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Yesterday while driving around futoor time, I randomly came across the largest wall I think I’ve ever come across. It was huge, really tall, and super long. Right away I saw an opportunity to take a photo so turned around and headed toward the wall.

I really have no idea why this wall is there. It’s not connected to any other structure, it’s just a wall.

If you’re looking for an interesting backdrop for your shoot and want to check this place out, here is the location on Google Maps.

I know its counter-intuitive to ask this here but not sure how else to get this issue sorted.

Over the past 10 days I’ve gotten a number of comments asking me why I haven’t updated the website in a while or why I stopped posting when I haven’t. Turns out there is some sort of cache issue causing people not to see any of the new posts.

For me to solve this issue I need to try and understand it better. If you’re facing or faced the issue above could you let me know what browser and device you were using and which Internet provider? I want to see if there is a connection.

There are 4 interesting things happening this weekend:

Music of Gratitude
Tonight the Ahmadi Music Group choir and orchestra along with the Kuwait Chamber Chorale will be performing seasonal music by Mendelssohn, Bach, and Handel.

Sunset Hike
On Friday, Outdoorish.kw are having their weekly sunset hike and you can tag along.

Once Upon a Time
Also on Friday, Art N Dine are having a unique artistic and holistic Ghabga experience at the beautiful beach in Argan Albidaa Club.

Makers Pop-Up Shop
Finally, this Saturday the Makers Pop-Up Shop is taking place at the Marzouk Pearl building in Salmiya. There will be arts and crafts, jewelry, homewares, textiles, sweets, and more on sale.

If theres a cool event you think people should check out this weekend, let us know in the comments.

Jarir at The Avenues opened a couple of days ago and it’s wayyyy larger than I expected it to be. Because the main entrance is where Johnny Rockets used to be I assumed they might have taken over just that space. Instead, it turns out they’ve actually taken that whole wing of Avenues from where Johnny Rockets used to be, all the way back to where Nando’s and Romano’s Macaroni Grill were located.

It’s huge!

Walking around malls is a great way to hit your steps goal, especially if it’s too hot outside or if you don’t live near any walking tracks. But how many steps is each lap of a mall, and how many calories do you burn? To find out, I visited various malls around Kuwait and completed one lap of each while tracking my steps and calorie burn using my Apple Watch.

While my data isn’t scientific, I established some rules to ensure consistency. I did one lap only and I started and ended my walk in the same spot. I did not travel up or down escalators, but I did travel to the different phases and extensions if I could do so without changing floors. I also tried to walk at the same brisk pace. Your data might differ from mine, but it should be good enough to give you a rough idea of what to expect.

I’ve ranked my top six favorite malls based on a number of factors, including steps per lap, parking availability, overall convenience, the width of the mall floor, and visual stimulation during the walk. Here are my top 6:

#1 The Avenues
3,211 steps
33min 5sec
2.52km
174cal

#2 360 Mall
1464 steps
16min 14sec
1.19km
85cal

#3 Assima
569 steps
5min 51sec
0.43km
30cal

#4 Souq Sharq
706 steps
6min 25sec
0.48km
35cal

#5 Al Kout Mall
549 steps
5min 29sec
0.40km
27cal

#6 Marina Mall
664 steps
7min 58sec
0.56km
38cal

After a quiet couple of weekends, events are starting to pick up again. Below are all the ones I found taking place this weekend. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday, April 6
The Outlet Expo
Astronomers Diwaniya
Bugsha Ramadan Nights
Ramadan Kits Activities
Al Sheyab Show
Gergean AlHamra
Murouj Gergean
Red Bull Doodle Art Final

Friday, April 7
The Outlet Expo
Zain Ramadan Kids Run
Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
Bugsha Ramadan Nights
Ramadan Kits Activities
Ramadan Art & Gergeian Adventure
Murouj Gergean
All Sports Gathering
Drift Championship
Puppet Show

Saturday, April 8
The Outlet Expo
Al Shaheed Park’s Gergi’an
Sailing: Saturday Sunset Cruising
Storytelling & Food with Rashid AlSaif
Bugsha Ramadan Nights
Ramadan Art & Gergeian Adventure
Murouj Gergean
Storytime at Amricani
Special Afternoon for Kids
All Sports Gathering
Drift Championship
Puppet Show
Easter Eggs Painting

Exhibitions
A&F Fashion Exhibition
Alexander The Great in Kuwait
Between Two Worlds

A couple of days ago I got to visit the studios of Beyond Dreams, the entertainment company behind the local Netflix show, The Exchange. I was asked not to reveal the location of the studio but I can describe the location. It’s an old abandoned school that was repurposed as a studio (think Warner Bros or Universal Studios). A large part of the outdoor area of the school was turned into an old Kuwaiti village (used for a different show), while the classrooms around the school were turned into various sets for different shows. I was only given permission to shoot the sets of The Exchange, but I’m going to try and get permission to take pictures of the village set for another post since it looked very realistic and I think would surprise a lot of people that a film set like that exists in Kuwait.

After getting a tour of the studio grounds, we started visiting the different sets of The Exchange. I wasn’t aware they had shot all the home scenes in a studio so I was a bit surprised when I walked into the first set. All the home shots in The Exchange were filmed at this studio location where they built everything down to the very minute details. I was walking around the rooms checking out all the different items on the shelves since there were so many props from the 80s all laid out, many of which wouldn’t be even noticeable on TV but were still there for realism.

I also visited the set of the “Bank of Tomorrow” offices including the conference room where some key parts of the show took place in. I couldn’t visit the set of Hungry Bunny since it was being repurposed for another show, but the main thing I wanted to see anyway was the stock exchange.

I had heard that a stock exchange was built for the show, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought they might have built various small parts of the exchange but not all of it. You should have seen my face when I walked into the hall and realized they had actually built the whole thing including an upper floor. The stock exchange set was HUGE! I tried to capture how big it was with my video so I hope I managed to get the size of it across.

Netflix hasn’t announced a second season of the show but hopefully, it’s going to get another season because it was actually really good. If you haven’t watched the show, it’s currently streaming on Netflix.

Below is the annual list of Ramadan buffets in Kuwait. This year I tried to cover a broader spectrum of prices and cuisines, so you’ll see options that aren’t just Arabic food and prices that start at KD1.950 all the way up to KD28 per person. The KD1.950 buffet which is the most affordable on the list belongs to IKEA, while the most expensive KD28 buffet is at the St Regis. As usual, I’ve also highlighted the price variation from the previous year if applicable. You’ll find the variation in brackets after the price.

Below is the full list divided into two parts, hotels and restaurants. If I missed a place let me know in the comments.

HOTELS

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort – Taima’a Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD9.9 (-2.100)
Telephone: 24590000

Courtyard by Marriott – Atrium
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22997000

Crowne Plaza – Al Ahmadi Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD18 (+2.000)
Telephone: 1848111

Crowne Plaza – Al Noukhaza Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD19 (+3.000)
Telephone: 1848111

Four Seasons – Jawaher Tent
Buffet Price: KD25 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22006000

Grand Hyatt – Stambul
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22007698

Hilton Garden Inn – The Avenues
Buffet Price: KD20
Telephone: 22262000

Hilton Resort – Teatro Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD19.9 (+0.900)
Telephone: 22256222

Inn & GO Hotel – Al Dallah Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD6.5 (+0.500)
Telephone: 22436686

Jumeirah Messilah Beach – Badria Tent
Buffet Price: KD21 (-3.000)
Telephone: 22269600

Marina Hotel
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 22230030

Millennium Hotel – Lamar International Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22050505

Movenpick – Free Zone – Bays Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12 (-0.500)
Telephone: 24610033

Movenpick – Al Bida’a – Breeze Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22253100

Radisson Blu – Al Bustan Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD18.5 (+2.500)
Telephone: 25673000

Safir Hotel – Fintas
Buffet Price: KD12.9 (-2.000)
Telephone: 25455555

St Regis – Diamond Ballroom Tent
Buffet Price: KD28 (+3.000)
Telephone: 22422055

Symphony Style Hotel
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 25770000

The Regency Kuwait – Silk Road Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD23 (+1.000)
Telephone: 25766666

Waldorf Astoria – Al Kubbar
Buffet Price: KD26
Telephone: 24774414

RESTAURANTS

Assaha Lebanese Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD13 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22533377

Dar Hamad
Buffet Price: KD18 (+2.000)
Telephone: 22275555

Em Sherif
Set Menu Buffet Price: KD25
Telephone: 90977997

Gulf Royal Chinese
Buffet Price: KD8.5
Telephone: 22622770

IKEA
Buffet Price: KD1.95 (-1.000)
Telephone: 1840408

Jihan Khanah
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 1819991

Joori Min Beirut
Buffet Price: KD14 (+2.000)
Telephone: 22062068

Kuwait Towers
Buffet Price: KD14 (+1.000)
Telephone: 24965500

Mughal Mahal – Hawally
Buffet Price: KD7.45
Telephone: 22626782

Naranj
Buffet Price: KD12 (+1.050)
Telephone: 22268666

Palm Palace
Buffet Price: KD11
Telephone: 67009575

Saraya Palace
Buffet Price: KD9.5 (+2.500)
Telephone: 25711101

Villa Fayrouz
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 22650052

Wok and Grill
Buffet Price: KD3.5
Telephone: 64440089

Kuwait Unplugged, one of the first blogs in Kuwait is now back online after being offline for years. The blog was launched back in 2003 by “Zaydoun”, just a couple of weeks after me and my friends launched Qhate (he hated the name, and probably still does).

I didn’t know Zaydoun back then but years later got to meet him and we became friends. A super interesting guy and I was really disappointed when his blog went offline since if you traced the start of Kuwait’s online social media scene, it all began with Kuwait Unplugged and Qhate. I’m really glad his archive is back online now, if you want to take a walk down memory lane or just browse through really old posts to get an idea of what life in Kuwait was like 20 years ago, here is the link.

Give is a local non-profit organization that aims to improve the process of donating to charities. Their online platform connects people with registered Kuwaiti charities in order to make it easier to discover what projects are available and to donate to them all from one place.

The Give website lists different projects in various countries you could donate to not just Kuwait, so if you want to donate to a certain cause that’s not local, you can also do that. As of this post, they have 47 different Kuwait-based projects listed ranging from snacks for low-income workers to sponsoring an orphan child. Navigating the various projects and finding one that is of interest to you is very easy, the whole experience actually is very simple and I really like it.

The process of donating once you find a cause is really fast and you don’t even need to create an account or give them your name or email address. It took me less than a minute from the moment I found a project I wanted to donate to till I checked out and finished paying.

It’s a really impressive project and with Ramadan coming up, I felt it was important to repost about them so download their Apple or Android apps or check out their website give.org.kw

Below are all the events I found taking place this weekend. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday, March 16
Step Afrika!
Drag Race – Round 4
Tafaseel Design Exhibition
The Last Laugh Comedy Night
Ramadan Food Expo
Padel Tournament 2023
Rebel Kickboxing & Fitness Challenge
Ice Hockey: Stars vs Kakasok
Bugsha Market
Musical Performance by BSK
Cooking Class with Chef Rashid Alsaif
Puppet Show
Souk El Tayeb

Friday, March 17
Spiritual Healing Kashta
Step Afrika!
Drag Race – Round 4
965 Superbike Championship
Tafaseel Design Exhibition
Murouj Market
Ramadan Food Expo
Al-Farsi Kite Show
Bugsha Market
Francophone Bazar
Souk El Tayeb
Let’s Go Hiking

Saturday, March 18
Arab Organization Guided Tour
West Asia Flying Start Triathlon
Discover Kuwait Car Tour
Step Afrika!
Drag Race – Round 4
Murouj Market
Ramadan Food Expo
Bugsha Market
An Insight into Kuwaiti Films
Trashtag Beach Cleanup
Trash Hero Beach Cleanup
Kids Treasure Hunt
Special DAI Family Day Program
Pizza Party Workshop
Souk El Tayeb
OPTIM Being
BLS Clothing Swap & Shop

Exhibitions
A&F Fashion Exhibition
Alexander The Great in Kuwait

Activities
Albohayra Farm
Ascend Rock Climbing
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Yoga at Darātma

Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum

The Q8 Comedy Club have a show tomorrow night and as of this post, tickets are still available (they’re free). The show is a combination of improv comedy and stand-up and is hosted by Ahmad Alshammari (@ahmad_comedy) from @shenoya3ni_tv. He’s obviously extremely funny, but so are the rest of the comedians, especially when you consider the fact we don’t even have a comedy scene in Kuwait.

The show is in Arabic and is taking place in Salmiya inside Dalal Complex. As I mentioned, tickets are free and if you want to get them you need to hurry up, the link is in their profile @q8comedy1

Update: It’s now sold out but you can follow them to stay posted on their next show.

If you’re looking for an outdoor activity this weekend, the 2nd Gulf Bank Off Road Challenge is taking place in Bnaider this Friday, March 10th from 10AM to 5PM.

Participants in the challenge will compete on specially equipped natural and artificial obstacle courses which will range from easy to medium difficulty. The obstacle courses will contain sand, rocks, water basins, and other challenges that the participants must pass in order to complete the challenge.

There will be food trucks, large screens, and bleachers for attendees to sit and watch the event from. Entrance is free and since it’s taking place next to the Al Farsi Kite Show, you could hit up both on the same trip.

If you have a 4×4 vehicle and want to participate in the event you can also do that. The cost of registration is 20KD and you could win prizes up to 750KD. To register your car, visit the website www.suffix.events.

Here is the location of the event on Google Maps.

Below are all the events I found taking place this weekend. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday, March 9
Kuwait Rolling Race Championship
Al Naira Expo
Spring Festival
Play: Mother Courage
Ramadan Food Expo
KASA Expo 2023
ZAI EXPO 2023

Friday, March 10
Mariachi ROMATITLAN
Kuwait Rolling Race Championship
Kites Show
Al Naira Expo
Spring Festival
Play: Mother Courage
Ramadan Food Expo
Gulf Bank Off Road Challenge 2023
KASA Expo 2023
ZAI EXPO 2023
965 MX Junior Championship
Kuwait Track Challenge

Saturday, March 11
Guided Tour Grand Mosque *Canceled
Al Naira Expo
Spring Festival
Play: Mother Courage
Ramadan Food Expo
KFH Obstacle Challenge
Sunset Kayaking
KASA Expo 2023
Discover Kuwait Car Tour
Joy of Watercolors
Drive of a Woman
Trashtag Beach Cleanup
ZAI EXPO 2023
SADI 2023
Mirror House Art Festival
Kuwait Track Challenge
WBC Muay Thai World Title Fight
Feather Aerial Studio Show

Exhibitions
A&F Fashion Exhibition
Alexander The Great in Kuwait

Activities
Albohayra Farm
Ascend Rock Climbing
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Yoga at Darātma

Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum

OVO, the popular and my favorite vegan and vegetarian restaurant that’s located in Bnaid Al Gar recently opened its second location in Shuwaikh. The new location is in the design district, the same complex that houses the restaurant Cure and the gallery Contemporary Art Platform.

One of my favorite things about OVO besides their food is the atmosphere. The restaurant is located in the back courtyard of the Design District and so once you’re inside it doesn’t feel like you’re in Shuwaikh anymore. The new location has outdoor seating and plenty of indoor seating as well as a private room located in a separate area of the courtyard.

With the new location, they’ve also introduced a breakfast menu which I’m hoping to try this coming weekend. If you’re looking for a new good place to try out, OVO in the Design District is open daily from 9:30AM to 5PM. They’re on Instagram @ovokwt and here is the location on Google Maps.