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There have been a lot of changes compared to the last time I posted the Arton Capital Passport Index 5 years ago. Kuwait has moved up quite a bit on the list from 54th place back in 2015, to 36th place this year. Kuwaitis can now visit 34 countries without requiring a visa and they can also get visa on arrival in 38 other countries. Here are some countries with their rankings:

1 – New Zealand
4 – United Kingdom / Canada
13 – UAE
21 – United States
34 – Qatar
36 – Kuwait
41 – Bahrain
44 – Saudi Arabia
45 – Oman
58 – India
60 – Egypt
68 – Lebanon
74 – Syria
75 – Iraq

Want to see how your passport compares? Check out the full list here.

Melemele is Kuwait’s first Karaoke house that opened up recently at The Palms. Not sure how karaoke works when you’re sober since I’ve only ever done it when plastered, but it seems it’s doable based on the videos in their highlights.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Melemele Karaoke (@melemelekaraoke) on Aug 27, 2020 at 2:33am PDT

The whole place along with the karaoke rooms looks pretty cool and they have over 10,000 tracks to choose from. The price is 4KD per person on weekdays and 5KD per person on weekends but depending on the size of the room you want, there is a minimum number of people that have to sign up. Booking is done through their website in advance and they’ve got a bit more information there so make sure to check it out.

We don’t get a lot of new things to do in Kuwait so it’s good to see something fun like this pop up especially during the pandemic. They’re on Instagram @melemelekaraoke and their website is melemelekaraoke.com

via @teachsmartwithfay

Yamama is a new Asian supermarket that recently opened up and I dropped by yesterday to check it out. Although it lacks a variety of products, it was a pretty nice space and well organized. They don’t really have a lot of products but because it’s so close to two other Asian Supermarkets, Singarea and Ginza, you could essentially hop from one to another in one visit.

If you’re interested in checking it out, here is their location on Google Maps.

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A post shared by حياكم بمعرض الخليج (@m3rath_alkaleg) on Oct 2, 2020 at 2:21pm PDT

I love random odd things and last night a friend of mine sent me a link to my new favorite Instagram account @m3rath_alkaleg. It’s an Instagram account that live auctions chickens and it’s oddly entertaining to watch. I actually stopped watching an episode of Euphoria midway and spent an hour watching some guy live auction of some fantastic looking chickens at like 11PM at night. Seems like a strange time to hold a chicken auction but the guy had a ring light and phone set up professionally and it was a busy evening with I think the most expensive chicken selling for KD300. He then kept reminding people that whoever wins an auction to pass by and pick up their chickens that evening. The whole thing was bizarre to watch but I couldn’t stop.

Not sure if the auctions take place every night but if I had a garden I’d for sure set up a chicken coop and get some fancy chickens for it. If you’re looking for some strange entertainment check the account out @m3rath_alkaleg.

Thanks Fahed

I think there are only two electric cars you can officially buy in Kuwait at the moment, the Chevrolet Bolt EV and the Porsche Taycan in addition to the various Teslas that were imported so it makes sense that malls and other places start introducing charging stations. Al Shaheed, Arraya and Hamra Tower all have electric charging stations and The Avenues is now joining the party.

For anyone that works in Hamra or Arraya, I’m curious, are random cars parking in the electric charging spots, or are the spots properly being enforced and only electric cars can park there?

Thanks Mohamed

Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, has died at the age of 91, state media report. He was expected to be succeeded by his 83-year-old half-brother and crown prince, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed. In July, Sheikh Sabah was flown to the United States for medical treatment following surgery for an unspecified condition in Kuwait. Source

I was looking for a photo of the Emir, a specific one where he’s hold a bottle of Coke when I came across the photo above and loved it. It was taken back in 1963 and this is the caption that was attached to it:

Kuwait became the 111th Member State of the United Nations when the Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly adopted by acclamation a 17-power draft resolution to that effect. Seen here as he addressed the meeting is Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, H.H. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, Foreign Minister at that time, who thanked the Assembly for admitting the State of Kuwait to the United Nations. – 14 May 1963 (Photo Courtesy of UN Photo) Source

May he rest in peace.

Google Street View currently works in Kuwait but is fairly limited since from what I can tell its one guy who’s driving around Kuwait with a 360-degree camera mounted to the roof of his SUV snapping photos.

But surprisingly, PACI seems to have a street view of pretty much most of Kuwait on their website. The only issue is it’s not as easy to use as Google Street View. For example you can’t just search for a random place and find it on the map. The process of actually finding a place is pretty tedious. Here are the steps to use PACI’s street view:

• First head to http://gis.paci.gov.kw/Client/EN/Default.aspx
• Click “Quick Search”
• Manually find the street you want
• Click on the street and wait a few seconds
• Once the street view thumbnail pops up at the bottom, click on it

Someone at PACI should really coordinate with Google and see if there is a way to merge their databases together. I’m still impressed though that PACI actually have a street view option.

Thanks Timothy

MyHome is your one-stop shop for all your home needs. Our services include everything from maintenance, car wash and laundries to grocery delivery, security cameras and gardening.

From now until the end of October, place an order on MyHome and get cashback as MyHome credits. Here’s how it works –

Place an order with one of the categories listed below and earn a percentage of your order back as MyHome in-app credits. For example, if you spend 10 KD on your laundry services, you will earn 5KD back as MyHome in-app credits which you can use on any of our 25+ services anytime in the future.

Until the 31st of October 2020, the Cashback services and percentages are as follows:

Each service will have a cashback indicator on the app highlighted in green, allowing you to easily find which services offer cashback and their percentages. You can track the cashback credits you have earned by checking your balance in the side menu. Take care of all your home needs and earn cashback while you do it!

Download MyHome and take care of all your home needs! Our call center is available 24/7 for your support, give us a call at 22257775 or chat with us using our live chat feature on our app or website www.myhomeapp.io or message us through Instagram or Twitter @myhome_app. We aim to continuously improve our customer support service and are here to listen to your feedback on ways we can enhance our offerings and overall service.

MyHome – The App for All Your Needs

Al Fintas “Marasi” is a project that includes more than 1.8KM of developed facilities that include shops, restaurants, cinemas, a hotel and a large marina.

The Fintas Marinas project aims to be the leading marine destination on the coast of the State of Kuwait

The Fintas Marinas project includes more than 1.8 km of developed facilities that will provide unprecedented entertainment and commercial experiences, as 800 floating moorings for boats and mega yachts will be provided, and 1,200 multi-role stands for small boats, fishing and picnic boats, attached to an integrated yachting club, 5-star hotel and conference center On an island located in the middle of the project.

An equivalent of 200,000 square meters of recreational and commercial spaces will be developed throughout the marina, which will attract residents and visitors to enjoy the lifestyle of the marina and at the same time enable them to take advantage of other commercial and entertainment activities such as shops, restaurants, cinemas, cultural events and the botanical garden. All project components will be implemented using the principle of “one climate under one roof”, to ensure a comfortable environment for visitors during all seasons. The Fintas Marinas project includes a nautical club as well as yacht repair and maintenance workshops dedicated to serving all yacht owners.

A smart transportation strategy has also been prepared to ensure a smooth transition within the project, which includes car parks in the basement with a capacity of 6000 cars, provision of service logistical spaces behind commercial areas, and the implementation of an upgraded railway to transport visitors between the components of the project in a flexible manner, and a VIP entrance has also been allocated. It has direct access to the waterfront.

Marassi Fintas is a unique destination in Kuwait that can be accessed from land or sea. The project will also provide many investment opportunities for owners of small and medium enterprises.

The concept looks really interesting but couldn’t find much information on it online other than this video presentation and a short Arabic description under the video which I posted above translated using Google.

Thanks lovelykuwait

EL&N Cafe (formerly known as Élan Café), one of the most instagrammable cafes in London is opening up in Kuwait. EL&N Cafe is known for their over the top pink interior, pink and purple floral wall, neon signs, millennial pink furniture and their equally instagrammable pink desserts. They will be opening in The Avenues near Cheesecake Factory next year.

V-Thru is an app similar to Carriage and Deliveroo but instead of it being a food delivery service, it’s a virtual drive-thru service that allows you to pick up food from restaurants that don’t have a drive-thru. I originally refused to use the app since it required me to sign up and register before I could explore it and I HATE apps that force me to sign up and hand over my personal information without letting me explore first. But eventually I had to cave in since I needed to experience the app for work purposes and now I kinda like it.

Before the pandemic anytime I wanted to pick up food I’d just go down to a restaurant, order my food and then pick it up and head back to my car. Some places even allowed me to call ahead of time so they could prepare my food that way I wouldn’t have to wait for long at the restaurant. But now with the pandemic, I prefer not leaving my car, touching restaurant door handles or using Knet machines which is why I’m liking V-Thru.

The way V-Thru works is you find a restaurant you want to order from and then once you place an order the app will let you know how long your food needs to be ready and navigates you to the restaurant. You also have to describe your car type and color because once you get to the restaurant the app recognizes you’re there and informs the restaurant that you’re outside. If your food is ready the restaurant will then come outside and find your car to deliver the food. All payments are done digitally through the app and you can even communicate with the restaurant via a chat box.

It’s actually a very practical service and the app fees are minimal at just 200fils. The app also isn’t packed with thousands of restaurants either so if you just want to randomly browse through the options its actually doable. They also regularly have virtual drive-thru events like one taking place this weekend called Street Crafters. So if you want to try it out and download the app, here is a link to their website. They also have a cute Instagram account you can check out which is @vthru.

If you’re looking for a new fun Instagram account to follow then you should check out the office gang @eatingintheoffice. I just started following them a couple of days back and loving the account so far. They’re an odd bunch and their videos of them eating are super cute. 100% wholesome goodness.

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What we ate : @abby.brgr 🍔 Abby Brgr, Chicken Brgr, Mushroom Brgr , The crispiest onion rings 🤩 Thank you!! 🥰

A post shared by office gang (@eatingintheoffice) on Sep 20, 2020 at 6:43am PDT

They only launched a week ago but they already have a ton of content up so check them out @eatingintheoffice

Nat Geo will be premiering a 20-minute film on the Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre tonight called “Kuwait Culture”. Here is the synopsis:

The 20-minute film entitled “Kuwait Culture” explores the various aspects and features of the colossal project, envisioned as a beacon of art, creative and scientific thinking in Kuwait. Spread over an 18-hectare site, it encompasses 6 museums including the museum of Natural History, Science & Technology, Fine Arts & Theatre, Museum of Islamic History and the Space Museum, all tied together by a central street, a covered thoroughfare forming ASCC’s spine shaped like human DNA. The new National Geographic Abu Dhabi film gives audiences a rare glimpse into the massive and complex task of building the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre, which started in 2016, and involved over 3,000 suppliers from different companies working together to deliver the mammoth project on time.

I don’t have Nat Geo so hopefully they’ll publish the film online after it airs. If you do have Nat Geo, the film premiers tonight at 7PM (Kuwait time):

Premier: Monday 21 September 2020 at 7:00PM
Repeat: Tuesday 22 September 2020 at 8:00AM
Repeat: Tuesday 22 September 2020 at 2:00PM

Here is the link to the documentary on the Nat Geo website.

Recently I needed to get a hold of a macro lens for a project and a friend of mine told me about a place called DD Cameras. Turns out I had been to their store previously looking for used equipment but either didn’t know or had forgotten they also rented cameras, lenses and other photography equipment. So I sent them a Whatsapp message asking if they had a Sony mount macrolens available and turns out they did. The price? KD5 per day, KD14 for 3 days or KD20 for a week. Surprisingly, extremely reasonable. They didn’t have many requirements to rent it either, I basically had to be over 21, have a valid civil ID, and have a photography Instagram account. Basically, to keep random people from renting their gear and possibly damaging them or not returning them, they filter their customers by checking their Instagram account and making sure they qualify to rent them.

It’s an interesting approach and I managed to pass that test so no complaints from me. I ended up dropping by filling out a form and picking up the lens. Super easy process and payment is done when you return the lens which is convenient in case you wanted to keep the gear for longer than originally planned.

If you’re looking for a place to rent photography gear check them out, their Instagram is @ddrents and they’re located on the mezzanine floor of Daiya Coop.

Thanks Dalal

Just a quick note for those of you trying to post an item for sale in the Classifieds section, it won’t work at the moment. The section is currently getting a software upgrade as well as a minor facelift which is why you’ve been getting errors for the past two days. The developer promised to get it done today but might need another day or two to make changes. Sorry about that!

Update: Classifieds is back up. Ran into some issues with the upgrade but finally got it done. Doesn’t look different right now but behind the scenes I’m now running the latest version of the software and most importantly, the errors with uploading images is now gone. I’m now gonna be working on the facelift.