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I flew Etihad Airways to Geneva via Abu Dhabi and honestly I was kinda disappointed, mostly with their airport. For some reason I had the impression that the Abu Dhabi airport was going to be huge but it wasn’t. There were a bunch of high end boutiques like Hermes and Rolex plus a decent amount of restaurants but the problem is they’re all squeezed into a very small place. The business class lounge was also pretty small with low ceilings and it filled up pretty quickly with barely any room to sit. Food was good plus they have a spa but there wasn’t much space in the lounge to chill out.

The flight from Abu Dhabi to Geneva was pretty comfortable but that’s because I hadn’t slept and it was already 9AM by then. The Etihad business class is slightly claustrophobic since it looks like it’s divided into cubicles but unlike British Airways for example, the space didn’t feel bright or big. But, my seat folded into a flatbed which is all I cared for. Service was also friendly and the bathroom had a window (I love that).

I’ve posted about Photolenders before, a local website that rents out cameras and lenses but it seems they now also rent studio space. Prices seem reasonable, it starts at KD25 for 2 hours and includes strobes and triggers. Could be useful if you’re interested in studio photography. [Link]

Taken from Skyscraper City:

This is a proposal for a Hyatt Regency hotel and full-fledged convention center that was proposed way back in 1975. I can’t help but be completely floored by this concept – the hotel and overall complex look absolutely massive! The hotel building itself has a timeless classicism to it; I think it would cohesively fit in with all the modern, glassy buildings we have today while retaining its 70s feel. This could have been our equivalent of the Sheraton in Doha, which began construction way back in 1978 and opened in 1980. That Sheraton is one of Doha’s iconic landmarks today, something Qataris are proud of. –ChaoticTranquility

Client: Kuwait Hotels Co.
Location: Kuwait City, Kuwait
Starting Date: 1975
Completion: 1977
Cost: 33,000,000 KD

Project Description:
The site of Hayatt Regency Kuwait on Kuwait Bay, overlooks a traditionaly landscaped Arab park in downtown Kuwait City. The focus of six floor, 586 room luxury hotel will be a large landscaped atrium lobby. Restaurants, commercial space, recreational facilities, service amenities and the hotel rooms will face on the atrium. The fully air-conditioned hotel will feature 16 special duplex suites on thetop two floors in addition to its many luxury suites. An adjoining conference center, similar in character to the United Nations General Assembly Hall, will provide seating for 700 presons. Fixed seating for 400 will be placed on the main floor with 300 filling the balcony, which can be subdivided for smaller conferences. Parking for 885 cars will be below grade. Recreatinal activities such as swimming and boating and the hotel’s health club will be linked to the hotel by an underpass to the beach. [Source]

Last month I posted about how a friend ordered photography gear from DigitalRev.com and ended up paying just KD12 for customs. Shipping was free, they cover warranty in Kuwait and more importantly their prices are either similar or cheaper than Amazon. Since I posted about them I know of at least 3 other friends who ordered gear from DigitalRev as well as two other forum users and everyone reported the same thing, that DigitalRev is basically the best place online to order photography gear from.

There are a few advantages to ordering with DigitalRev over for example Amazon. First of all shipping to Kuwait is for free and they use DHL to ship the items so they arrived in just a few days. That’s quicker than the Amazon+Aramex combo. Plus you have to pay Aramex while they ship the stuff for free. Secondly on average people are paying just KD8 for customs which is pretty cool, I was expecting at least double that. The items are also wrapped as if DigitalRev are aware of the state of the postal service here because their packaging are drop proof. The items arrive in a box and inside that box the item is rolled in a ton of bubble wrap. So if the box is thrown around you don’t have to worry about anything getting damaged.

Not sure why I only recently found out about DigitalRev but I guess it’s better late than never. They’re selling the D800 for example for $150 more expensive than Amazon but with Amazon you pay tax which is $320. That means DigitalRev are selling the D800 for $170 cheaper and that includes DHL delivery to Kuwait. If that’s not a good deal I’m not sure what is!

Anyway you can check them out [Here]

Update: Ignore my last example since I can’t calculate to save my life!

I love watches so when I was given the opportunity to get a preview of the new Behbehani Luxury store I was very interested, not because I was going to get to see the store but because I knew there would be a ton of watches I would get to play with and try on. It’s always a very strange and exciting feeling holding a watch that costs as much as my house.

The Behbehani Luxury store is located in the Hamra Tower Luxury Center opposite Hermes. The interior actually looks pretty good and very tastefully done. From what I understood the store was actually designed and built overseas in Europe then dismantled, shipped and rebuilt again here in Kuwait. Everything is imported from the lights to the walls. The way the shop is structured reminded me of Harrods watch court because once you walk into the shop there is a space in the middle with some displays and then small boutiques for various brands all around. Some of the brands they carry in their new store are Blancpain, Breguet, Cartier, Hublot, Omega and Roger Dubuis among others. My favorite brand from the bunch is easily Hublot not only because their watches are sportier then the rest but because their CEO Jean-Claude Biver actually contributes and participates in the Time Zone forums (his nickname is jcbiver). He’s a very cool down to earth guy.

So anyway about the watches, I got to play with a whole bunch and I took some pictures of some of my favorites. They had four limited edition Formula 1 Hublot’s I got to check out as well as the new Maradona edition. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this before but Maradona wears two Hublot’s at the same time one on each hand (picture).

The Hublot’s looked great but at 48mm they’re just ridiculously big on my skinny wrists. I also got to check out a Breguet Tourbillon and a Blancpain with a flying sapphire carrousel (super tiny movement floating in the middle of the watch on transparent glass. Both are definitely too classic for my taste (and cost as much as my house) but it’s hard not to appreciate the engineering.

If you’re interested, the Hamra Tower Luxury Center as well as the Behbehani Luxury store open starting from today. For those of you who are into watches I’ve got something very cool coming up next week (at least I think it’s very cool) so stay tuned.

This Friday (May 4th) a photographic walk will be taking place from the Scientific Center to the Kuwait Towers in which over 50 amateur and professional photographers are expected to participate. Photography lovers from all skill levels are invited to take part in this walk which will also include classes and demonstrations by experts.

The walk starts off at 5AM which is early but necessary to capture the sunrise and the magic hour. The group will be making a bunch of stops along the way to take photos including a 7AM stop at the Hard Rock Cafe to photograph a motorcycle club and a stop at around 11AM at the Green Island to photograph some models.

It sounds like a lot of fun so if you’re interested or want more details check out their Facebook page [Here]

I’m a fan of Wolf Designs products mainly because they’re a family owned business that dates back nearly 200 years and also because their products are pretty affordable and well made. I purchased a Wolf Designs watch box from Amazon awhile back and then a few months ago I emailed them to find out if there were any stores in London that carried their brand (there wasn’t) which is why I was pretty surprised when I found out a local place called Violet Concept Store carried them.

I passed by the store yesterday honestly not really expecting much since I figured they’d have a couple of items and that they’d be overpriced but I turned out to be wrong. They had a pretty large collection of Wolf Designs watch boxes and winders and they were very reasonably priced compared to Amazon. To give you a rough idea about their prices, the watch box I bought from Amazon cost around KD30 and another KD30 to ship it with Aramex while they’re selling the exact same box for just KD35. It was a Homer Simpson “Doh!” moment but they only recently opened while I bought my box over a year ago so I didn’t feel too bad.

So if you’re interested, they’re located in Sanabil Tower (near Amiri Hospital in Kuwait City) and they’re open only on weekdays from 2pm to 8pm. They also carry a small collection of Wolf Designs jewelery boxes and drawer inserts if that interests you. Here is a link to their website [Link]

A reader emailed me this old Video Club membership card he found dating back to the mid 80’s. Back then you’d pay to be able to rent a certain amount of videos and every time you rented a video they’d punch a hole in the card. That was back when The Video Club was one of the coolest video rental places in Kuwait.

Thanks Kyle

Persons who barbecue at unallowed public locations will be fined KD 1,000, the Director-General of Kuwait Municipality warned yesterday. Ahmad Al-Sebeeh, in a statement to KUNA, indicated that the authority, after realizing that some citizens and residents do not abide by public cleanliness laws because of soft penalties, decided to increase the fine for such a violation from KD 100 to KD 1,000.

There are specific locations for barbecuing in 144 public parks, he said, stressing that grilling is restricted to these places. Municipal teams will monitor such violations, he re-stressed, urging the nationals and expatriates to abstain from inflicting damage on public properties, such as the seaside green spots, with such random barbecuing, dumping of ashes on plants and littering. Beautification of the public spots costs the State millions of dinars for entertainment and well-being of the people, thus these properties must not be target of such harmful acts and conducts. [Source]

How come the fine for BBQing is KD1,000 but running a red light is just KD300?

SOLEdxb, the largest sneaker event in the Middle East is taking place after tomorrow in Dubai. If you’re attending the event pass by the Nike space since they contacted different sneaker collectors in the region and I have around 8 photos of my collection that will be on display at their exhibit (including the one above).

I’m not going to the event since I’m currently in Beirut but for more information on SOLEdxb check out their Facebook page [Here]

According to the Environmental Performance Index done by Yale University, Kuwait was one of the weakest performers and came in 126 out of 132 countries. What’s confusing is that Lebanon came in 94th place but the pollution there is so bad that we recently had an incident where one river turned red while another turned white!

So other than the recent tire issue, the desert pollution and the Mishrif sewage problem, what else is really so bad that we rank this low? I’m not surprised we rank low just surprised it’s at the very bottom of the list. [Link]

Thanks Erik

Diplomatic protection officers came across the Arabic man as they patrolled outside Mr Blair’s £4.3 million townhouse in Connaught Square, Belgravia, central London in the early hours.

When they asked the man, who appeared to be drunk, to stop urinating he allegedly refused to cooperate and a scuffle broke out.

Officers eventually discharged the 50,000 volt taser in order to place the suspect, who spoke little English, under arrest.

However the man collapsed and had to be taken to hospital, where it emerged he was a Kuwaiti government official, Ayedh Alrashidi.

Such a strange incident. [Link]

Thanks Uzair

Yesterday after dropping off my dog at the vet and heading to the airport I decided to pass by the old Ahmadi Drive-In Cinema. I’ve been wanting to pass by for ages and figured I’d quickly scout out the place to see where I could climb in from and then come back another day.

When I got there I drove up to the main entrance where cars in the old days would line up before driving in and noticed the main gate was closed. I decided I would drive around the complex to see if I could find some kind of hole or a low wall I could jump. But, as soon as I turned to the side of the building I noticed the side gate was left open. It caught me a bit by surprise and from where I was sitting in the car I could see the cinema screen inside. I had my camera with me and I still had time to get to the airport so I figured what the heck, took my camera and went inside.

The place is huge, I’ve never been to a drive-in theater before so I was a bit dumbfounded by the size. Once you’re inside you’re closed off from the rest of the world and it was around 6pm when I got there which was during sunset so the whole experience was pretty tranquil. I loved the place.

Although the place is not being taken care at least they haven’t demolished it. There are so many possibilities for this space, even though drive-in’s are long gone that doesn’t mean the place can’t be used for anything worthwhile. One thing I’d love to see take place inside there is car booth sales You’ve got a nice space that’s isolated from the surroundings as well as a place with history so events like that would fit perfectly. Even car meets and monthly flea markets could work really well in that space.

Whatever comes of the place I just hope they keep the structure standing.

Yesterday I passed by MRC, a metal and recycling company to check out how everything works. It’s one of these things I’ve always been curious about which is why I emailed them to see if they’d give me a tour. Their recycling center is located in Amghara and it was segmented into two parts, plastics and metal.

Plastic
You can easily tell you’ve arrived at their plastic recycling facility since you’ll be met with huge piles of colorful empty plastic containers divided into different groups depending on the color. They export both the plastics and metals for recycling abroad but before they can send the products out they need to be prepped. With plastics that process involves a few stages. The first thing they do is shred the plastic into small pieces. They then wash these plastic pieces in a large pool and are left to dry. Once the plastic pieces dry they are placed into another machine that melts them into long plastic strings which get chopped up into very tiny pieces. Those pieces are filled into sacks and then exported to different countries where they are recycled (mostly China).

Metal
For metal the process is a lot simpler than plastic although it’s a much more larger and difficult process since it involves large metal objects such as cars. Like plastic the metal gets exported but before they can export it all the metal needs to be shredded into very tiny pieces. After a bit of safety prep I was actually allowed up onto the large claw crane that was picking up cars and tossing them into a pile. I sadly wasn’t allowed to control it but it was still cool being up there. The cars and other metal objects are then placed into a large shredder, the first part chops the metal object into big pieces and then the second part chops them into tinier pieces.

If you’re interested in recycling MRC have a program called NewAir which they’ve tailored for companies. They will collect and recycle your waste products which include paper, cartons, plastic, metals, PET bottles, cans, electronic items and more. To sign up to NewAir to get more details you can visit their website [Here]

There’s a new burger place called Hashtag that opened up next to Solo Pizza in Kuwait City and I got to try it out tonight. I don’t usually have burgers in the evening but since I had been eating super healthy and clear for nearly 3 weeks I kinda had a weak moment when Fahad posted about it on Instagram. Once I was done with the gym I headed to Hashtag to try it out. I was actually hoping the place would be packed since it would have given myself an excuse not to cheat and drive off but it wasn’t so I parked my car and went in and ordered a burger.

If I was to open a burger place it would be very similar to Hashtag. It’s a very tiny joint in the middle of no where with just 4 burgers on the menu (my place would probably have just one). I ordered a double Hashtag which is 2 beef patties, 2 slices of cheese, grilled onions and their special sauce. I also ordered water as my drink and no fries since I didn’t want to cheat too much.

The burger didn’t take long to make and I sat down and quickly dug in. First impression it looked messy, juicy and delicious. Taste wise it also didn’t disappoint. The bun was soft the patties very juicy and tender and the onions were grilled just the way I like them which is slightly raw. The sauce on the other hand wasn’t that great and I didn’t think it did the burger any justice. Next time I’d probably have it with just ketchup and mustard instead.

My biggest issue is that the place is fairly expensive. A double burger and a bottle of water came out to KD5.250 (4.5 for the burger, 750fils for the water). I think that’s pretty pricy for what should be a small casual burger joint. If you’re interested to try them out (you should), they’re located in Kuwait near Solo Pizza in the building behind Tatami. Here it is on Google Maps [Link]