Search: “cop”

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a link to a book on eBay saying “This is something you might want. American expat cartoonist who drew some funny sketches of life in Kuwait. Also a shawarma guide for the ‘90s.” Literally, 2 minutes later I sent him a screenshot of my order. It was selling for 9KD and it came out while I was at university in Lebanon so I was curious to know what was “in” while I wasn’t here. The book ended up being delivered yesterday and it turned out to be way more interesting than I expected it to be.

It’s 132 pages filled with illustrations, maps, reviews and recommendations of where to go and what to do in Kuwait all written in a humorous tone. It reminded me a bit of the Wizr series but with a lot more illustrations and content. I posted some pages up on my Instagram and pretty much I right away started getting bombarded by people asking where they can get a copy and I honestly have no idea.

There is one for sale on Amazon right now but the guy is asking for like $700 which is obviously ridiculous. At one point it looked like there was a copy available online but that was back in 2006 and the page no longer works. It’s 132 pages so I can’t sit down and scan the book one page at a time.

Until I figure out the best way to share the whole book online you can for now at least check out the few pages I’ve uploaded here.

Thanks Shaheen!!!

WELCOME TO THE ARENA KUWAIT

Our Arena is a 5,000+ capacity purpose-built indoor live entertainment and events venue which is set to transform the delivery of live events within the State of Kuwait. It has been designed to world-class standards and is capable of hosting various event types.

We aim to host a comprehensive range of events and differentiated activities targeting the multinational population of Kuwait as well as the world. We are excited about the prospect of bringing family entertainment, music concerts, sports events, comedy shows, theatre shows, cultural gatherings, consumer exhibitions and a variety of other events and activities to Kuwait and the region.

The Arena Kuwait is an integral part of a major destination development by the Tamdeen Group which includes our key destination partners; Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait, Grand Hyatt Kuwait and 360 Mall.

The Arena is part of the new 360 Mall extension and supposedly the project is on track to open by the end of the year.

Live Nation if you aren’t aware are one of the largest live entertainment companies in the world.

thearenakuwait.com
@thearenakuwait

I’ve previously mentioned a place in the city where they still develop film but 35mm.kw has compiled a list of other studios around Kuwait where you can develop film. I’ve copy-pasted his list below but check out his website if you want to know their prices:

Shamia Studio
Location: Shamia co-op Shamia Mall (Google Maps)
Contact: 96644934
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Yes
Print: Yes

Ashkanani Studio
Location: Rumaithiya Co-op, outside shops (Google Maps)
Contact: 55654050
Film development: 35mm format only
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Yes
Scan Slides: Yes
Print: Yes

Iris Studio
Location: Salmiya, Easa Al-Qatami Street (Google Maps)
Contact: 67647879 – 66990058
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Yes
Print: Yes

Ghadeer Studio
Location: Qurtoba Co-op, Qurtoba mall (Google Maps)
Contact : 25319648
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: No
Print: Yes

Kashmir Studio
Location: Kuwait City just before Al-Shamlan Mosque (Google Maps)
Contact: 97896914
Film development: 35mm & 120 medium format
Scan 35mm: Yes
Scan medium format: Unknown
Print: Yes

Yesterday a friend of mine had her dog stolen in Messila. Her nanny was walking the dog around 8AM and two men in a white Honda Civic with a broken front bumper stopped and snatched her dog before speeding away. According to the nanny, there was another dog in the car, a pug and there were two guys. What’s scary is the fact that two weeks ago, the same white car with 2 guys and a girl stole another dog in Jabriya.

I think thieves are going after dogs since cops don’t seem to care and the dog owners tend to offer rewards but dogs are also pretty easy to sell at the moment. I had a friend whose dog got stolen a few weeks ago, through the help of social media he was able to find the person who had his dog. My friend then went to the police station for their help to get the dog back and they laughed him out of the station (He wasn’t an expat). In the end, he had to go confront the thief himself to get his dog back.

If you have a dog, be extra vigilant for the time being. Maybe get them a collar with a GPS device or at least have your contact info on their collar.

Local musician and artist Zahed Sultan has a new track out and I really like the new more personal approach he’s been taking with his music. His previous track “Layl” was related to his father while “Hindi Majnoon” is about how he was bullied for being half Indian while growing up in Kuwait. I’ve embedded the YouTube link above but the song is also on Spotify and Apple Music.

Here are two videos of Entertainment City taken in the 80s which I hadn’t seen before. The first video on top was shot in 1984 during the visit of the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah to the park, while the one below is from 1986 and looks like it was filmed during the National holiday.

Also since we are on the subject of Entertainment City, awhile back I read an interesting story on @abdulraoufq8’s Instagram. When Entertainment City was closed down and abandoned, people used to sneak into it and one time a group of kids snuck into the park and went to the Lightning roller coaster ride. One of the kids ended up sitting on the ride and then fastened the seatbelt and it got locked in and he couldn’t unlock it. Scared, the kids called 112 for help and the authorities ended up coming and freeing the kid from the seatbelt.

According to @abdulraoufq8, the ride was eventually sold to a neighboring country. For more interesting tidbits on Entertainment City, check out the highlights on @abdulraoufq8.

Below are some old National Day songs you can download as MP3s as well as a few music videos that are available on YouTube:

Downloadable MP3’s (Right click and save as)
Beladona Il Kuwait
Shadi Al Khaleej – Kaseeroh Dalah
Sana Al Kharaz – I7na IlKha6awi AlAkeeda
Sana Al Kharaz – 6ig Ya Mu6ar 6ig
Sana Al Kharaz – Al Azrag
Sana Al Kharaz – Salam Ya Wa6ani
7naina Il Ayadi
Il Wa7id Allah (Om A7med – Wainich Yal Ibra)
Imbarak 3alaik il3id
Abdul Kareem Abdul Qader – Wa6an Al Nahar
Abdullah Al-Ruwaishid – 3ashat Lina Il Kuwait (Original)
Hussien Al Jasmi – La Telomoni (Hala February)
Nabeel Sh3ail – Ya Dar (Hala February)
Rashid Al-Majid – 6ayir Men El Far7a
BBS Kids – Wa6ani 7abeebi
Kuwaiti TV Band – Ya Wardity Ya Nidiya
Kuwaiti TV Band – Al Ziman Dawar

Music Videos
حفل المعاهد الخاصة سنة 86 – كلما زادت المحن – شادي الخليج
شادي الخليج وسناء الخراز _اروحنا سورها(كل مازادت المحن)
شادي الخليج 1986- كاسروه دله اربع انات مله
شادي الخليج – كويت و العرب من اوبريت شراع الوفاء
لقيناه ” جابر أبونا من عمر” – سناء الخراز
نبيل شعيل – الكويت حرة
Free Kuwait Song
Free Kuwait Song by Americans

If there are more music videos I should add let me know!

Someone on Reddit found the postcard above that was written and sent by Malcolm X from Kuwait back in 1964. Malcolm X was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure in the US during the civil rights movement. Following his exit from the Nation of Islam, he took a pilgrimage to Mecca and during that time, he also traveled to Kuwait, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Casablanca.

The postcard above was one of 16 postcards that were auctioned off in 2016 and were sent by Malcolm to Gloria Owens, who was the secretary at Muhammad’s Temples of Islam where he was a minister alongside Louis Farrakhan. The postcard reads:

Greetings from beautiful Kuwait. Since I’ve seen what a mess can be made of things by narrow-minded people, I’m still traveling, trying to broaden my scope.

Until just a few moments ago I had no idea Malcolm had visited Kuwait. I’ll try and see if I can dig up anything from his trip but for now, if you want to see a higher resolution version of the postcard above, click here.

Thanks Ayr909!

Since the gyms are closed I figured I’d post about Apple Fitness+ and how much I like it. Last month I decided I’d get back into yoga, I used to do it frequently a few years ago and then just stopped and never got back into it. Last year I tried doing yoga while watching a YouTube video and didn’t like the experience, but in September Apple released Fitness+ so I decided to try it out and see if it was any better. To use it you need to have an Apple Watch set up on your phone, I didn’t have an Apple Watch but I had borrowed one from a friend last year to try it out and I guess my phone still thought I had it. I couldn’t get Fitness+ working on Apple TV or my iPad but it was fine on my phone which was ok for now since I could stream from it to my TV. I decided to try a yoga exercise and to my surprise, my experience was great!

I started doing yoga with an instructor called Dustin and I just clicked with his style right away. I liked his pace, I liked his soothing voice and very chill demeanor and I’ve now started doing yoga with him practically on a daily basis. Apple Fitness+ is basically the same thing as watching an exercise video on YouTube except for the fact that it’s organized really well in the app and if you have an Apple Watch, the app connects your heart rate monitor to Fitness+ and you get a data exchange between the two (you can see your data on the TV as well). I really didn’t care for the Apple Watch, not really a fan of it nor do I like collecting data while working out since I tend to become data-obsessed and it ruins things for me (it why I stopped rowing for cardio and why I had stopped riding my bike for a long time). But I really am enjoying Fitness+ a lot. It’s become my go-to now after finishing up my weight lifting at home.

I mentioned at the start how Fitness+ was somehow working for me on my phone because at one point I had an Apple Watch set up on it? Well, that didn’t last long and it started giving me errors and not letting me stream onto my TV. I didn’t want to stop using Fitness+ so I decided to buy an Apple Watch so I could set up Fitness+ properly. Fitness+ requires an Apple Watch Series 3 or above to work so I looked around for a cheap second hand Apple Watch or a cheap brand new one since all I needed it for was Fitness+. In the end, I found out that Xcite in Jleeb had a Series 3 Apple Watch in stock, size 38mm, and selling for KD64.5 with a free additional strap. This was the cheapest new Apple Watch I could find so I ended up picking that up and setting it up with my phone. Now Fitness+ works on all my devices including Apple TV and my iPad. I also picked up a couple of Manduka yoga blocks from Ananda since I’m currently as flexible as a concrete brick.

Fitness+ has a bunch of workouts you can pick from other than yoga including Hiit, core, strength, treadmill, cycling, rowing, dance, and mindful cooldown. You need an Apple Watch to be able to set up Fitness+ the first time but after that, you don’t really need to wear the watch unless you want to know how many calories or monitor other data. In addition to an Apple Watch, Fitness+ costs $9.99 a month but it came included for me with my Apple One premier plan. Yes, you can use YouTube but I tend to like services focused on one thing and Fitness+ makes finding a workout, bookmarking and following a specific trainer all very easy. Plus if you want to track your heart rate and calorie count then the combination of the Apple Watch and Fitness+ works great and you can also get various notifications on your watch like when you’re past the halfway point of the workout or when you’ve achieved a new record.

Since gyms are closed, Fitness+ could be a great alternative especially if you already have an iOS device and an Apple Watch. They have a free trial period so you don’t need to commit to a membership unless you think you’d use the service.

Boom Diwan is an ensemble of traditional Kuwaiti musicians who combine Kuwaiti bahri (sea) music with global jazz. This Saturday they will be teaming up with South African jazz pianist Nduduzo Makhathini and I’ll be streaming their performance live on the blog.

Event by NYUAD Arts Center
Date: Saturday, February 6th 2021
Time: 7PM
Location: YouTube and Facebook

The event will take place at 7PM on Saturday so check back then for the YouTube link or, watch the stream on Facebook.

Here are more details of the event:

For this performance, Boom.Diwan will collaborate with and feature special guest pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, the first ever South African musician signed to the legendary Blue Note Records. The two will co-compose a suite that will be performed as an immersive ritual of music, the visual, and dance that takes into account ideas about the self, the community, and the spiritual in the face of modernity. The music touches on ideas of cosmopolitanism, community, dialogue, and healing.

Founded by applied ethnomusicologist Ghazi Al-Mulaifi, Boom.Diwan is a collaborative global jazz ensemble that revives the cosmopolitan tradition of the Kuwaiti pearl diving music of the Indian Ocean trade. With influences spanning Zanzibar to Calicut, improvisation, fluidity, and dialogue are at the center of Boom.Diwan.

At its core, Boom.Diwan is comprised of Al-Mulaifi on vocals, percussion, and electric guitar and members of the Mayouf Mejally Ensemble, who are the among the oldest and most widely respected pearl-diving music ensembles in Kuwait and the GCC. For this performance, they will be joined by Steven Bedford (NOON) on electric bass, and Claude Cozens on drum kit. Improvisation and cross-cultural collaborations are the foundation of Boom.Diwan’s mission.

Update: Here is the YouTube stream!

Over the weekend the ‏Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced that the importing of car exhaust systems would be banned. Like every normal person, I also hate it when I’m sitting somewhere quiet only to have some asshole in a Silvarado pickup truck with a modified exhaust system rev his engine loud as if he’s about to take part in a drag race. But, banning the import of exhausts doesn’t solve this issue!

Why is it that every time there is any sort of problem the first solution is to apply an outright ban? People are riding electric scooters on the street? Let’s ban that. Some expats are using their private pickups for commercial work? Let’s ban them from owning pickup trucks. People might have sex in the back seat of their cars if we allow dark window tinting? Ban that! Instead of taking a bit of time to think of a proper solution, things just get banned and that sucks.

Firstly lets be clear about something, banning the import of car exhausts doesn’t solve the issue of people being loud with their cars. There are a lot of ways to make your current exhaust existing system loud and it’s easy and cheap to do. You can for example remove your car’s catalytic converter or your muffler and that would make your car really loud. You can cut holes in your muffler and that will also make your exhaust loud. You can even go to a local exhaust shop and have him fabricate you a cheap exhaust with the purpose of being loud if you want. There are lots of options without having to import an exhaust system from abroad.

I’ve personally imported two exhaust systems and both times it had nothing to do with making my car louder. The first exhaust I ordered was for my first Lotus, I didn’t like the way the stock exhaust looked like so I ordered a new one with carbon fiber tips (pictured on top). It didn’t make my car any louder and it came with a valve similar to the factory system that would stay closed for normal use and keep the car quiet. I simply ordered the exhaust for looks. The second time I ordered an exhaust system was for my 1972 Datsun 240Z which is currently in the final stages of restoration. The exhaust that came on the car was a poor quality aftermarket exhaust that was in terrible condition, so I ordered a new high-quality hand made exhaust all the way from Japan (cost me around 600KD and pictured below) to try and keep my restoration authentic. I know people who order exhausts for performance reasons as well, some exhaust systems add horsepower to the car and some are lighter and reduce the overall weight of the car.

More importantly though, what is considered loud in the first place? In Europe and other parts of the world, cars have noise limits that are measured in decibels. It’s not based on some cop’s opinion of what he thinks is loud, it’s actually a specific db number that if your car exceeds is then considered illegal. When they started cracking down on cars with loud exhausts last week nobody mentioned any db limit, just that people with “loud” exhaust would be fined and possibly have their cars impounded. But loud could mean one thing to one person and another thing to another.

Anyway, like every new law that gets announced in Kuwait, this will probably last a couple of weeks before it’s forgotten about and everything goes back to normal, so maybe I shouldn’t be so frustrated with this.

AlMuthanna Complex used to be one of the very few malls in Kuwait when I was growing up and it had some of my favorite places including The Kuwait Bookshop and Hungry Bunny. But for over a decade now it’s been a ghost town of a sort. I heard it had something to do with the fact that the land lease had expired and there was a transition period but that was over 10 years ago. I also heard rumors they were planning to demolish the building as well.

There are just a handful of stores still open in the mall so it’s pretty sad. The complex is located in a great location in the city, it has tons of parking and even the residential apartments are nicely laid out and constructed. If anyone knows what’s going on with the building let me know.

Have you ever dined aboard a traditional wooden dhow? Now is your chance! Al Boom Steak & Seafood Restaurant opened brand new outdoor seating. It’s a whole new experience you should not miss. Al Boom Restaurant is located aboard a traditional wooden ship modeled after those that used to sail the Arabian Gulf and is “docked” at Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait.

The Head Chef of Al Boom Restaurant, Mukthar Alli, completely revised the menu that will take you on a tour around the world with dishes inspired by Indian, Arabic, European and American cuisines. The meat selection will surely please every meat lover as it includes prime cuts of Certified Angus Beef and Australian Wagyu. The seafood section includes shrimp, lobster, and various types of fish popular in Kuwait. All specials are charcoal-grilled to perfection – mmm… so tender and juicy.

Every Friday, Al Boom also opens for Al Boom Friday Brunch. Who doesn’t love to be outdoors around this time of the year? The deck of Al Boom is a perfect place to sit back, listen to the sound of the sea, and enjoy the lavish meal prepared by the skilled chefs of Radisson Blu Hotel. The brunch, served at your table, features impressive 21 dishes that include mezzes, salads, tapas, and of course freshly grilled specials. The Al Boom Brunch will make you go WOW! And all the dishes are snap-worthy, so get your camera ready.

The Al Boom Restaurant, built in Calicut, India in 1979, is an exact replica of dhows that used to sail the Arabian Sea until the start of the twentieth century. The ship arrived in Kuwait in 1980, right in time for the opening of the Radisson Blu Hotel, and Al Boom Restaurant first opened in 1982. The lavish wooden décor with touches of copper creates a truly unique nautical ambiance. Ever since its opening Al Boom has been visited by many famous guests throughout the years such as sheiks, presidents, and senators, and it has earned an esteemed reputation for its high-class hospitality. A meal here is an event you must experience.

Al Boom Steak & Seafood Restaurant
Radisson Blu Hotel

T: +965 2567 3430 | [email protected] | radissonhotels.com/blu

Opening Hours:
6–11 pm | Monday – Saturday
12–4 pm | Friday Brunch
Closed | Sunday

Last year, the government announced that expats over the age of 60 who have a secondary degree or below will have to leave the country. Supposedly this will help solve the demographic imbalance that has resulted in expats currently making up 70 percent of the population. A lot of people didn’t think this decision was that big of a deal and maybe I’m a bit guilty of that as well. But recently I started realizing who those people being forced to leave would be and now I’m pretty pissed about it.

What I didn’t realize or at least took time to realize is that just because you don’t have a college degree it doesn’t mean you don’t have any skill or experience.

A few weeks ago when I was shopping for a sound system I had such a great experience interacting with a salesman who knew his stuff. I hate dealing with salespeople usually because most don’t know what they’re talking about and are just trying to make a sale but this person I dealt with was an older guy with a lot of experience because he had been working in this field for a long time. I then found out he was going to have to leave this year because he was over 60 and they couldn’t renew his visa.

The video on top is a short piece by AlQabas TV on Souq Safafeer, the metal market in the city. If you ignore the fact that the reporter wasn’t wearing a mask and skip to minute 6 in the video, the reporter interviews a metalworker who’s been in Kuwait since the 50s and is now being forced to leave because of the new rule. He doesn’t have a college degree but he has a skill that we’re now losing.

And we’re going to be losing a lot more of these experienced and skilled people that don’t have any degrees. Could be your favorite barber or the best welder in your company, expats who have been working for a very long time and have become the best at what they do and now have to leave because they don’t have degrees.

Forget the fact that some people like the old metalworker in the video above has been living in Kuwait for nearly 60 years and now is being told he needs to start a new life somewhere else. That’s a messed up thing by itself but put that aside for now, how does it benefit Kuwait if we are kicking out the most skilled and experienced people? I don’t get it.

This post reminded me of the old photographer in the city who I posted about years ago. His story was slightly different, he moved to Kuwait in the 50s as a teenager after running away from an abusive father in Lebanon and had been living in Kuwait as a photographer ever since. He never left Kuwait, not even for a vacation. When I first met him he was having anxiety because his residency had expired and he had trouble reaching his sponsor and was worried he would have to leave the country. He was around 80 years old with no family, home, or anything outside of Kuwait. With this new rule, he would have been forced to leave. Totally messed up.

The first time I visited the camel races was back in 2013 and I posted a guide for anyone who wanted to experience it as well. Because it’s been awhile since I last went, I decided to pass by again and publish an updated guide.

This past Saturday I drove out to the Kuwait Camel Racing Club to see how much things have changed. I took my old Alfa because I recently replaced some parts on it and wanted a long trip just to make sure I installed everything correctly. The trip to the tracks took a bit less than an hour and didn’t feel like a long drive at all. Once I got to the tracks I noticed all the main gates were locked. For a second I thought they were closed but then I noticed SUV’s speeding across the desert in the distance and heading in the direction of the track, I figured there might be another entrance and drove in the direction they were all heading. Sure enough, there was a side gate open off the main road and I drove into the racing club.

Once I drove into the track I didn’t see any spectators, racers, employees or even any signs telling me where to go next. So I just started following other cars and ended up driving through another gate and onto a tarmac road adjacent to the race track. I then kept driving till I eventually ended up at the start line. You can watch the video above which shows you how to enter the tracks and get to the tarmac that takes you to the start line. If you don’t have an SUV you’ll be fine since I was able to get to the track in my Alfa.

If you want to watch the races there are two ways:

• The first way is you drive up to the start or finish line and park your car on the side and just watch the start or end of the races.

• The second way to watch the races is you drive around the track with the race as it’s taking place. There are four tracks technically, the main track for the camels to race on is a large wide dirt track surrounded by railings. To the right of the race track is a dirt track for the camel owners who drive next to their camels during the race to control the robot jockeys on the camels. To the left of the camel track are two paved roads also separated by railings, one for use by track employees and the camera vehicle, the second is for the spectators to drive alongside the camels during the race. I didn’t do that this past Saturday but I did do that the first time I went to the tracks and you can watch the video above to see how it looks (chaotic basically). The only difference now is the spectators road is paved instead of it being a dirt road like in the video. Back then you could also tune into FM 93.1mhz on the radio and listen to a live broadcast of the actual race as you drive around. I couldn’t test it this time since my Alfa doesn’t have a radio.

The races start at 1PM and last till 3 or 4PM depending on the week. They alternate between 8 races and 16 races a week, the more races the later they finish. This Saturday when I visited it was 8 races, 4 races with the large camels and 4 with smaller ones. The only difference between the two is the starting line shifts closer to the finish line for the smaller camels. Each race lasts around 15 minutes before the next one starts. They’re not that strict with timing, they basically wait till the races end and all the spectators drive back to the starting line before starting the next race. The races take place weekly starting in October and this year will end in the first week of March.

I definitely recommend you check the races out just don’t go with high expectations, it’s nothing fancy. If you have kids they’d probably enjoy seeing camels up close and you can get pretty close to the camels both at the start and finish line. If you want to visit the Kuwait Camel Racing Club, here is the link to Google Maps.