Categories
Activities Things to do

Laser Tag in Kuwait

Yesterday someone asked me if there was a laser tag place in Kuwait and figured other people might be interested to know that there is. The place is called Desert Sniper and they’re located right next to The Avenues. You need to be at least 4 people to play laser tag but a friend who tried it out told me having 10 people is a lot more fun.

If you don’t know what laser tag is, it’s kinda like paint ball except using lasers. When you get hit you light up and a vest vibrates letting you know you’ve been hit. It’s a lot less painful than getting hit by a paintball. The cost per round is KD6 and each round is 10 minutes long. The second round is also KD6 but after the second round the price goes down to KD3 per round. You also need to call them and book your session in advance.

So if you’re interested in laser tagging, you can check out the Desert Sniper [Website] for more details or call them up on 97828080




Categories
Music

Reflections on Traditional Music in Kuwait

Yusuf Al-Jaddah, a sowt singer I encountered during a performance in a private suite at the Jumeirah five-star hotel in Kuwait City in May 2014, pointed out the huge changes that have occurred in the background, even as the tradition of communal performance has persisted:

“Years back I used to sing exactly at this spot with musicians from Bahrain. We were sitting in the sand and this hotel was not even built.”

Kuwait was musically quite a revelation to me. Despite rapid modernizations across the Gulf, which sees traditional performances occurring nowadays in hotels as well as diwānīyahs, traditional music is still performed, at least in private gatherings, on a weekly basis. Although at first the apparent absence of any older buildings in the city centre would imply complete modernisation of the culture, it is clear that musical culture is still very vibrant.

A friend sent me a link to an article from the Qatar Digital Library on traditional music in Kuwait. Honestly, only reason I’m sharing it is because I loved the first song on the playlist called “كاسين ويسكي” or two glasses of whisky in English. The song was written before the alcohol ban in Kuwait and was composed and sang by Kuwaiti musician Abdullah Al-Fadala in Bahrain in the 1950s. You can check out the article [Here] and listen to the whisky song as well as other songs they’ve selected below.

By the way, the Qatar Digital Archive is kinda similar to something I was proposing back in January that we need in Kuwait like urgently. I mean Qatar have digitized and archived Kuwaiti history while we haven’t even done that for ourselves yet alone for our neighboring countries.




Categories
Events Things to do

Things to do in Kuwait this Weekend

Lots of events this weekend but due to the weather, some of the outdoor ones might get canceled, so double check with the organizer before heading out to make sure they’re still on. Below is this weekends list of events:

Thursday
Exhibition: Third Identity
Exhibition: Road to Black
Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, and the Requiem Mass
Amir’s Cup Show Jumping Championship
Tefaseel Design Exhibition
Organic hydroponics and sustainability: Truth or Fiction?

Friday
Tefaseel Design Exhibition
Amir’s Cup Show Jumping Championship
PantryBee Presents Farm to Table Sunset Dinner
Tai Chi in the Park
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Macro Photography in the Park
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering
Salwa’ Walk and Socialize Meetup
Voices & Verses
Reborn Carnival

Saturday
Amir’s Cup Show Jumping Championship
Yoga with the 3
Karate Kenshinkan & Kung-Fu Sanda
Bait Al Arab: Kuwait State Stud
Annual Worldwide InstaMeet
Family Day at Amricani
Murouj Market
Footwork Workshop with Cheerito (Russia)
JAM JAM – Open Acoustic Jam Session
Gardening at The Secret Garden
Reborn Carnival
Volleyball Tournament

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.




Categories
Movies

Movies Now Showing in Kuwait

The movies below are now showing at either Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and Sky Cinemas:

New This Week:
Barbie Video Game Hero (5.0)
Collide (5.7) ♦
Life (7.8)
Power Rangers (7.1)

Other Movies Showing:
Don’t Knock Twice (5.3)
Kong: Skull Island (7.6)
Logan (9.0) ♦
Sleepless (5.5)
The LEGO Batman Movie (8.1)
Vengeance: A Love Story (N/A)

The movies below are now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

A Beautiful Planet 3D (7.9)
Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough (7.6)
Humpback Whales 3D (7.2)
Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean 3D (N/A)
Journey to Space 3D (6.5)
Kenya 3D: Animal Kingdom (6.0)
Mysteries of the Unseen World 3D (7.5)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.




Categories
News

Electronics banned from cabins on some Middle Eastern flights to the U.S. including Kuwait

ku2

You’ve probably heard about this in the news but in case you haven’t, the U.S. issued a temporary ban on electronics in cabins on some Middle Eastern flights to the U.S. It’s a temporary 96 hour ban at the moment but it still sucks if you were planning on traveling to the U.S. in the next few days and like me, take all your on inflight entertainment with you. Oddly though, according to AP, the ban includes Kuwait.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press the ban will apply to nonstop flights to the U.S. from 10 international airports serving the cities of Cairo in Egypt; Amman in Jordan; Kuwait City in Kuwait; Casablanca in Morocco; Doha in Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Istanbul in Turkey; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The ban was indefinite, said the official.

I wasn’t aware of any direct flights to the U.S. from Kuwait. United Airlines stopped flying out from Kuwait and Kuwait Airways now stops in Ireland for security reasons on the way to New York. Is there a flight that is direct to the U.S. from Kuwait that I am not aware of?

Update: It might be a temporary ban, it might not be, everyone seems to be confused

Update2: Kuwait Airways will begin flying non-stop to New York starting from Sunday, March 26.




Categories
Information

Kuwait 39th Happiest Country

sad

The 2017 edition of the World Happiness Report was released yesterday and Kuwait moved up two spots from 41 to 39. The highest Kuwait has ever been was 31 and that was back in 2012. Since then, Kuwait has slowly been dropping down the list until last year it hit its lowest ranking at 41, so 39 this year is technically an improvement.

Below is a list comparing Kuwait’s ranking to some other countries in the region including the highest ranked and lowest.

1. Norway
21. United Arab Emirates
35. Qatar
37. Saudi Arabia
39. Kuwait
41. Bahrain
155. Central African Republic

The scoring is based on a number of factors including answers submitted by people who were asked to assess their satisfaction with their current lives on a scale of 0 to 10. For a more detailed explanation as well as the full list of rankings, you can download the World Happiness Report from [Here]




Categories
Movies

Disney Pulled Beauty and the Beast from Kuwait Cinema *UPDATED*

Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and Sky Cinemas will no longer be showing Disney’s Beauty and the Beast movie in Kuwait. Local censors wanted to cut a scene from the film, most likely the gay related one and Disney decided it would rather pull the movie than censor it. It did the same thing in Malaysia last week when it pulled the movie from theaters over there after Malaysian censors wanted to remove the gay scene as well.

I actually like the idea of Disney pulling the film, I think more movie studios need to do that.

Update: According to Grand Cinemas, they are currently working with the studio on the additional cuts that the MOI requested and will be releasing the film when ready. This means Disney did NOT pull the movie but the movie theaters did due to additional cuts that were requested by the MOI.

Update2: According to Cinescape, they pulled the movie themselves.

Dear Valued Customers,
We would like to inform you that Kuwait National Cinema Company decided to

Stop showing Beauty and the Beast in line with our values as responsibility toward our young viewers [Source]




Categories
Events Things to do

Things to do in Kuwait this Weekend

Weather is great and so lots of outdoor events are taking place this weekend. Check out all the things to do below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Third Identity
Exhibition: Road to Black
Pop-up: Filipo the Filipino
Taste of Q8
Q8 Readers Book Club
The Divan’s Movie Night: Black Mirror – Nosedive

Friday
Taste of Q8
Boubyan Fun Day
Tai Chi in the Park
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering
Salwa’ Walk and Socialize Meetup

Saturday
Taste of Q8
Boubyan Fun Day
Fun Run
Guided Tour: Liberation Tower
Yoga with the 3
The Rascal Race
KTAA Spring Bazaar at Sadu House
First RBK Spring Fayre
Karate Kenshinkan & Kung-Fu Sanda
Shakshooka at Dar Hamad
GIS Carnival
ATIS Spring Fest

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.




Categories
Movies

Movies Now Showing in Kuwait

The movies below are now showing at either Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and Sky Cinemas:

New This Week:
A United Kingdom (6.7) ♦
Beauty and the Beast (6.1)
Sleepless (5.5)
Vengeance: A Love Story (N/A)

Other Movies Showing:
A Dog’s Purpose (4.8)
Don’t Knock Twice (5.3)
Hidden Figures (7.9)
John Wick: Chapter 2 (9.4)
Kikoriki. Legend of the Golden Dragon (6.1)
Kong: Skull Island (7.6)
Kung-Fu Yoga (6.2)
Logan (9.0) ♦
Rings (4.6)
Split (7.5) ♦
The Devil’s Dolls (4.3)
The LEGO Batman Movie (8.1)

The movies below are now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

A Beautiful Planet 3D (7.9)
Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough (7.6)
Humpback Whales 3D (7.2)
Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean 3D (N/A)
Journey to Space 3D (6.5)
Kenya 3D: Animal Kingdom (6.0)
Mysteries of the Unseen World 3D (7.5)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.




Categories
Cars & Bikes

Kuwait Motor Town Race Circuit from Space

The Kuwait Motor Town Race Circuit is expected to be completed sometime next year but you can already see the layout of the track from space using Google Maps. You can compare the satellite view from top to the rendering below for a better idea of what you’re looking at.

For some reason the track doesn’t show when using a desktop browser but only when accessing the coordinates from your phone. I guess the desktop version of Google Maps isn’t updated yet. So if you want to see the track from your phone, click [Here]




Categories
Activities Sports

Learn How to Play Polo in Kuwait

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to play polo, the Kuwait Polo Club offers polo training, horseback riding and horse training. The cost is KD40 for an hour, but if you’re interested in multiple lessons than you could negotiate a better deal. The price includes a horse and all the gear and equipment needed. The club is located in Abdalli Farms so you’ll have to commute quite a bit for these lessons.

Polo in Kuwait isn’t accessible to everyone due to its cost and location but its still good to know that if you want to learn how to play then you can. For more information you can check out the Kuwait Polo Club [Website] or find them on instagram @kuwaitpoloclub




Categories
Interesting

Why Solar Power Won’t Work in Kuwait

Was watching a video on BBC on How plants can lessen the impact of dust storms in Kuwait when I spotted the scene pictured above. Too bad Kuwait canceled its plans for a nuclear power plant…




Categories
Events Things to do

Things to do in Kuwait this Weekend

The Kuwait Baseball Softball Challenger League Tournament is taking place this weekend, so if you want to feel like you’re at a softball game in the US for a few hours then you have to check it out. Corny’s Smashed Lemonade is also going to be there, and after watching his video on how he makes his lemonade, I definitely need to try it out. On Saturday there is also the Bark in the Park event taking place. I’m gonna be judging again this year which is always a lot fun. Anyway, check out the full list of events for this weekend below:

Thursday
Comic Con Kuwait
Kuwait Baseball Softball Challenger League Tournament
Horse Show Jumping Competition
Exhibition: Third Identity
Dance for Romance
Music Concert at ACK

Friday
Comic Con Kuwait
Kuwait Baseball Softball Challenger League Tournament
Horse Show Jumping Competition
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Tai Chi in the Park
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering
Salwa’ Walk and Socialize Meetup
Kuwait’s First Flying Gathering

Saturday
Comic Con Kuwait
Kuwait Baseball Softball Challenger League Tournament
Horse Show Jumping Competition
Yoga with the 3
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
REVIVE Expo
Karate Kenshinkan & Kung-Fu Sanda
Bark in the Park 2017
Kuwait’s First Flying Gathering

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.




Categories
Movies

Movies Now Showing in Kuwait

The movies below are now showing at either Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and Sky Cinemas:

New This Week:
Kong: Skull Island (7.6)
The Devil’s Dolls (4.3)
The Hollow Point (5.4)

Other Movies Showing:
A Dog’s Purpose (4.8)
Don’t Knock Twice (5.3)
Eloise (4.7)
Gold (6.5) ♦
Hidden Figures (7.9)
John Wick: Chapter 2 (9.4)
Kikoriki. Legend of the Golden Dragon (6.1)
Kung-Fu Yoga (6.2)
Logan (9.0) ♦
Mercury Plains (4.3)
Ozzy (5.6)
Rings (4.6)
Split (7.5) ♦
The LEGO Batman Movie (8.1)

The movies below are now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

A Beautiful Planet 3D (7.9)
Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough (7.6)
Humpback Whales 3D (7.2)
Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean 3D (N/A)
Journey to Space 3D (6.5)
Kenya 3D: Animal Kingdom (6.0)
Mysteries of the Unseen World 3D (7.5)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.




Categories
Video Games

Cost of Shipping a Nintendo Switch to Kuwait

If you’re planning to order a Nintendo Switch online and ship it to Kuwait using a forwarding mailbox the, most cost effective way is to use PostaPlus or Aramex Shop&Ship. Below is a cost comparison between different services including customs. Help me fill up the unknowns.

Nintendo Switch (no games)
Aramex: KD17
Borderlinx: KD37.5
MyUS: KD27 approx
PostaPlus: Unknown