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Kuwait Airways was recently named the “World’s Most Improved Airline in 2023” according to Skytrax, the airline and airport review and ranking site. This was the second year in a row that Kuwait Airways won the ‘World’s Most Improved Airline’ award. Last year, Kuwait Airways moved up from 179th place to 76th place, and this year they moved up to 42nd place.

Singapore Airlines won the top airline award for 2023 while Qatar came in 2nd, Emirates 4th, Saudi Arabian Airlines 23rd, Oman Air 27th, and Gulf Air 32nd.

I’m currently in Istanbul and I’m assuming a lot of people are coming here for Eid so this is a quick guide of all my favorite spots:

Eat
My favorite breakfast spot is Namlı Gurme (@namligurme) which also recently opened in Kuwait. Yeni Lokanta (@yeni.lokanta) is my favorite restaurant here and is based on Turkish cuisine but deconstructed into more contemporary and exciting versions (book ahead of time). Kase No16 (@kase.no16) is a cozy spot located in a trendy neighborhood and has good music, street side seating and great food. Il Cortile (@ilcortileistanbul) is a great Italian place located in a beautiful courtyard. Finally, Borsam Taşfırın (@borsamtasfirin) is a hole in the wall bakery serving probably the best lahmajoun in Istanbul.

Drink
Petra Roasting Company (@petracoffee) is my favorite brand of coffee shops in Istanbul but the one I visit the most is in the Topagci neighborhood. There is another good one in that area called Cup of Joy (@cupofjoy_istanbul) which I usually prefer if I want to sit outdoors. If you’re more of a tea person, Viyana Kavesi (@viyanakahvesi) have multiple locations around Istanbul but really you’ll be going there for their San Sebastian cheesecake. For just tea, Burası Kahveci (@burasikahveci) is my an unassuming hole in the wall option.

See
Salt Beyoğlu (@salt_beyoglu) is my must go exhibition space when I’m here since they tend to have very interesting things happening. The Istanbul Toy Museum (@istanbuloyuncakmuzesi) is located in a large house, a completely random thing to visit but I love toys so I found it fascinating. The Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (@istanbulmodern) just opened last month in their new spot by the sea and is worth checking. For fashion, Shopi Go (@shopi_go) is my favorite place with a great sneaker collection and selection of clothes. Wunder (@wunder) is another good spot near it. If you like Aesop, Homemade Aromaterapi (@homemadearomaterapi) is Turkey’s version.

Sleep
This is easy, Soho House (@sohohouseistanbul), I can’t recommend a better hotel. Other than the fact the hotel is beautiful and their Club House next door is my favorite place to end the day, the hotel service is incredible with the staff always going above and beyond. The rooftop of the Club House is also now open for the summer so you can head there to watch the sunset and enjoy the music.

MyHome is an app that offers a variety of home services you can order ranging from AC maintenance and plumbing work to painting, electrical, and anything else you might require. One useful feature they also offer is their hourly cleaning service.

I know from personal experience that it’s not easy to find a part-time cleaner to come over and clean the house on a regular basis which is why I think this service is really useful. Starting at 18KD for 4 hours, MyHome will send over a small team to your house with all the materials and equipment needed to clean your place. Their service encompasses everyday cleaning tasks such as carpet vacuuming, floor sweeping, surface wiping, and more.

MyHome’s attention to detail is paramount which is why their staff undergo rigorous training and must follow a comprehensive cleaning checklist to ensure a level of cleanliness akin to caring for one’s own home. It’s also why they’re able to offer a “MyHome Guarantee”. If a customer is unsatisfied with the cleaning, MyHome will redo the cleaning job the following day.

If you’re looking for a long-term solution, MyHome also offers a monthly cleaning package ranging from 4 visits a month up to 16. Additionally, MyHome can also provide you with a deep cleaning service that can effectively tackle embedded dirt, stains, and hard-to-reach areas.

As an exclusive deal to my readers, MyHome is offering a 24.8% discount on the monthly packages for 248AM readers until July 15, 2023. Simply use the code 248AM on checkout to apply this deal. myhomeapp.io

The Gulf Road is one of my favorite places in Kuwait but the lack of a bike path is very frustrating. I ride my bicycle on the walkway close to the water but the path isn’t wide enough for both bicycles and people when it’s busy and even when it’s empty the pathway is fairly rough to ride on using a road bike. Because the only other alternative is riding on the road with the cars ,I put up with the issues because I don’t really have another choice.

But looks like we’re finally going to get a dedicated bicycle path.

SSH, the architecture and engineering consultant firm have just taken over the waterfront project. SSH are the same people behind such projects as the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre (JACC) and the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre (ASCC) so I’m very excited about this.

The 9.7-kilometre-long waterfront project will stretch from the Yacht Club in Salmiya all the way to the Kuwait Towers and offer essential amenities for visitors, over 60 commercial and investment opportunities for local businesses, various sports activities, swimming areas, a bicycle path, a jogging path, and a recreational area for children.

The project timeline is 1 year.

I love these photos of a fashion shoot that took place around Kuwait back in 1973. The photos were taken by Schiffer Pál, a popular Hungarian director and writer. I’m guessing before he became popular he was also a photographer but I haven’t been able to figure out how he ended up in Kuwait. Some interesting tidbits, the Kuwait Towers were still under construction in the photo above and the pool shots were taken at Gazelle Club.

Due to the square format of the photos I’m assuming they were taken on a medium format film camera which explains why the quality of the scanned photos is amazing.

If you want to check out the full series of photos, click here.

via @tareqkandari

Last week Apple unveiled their VisionPro VR headset and a couple of days later I ended up experiencing free roam VR and so now I’m really excited about the future.

If you don’t know what free roam VR is, it’s virtual reality in a large room in which you can walk around and navigate freely in. Unlike conventional VR, you’re not just wearing a VR headset and sitting in a chair or standing in one spot, instead you’re walking or running around a room in both the real world and in VR. As a Star Trek fan, the best way to describe it is like being on the holodeck.

I was never able to experience VR properly before due to the fact it would cause me motion sickness. So, when an old friend got in touch with me and invited me to try his new free roam VR business, I was hesitant to go. But he promised me I wouldn’t get motion sickness and he turned out to be right. Zero Latency is an entertainment franchise specializing in multiplayer VR gaming. It’s a cordless experience where you put on the headset and carry a weapon without having to be connected to anything in the room. The room itself is fairly large at 12x12m and the games you get to play take advantage of this.

We played two games, the first was a zombie shooter that took place inside an arena. I’ve been playing video games since the early 80s and from the thousands of games I’ve played they never felt like this. I felt like I was inside the game. Being able to run around to the other side of the room to help my friend shoot up some zombies, and then run back to the other side of the arena to ward off an attack was so much fun, I wasn’t just controlling a character inside a video game, I was that character.

The second game we played was Far Cry VR, one of my favorite video game franchises. This game was a completely different in style since it mostly took place in the jungle and in a larger world. The games mechanics helped enhance that open area feeling because for the first level of the game took place in a small 5x5m area where we were taking cover while shooting the enemies. Once we finished from there the game would make us walk to another area which was say 10x10m. When done we would then walk to another area and that kept happening every level so the game felt really large and so did the real world space.

I had a blast and time just flew by. I thought the first game was 5 minutes long and the second 15, in reality it turned out we played the first game for 15mins and the second for 30. That’s how much fun and immersive the experience. I actually kept thinking about the whole experience for days later. There was a part of Far Cry where I walked to an edge of a cliff and saw a beautiful view and it got me thinking about the potential of the Apple VisionPro once it comes out. It’s very exciting time to be alive.

Zero Latency is located at the new Al Andalus complex in Hawally. Prices start from KD6 and each game can handle up to 8 people. For more information and to book here is the link. They’re also on Instagram @zerolatencyvrkw

I’ve been a Caramel customer since the early 2000s, they’ve always been my favorite place to pick up cakes from so I was a bit lost when they closed down for renovation. But, they’re now back and with a brand new very minimal and stunning look that was designed by @atelierazizalqatami.

Caramel originally opened back in 2001 and is run by a mother and daughter. The original store was in Kuwait City but later moved to Bneid Al Qar, where it currently remains. The redesigned space now has a very Japanese design aesthetic, characterized with a monochromic color palette. I imagine the new monochrome look is deliberate so that all the attention is drawn to the cakes.

They just reopened a couple of days ago with all our old favorite cakes, but they’re going to be introducing some new items as well next week. They’re also on Instagram @caramel_kuwait

I was in Barcelona for a friends wedding last week hence the lack of any updates, but I’m finally back in Kuwait again and I’ve got a bunch of interesting posts lined up for this week. Since Kuwait Airways will start flying to Barcelona at the end of summer, I wanted to share a Barcelona guide which you can bookmark and use if you ever decide to head there (you should).

Eat
El Xampanyet (@el_xampanyet), Cal Pep (@calpepbcn) and La Plata (@barlaplata) were definitely my favorite places for tapas. With El Xampanyet and Cal Pep expect to wait in line, with La Plata just go stand at the bar and order fried fish.

Other notable places, my favorite gelato place is Oggi (@oggibarcelona). I also had lunch at the Michelin Star Japanese restaurant Koy Shunka (@koyshunka) as well as dinner at their sister Japanese restaurant Shunka (@shunka_bcn). For both I had to book online before I got to Barcelona. Between the two I preferred Shunka because all I ever want is nigiris.

Drink
Oddly not that many third-wave coffee shops in Barcelona but my three favorites were Nomad (@nomadcoffee), Casa Taos (@casa.taos) and Skye (@skyecoffeeco). There are a lot of bars all over the city and most have non-alcoholic cocktails so if you don’t drink you can still visit and experience places like Paradiso (@paradiso_barcelona) which was voted the #1 bar in the world.

See
I can’t list everything to see obviously but here are a few that you might not find in your regular Barcelona guide. If you like flea markets then Mercat dels Encants Barcelona (@encantsbarcelona) is a great looking one to visit. The nicest sneaker store in Barcelona is Solebox (@solebox) and my favorite sunglass brand is Wilde (@wildesunglasses). Finally if you’re into vintage furniture then check out Noak Room (@noakroom).

Sleep
I stayed at The Hoxton Hotel (@thehoxtonhotel) located in the trendy neighborhood of Poblenou. Not a lot of tourists in that area, its a 5 minute walk to the metro and there are some very cool places near the hotel. If you do want to stay in a more touristic area, Sir Victor Hotel (@sirhotels) was my Plan B and that’s located in a more popular area.

Ecru, the Kuwait-based lifestyle brand inspired by the ethos and culture of Arab hospitality is celebrating their ten years milestone with a pop up at Sadu House. I remember when they launched back in 2013 it felt like a sigh of relief that someone was opening something other than a cupcake business (If you’re too young to remember, back then everyone had a cupcake business).

I dropped by the pop up earlier to pick up a copy of the book “ABCs of Kuwait”, (more on that in a separate post) and the Ecru setup was really something. They completely transformed the space and as you can see in the photo, it looks really really beautiful.

If you’re looking for something to do, tomorrow is the last day for the pop up. They’re there tonight till 8PM and tomorrow (Thursday) from 11AM to 5PM. Also make sure you check out their retrospective highlight on their Instagram account for their story on how it all began. @ecruonline

Those of you who remember when the Korean supermarket Singarea was in Dajeej might remember they had a very cool Korean restaurant upstairs. That restaurant closed in 2012 and since then Singarea has moved out of Dajeej and opened several stores around Kuwait including their most recent one at Boulevard in Salmiya. When I first visited that location, I noticed they had an area in the back for a small restaurant and I got excited since I used to be a fan of the one in Dajeej. Yesterday morning the owner of Singarea got in touch with me and invited me to pass by for a tasting.

The whole invitation thing happened quickly and last minute since I’m traveling this weekend and we were trying to make it work before I left. I even struggled to find a friend to come a long but luckily I did because there was a lot of food to try. Since I was a fan of the previous Singarea restaurant, I didn’t really ask any questions about the place, I just headed there not knowing what to expect but figured it would be the run of the mill Korean restaurant.

But, when I got there and sat down, a few things caught my attention. The first were the expensive Devialet Phantom II speakers hung around the restaurant, then I noticed the heavy brass side plates on the table with handmade lacquered chopsticks. I didn’t think of it much until they brought out the first dish and my friend was like Mark, I think this is fine dining.

They didn’t have a menu because it was still being worked on so they brought out dishes for us based on their recommendation. The first dish was a custard egg with seafood, something I’ve never had before and the presentation looked pretty fancy. Right away they captured my interest and I was now really intrigued about the place. One by one the dishes started coming out, we got a grapefruit yuza salad next, then a seafood pajeon, tteokbokki (the best rice cakes I’ve had), both a beef and seafood Albap served bento box style, and more. It was a lot of food and a lot of different and exciting flavors to try. The seafood pajeon (the pancake like dish) is now probably my favorite Korean dish ever, it was so good and bursting with so many different flavors, it’s the dish thats going to keep me going back. But really everything we tried was visually interesting and delicious except for probably the galbi steak dish which I felt needed some sauce on the side to dip into.

Once we were done I sat with Penny the owner of Singarea, a young trendy looking guy with long hair and cool kicks. His father opened Singarea in Kuwait over 40 years ago and now he’s taken it over. He explained to me his concept of wanting to serve premium Korean dishes but without the high prices usually associated with it. He’s starting off small (the restaurant has only 6 tables) but has the ability to expand later. They hadn’t finalized the prices or menu yet when I visited, but they’re aiming for an average paycheck of around 8-10KD per person.

KI:WA (or just Kiwa) is aiming to open next week on June 1st. It’s located at the back of the Singarea store in Boulevard next to the lake, and they’ll be open for both lunch and dinner. You can stay posted on the restaurant and the opening by checking @singareamarket or @kiwa.q8

Update: So turns out the galbi steak dish came with a pepper cream sauce but I didn’t see it since it was hidden from my sight behind the dish 😅

Although Apple Maps originally launched back in 2012, it only started working in Kuwait last week. I don’t know what took Apple so long but I’m glad its now finally working here. While I’m a fan of Google Maps, I find the interface of Apple Maps not only easier to read and follow, but also significantly faster to use.

If you’ve never used Apple Maps before you can now try it out.

Aquapark, which was the first water park in Kuwait got demolished a few years ago to a lot of people’s dismay. But, another waterpark was built in its place from the ground up with new games and it was given a new name, BayZero. The new park is the largest water park in Kuwait and this past weekend they reopened again for the new summer season.

Entrance to the park is 6KD and they’re open daily from 10AM to 10PM. The park is located right under the Kuwait Towers, behind McDonalds. Tickets can be purchased from their website bayzero.com.kw. For more info and photos, their Instagram account is @bayzero.kw

While driving out of Kuwait on Sunday morning I noticed huge traffic on the way into Kuwait. I thought it was weird because the border is usually empty in the morning. I later found out the traffic was because of the new biometric scanning. Every person entering Kuwait now has to get their iris, face and finger prints scanned. This applies at every entry port including the airport.

A friend landed in Kuwait yesterday and had to go through the process. I’m heading back to Kuwait today and going by the videos on Snapchat I’m worried I’m going to be stuck at the border for hours. Looks chaotic!

Update: I’m back in Kuwait and posted an update.

I’m in Saudi this week and yesterday I randomly came across Arby’s while on my way to a meeting. I was a bit surprised to find it because I come to Riyadh often and I wasn’t aware they had Arby’s here. Turns out they’ve only been open for less than a week! Obviously, I ended up passing by and grabbing a roast beef with cheddar.

It sucks they ended up closing down in Kuwait, I don’t eat much fast food anymore but Arby’s was one of the few places I couldn’t resist. No idea why they ended up closing down since they were always busy when I passed by so I assumed they were doing well.

Another brand that they have here which should come back to Kuwait is Popeyes. Like Arby’s, I’m not sure why it closed down since it also seemed to be doing well.

Tonight (Tuesday, May 9th) is going to be pretty busy at the Contemporary Art Platform with multiple openings taking place. Here is everything happening tonight:

I am Every Woman by Rasa Romanova
A solo exhibition by Kuwait-based Lithuanian artist Rasa Romanova.

Hundred Best Arabic Posters by 100/100
An Arabic posters exhibition in collaboration with @100bestarabicposters and @sharafstudio

An Oasis in the Desert of My Soul
A collaborative exhibition by calligraphy artist Abderrazak Hamouda based on poems by Bahraini poet Dina Bseisu.

Voices of the Occupation by AUK
An exhibition focusing on personal narratives during the time of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, highlighting the importance of storytelling to preserve and document the history of Kuwait and its people.

All the openings are taking place between 7PM and 9PM. The Contemporary Art Platform is located in Shuwaikh at the Design District where @cure.kuwait and the new @ovokwt are located. For more information check out @capkuwait