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For some odd reason, it’s actually pretty difficult to find a picture of the original Arby’s that opened up in Kuwait back in the 80s. But a follower on twitter managed to find one taken by a US soldier back in 1991 called Keith O’Brien. According to Keith, this photo was taken right after the war. He was assigned as a driver/bodyguard of a Brigade Commander and he wanted to see Kuwait City. Up till then, they had only been in Saudi, Iraq, and Bahrain so they drove around and he took some photos of various places which you can see here.

Two of the most memorable things about this Arby’s for me was the touch screen ordering system which was super way ahead of its time, and the arcade machines in the basement.

Thanks @Alblogy

Just like gyms, restaurants and coffee shops are reopening today but with social distancing rules in place as well as some new safety measures. For example, restaurants can only use disposable cutlery and are required to have a 2 meters gap between tables (amongst other rules).

I’m really curious to see how this plays out because unlike gyms where you’re meant to keep your mask on the whole time, you’re not expected to keep your mask on while eating.

But with all the concerns I have, I’ll probably be dining out, but maybe once the initial rush subsides since I’m expecting the first couple of weeks to be super busy.

There are loads of car clubs in Kuwait but all the ones I’ve seen are male dominant which can be intimidating for women to join. This is why I like the idea of Kuwait Motorsports, an all-female car club.

The aim of Kuwait Motorsports is to give women a safe environment where they can meet up, show off cars, hold drag races, and even take part in different workshops. It’s similar in idea to RoadRush, except instead of just being a female-only racing event, it’s a community with all-year-round activities. Joining the club is 100% free and there are perks which include discounts from various brands. The club just recently opened so the more members they get, the more perks and offers they’ll get from brands.

I do wish they had a less generic name than Kuwait Motorsports, but generic name aside, if you’re female and over 18 years of age and want to sign up, visit their website kuwaitmotorsports.com

The last time I bought a bicycle was just over 10 years ago. It was a full-suspension mountain bike meaning it had shocks both in the front and in the rear which you’d need if you were doing some crazy ass downhill mountain riding. Since I wasn’t riding down any mountain, I quickly realized over the years that although the bike looked good, the full-suspension setup was overkill for my needs. My favorite bike path is from Corniche Club all the way up to the Kuwait Towers and back so I really didn’t need any sort of mountain bike frankly.

One night during the lockdown, I came across a video on YouTube called “Reasons you only need a gravel bike“. That caught my interest since I was curious to know what a gravel bike was and so over the next 6 days I watched 196 videos on bicycles (I counted them). By the time I was done I had decided that it was time for me to get a new bike and I wanted one from the brand Canyon. What differentiates Canyon from other bike manufacturers is that they sell directly to consumers, no middle man, and so there are no shops that carry their bikes, it’s just you buying directly from their website which means you get a lot more for your money and it also means it’s perfect for us in Kuwait. Since their business model revolves around online orders, then they can easily ship a bike to Kuwait and the package you get includes everything you need to get your bike set up since all their customers have to do it worldwide because there are no local dealers.

I ended up ordering their Roadlite CF 8.0 bike, they had different versions of the bike to choose from but I decided to splurge and buy their higher-end model since I was buying a bike just once every 10 years. The top of the range model was the Roadlite CF 9.0 but I ended up going for the CF 8.0 instead which was specced out with Ultegra components, DT Swiss wheels, carbon fiber handlebar and seatpost, and a bunch of other great components. The 9.0 came with the Dura-ace components instead of Ultegra but that would have been a waste of money for my needs (even Ultegra honestly is a waste of money for my needs). For those of you who don’t know, bicycles are made up of different components from different manufacturers. So brands like Canyon, Trek, Scott, Santa Cruz etc.. design a bike frame and then fit wheels, handlebars, drive terrains, brakes and shocks from other manufacturers who specialize in these components. The performance, weight, quality, and price of those components vary greatly which is you can have a bike costing $1,500 but the same frame with higher-end components costing $6,000. The reason I went with their Roadlite series and not another model was because of my requirements so what works for me might not work for you.

Canyon ship directly to Kuwait via UPS and shipping cost me around 100KD. It arrived well packaged with a step by step manual and all the tools needed to put it together. If you’ve never put together a bike don’t worry, neither had I and turns out it’s not that complicated. You only need to connect the handlebar, seat post, pedals and the wheels to the bike which are all very easy to do especially if you’re good at following instructions. Canyon sell a lot of accessories and gear on their website as well so I had ordered other items with my bike like a bell, a bottle cage, water bottle, rear LED light, some Canyon stickers and probably my best purchase of the year, the CLUG bike rack. Seriously the CLUG is incredible, so simple and yet has made storing my bicycle so practical.

I’ve now had the bike for over a month and been riding it around 3-4 times a week and loving it. One of my favorite things about the bike is that it weighs just 8.3kg. That’s so light I could literally lift the bike with one finger (I actually tried it). My previous mountain bike really wasn’t considered that heavy at around 14.3kg, but the difference in weight between my old bike and the new one is night and day. I notice it mostly when I’m carrying my bike around but also while riding in a headwind or jumping off curbs or raised bits of the road. The bike is so light that when I fit my two water bottles in my bottle cages, the bike ends up feeling considerably heavier.

I didn’t really have a budget when I initially started looking at bikes but I assumed I would pay somewhere in the range of 300-400KD. In the end, I ended up paying 700KD including the 100KD for shipping. It was way more than I ever expected to pay for a bicycle but the odd thing is, it’s not even that expensive compared to some other models. Maybe I’m out of the loop in the bike world or something, but top-end mountain bikes are in the 1,500-2,500KD range with most basic ones starting somewhere around 400KD. So yeah, it all depends on your mindset and how deep your pockets are more than anything else really. In my case, I’m having a lot of fun riding again so that’s made the bike worth it for me.

If you’ve been thinking about getting a bike and didn’t like the locally available options then you should really check out Canyon. Their customer service has been pretty great as well, I’ve had to get in touch with them about some technical questions and they’ve been very quick in getting back to me. Here is a link to their website.

This place isn’t new but I only found out about it recently from TikTok (via @ruqiaalmurshed) and since it was a few minutes drive from my place, I decided to check it out. The store is located a few buildings down from Promenade Mall in Hawalli and can easily be missed if you aren’t paying attention.

Like Singarea, Haiso is an Asian market where you can find all sorts of Korean and Japanese food products. The store is small, but every single item there is imported and not items you’d usually find at your regular supermarket. They have all sorts of dry and canned goods but the store also has lots of frozen items as well as a large selection of Asian drinks. Check out this video I found if you want to see more items on their shelves.

I actually think Haiso belongs to the Ginza Market owners who are major importers of Asian food products in Kuwait. Both Ginza and Haiso are located in high traffic areas so just visit the one that’s more convenient for you since both places basically carry the exact same items. Here is their location on Google Maps.

I was extremely impressed at how quickly the Kuwait Red Crescent Society were able to mobilize and fly out to Lebanon after the explosion with aid. To give you an idea of how fast, the explosion had taken place at around 6PM and by early next morning, the Kuwait Red Crescent Society were already in Lebanon with their supplies and team. That’s just over 12 hours later! You can see how they’re helping right now by checking out their Instagram account @k.r.c.s which they’re fairly active on.

But, more importantly, the Kuwait Red Crescent Society have also set up a Lebanon Relief Campaign to help the people who were affected by the explosion. Your donation can help provide them with medical supplies, other necessities, and accommodation. For more information and to donate, click here.

ROVE is a local car booking app similar to Uber. It’s a lot more upscale than the street cabs and more in line with the likes of Draewil. Before the pandemic, I was flip-flopping between ROVE and Draewil depending on which had a cab closer to me but Draewil hasn’t reopened yet (I think they’ve closed down for good they’re going to be back September) so currently ROVE is the only car booking service I’d use.

Like I mentioned in my Draewil review, I don’t use cabs a lot, usually only when dropping one of my cars off to the garage so I don’t mind spending the extra amount of money for comfort and right now, safety. I actually don’t think ROVE is even that expensive compared to the experience you’re getting in return. A trip from my garage in Kuwait City to Salmiya cost me KD4.5, but I was picked up in a brand new Range Rover, there was a bottle of hand sanitizer in the rear cupholder alongside a water bottle, I had a charging cable, lots of legroom, the driver wore a face mask the whole time and the whole service is very professional.

I’m actually not sure if ROVE have other cars since every time I’ve used them I’ve been picked up in a Range Rover. Depending on where you are the time it takes for their car to reach you will vary, yesterday it took 8 minutes for the car to arrive after I requested one. For payment, you can either set up your credit card in the app, pay by cash or pay by KNET. If you’re looking for a premium cab service, I’d highly recommend ROVE right now. Here is a link to their website with the app download links. [Link]

They’re also on Instagram @rideroveapp

I wasn’t sure I could be useful to Lebanon during this important period but a few days ago I linked to my sister on Instagram since she’s on the ground there helping after the devastating explosion, and because of that one post she ended up getting hundreds of messages from people in Kuwait wanting to help. I realized I could use my platform to direct donations to some NGOs in Lebanon so, with the help of my sister, I’ve curated a list.

Below are some NGOs who desperately need your support. Clicking the name of the NGO will send you straight to the donation page but if you want to know more about what they’re doing, the second link will send you to their Instagram account.

CHildren AgaiNst CancEr
They’re in great need of medication since they had to send home the children with low immunity because their hospital was destroyed
Instagram: @chanceassociation

Nusaned
Currently providing food, hygiene kits, temporary shelter and medical supplies
Instagram: @nusaned

BASSMA
Currently providing food for affected families and helping in a variety of ways
Instagram: @bassmalb

Ahla Fawda
Currently providing food and support for affected families
Instagram: @ahlafawda

Arcenciel
Currently providing food for affected families
Instagram: @arcenciel.aec

Offre Joie
Currently providing food as well as material to help rebuild
Instagram: @offre.joie

Lebanon Of Tomorrow
Their goal is to replace every shattered glass and rebuild every broken down door
Instagram: @lebanonoftomorrow

SESOBEL
A social service for the welfare of Lebanese children with disabilities
Instagram: @sesobel

Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon
Their hospital got destroyed and they need help to rebuild
Instagram: @ccclebanon

Every amount is important and helps so thank you in advance.

I found out about the Exotic Snax website because a friend of mine bought Lucky Charms from them. Ignore the part where they say they’re the only online candy store in Kuwait since obviously that’s not true but, they do actually have an interesting selection of products. Most of the items can be found in other places in Kuwait if you know where to look but there are also some I haven’t seen anywhere. There is also the convenience factor of having all these products in one place and being able to order them to your home so check out their website exoticsnaxkw.com

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the 1990 Kuwait Invasion, and every year on the anniversary, I like to share some links related to the war. Here they are:

Free Kuwait
This is a website that focuses on the campaign that was led by Kuwaitis in exile and is loaded with photos and information.

Kuwait Invasion – The Evidence
This is a website that contains over 1,200 pictures taken right after the 1990 invasion as photographic evidence to all the destruction caused by Iraq.

Short movie: Hearts of Palm
Hearts of Palm is a short movie set on August 2nd 1990 and deals with Kuwaiti students living in Miami Florida during the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait.

The Class of 1990
This is a short documentary about reuniting classmates years after the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

Homemade video from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
Video clips taken by a Kuwaiti family during the Iraqi invasion

Desert Storm Photos
Photos taken by soldiers during Desert Storm.

Short Animation: Sandarah
A captivating story based on true events that took place during the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

First Account of Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait
Interviews with various Kuwaitis that were in Kuwait during the 1990 invasion.

Iraqi Invasion Pictures
Photos of the Gulf War aftermath.

Politics of War
A tumblr account with some not so commonly seen photos from the Gulf War. (Warning some are graphic)

Magnum Photos
A gallery of images taken during the Gulf War by some great photographers. (Warning some are graphic)

BBC Documentary: The Last Flight to Kuwait
A series of documentaries on Iraq begins with a look at the fate of British Airways flight BA149 to the Far East in 1990. As the plane landed in Kuwait, Saddam Hussein invaded, capturing its crew and passengers.

Photos in this post are by Bruno Barbey

The Civil Aviation just announced a few moments ago (3:15PM on the first day of the airport reopening) that there are in fact countries that are banned from flying to Kuwait. The countries on the banned list are the following:

Armenia – Bangladesh – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Brazil – Chile – China – Colombia – Dominican Republic – Egypt – Hong Kong – India – Indonesia – Iraq – Iran – Italy – Kosovo- Lebanon – Macedonia – Mexico – Moldova – Montenegro – Nepal – Pakistan – Panama – Peru – Philippines – Serbia – Singapore – Spain – Sri Lanka – Syria (source 1, 2)

So if you live in one of those countries and had booked a flight to Kuwait, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be able to fly back for the time being.

Update: One airline had to inform their passengers that only Kuwaitis would be allowed to land in Kuwait after the late Civil Aviation announcement barring planes from certain countries from flying to Kuwait. That must have been so disheartening to the passengers who thought they were finally coming back home. Link

I found a seller on Instagram that had a Kids ‘r’ Us catalog for sale. Kids ‘r’ Us was the largest and most popular toy store in Kuwait back in the 80s but during the 1990 invasion the store got burned down. After the invasion, a smaller location opened up in old Salmiya and that later closed down and was turned into X-cite.

The catalog had already been sold for KD50 but the pictures were still up and they brought back a lot of memories. KD50 sounds expensive and it is, but anything Kids ‘r’ Us related is near impossible to find so you’ll always have collectors willing to pay that much.

There is actually someone on eBay selling the Centurions Walkie-talkie pictured in the catalog above for 35KD brand new in the box. Please buy it before I do! Check out the rest of the catalog pages below.

When I found these photos yesterday I was completely taken aback, other than the fact I had no idea that NES first opened in 1969 (I thought they opened much later), I didn’t know they first started off in a villa and a really beautiful one.

I love how this is most likely common knowledge to every NES student ever, yet I just found out about all this even though it’s been basically been my job for the past 18 years to find out about things like this. I guess I was too obsessed with digging up stuff on my school (Sunshine School) that I didn’t really even consider looking at other schools in Kuwait.

In any case, I found these photos partially on the NES Facebook account and partially on their website. I’m really impressed with the fact they still had these photos and had actually taken the time to scan and upload them. I really really love all these photos and mostly because how they totally don’t look like Kuwait.

The first classes of NES opened in a villa in Shamiyah, actually starting at Secondary level and very soon after extending backwards to Kindergarten. It was soon apparent that this educational venture was outgrowing the original premises, so a purpose built campus was opened in 1974, and to date, improvements and extensions continue to maintain an environment that allows students to thrive. source

There are more photos on their Facebook page and website, but you can check out my favorites in my post above a lot more inside this post below.

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A post shared by قطاع شئون المرور والعمليات (@traffic_kw) on Jul 12, 2020 at 2:33am PDT

Back in January, I posted about how the Traffic Department set up a Whatsapp account (99324092) where residents can report violations. I tried them once and got no response so really didn’t bother contacting them again. But, they’ve recently been reminding people about this service and they even posted the video above with some examples of violations that were reported.

I think I’m going to give them another shot, maybe starting with something easy like reporting people who park in handicapped parking spots. Oh and those guys who drive up and down the Gulf Road going 10km/h trying to chat up girls. Yup, I’m going to be a snitch. If it works then maybe I’ll have a reason to upgrade my now 6-year old dashcam with a 4K version.

Has anyone tried this Whatsapp service recently? Did they respond?

The 2020 Formula 1 season finally kicked off last week after being delayed due to the Corona pandemic. The second race of the season is taking place later today but like last year, you’re pretty limited to how you can watch it here in Kuwait. The only network in our region that broadcasts the races is MBC Action but it’s in Arabic and I couldn’t find a way to stream it online. The other (and better) option is watching it directly on F1 TV.

I’ve posted about F1 TV before but I mentioned you needed a U.S. credit card to sign up since live broadcasts aren’t available for Kuwait. But, my U.S. credit card expired and I still haven’t gotten my replacement card so I was worried I wouldn’t be able to subscribe again this season. Turns out you don’t need a U.S. credit card!

If you’re on an Apple device and have a US Apple Store account, then you can subscribe to F1 TV from inside the app and pay for the subscription using your Apple Store account. It’s a neat loophole that should make Formula 1 broadcasts easily accessible to more people.

So if you’re an F1 fan and want to watch the races, download the F1 TV app.