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Tickets to Ahmadi Music Group’s concert this week are currently on sale but quickly running out. AMG will be performing music by Vivaldi who many consider being the best-loved composer of the Baroque era. There are two performances taking place, one on Thursday and the other on Friday and tickets start at 10KD. If you’re interested, here is the link to get you tickets. Link

Back in 2020, I purchased the 16-inch MacBook Pro. I’d never been a fan of large laptops and so not sure what got into me but decided I’d buy the largest one Apple sold and I regretted the minute I got it. I mentioned in my original review that a month into using the laptop I had gotten slightly more comfortable with it but it really didn’t progress much further than that. It definitely wasn’t a laptop to take on trips with, and I’m not even talking plane trips, I hated taking my laptop to the office or into the next room just because of how big and bulky it was.

I don’t tend to change laptops a lot, my average cycle is around once every 4 years so this is the quickest change I’ve done, 2 years after purchasing the 16-inch MacBook Pro I went ahead and purchased the latest 14-inch one.

The new 14-inch Macbook Pro might be the best laptop I’ve ever owned, even competing with all my favorite iBooks from the early 2000’s including the 12″ PowerBook.

Where do I begin? Let’s talk about the size first, although 14″ doesn’t sound much smaller than 16″, and even though in photos it doesn’t look that much smaller, in reality, the difference is huge. As I’ve been doing since 2001, the first thing I order when I buy a new laptop is a black Waterfield SleeveCase. The sleeve offers plenty of protection so I tend to throw around my laptops into the backseat of my car, on the car floor, or onto my desk. Throwing around the 14-inch feels so easy now that I’ve come from the larger 16-inch. I know how easy throwing around a laptop isn’t something you’d think of when buying a new laptop but it’s really something that we all do. The 14-inch is easier to carry around, shove into places, and is a much more portable machine than the 16-inch was.

Another issue I had with the 16-inch was the battery life. It wasn’t that great and lasted around 4-hours. The new 14-inch lasts so much longer that I’m going to compare it to my iPad. I don’t charge my iPad daily even though I use it daily. The new MacBook is the same, since I got my MacBook over a month ago if I really think about it I could probably tell you exactly how many times I’ve charged it. The battery easily lasts over 10 hours so I don’t charge it every night but more like every 3 or 4 days now. I usually keep the laptop on my couch in my living room when I go to sleep while with the 16-inch I’d take it back to my desk so I can charge it and have it ready for the next day. It feels freeing not having to charge the laptop every night.

The keyboard is another thing that is just amazing about the laptop, the best keyboard I’ve used to date on any laptop. Firstly the touch bar is gone which is good news. Although I was a huge fan of it when it first came out, Apple never really expanded its features or abilities so over time I just started wishing I had regular buttons.

Other things to mention, the laptop has a notch similar to how new iPhones do but they’re less noticeable on the MacBook. It doesn’t bother me at all and it makes me feel like I have more screen space because the menu bar has now moved up to where the camera is, instead of it feeling like the menu bar is eating up important screen real estate. That top menu bar strip feels like bonus space. Apple also brought back some ports including the SD card slot which I just got to use now for the first time to move photos from my camera to my laptop. Very practical but I won’t use it that much myself. I also need to mention how good the new MacBook feels to hold. Both my MacBook Air and my 16-inch MacBook Pro have sharp edges whole the new 14-inch has softer rounded edges and so feels really great in my hands. Finally, the new MacBook looks very hot, one of the best-looking laptops to date.

So like I mentioned at the start of this post, this new 14-inch MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops I’ve ever owned. I love it a lot and already feel so attached to it that I put up my 16-inch for sale without hesitation. I also got it for a pretty good deal, Amazon had a $200 off offer on the 14-inch so I ended up buying it for KD530. I just checked now and they actually have the laptop discounted right now at KD546, so not as good a deal as I got but still cheaper than retail. If you’re looking for a laptop I can’t recommend this one enough. Definitely get it.

Good Game is having their first Pokémon Center Day this coming Tuesday. They’re hoping to provide Pokémon fans with a place to discuss all things Pokémon and even trade Pokémon cards. If you’re interested here are the details:

When: March 15, 2022
Where: Good Game Google Maps
Time: 6PM
Entry: Free

You’ve probably come across Marvis toothpaste when on vacation somewhere. They usually are sold at concept stores and nice pharmacies and is considered to be a somewhat luxury toothpaste brand. They come in a handful of intense flavors with my favorite being cinnamon. I was always curious to why no one in Kuwait sold Marvis but now I found a place that does called “The Nob Shop” and their prices seem pretty good since they’re all discounted right now.

If you’re a fan of Marvis toothpaste or want to try it, here is a link the product page on The Nob Shop. Link

Another slow weekend of events so in case you can’t find anything below to do, you could always visit one of the museums.

Thursday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Backpacking Through Yemen in Times of Peace
KASA Expo 2022
Life Drawing Workshop

Friday
Albohayra Farm
KASA Expo 2022
Kuwait Textile Arts Association Spring Bazaar

Saturday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Backpacking Through Yemen in Times of Peace
Albohayra Farm
Women’s Sports Day
Miseen Scene: The Circle
KASA Expo 2022
Sons of Sinbad Excursion

If I missed anything let me know.

If you’re planning to visit the Comic Festival Convention this year tickets are currently for sale on The Arena website. The event is taking place from March 29 to April 1st and they are currently selling a 4-day pass for KD20. On the actual COMFEST days, you can also purchase a 1-day pass for KD10 or you could cosplay and go in for free since there is free entry to cosplayers.

If you want to purchase a ticket, here is the link.

Note: The website has a bug where when you try to purchase a ticket the website turns Arabic with no option to switch back to English. So maybe have someone translate for you or use Google Translate.

Photo by @lensfoxq8

I posted about weighted blankets for sale at Ace Hardware last year but these blankets by OneBase are much nicer. They come in two colors and two weights, 5KG and 8KG. Unlike most weighted blankets, OneBase does not fill theirs with plastic pellets, instead, they’re made from 100% fabric. The chunky style of hand knitting also keeps you cool due to the air gaps within the braids.

They’re slightly more expensive than the blankets Ace was selling but they are much cooler looking and of better quality. Plus it’s always good to support local brands. If you want one, you can order it from the OneBase website byonebase.com

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. To mark the occasion tonight there is a musical event taking place at the French Institute’s garden that will feature some of the best female musicians and artists in Kuwait.

If you’re interested in an outdoor music event tonight, tickets are still on sale at Eventat.

If you’ve driven on the 5th Ring Road recently you might have noticed all the construction work and diversions taking place near Qurtoba and Siddiq. The reason behind it is they’re currently working on a major traffic reducing project that will be composed of tunnels, underpasses and bridges on two levels. The new project will remove a bunch of traffic lights at the current intersections to help eliminate the traffic they cause as well as create a traffic-free ride from the 5th Ring Road to the new Sheikh Jaber Hospital.

To get a better idea of how the project will look like, you can watch the 3D presentation below taken from the project website RA257.

Thanks hussamaboud

Over the holidays I went to Istanbul for vacation, my first time there since a university trip 22 years ago so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. There were two things I kept hearing about Istanbul or Turkey in general which is the food isn’t great, and people aren’t very friendly. Well, no idea what people are talking about because the food was great and I found everyone incredibly friendly (except for people in cars who seem to just want to run over everyone).

The trip was semi-spontaneous, originally the plan was to go to London but by the time I decided to book my ticket the prices had shot up a lot and it just wasn’t worth it anymore. I looked at other destinations that I could fly direct to and decided to head to Istanbul. I did some quick research on hotels and right away booked at Soho House, there really was no doubt about the choice and after staying there I’m glad I did because everything about the hotel was great. I booked their “small” room which really didn’t turn out to be that small and was really nice looking. The staff were great and the hotel turned out to be located in a great spot and less than a 5-minute walk to a subway station. Because I was staying at the hotel I also got access to the members-only Soho House Club next door. The club has two bars, one on the ground floor and one on the top floor as well as a restaurant and tons of cozy seating areas. It’s a very nice space where I ended up every night just chilling on my phone while having a drink.

Traveling around Istanbul was hit and miss. If I could take the metro to wherever I’m going then it was a hit. If I needed to take a cab then it was a miss. Uber is terrible in Istanbul and mostly because drivers kept canceling trips or messaging me after I booked asking me where I wanted to go. If the trip wasn’t in the direction they were heading they didn’t want to take it. That was the case the whole trip, drivers didn’t want to take any trip that would get them stuck in traffic or take a trip that wasn’t in the direction they were going. Their subway system on the other hand was great, very fast, very efficient, and pretty new. It’s what I used to get to most places and it’s how I avoided the terrible Istanbul traffic. The only issue I found was that their ticket machines didn’t accept credit cards so I always had to keep cash on hand which I hated.

The city itself is really beautiful, I was worried that a week would be too long of a time to spend in Istanbul and eventually I’d get bored, but it was actually the opposite. There was so much to do and see I didn’t even get through my full list of things to do, nor did I get the chance to hit up most of the museums on my list or even restaurants. I tried as much as possible to stay off the beaten path and it was fairly easy to do with so many nice areas and lots of great shops. If you want a fancy area they have it, if you want a ghetto area they have it, if you want a hipster area they have it, there is so much variety it kept me entertained till the very end to the point I’m now thinking of going back just to finish going through my list. One thing to note is that Istanbul is fairly hilly and you’re never really walking on a flat path, you’re always either walking downhill or climbing some super steep hill. It was exhausting exploring the city on foot, but because the weather was cold, it was very manageable. In the summer I’m not really sure it’s something you’d want to do unless you don’t mind sweating a lot. When it came to food I tried as much as possible to stick to Turkish food and that worked out really well. Lots of kebab, lots of tea, and lots of desserts.

I think my favorite part of the trip though was how affordable the whole experience was. It took me a couple of days to adjust to the price because I kept thinking I was miscalculating because everything was coming out really cheap. Most of the places I ate at the bill was around 10KD for two. My favorite breakfast spot was around 6KD for two and that was with a lot of food. Even the hotel which is one of the best cost me around 80KD a night. It won’t cost you a lot to have a great time in Istanbul.

Even their airport was one of the nicest I’ve been to. Their main airport opened up just a few years ago and so is really new and it shows. It also had lots of restaurants, a huge duty-free area so you can easily kill a couple of hours before your flight.

Anyway, I’ve temporarily set up a highlight for my Istanbul trip on my Instagram (@mark248am) if you want to check it out. But, I’m also sharing my shops and food list on Google Maps in case you want to use it on your trip.

Exploring Istanbul
Eating in Istanbul

Fuddruckers was one of the first restaurants to pop up on the Gulf Road and was the go-to place for us teenagers back in the early 90s. Eventually, more restaurants started opening up in Kuwait which made Fuddruckers irrelevant until they eventually closed down. But last week I found out that they’re still alive on delivery platforms.

Fudds used to be known for their burgers and cookies and both are available to order. I’m not sure if they have a physical store or a ghost kitchen but according to Google Maps there is only one Fuddruckers location and it hasn’t been updated since 2019 so I’m assuming its closed. If you’re feeling nostalgic and order from them, let me know if their burgers are still any good.

I’m at the airport now waiting to board my flight to Istanbul so I wanted to post a quick update regarding flying out with the new rules that came into effect two days ago.

I’m flying Jazeera Airways and at the airport, most people are wearing masks. That hasn’t changed since the mask guidelines are still in place. What did change is that I wasn’t asked for my PCR test at any point. Turkey doesn’t require a PCR test for entry and you aren’t required a PCR test to leave Kuwait nor Jazeera require one to fly with them. Instead, they just checked to see my vaccine status. Some airlines and countries do require you to get a PCR test so just because Kuwait no longer requires one doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get one.

The only issue I did have actually today is with Jazeera themselves. For those of you traveling with them this holiday, you should be aware that they don’t have a long parking solution and their park & fly is not active. I asked their Instagram account about long-term parking and was told that park & fly was active and I should park on the 3rd or 4th floor of their parking lot. But when I got to the airport I started asking around if there was anything I needed to do other than just park my car on the 3rd floor and no employee had any information. In the end, after talking to a supervisor, I found out the service wasn’t active yet and if I had left my car in their parking lot I would have been surprised by an 80KD fee on my return (it’s 9.5KD a day). I had to take my car out of their parking and move it to the long-term parking lot in the regular airport terminal and walk back to Jazeera.

The second issue is the fact there is nowhere to sit inside the Jazeera terminal once past passport control. The terminal is tiny and there are more passengers than seats available so there is major overcrowding. People are just standing around, leaning on pillars, or roaming around. So that’s something to be aware of as well.

If anybody has any questions just let me know in the comments.

I’ve had these photos in my archive for a couple of years now, I forgot where I got them from but I guess it’s about time to share them. Some of the photos are really great but I’m not 100% positive about the date of the photos.

They’re a mixture of photos ranging from 1975 to 1977. I think 1977 because in one of the photos you can see the Kuwait Towers in the background and it looks like construction on it was completed, but that only happened in 1977. But in other photos, you can see the dates 1975 and 1976 so it’s a mix.

No matter the dates the photos are really great and with all the silly drama with yoga taking place now, vintage photos like these are now more important than ever to share. You can view and download them all in hi-res by clicking here.

In addition to the photos, there is also a video taken from the AP archive showing the 1975 parade. Usually, I’d say bring back the parades but even if we did, I don’t think it would ever be the same. Kuwait was so different back then.

Deliveroo celebrates its third year of deliveries in Kuwait
Deliveroo Kuwait is turning three! Since launching in Kuwait in February 2019, Deliveroo Kuwait has come a long way in elevating the local food delivery experience, and setting the bar high for food aggregators not only in the country, but also the region.

“This month marks Deliveroo Kuwait’s third year of business in the local market, a milestone that was made possible only through the commitment of our incredible team of employees and riders, and through the trust that our customers place in us, each and every day,” says Seham AlHusaini, general manager at Deliveroo Kuwait. “As we look to the future, we would like to continue to spearhead a spirit of innovation in the food delivery and food technology space, all while ensuring the highest levels of both our customers’ and riders’ satisfaction. With multiple milestones under our belt only three years in, we’re also reflecting on our achievements in the local market so far, and can’t wait for what’s to come!”

Here’s a look back at what Deliveroo Kuwait has accomplished since launching in the local market three years ago:

Service Hero’s “Best Delivery App” Winner
Deliveroo Kuwait has been named the “Best Delivery App” in Kuwait by Service Hero, the company providing the region’s only consumer-powered customer satisfaction index. This year, Deliveroo Kuwait took home the award for best delivery app, a tribute to the delivery platform’s commitment to customer satisfaction and service excellence throughout the year.

Loving Local
Since the start, Deliveroo Kuwait has set itself apart with its ongoing initiative to support local businesses. The delivery platform regularly encouraging customers to order their favorite coffees, meals and groceries from their most beloved local brands, and has even launched a successful Instagram campaign under the hashtag #LoveYourLocal in which AlHusaini interviews some of the faces behind our most beloved homegrown brands. So far, Deliveroo Kuwait has shed a spotlight on OVO, Wilgrow, Matbakhi, Shawarma Sharaf, and Ahmad Al Zamel, with even more to come.

Rider Satisfaction
As a testament to its commitment to rider satisfaction, no other local delivery app places such a large emphasis on rider support. Last year, Deliveroo Kuwait paid multiple riders across its fleet up to £10,000 each as part of the delivery platform’s global initiative to thank riders for their efforts in delivering great food to customers all across the world. The payments were part of a “Thank You” Fund for riders, and one of multiple initiatives aiming to pay tribute to the invaluable role that riders have played in the company’s journey throughout the years.

Creativity & Innovation
The Deliveroo Kuwait team has also set itself apart with its creative ideas to enhance rider safety, constantly launching initiatives in the interest of rider protection and satisfaction. Since its launch, Deliveroo Kuwait has spearheaded various activities to support riders throughout the year and through multiple initiatives, including the provision of specialized rider kits, cooling vests, water, resting spots, and more.

In honor of its birthday bash, Deliveroo Kuwait is offering customers exclusive discounts on some of their favorite local restaurants and coffee shops, including Cinescape, Caribou Coffee, and so much more. Follow Deliveroo @deliveroo_kw on Instagram for more updates!

This weekend is incredibly busy with lots of things happening including two large events. Starting today till Saturday you have the Bugsha Market taking place at Green Island. Then on Friday and Saturday, you have the Made Food Festival taking place at Kuwait Motor Town. I’m coincidently taking part in the Car Open Track on Saturday at KMT so it should be interesting with the event happening there as well at the same time. If you have a bicycle you could go Saturday morning and ride your bike at the track and then when done, enjoy the festival or chill and watch the racing events at the track.

Anyway, below is the full list of events for this weekend, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Exhibition: Forbidden Love in Arab Art
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
The Avenues Sky
Full Moon Chakra Yin Yoga & Art Therapy
Outdoor Garden Movie & Homemade Lasagna Workshop
Bugsha Market at Green Island
Plant a Tree at Boulevard Park

Friday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
Albohayra Farm
The Avenues Sky
Intersport Desert Clean-Up
Raptors in the Desert
Thrf at Made Food Fest
Bugsha Market at Green Island
Made Food Festival at KMT

Saturday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Grand Mosque Tour
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
Albohayra Farm
The Avenues Sky
Brunchito with Chef Julian
360 Fun Run – Parking
Hilltop Geological Camp
Thrf at Made Food Fest
Bugsha Market at Green Island
Made Food Festival at KMT
KMT: Cycling Open Day
KMT: Open-Cockpit Car Open Track Day
KMT: Car Open Track Day
February Fun for Animals in Need