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Today is the final day of the giveaways. This giveaway campaign was not planned and I actually thought about it right after the post where I gave two tickets away to the IMAX film. I saw the response from just two tickets and thought to myself what about if I could give people cooler stuff and so I quickly scrambled emailing and calling people to see if they would be interested to participate. Choowy Goowy responded right away saying they would and that’s how I managed to get “Giveaway Day 2” out the door the next day.

Since that original post the response has been unbelievable and the campaign completely exceeded my expectations. The response from companies wanting to participate was also incredible and I ended up doubling the length of the campaign because of it. I actually still have enough giveaway offers to make this campaign last a month but two weeks is the limit I set and I decided to stick it.

The final giveaway is going to be from Choowy Goowy and its the just recently released Sony PS3 Slim. Someone had left a comment in the original Choowy Goowy giveaway post asking if we were going to give away a PS3 next, well here it is!

In case you didn’t know already, Choowy Goowy are one of my favorite dessert places in Kuwait. They’ve got incredible cookies, amazing brownies and they also make delicious cheesecakes. They are located at The Avenues but they also deliver right to your door. For more information on Choowy Goowy visit their website [Here] or call them on 22626559, 22620011 or 22597949 (Avenues) to make an order. Their email is [email protected] in case you have any comments.

All you need to do to win this giveaway is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner.

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You also need to respond to my “You Won” email within 24 hours or I will have to make another draw and choose another winner. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Update: The giveaway is actually a Sony PS3 Slim 120GB (NTSC) with 2 gamepads and 2 games of your choice.

Update2: The post was closed for commenting at around 9PM.
The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #385, you’ve got mail!
This was the last giveaway so thank you everyone for participating.

I haven’t posted about Hüper Optik before because I have yet to pass by and get my car tinted. I should have gone at the beginning of summer but I kept putting it off due to the fact I can be really lazy (and cheap) sometimes. The reason I wanted to tint the car is because Nat doesn’t have any shaded parking where she works so the car sits baking under the sun all day long. So Marzouq recommended I get a tint from Hüper Optik because they offer the best heat protection around.

Unlike most tints in Kuwait, Hüper Optik’s are ceramic based not metallic. I learned that it has a few advantages one being that it doesn’t interfere with mobile phones, bluetooth and GPS and the other is the fact that ceramic based film offers better heat rejection. Ceramic is an insulator while metals are great conductors of heat so ceramic based film makes a lot more sense here in Kuwait.

Here are the specs they emailed me:

100% dye and metal free
Does not interfere with mobile phones, GPS, bluetooth.
High Infra Red heat rejection of up to 96%
High Ultra Violet rejection exceeding 99%
Total Heat Rejection from 32% to 73%
Visible Light Transmission from 8% to 85%
10-year product warranty coverage

So this brings us to today’s giveaway. Hüper Optik are offering a free car tint to the winner worth up to KD250 which makes it the most expensive giveaway so far. In case you are wondering, you don’t need to darken your car windows to take advantage of the heat or UV protection. You can go for a clear film and still have some protection. All you need to do to win this giveaway is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner.

Check out Marzouqs review of Hüper Optik [Here]
And here is their contact information which includes their website where you can find a map to their place.
Telephone: 2471 9999
www.huperoptik-kw.com and www.huperoptik.com

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You also need to respond to my “You Won” email within 24 hours or I will have to make another draw and choose another winner. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Note: All pictures taken by Marzouq.

Update: The post was closed for commenting at around 10PM.
The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #24, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway.

I personally wish I could participate in today’s giveaway since it involves a Tamiya radio controlled car and you know how much I love these cars. My Toy who are the local Tamiya dealers are giving away a ready to race Nissan GT-R TT-01E with battery, controller and charger. It’s ready to race meaning it’s already been built, painted and put together by the factory but its the TT-01E chassis which mean’s you have a ton of parts you can replace and upgrade yourself.

I have the older TT-01 chassis which is what my Lancia car is built on and I love it, its very fun to drive right out of the box and once you upgrade it you can have a pretty serious machine.

The My Toy shop is located in Tilal Complex in Shuwaikh on the first floor right above Roche Bobois and Living Colors. It’s the nicest RC shop I’ve ever seen, its really big and they’re building a huge race track on the roof right next to it. They even have a section in the back where you can build your cars in and even an airbrush room.

This package is worth KD147.500 and all you need to do to win it is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner. Please take the time to pass by the shop (don’t take the wife) and check out what they have. If you love cars its hard to leave without picking something up.

My Toy’s phone number is 22256707

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You also need to respond to my “You Won” email within 24 hours or I will have to make another draw and choose another winner. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Update: The post was closed for commenting at around 9:30PM.
The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #368, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway.

Today we’ve got actually two giveaways in which two different people will win. This means I will draw two numbers tonight and each number will win a different giveaway. What are the giveaways? X-cite are giving away an i-SOBOT Robot worth over KD70 as the first giveaway and a SteelSeries gift hamper thats also worth around KD70 as a second giveaway.

The i-SOBOT Robot is a miniature high-tech humanoid robot that’s fully articulated, has voice command recognition and can speak a vocabulary of over 200 words and phrases. The i-SOBOT Robot can also dance and perform his own special karate moves complete with sound effects. The i-SOBOT can move forwards, backward, side-to-side or diagonally. You can find out more about it by visiting the i-SOBOT website [Here]

The second giveaway is a SteelSeries gift hamper that contains a SteelSeries Warcraft Gaming Mouse, a SteelSeries limited edition Warcraft Gaming Mouse Pad and a SteelSeries 5Hv2 USB Gaming Headset. Steelseries from Denmark are a gaming peripherals giant and the number one e-sports company in the world. They sponsor some of the most important gaming events and will be setting up one before the end of the year with X-cite here in Kuwait. To stay up to date on X-cite’s gaming activities join their Facebook group [Here]

All you need to do to win the giveaways above is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select two winners.

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You also need to respond to my “You Won” email within 24 hours or I will have to make another draw and choose another winner. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Update: The post was closed for commenting at around 10PM.
The winners are…

[YouTube]

Comment #46 and #110, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway, we’ve got a few days left.

Note: Yesterdays random number was also 46! Not as weird as the Bulgarian lottery but still…

Slider Station is one of my favorite burger places in Kuwait. They’ve got a huge variety of sliders, burgers, starters, fries and desserts while also having one of the trendiest designed restaurant interiors in Kuwait as well as good music and some amazing staff. My favorite two things there are the onion strings with Chipotle sauce on the side and Ancho rib slider.

Their Black Widow burger was reviewed by me in “The Best Burger in Kuwait Challenge” and scored very high. A lot of people were put off by the price but now could be a good way to try it because Slider Station are offering lunch or dinner for two as today’s giveaway. You get to order and try whatever you like which is a fantastic deal so make sure you try their famous chocolate pudding when you are done. They’re located on the Gulf Road opposite Seef Palace near Pink Moon and Falafel & Company. You can visit their website by clicking this [Link]

All you need to do to win is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner.

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You also need to respond to my “You Won” email within 24 hours or I will have to make another draw and choose another winner. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Picture of staff taken by Dakdoka

Update: The post was closed for commenting at around 6PM.
The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #156, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway.

Today’s giveaway is for anyone that has a car because its a full detailing package from Al Falah Car Wash & Showshine Detailing Center. I’ve talked about them a lot and I’ve used them to detail both my Wrangler and Z4. Both occasions they returned the car to me as if it had just come out fresh from the dealership showroom. They’re also the official car wash of The Gulf Run and zDistrict has posted about his experience with them a number of times. I’ve recommended this place a lot and anyone who’s tried them can vouch for me when I say they do an incredible job.

The package they’re giving away is worth KD50 and includes an exterior and interior detailing of your car and also the engine bay. This is a great offer because your car will really look brand new once they’re done. All you need to do to win is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner.

They’re located in Kuwait City, here are the contact details for the car wash and detailing if you’re interested: Mobile 65084003 and Land line 22452432

Here is a link to my previous post about them [Link]
And here are two links to zDistricts post where I’ve borrowed three photos from [Link] and [Link]

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Update: The post was closed for commenting at around 5:20PM.
The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #83, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway.

Today’s giveaway is for the ladies and its courtesy of the fashion boutique Pink Moon. I’ve mentioned them a few times on my blog before and some of you might have noticed their trendy shop on the Gulf Road opposite Seef Palace near Slider Station. They also have an online store which is very popular and doesn’t only serve Kuwait but they also deliver world wide.

They are giving away one item from their best-selling ‘Free City’ collection which actually has a long waiting list. The winner will get to choose any one item from the ‘Free City’ collection which includes t-shirts, hoodies and sweatpants worn by tons of celebrities. Their newest collection arrives tomorrow and the winner will get to choose whatever 1 item they want for free.

All you need to do to win is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner. To check out Pink Moon’s current ‘Free City’ collection online click [Here]

Today’s giveaway is for women only but don’t worry there’s still a lot more left. Last night I finalized all the giveaways and their are some really great stuff coming up. So enjoy!

Rules: You need to put your proper email in the email field while commenting since the winner will be contacted by email. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Update: The post was closed for commenting at around 9PM. The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #122, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway.

Yesterday night I passed by Abyat to check up on something and on my way out I decided to pass by this new place that had opened right in front of it called Aquamondo. It’s a cute place that has everything you need for your bathroom ranging from shower curtains and floor mats to shower heads and bathtubs. They even have a small area with a few shower heads setup where you can turn them on and see how the water flows out of them.

Abyat does have a bigger collection of shower heads and tubs but its still neat.

As I mentioned yesterday I am going to try and have something to give away everyday until Eid. Today’s giveaway is courtesy of Choowy Goowy. Choowy Goowy are one of my favorite desert dessert places in Kuwait. They’ve got amazing cookies, make amazing brownies and also have delicious cheesecakes.

Today we’re giving away a package to one winner consisting of 2 jars of cookies of whatever flavor you want, a box of chocolate brownies and a full cheesecake with the crust and topping of your choice. All you need to do to win this package is to leave a comment below and later on in the evening I will use random.org to select a winner. For more information about Choowy Goowy visit their website [Here]

If you’re a business owner and want to be part of this giveaways [Contact Me]

Note: You need to put your proper email in the email fiel while commenting since winner will be contacted by email. You can only comment once, anyone caught commenting more than once will get disqualified.

Update: I just realized there are only 6 days till Eid left which isn’t much so the giveaways will last through Eid and not just till Eid.

Update2: Due to the high response in such a short period of time and the fact I need to leave the house, I closed the post for commenting at 7PM. The winner is…

[YouTube]

Comment #38, you’ve got mail!
Everyone else check back tomorrow for another giveaway.

I was lucky enough to get a private tour around the new Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel today and I have to say I loved the place. When you pass by it on the highway it looks like one giant building but once you’re inside its a completely different world. I really left the place impressed and I managed to take some pictures to share with everyone here. My favorite thing has to be the fact that they have a lot of Islamic design incorporated very beautifully into the design which you can see in some of the pictures below. The beach is a lot bigger than it used to be and they’ve built a very nice marina, not for boats but for swimmers which I think is cool. The place will have around 400 hotel rooms, 60 apartments and 12 private chalets. They’ll also have three pools outside, 2 large ones and 1 small one for kids. They’ll also have an indoor pool. Click continue below for all the pictures I took. Completion date is set for May 2010.

Yesterday I posted about how pissed I was Shake Shack was opening up in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and not in Kuwait. Well a very reliable source called me up a couple of hours ago and I managed to get some more information.

Alshaya are bringing Shake Shack to the whole Middle East and not just Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Not only that but the first branch of Shake Shack will be opening up right here in Kuwait! The launch date is currently set for first quarter of 2010. So in your face Dubai and Saudi!

I haven’t been to Signor Sassi in London but I just came back from the one here in Kuwait and I was pretty impressed. They haven’t opened yet, they’re still testing but everything is pretty much ready and they will be soft opening on Sunday with the official opening in early October. I met the Signor Sassi owner since he’s in Kuwait making sure everything is perfect for the opening and he was very nice and friendly. The location that’s opening on Sunday is the Gulf Road one which is located in the same place as Fish Market and Fusion. The 360 Mall location won’t be opening for another 2 months at least. In case you haven’t heard of them before, Signor Sassi is a popular Italian restaurant located in Knightsbridge. It’s run by the same people behind the award winning San Carlo.

They’re installing these new thingies (forgot what they’re called) around my office block in Kuwait City. Someone must have seen them in Europe and thought oh these would look great in Kuwait lets get some. They don’t, they look weird and out of place and I think they’re going to install them all over Kuwait City. Would be interested in what re:kuwait have to say about this.

Update: re:kuwait has commented on these bollards you can check his post [Here]

There is one thing I find very frustrating with Aramex Shop & Ship and that’s their formula for which package ships out first and which package stays behind until their next flight. It doesn’t look they have a formula but more like it’s completely random. I could have 5 packages in my mailbox and they would ship one, the third package that arrived, something random like that. So I sent them the following email today:

Dear Aramex,
I have 4 packages that arrived in my mailbox in the following order

1) Private Mail 08/29/2009
2) Amazon 4255 Anson Blvd 08/31/2009
3) HONGKONG SERVICES PO 09/01/2009
4) Mail & Magazines 09/02/2009

They all weigh less than 0.5lb which qualifies them for the daily flight from New York to Kuwait.

This is the order that the packages were shipped:

1) Private Mail 09/02/2009 (early morning Kuwait time)
4) Mail & Magazines 09/02/2009 (evening Kuwait time)
2) Amazon 4255 Anson Blvd 09/02/2009 (late evening Kuwait time)
3) HONGKONG SERVICES PO 09/02/2009 (late evening Kuwait time)

All four packages were shipped on the same day but on three different flights!
Package (1) got shipped in your regular slow shipping
Package (4) the least important because its a magazine got shipped with overnight shipping and I am expecting it this morning
Packages (2) and (3) got shipped regular slow shipping

What I would like know is what is your formula for deciding which shipment goes out and when? Why weren’t ALL my packages placed on the same flight as my magazines since they all weigh less than 0.50lb which I was told was the requirement to be on that flight and they would have ALL arrive today? Why wasn’t package #2 shipped before my magazines since it arrived before?

This complete random and unorganized (at least to us consumers it looks like that) is very frustrating. For example shipment #3 has an item which I could have used while traveling later tonight so its very frustrating for me to see a magazine arrive before something I really wanted to get here first.

thanks
mark

Now while looking through my previous Aramex posts I found one dating back to January 2008 when Aramex said it was going to introduce online payments. What happened to that?

I knew things were bad in Lebanon when it came to the treatment of animals but I didn’t think it was this bad. I just found out about BETA which is the Lebanese equivalent of Animal Friends except with a lot less resources. Just to give you an idea of how bad things are there, here are four links [Link], [Link], [Link] and [Link]

It’s a very sad state and BETA are trying their best but they need a lot of help. I know I have some readers who check this blog from Lebanon but this also applies to anyone in Kuwait that cares about animals and can help out financially. As little as $10 a month can make a difference, that’s just KD3! They also have an automated payment system which you can set to charge your credit card monthly which is what I did because its a lot more convenient. So please if you can help out even if its a little amount it would be really great. Here is the page with info on how you can help. [Link]

Thank you!