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The Arena will be releasing tickets tomorrow (Sunday) for a huge Miami Band show being produced and directed by Free Jabriya.

The show will feature Miami Band but like you’ve never experienced them before with a multi sensory, multi visual experience that integrates a live orchestra, dancers, animation, costumes and the whole works.

The show is being worked on with massive international designers and content creators including:

Studio Flint – The content creators behind the Coldplay ‘Music Of The Spheres’ world tour

Woodroffe Bassett Design – The lighting designers behind the recent Elton John farewell tour

Susan Kulkarni – Costume designer for movies like The Peripheral and Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’

Rebecca Brower – Stage designer who worked on the opening and closing ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics

The show will be a visual journey through the eyes of Miami Band, celebrating them for everything they’ve accomplished. The event will take place from September 28th to October 2nd and tickets will start from 25KD. Tickets go on sale tomorrow on The Arena website.

Last time I posted an Instagram update was back in March and since I hit 248 Instagram posts today, I figured I’d post another update.

Since March things have changed a lot. I’m now a lot more comfortable posting on Instagram and I’ve more or less figured out how it works best for me. I also now have a better understanding of what kind of content I can post here and what kind of content I should post only there. For example, this post isn’t going to be on my Instagram account.

The blog is where I can be more personal, or complain about things if I need to, while my Instagram account is more positive feel good entertainment. Back when I started blogging there weren’t a lot of platforms for people to voice their opinions on so I used to criticize and complain a lot because I felt I had to (I was the only voice). Now with Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter etc.. everyone has a voice and everyone is complaining all day. There is so much criticizing and complaining online that I no longer have to do it hence why I’m more chill here (can’t remember last time I complained about something) and which is why I want @248am to be a feel good account.

One way of keep @248am a positive place is by censoring the comments. The comments on @248am are heavily moderated, anyone who shit posts gets their account restricted instantly. Basically by restricting an account that person won’t know they’re restricted and can continue shit posting as they want but their comments are hidden to everyone else including me. Anyone who leaves racists or hateful comments gets a straight up block. This allows me to keep the comments section a healthy place. People can still have different opinions and discuss them of course, but it’s all a lot more civil without the shit posters and haters.

Something about Instagram which is great is the ability to watch a post go viral live. Best example of that is my Chipotle coming to Kuwait post. Firstly how cool is it that I broke the news back in November? I know Alshaya probably hate me because I keep doing this but I really love them because they keep bringing all these cool brands for us. That Chipotle post blew up, I knew it would but did not expect this much. That post got over 6,000 likes, nearly 20,000 shares, 248 comments and reached nearly 77,000 people. Keep in mind I also have less than 30K followers there. I couldn’t put my phone on mute because I need to moderate the comments so the constant buzzing of my phone was super annoying, but watching it blow up from behind the scenes was actually thrilling as well.

I’ve also realized, all these local influencers with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers are most likely all fake followers, or if not fake they have like 0.3% engagement rate or something. How do you have 3 million followers but only get 100 or 200 likes per photo? Someone was once telling me likes aren’t important anymore, everyone is just watching stories etc. I don’t think thats true and I think I’m proving it. People want good content and they will appreciate good content when they come across it. People also read, I was worried no one would read my Instagram posts but they actually do and I love that.

Instagram has actually made me confident again with my blogging skills. I think because I wasn’t on Instagram I felt a lot of people had forgotten about me or I felt like because I wasn’t on Instagram my content wasn’t as good. But now that I’m there I’ve realized I’m still the best at what I do which is finding great content to post every single day. There aren’t a lot of people in Kuwait who can do it (if any), and the crazy part is, I’ve been doing it for over 20 years now and haven’t run out of ideas yet.

The road right next to Sadu House that leads towards the National Museum and the National Library is being replaced with a Sadu brick road. No idea who came up with this idea but I love it!

A friend told me that Zain was launching RedBull Mobile next week to compete with Virgin Mobile. I didn’t know RedBull Mobile existed until she told me so I contacted a couple of sources to confirm this rumor but they were being tight lipped about it. But, it looks like it’s happening.

If you head to www.redbullmobile.com.kw/en right now you’ll end up at their website which seems to still be under construction. Their Instagram account will also be @redbullmobilekw. Like Virgin Mobile, I doubt this is going to have any effect on the market or anyone (unless there is some Formula 1 tie in and in that case this is going to be great! I love Red Bull Mobile, please get me RedBull Paddock access during a race).

Mo Amer, the Palestinian American comedian known for his hilarious performances in the Netflix show ‘Mo’ and the award-winning Hulu sitcom ‘Ramy,’ is coming to Kuwait to perform a stand-up comedy show at The Arena.

Mo was actually born in Kuwait and lived here till the age of 9. He only left Kuwait because of the 1990 Iraq invasion which is how he ended up in the US.

The show titled “Homecoming” is taking place on September 8th. Tickets start at 25KD and go up all the way to 75KD and are available for sale on The Arena’s website.

Last week I flew to Athens for a quick getaway and I fell in love with the city. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid in the 80s so it was basically my first time. The ticket was around 140KD on Kuwait Airways, and it was a short 3 1/2 hour flight so I definitely want to go back again. Below is a quick guide of all the favorite spots I found which I think you’d also like:

Eat
I had my best meal at Cherchez La Femme (@kafeneioncherchezlafemme), a small cafe serving greek food in tapa sizes so you can mix and match. Sushimou (no insta) was a great (and affordable) sushi bar serving an omakase menu. The owner and masterchef (@thalis) was named the world’s 100 top chefs. Do Birdman (@birdmanathens) for a Japanese grill with great music and drinks or their sister location Ekiben (@ekibenathens) for a quick bite. For breakfast go to the picturesque cafe Minu (@minu.athens). Head to Wild Souls (@wildsoulsgr) to pick up gifts for friends, and if you’re there in the summer, go to Oggi (@oggiathens) for the best gelato.

Drink
Dope Roasting Co (@doperoasting), Anana (@ananacoffeefood), Motiv (@motivathens) and Behold Theman (@behold_theman) were my favorite coffee shops. If you want a place to sit in a garden and enjoy a few drinks, six d.o.g.s (@sixdogsgr) was super chill.

See
KORI (@kori.gr) have lots of beautiful jewelry and ceramic pieces by Greek designers and artists. DangerousMinds (@dangerousminds.gr) if you’re looking for streetwear while Eating +he Goober (@eatingthegoober) is a very cool greek contemporary clothing brand. The Naxos Apothecary (@thenaxosapothecary) is a Greek fragrances and body creams store which is their equivalent to Aesop. Finally, visit the hidden but very scenic neighborhood of Anafiotika which surprisingly isn’t overrun by tourists.

Sleep
There were a lot of great hotel options but I ended up staying at The Foundry Suites (@thefoundrysuitesathens), a hip boutique hotel with just 12 rooms in a neighborhood full of cafes and antique stores and is not busy with tourists (@perianthhotel was my Plan B). I also spent a night at the Dexamenes Seaside Hotel (@dexamenes) which I would highly recommend. Technically not in Athens because it’s over 3 hours away, but definitely worth it. Rent a car and drive, the road is chill and very photogenic.

Like all my travel guides, this is a curated list with most places being off the beaten path and not packed with tourists. Use it to supplement your own things to do list. Also with some restaurant you need to book in advance so keep that in mind. Also in case you missed them, check out my previous travel guides for Barcelona and Istanbul.

Back in February I drove down to Riyadh to watch the Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury fight and I had a blast. I thought I posted about my experience but seems like I didn’t for some reason. It was such a well put together event and I ended up getting really great VIP seats for not so much money. It also gave me access to the premium hospitality area where there was lots of food, a terrace to watch the fights from if I wanted to but it also allowed me to be up close to the fighters during their walkouts. The fights were great, the venue was great, everything about that trip was perfect.

A few days ago Tyson Fury, the world heavyweight champion announced that he will be boxing UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou this coming October in Riyadh. I’m assuming it’s going to be held in the same open air venue as the Jake Paul fight and I’m 100% going to try and get tickets for this fight once they go on sale.

If you want a great experience this October, as I said last time, Riyadh is just a short 6-hour drive down. My VIP ticket last time cost me 60KD and it was really really worth it but tickets last time started from just 15KD. Tickets aren’t on sale yet but I’ll repost once they are.

Not sure if anyone noticed but the LED mesh around the Kuwait Towers has been replaced with solid green and red colored lights now. Back in 2015 when they first installed the LED mesh I suggested they should be kept permanently since it gave a Blade Runner look. But I take that back now, I think I prefer it without the wraparound screens but I wish they go back to the way things were originally with just a simple neutral light instead of the red and green.

Fatcap is a new restaurant that opened in Kuwait City and is focused on char-grilled food. They currently have two cheeseburgers available, the Fatcap Burger with a marrownaise sauce, and an OG burger with mustard, ketchup, and pickles. There are also various sides to choose from including farm fries, cajun fries, sweet potato fries, and onion rings. Finally, they also have a nostalgic chocolate cake for dessert.



I hadn’t tried a new burger place in such a long time so I was pretty excited to try Fatcap. A friend at work had been telling me about their burgers for some time because of their killer marrownaise sauce. He wasn’t wrong, I tried both their burgers and it was hard to pick a favorite. 



The restaurant is located in Sharq, right next to Bao and Lavan (Google Maps). It’s a cute place with around 7 tables and plenty of parking. Because they’re focusing on quality they don’t have delivery only dine-in and pick-up. They’re open daily from noon till 11:30PM. Closed on Sundays.


Check them out @eatfatcap

The Armenian national carrier, Fly Arna now flies direct to Kuwait twice a week. The flight from Kuwait to Armenia is only around 2 hours long and ticket prices start at 82KD.

I went to Armenia back in 2020 and loved it although I might be a bit biased since I’m half Armenian. The food was amazing, there was a lot to see, and the city gave off a great vibe. I’d put a travel guide together although I’m not sure it would be accurate since I went just pre-Covid so might have to head there again for a few days again just to revisit some places.

If you’re looking for a new, interesting and close destination to fly to, this is it. To book a ticket or check the prices, visit flyarna.com

GameWorks was an arcade that opened up in Marina Mall back in 2003. It was later renamed to GameWizz and eventually closed down in 2013. While going through one of my boxes the other day I found an old GameWorks recharge card and that triggered some nostalgia which got me looking for photos of the place.

For some reason, I couldn’t find any pictures of the place online. I guess because it was a period of time before camera phones or Instagram were a thing so not a lot of people took photos of the space and shared them online.

I went through my personal archive of photos and found a few, nothing too great and a few that was super low res since they were taken by a Sony Clie PDA, but they’re better than nothing. If you have any photos let me know. Here is a link to all the photos I found.

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.