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A reader sent me an internal 360 Mall memo which contains more information on the world record attempt that’s taking place at 360 Mall. Turns out Habchi & Chalhoub will be attempting to build the biggest perfumes pyramid in the world using 50,000 bottles of Paco Raabane perfume cartons.

According to the memo the pyramid will be ready and on display starting today since a judge from the Guinness World Records as well as the media and other personalities will be there to check it out. Here are some more details regarding the pyramid:

Base: 36 m2
Height: 5.5 m
Number of perfumes used: 50,000 pieces
Building time: 32 hours for 2 days

Thank Yousuf

Just over a year ago I got an email from Dhari Al-Gharabally from the Kuwait Oil Company telling me about a problem they had with stray dogs in Ahmadi and how they wanted to deal with this issue in a humane manner without causing any harm to the dogs. I put him in touch with K’s PATH and since then they’ve been working together solving the stray dogs issue.

Earlier today KOC released a video detailing their relationship with K’s PATH and how they collaborated together on this problem that faced the residents of Ahmadi. All I can say is that I wish there were more companies in Kuwait like KOC and that I’m also really glad we have an organization like K’s PATH to take care of animals in Kuwait.

The video is in Arabic but at around 2:50 into the video John Peaveler the co-founder of K’s PATH comes in and talks in English. [YouTube]

Loyac just kicked off registration for their “Service is My Joy” program. The program aims to bring young people to serve their community and draw smiles on the faces of others, through volunteering in various centers such as:

KACCH
Abeer 2
Down Syndrome Center
Kuwait Red Crescent
Kuwait Society for the Handicapped
Al-Kharafi Center
Foster Care Center
Elderly Care Center

Registration Terms:
– For youth of 15-27 years
– All nationalities are welcome

For registration and details contact:

Yusra Al Essa
Assistant Manager – Local Volunteering Programs

Telephone: +965 – 25727399 ext – 102
Email: [email protected]
Address: LoYAC – Bayt Lothan – Next to Marina Mall – Salmiya

You could also sign up online by clicking [Here]

via Bloyac

Contrary to the rumors, Kei hasn’t shutdown and moved out of Marina Crescent. What’s happened is they’ve just reduced the size of the place by half and sold the other half to Caribou Coffee. I think that’s actually a good move since their Marina Crescent branch was fairly over-sized and I like my sushi places small and cozy. There is no opening date yet but for your Kei fix you can still visit their JW Marriott location.

Parkour fans are going to love this bit of news since it turns out this year Red Bull is including Kuwait in their world wide parkour event. Their event called Art of Motion pits the world’s top free-runners against each other in a globally staged contest. This year the event is going to be held in the USA, Japan, England, Brazil, Greece and Kuwait. Parkour has gotten pretty popular in Kuwait the past few years and a team recently competed in Arab’s Got Talent. The event is supposed to happen sometime in October and it will take place on Failaka Island. If you don’t know what parkour is just watch the video below:

[YouTube]

Even though I live 5 minutes away from the Jeita caves, for some odd reason I hadn’t been to them until yesterday. The caves are currently nominated as one of the new 7 wonders of nature but I’m still undecided if I like the place or not.

The cave are divided into two parts, the lower grotto and the upper grotto. The lower grotto consists of a ride on a little boat through the caves which sounds cool but out of the 7km depth the journey only takes you to the first 450 meters since the path becomes too tight for the boats. So it’s a really short trip that ends a few minutes after it starts.

The upper grotto is a walking path through the caves and I found it much more impressive than the lower grotto. The height of the ceiling is ridiculously high and the whole place is lit up very nicely. But my problem with the upper grotto is again the fact that it ends too quickly. Not as quickly as the lower caves but still, I just wish it was longer. Now this might sound strange but I honestly wished there was a Starbucks at the end of the path inside the cave. I would have loved to chill out on a couch eating my chocolate muffin while checking out and appreciating the caves around me.

If you’re coming to Lebanon I guess the caves are worth visiting, just don’t expect to spend the day there, the whole experience takes an hour or two. Also a point worth mentioning is that cameras and phones are NOT allowed inside the caves. Tickets for adults costs around KD3.5. Here is a link with more info [Link]

Although I’ve been trying out burgers on this trip, I rarely have any when I come to Lebanon since the burgers here aren’t good at all. Instead I usually have other things:

Salads
I think the salads in Lebanon are better than the ones I have in Kuwait. The salads are lighter and taste better, probably because restaurants have access to better produce. I had the one pictured above yesterday and it came with goat cheese, walnuts, baby tomatoes, lettuce and figs for a bit of sweetness. It was great.

Pizza
For some odd reason pizza is extremely popular in Lebanon in the same way burger joints are popular in Kuwait. It seems every place around the corner makes pizza and most of them are pretty good. I end up having pizza maybe every other day and every time at a different place.

The Healthy Alternative
When I’m on vacation I’m off my regular diet but I also don’t like overdoing it since I end up feeling guilty. Other than salads there is one healthy dish that I love having and it’s the one above called the light grilled chicken. It’s delicious and very tender grilled chicken that comes with steamed carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and corn. I also order a side of honey mustard with it and I end up wiping the plate clean since everything on it including the broccoli just tastes amazing.

A few burger places have recently popped up in Lebanon and I decided I would try a new place every day on this trip. So far I’ve tried two places and have ended up with mixed results which you could read about on my Lebanese blog [Here]. Best part is, since I’m on vacation everyday is a cheat day!

A reader emailed me to tell me that the Taj Mahal Mosque in Kuwait which I posted about before [Here] is now open. Looks like a palace out of Aladdin.

Thanks Yousuf

Our friends over at GulfRun are setting up a 26 hour endurance karting race. The race is going to be held on the 25th of November but registration has started already. Since it’s a 26 hour race each team is required to have at least 4 drivers or a maximum of 12. They’ll be building their own track in Kuwait City for this race which will be regulated by UK marshalls according to FIA regulations.

If you’re interested here is the link with more information [Here]

I had to pass by the post office to mail some defected RAM back to the States and I have to say the place was as weird as I was expecting it to be. I went to the Safat post office in Kuwait City and I only managed to find it by asking passers by since there wasn’t any sign outside the place.

Once I walked in I thought I took the wrong door and stepped inside the post office museum since there were cabinets with old stamps lining up the wall on my right and I could see more cabinets ahead in a large hallway.

I saw stamps in the cabinet that dated back to the 60’s and figured I might as well check out this museum first and then head to the post office.

After checking out a couple of cabinets the room opened up and I realized I was actually in the post office and not the museum.

I went up to the counter and asked the employee there about bareed mumtaz which is what they call EMS in Kuwait. He took my items, weighed them and told me it would cost KD6 to mail it to the States and that it would get there in under a week. In comparison, Aramex wanted KD10.5 to mail it in addition to another KD20 as a deposit in case US customs charged a duty.

Although the post office does look very outdated I didn’t mind it since the place was deserted which meant no lines. The employee I also dealt with was friendly and most importantly the EMS service seems pretty reliable and reasonably fast. Not bad.

There are two promotions I know about that basically involve you not doing anything different from your usual routine and yet get entered in a draw to win a prize. One promotion is for Alfa the other is for NBK.

Alfa Gas Stations
Friday I passed by the Alfa gas station on the Gulf Road to fill up and noticed they had mascots, clowns and loud music playing. I thought it was EXTREMELY annoying since all I wanted to do was drive in, fill up gas and leave but instead I was greeted with a long queue of cars stopping to find out what all the commotion was about and parents with kids stopping so they could see the clowns. Some guy approached me to give me a flyer but since I was pissed off at the traffic they had created I didn’t even care what the promotion was about.

Yesterday on my way home from work I passed by to fill up again but this time asked about the offer and it turned out to be pretty good. Basically fill up like you regularly do and get a receipt. Every receipt has a code which you SMS to a specific number and every week you will have a chance to win a bunch of prizes including a car, iPhone and iPad’s. I thought that was pretty easy to take part in. [Details]

NBK
The second promotion is for NBK and is also very easy to participate in. All you need to do is use Watani Online and that’s it. Just by using it you’ll have a chance to win KD1,000 every week. Simple as that. [Details]

If you know of other promotions that are currently taking place and also as easy to take part in, mention it in the comments below.

Note: Full disclosure, NBK is my agencies client but I am posting about their offer on my own accord.

Looks like Baking Tray is going to be opening up in Avenues Phase II. They’re opening up in place of where Obika used to be which I think is kind of a dead zone right now. But, with SNOG opening up next door and Phase III opening up next year, that passageway should end up getting more traffic.

For the month of Ramadan, Solo Pizza Napulitana will be supporting Bayt Abdullah’s Childrens’ Hospice as part of their social responsibility. For every pizza and Nutella Dario that is ordered, half a Kuwaiti Dinar will be donated towards Bayt Abduallah. If having the best pizza in Kuwait wasn’t a good enough reason to go there, now you have a bigger incentive. Their opening hours for Ramadan will be from Saturday to Thursday, 10pm to 1am (Closed on Fridays). Here is their website with directions to the place. [Link]

I know many of you feel we already have too many burger places in Kuwait but I have to obviously disagree with that. I think we still have room for a couple of more burger joints and the couple being Five Guys and In-N-Out. From what I was told by one of my readers, it looks like Five Guys is coming to Kuwait.

According to the reader him and his partner were trying to strike a deal with Five Guys and after getting all the paperwork, doing a feasibility study and agreeing on all the terms, they contacted Five Guys again only to be told that they had given the franchise rights to someone else in Kuwait. The rumor is Al Homaizi got the franchise rights and I’ve already sent an email to my contact there hoping to get a confirmation on this but I still haven’t received a reply yet.

What does that mean? It means all we need now is In-N-Out and we will officially be the burger capital of the world.

Thanks Fahad