Search: “ace”

CD stores used to be plentiful a few years ago but for obvious reasons, they’ve all disappeared. I’m lucky enough to still have all my CDs although I don’t have a CD player set up at home but that’s on my to-do list. I am curious though to find CD stores in Kuwait that sell English CDs so if you know of any, let me know in the comments.

I found one place in Salmiya that sells CDs although at a ridiculous price. Most of the CDs looked used with their boxes all scratched up and the store wanted KD5 per CD! The store is called CoolQ8y in case you’re still interested and it’s located in Salmiya.

Good Game the tabletop gaming store opened back in 2013 and quickly became a popular place to hang out and play board games. Because of the popularity, they’ve been looking for a new place to move to for a few years now and they just found one (not sure if I’m allowed to say where they’re moving to).

Because of the move, they’re holding their largest sale ever with discounts ranging from 25% to 75% that will last until they move next month. The discounts are only in-store not online so if you want to pick up some board games for a good deal and say goodbye to their store one last time, you should do so now. @goodgamekw

The English Bookshop is a new website by Aafaq Bookstore and is for all their English titles. They just launched so the website right now mostly contains children’s books but they’re adding around 60-80 new titles every day. The website looks nice, is easy to navigate, and also search for titles. Customers who place an order before 11AM get the books the same day while orders that come in after 11AM get delivered the next day. So if you want to browse or buy English books check out theenglishbookshop.com.kw

There are a bunch of local sites that focus on video games but Retro Games is the only one I’m aware of that focuses on old consoles and everything related to them. The store has categories for old gaming systems like the MSX, Sega Saturn, PS1, all the way up to the last-gen consoles. They sell things like an HDMI cable adapter for your PS1 to get it working with new TVs and the consoles themselves although they don’t sell any games.

So if you’re feeling nostalgic and looking to get an original SNES, they’d be the place I’d check out before heading to Rihab Complex or ordering online. They also sell various emulation consoles like the LDK which I’ve previously reviewed. If you’re into old games check them out at retrogameskw.com

The new iPhone 12 was released by Apple recently but there hasn’t been any announcement of a local launch date yet. I figured it might be related to logistics and production issues due to the pandemic so I checked with a contact of mine who told me that the telecoms, Apple Premium (Gait) and Apple Authorized Resellers (Digits, Xcite, etc.) hadn’t received their unit allocations yet.

But, looks like they finally did because yesterday some resellers started announcing a pre-order date. Starting this Friday, November 13th pre-orders for the new iPhone 12 will begin. Previously you’d have super long lines outside Apple resellers on launch day but with the pandemic right now that wouldn’t be the best idea which is why most likely the only way to get your hands on the new iPhone 12 on launch day would be by pre-ordering online. If it’s going to be anything like the iPhone X launch then there will also be a very limited number of units at launch.

Oddly, there still isn’t an official launch date for the devices, maybe that will be revealed on Friday as well. I’m personally going to be trying to get my hands on the iPhone 12 Pro to replace my 11 Pro. I always loved the way the iPhone 4 looked like and the new phones look basically the same.

If you’re looking for a safe place to ride your bicycle, Kuwait Motor Town is bringing back bicycle days. Bicycle days are when they open the race track to the public so that people can ride their bicycles on the road in a safe car-free environment. Bicycle days are on the following two days:

Tuesdays: 4PM to 8PM
Saturdays: 6AM to 10AM

Access to the track is free and if you’ve never been to KMT before this is a great way to check it out. Here is the location on Google Maps.

Last year the first McDonalds in Kuwait that was located on the Gulf Road closed down and Burger King and Pizza Hut took over the location. A few days ago they finally opened it up and it looks great. I didn’t try it since I haven’t had Burger King in probably a decade (sorry BK I’m a McD guy), but the place does look really cool especially with the LED panels that display color animations all around the structure. The new location is open 24/7 which is great for those late-night munchies. Google Maps

Back in September I posted about the Kärcher OC 3 portable pressure washer and how great it was. I had purchased it for KD43 from Ace but later found out it was actually mispriced and should have been sold for KD68 (which is too expensive).

But now Xcite is selling the same pressure washer for just KD33. That’s even cheaper than how much I paid!

So if you were interested in the washer but couldn’t find one or thought it was too expensive before, here is the link on Xcite.

A couple of days ago the MOI announced a ban on riding electric scooters on roads. That makes total sense if it wasn’t for the fact that the reason people are riding their electric scooters on roads, is for the same reason you see people walking or riding bicycles on roads, we don’t have sidewalks.

I live in Salmiya where I’ve noticed a lot of people have started using scooters to commute around. I’m 100% sure they don’t want to be riding their scooters on the roads but are forced to due to the lack of sidewalks. Driving around any area of residential Salmiya and you’ll also notice people walking on the sides of the roads as well because there are no sidewalks. And this doesn’t just apply to Salmiya, if you head to other densely populated areas like Jabriya, Salwa, Hawalli, etc. you’ll also see the exact same situation there.

A lot of these people don’t earn a lot of money and with the pandemic right now most would prefer not to use cabs or busses. Add to the fact these same people who are being banned from using scooters to commute can’t even get driving licenses because of the laws in place that prevent them. Scooters are a great alternative for public transportation and it’s really unfair that due to poor urban planning, these low-income workers are now not allowed to use them to commute. It’s as if we keep looking for ways to make life even harder for them here.

The General Dept of Traffic instagram account @traffic_kw should really be turned into a series of some sort like the show COPS. They’re very active and constantly posting videos of cars usually racing or drifting and then pictures of the cars impounded. In some of their videos, they’ve even had footage from inside the cop cars chasing people and it’s all pretty entertaining to watch.

If there is one government Instagram account to follow this would be it. So if you haven’t checked it out click here.

Note: They’ve got similar videos on their YouTube channel as well but their Instagram videos seem higher resolution. Link

The video above has been circulating WhatsApp showing the observation tower at Entertainment City crashing down as part of the Entertainment City demolition process. I was thinking about the park yesterday on how they could have refurbished it instead of rebuilding a new one from scratch. It wasn’t the best amusement park in the world but at least it had a history and character. Not everything needs to be completely demolished for a new version. Disney Land has been around since 1955 and is still very current, Coney Island amusement park has been around even longer since the late 1800s and has gone through various stages of refurbishment and revival.

I’ve previously gotten my PCR test done at Wara Hospital since they had a drive-thru service which is really convenient. But, they also take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to send you your test results which is fairly slow. Yesterday I decided to get a PCR test at International Clinic because I had heard they were pretty quick with the results, and they were.

I got my PCR test done at around 9:30AM and then got the result at 6:30PM. That’s 9 hours later!

I’m not sure if there is any other place that does it quicker (if there is let me know), but from now on I’ll probably be getting all my tests done at IC. There wasn’t anyone else there getting a test so only had to wait for the doctor to be free and that was maybe 10 minutes. The price of the test is KD35 which isn’t the cheapest but really reasonable for the speed you get the results in. If you want to get a PCR test done at IC, you don’t need to book, you just show up and let them know at the reception area. Here is their location on Google Maps.

Early this year an ice skating rink opened up in Bayan called the Kuwait Winter Games Club. The 2020 Open Championship for Professional Arab Ice Hockey Clubs took place there and the Kuwait Ice Hockey team was using the rink for practice. Now they’ve also opened it up to the public.

The cost is KD5 for 1.5 hours and KD15 for the whole day and that including the rental of the skates. There are also some hockey matches going on if you just want to go and watch.

But this is the thing I don’t get. How is Kuwait Motor Town, where everyone is inside a car by themselves racing around an outdoor track closed due to the pandemic, but close-contact sports like hockey and football are allowed? It doesn’t make sense!

Local musician and artist Zahed Sultan has a new music video out that is a cover of the old school Bandaly Family song, “Do you love me?“. Here is what Zahed had to say about the track:

Recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown in London, ‘Layl’ is a reimagination of a famous Lebanese disco song from the 70’s by the Bendaly Family ‘Do You Love Me.’ In this song, I reframe the original version as a contemporary cinematic piece; placing it in a more melancholic and sombre space. With spiraling vocals, deep synths, and rich violin textures, I give greater meaning to the song by expanding on its themes of love and loss; particularly fitting in light of the tragic explosion in Beirut and the crippling of its creative community.

I found a personal connection in ‘Layl’ through the original version’s music video which was shot in Kuwait on the Waterfront, a project designed by my late father Ghazi Sultan. The release of ‘Layl’ marks a new path for me as I dedicate myself to rethinking Arab culture through music and multimedia performance.

You can follow Zahed on Instagram @zahedsultan

Firstly, I think the place should actually be called Cleopatra’s Records based on the Arabic but their Instagram account name is Cleopatra Recorders so we’re just gonna stick to that. Cleopatra is a music shop in Hawalli that’s been around since back in 1969. I only found out about it last week from a friend and was pretty disappointed in myself that I didn’t know the place.

The store isn’t even hidden in some back alley of Hawalli, it’s actually on the main road opposite Promenade Mall. The store doesn’t look like much from the outside, nor the inside frankly. It’s a long skinny store with shelves filled with cassettes as well as some CDs and 8-track tapes. According to the employee, the original store owner had passed away and the son had taken it over.

I ended up buying a bunch of cassettes of old Kuwaiti music at an average price of KD1.5 each. What’s great is you can listen to the music before you buy it so I was randomly picking up albums off the shelves based on haircuts and outfits, and then I’d listen to them and if I liked it I got it. If you’re looking for old Arabic cassettes this is your place. Their Instagram account is @cleopatra_recorders and here is their location on Google Maps.

Thanks Abdullah