bruising and swelling. An injection of antibiotics and a topical antibiotic were the only treatments and we were out the door in 20 minutes headed to our final stop: the Scientific Center in Salmiya. Those folks were amazing. They opened their doors late, took the turtle in, and gave me a behind the scenes tour of their tanks. They have an entire area dedicated to rehabilitation. The last clip in the video is from their green turtle rehab tank where you can see several healthy turtles ready for release. The Scientific Center will be doing all of the really hard work on this one. We are just happy we could help. Many thanks to everyone involved in helping this turtle get a new lease on life.

As always, please ‘like’ our Facebook page. Our sponsors want to see the support of our community. Your ‘likes’ save lives.

Post by John Peaveler
Managing Director
Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat (K’S PATH)




Categories
News

Deadly toxic gas spreads across Kuwait after leak

A gas leak took place while drilling an oil well wednesday at the Al-Rawdhatain oilfield, Kuwait Oil Company and security sources said, as that the pungent and repulsive smell of hydrogen sulfide reached as far as Kuwaiti City as reported by many residents. The sources said Abdali firemen and KOC emergency teams later contained the leak by burning out the escaping gas to prevent it from spreading far. [Source]

Lucky for me I’m not in Kuwait right now.

Thanks Jafar




Categories
Animals Events

Event: Bark in the Park is back

K’s PATH is organizing their second Bark in the Park event. There will be a dog show competition, funny races, fabulous vendors, children’s entertainment and a lot more.

Date: Saturday 3rd November 2012
Location: KOC Ahmadi Japanese Garden (GPS Co-ords: 29.091577,48.074874)
Time: 11:00AM to 4:00PM

Mutt Competitions:
1. Best Look Alike
2. Best Mixed Breed
3. Most Obedient
4. Most Adorable
5. Temptation Alley
6. Best Child Handler
7. Best Dressed
8. Best K’S PATH Alum
9. Agility Round (Simple obstacle course)

– Advance registration & entrance fee required
– Download registration form at this link: https://www.kspath.org/latest/item/download/10
– Registration closes Wed, Oct 31st
– Entry fees: Adults KD5; Children under 14 KD3; Participating dogs KD6; Non participating dogs KD2
– Civil ID or Passport must be shown at entrance

To book your very own booth or general inquiries, email: [email protected]
For more information visit the event Facebook page [Here]




Categories
Design

The Arabic Clock

Maybe it’s because its 3AM right now but I found the clock above super cool. It was taken by a friend of mine at The Zoo Concept in Dubai. [Link]