Search: “kuwait”

A couple of weeks back I asked if anyone had any difficulties ordering fitness supplements online. I got a variety of answers back but generally the response was that customs wouldn’t give me a hard time unless they were in a bad mood. So I went ahead and placed an order of seven different supplements and sent them to my Aramex Shop & Ship mailbox. Earlier this morning the courier dropped them off without a hitch.

So the answer is yes you can order supplements online and save a ton of money compared to buying them locally. Two of my supplements turned out to be pretty heavy (one was basically a kilo) and that kinda screwed up my savings but, for my next order I will be leaving those two heavy supplements out. The amount of savings I can achieve range anywhere from 50% to 75% off the local cost including shipping and customs. The only thing to keep in mind is not to order from the brands I’ve listed below since according to Aramex, the customs department are instructed to hold these brands:

– Muscle Tech
– Vitol Products
– Ultimate Nutrition Inc.
– Labrada Nutrition Inc.
– Bio Engineered Supplement & Nutrition Inc. “BSN”
– Nurtex Research Inc.
– USP Labs LLC
– Pharma Freak
– ISS Research
– Diamond Nutrition Inc. “DMI “
– Nutrabolics
– Experimental and Applied Sciences “IAS”

I ordered all my supplements from Amazon since they have some of the cheapest prices I found online [Link]

The weather last weekend was horrible so hopefully we’ll get clear skies this week. If the weather is good then I would recommend hitting one of the outdoor movies on Thursday evening and then on Friday head out to Khiran for the Wakeboarding Competition. Since I’m half Armenian I would also recommend the Armenian Cultural event for Friday night. On Saturday there isn’t much going on except for the Madeenah night at the Secret Garden which should include great food and music. Here are all the events for this weekend:

Thursday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: New Species by Hunt Slonem
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
Sirdab Lab Movie Night: Lord of War
Rooftop Movie: La Promesse

Friday
Kuwait Dino Park
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
18th Asian Individual Squash Championships
Wakeboarding Competition
Toastmasters Conference 2015
Book Club Meeting
Armenian Cultural Evening
David Hanners Live at The Southern

Saturday
Kuwait Dino Park
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
18th Asian Individual Squash Championships
ManateqMe – Somu Square Clean-up
Madeenah: End of Season Mixer
Rooftop Movie: Before Midnight

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]

Update: Added the Squash Championships and the Somu Square clean-up to the list.
Update2: Added the live music event at The Southern
Update3: Added the Cinemagics rooftop movie on Saturday

After Dubai and Riyadh went live on Snapchat last week, it’s now Kuwait’s turn. According to an instagram post by Viva, Snapchat will be live in Kuwait tomorrow… but theres a catch. It will only be broadcasting snaps from Ahmadi. What this means is that snapchats taken in the Ahmadi area will be eligible to go live but not snaps from the rest of Kuwait. No idea why Snapchat chose Ahmadi but I guess it’s better than nothing.

I’m really not a big fan of Hawalli even though my Vespa has made the traffic much more bearable but a reader thinks it’s worth giving a shot and has published an article on The Culture Trip website about it. Check it out [Here]

A friend of mine recently started managing the social media account of a fitness studio in Kuwait called 20Seven. Unlike regular gyms they were using something called Electro Muscular Training (EMT) for their exercises which I thought sounded like total BS. I kept poking fun at her comparing it to the As Seen on TV gizmo where the commercial shows people wearing a patch on their abs that stimulates the muscles electronically while they’re tanning pool side. It just didn’t make any sense to me but the more I researched it the more legit EMT seemed, or at least the concept. My friend invited me to pass by and try it and since I knew the owner as well I figured I’d be polite and give it a shot.

So last Thursday I headed to their studio to try out EMT. Thursdays and Fridays are the only days I don’t have gym, they’re my rest days and since I didn’t think I would be getting much of a workout from EMT, I figured I’d pass by try it out and then continue with my day. Clearly I arrived there extremely skeptical about the whole thing but I kept an open mind as I always do. Once I was there I was introduced to the EMS trainer who proceeded to explain to me how everything worked and what we would be doing in the session. The sessions are only 20 minutes long and we were going to divide it into 15 minute of strength training, 5 minutes of cardio and once it’s over an extra 5 minutes of recovery. EMS basically sends impulse currents to specific parts of your body. In the 60s Soviet sport scientists applied EMS in the training of elite athletes and claimed 40% force gains. Today EMS is widely used in physiotherapy.

Before starting the workout I had to wear a special outfit, kinda like a wetsuit that had all these wires sticking out which then connects to their EMS machine. Then one by one the trainer applied electric current to various parts of my suit and told me to inform her when the level of discomfort became unbearable so she could set the level and move on to another part of my body. It felt like I was getting electrocuted by a low current, it wasn’t painful but it felt strange. Once we were ready she told me no matter how fit I was or how much of an athlete I was, everyone starts off here as a beginner. In my head I was thinking whatever just hit me with everything you’ve got. She told me to follow her moves and that the currents would come every few seconds. So I would have a few seconds rest and then the current would hit, a few seconds rest and then the current would hit again. Before the current hits I would have to be in a certain position matching hers and hold it like that throughout the electro stimulation. So for example she would go into a squat position and I would do the same and then hold that position while the current hit me.

It was a killer. I wasn’t expecting it to be difficult but damn my legs especially were starting to give up on me. When the current hits your muscles tense up and it becomes really difficult to hold whatever position you’re in. 15 minutes later I was ready to end my session but we still had 5 more minutes of cardio left and I was already exhausted. I was actually getting a real workout, I was sweating and I was also getting muscle fatigue… I was not expecting that.

Once we were done with the session I was honest and told them I came in really skeptical but I now understood what all the fuss was about. I don’t think anyone can get muscular from EMT but I don’t think thats why athletes use it. The entire Bayern Munich football club, Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal are just some athletes who use EMT and they all use it as an addition on top of their regular workout regime. EMT helps increase muscle strength and performance but regular people also use EMT as a quick work out. Its an alternative to gyming for couch potatoes.

I ended up getting muscle soreness in my bum a couple of days later which is a sign of a good workout. But, I was surprised I got any sort of muscle soreness since I heavily workout all my body and that specific week I had done quite a bit of leg workouts. Yet the EMT training was able to reach muscles I wasn’t able to during my regular workouts and thats why I’m probably going to start doing one EMT session a week on top of my current busy gym schedule. You’re only recommended to do EMT twice a week by the way since you need rest days between each workout. Price wise it’s not that bad. 1 session of EMT is KD25 but depending on the package you take it can go down to as low as KD15. Keep in mind there is no gym membership here and it’s a 20 minute private session with a personal trainer. If you’re interested to find out more, check out 20Seven’s instagram page [Here]

Emirs Operetta Al-Bait Al-O'd Kuwait 2015 Teaser from Yannis Michalandos.

Someone uploaded the video above of the Kuwait National Day Operetta that took place back in February at the Bayan Palace. According to the uploader it was the first time in the world a full box projection was made and going by the video above it looks like it was a visually stunning experience. I would definitely have loved to have watched that live.

The same uploader also uploaded a making of video which shows you how it was all put together. The video is 13 minutes long but it’s very interesting to watch if you’re into making of videos. Check it out below.

Emirs Operetta Al-Bait Al-O’d Kuwait 2015 Behind The Scenes from Yannis Michalandos.

The third World Happiness Report was recently released by the United Nations and Kuwait dropped down the list instead of moving up. Originally when the list came out in 2012, Kuwait was ranked 31 under the list of happy nations. In 2013, Kuwait dropped one place to 32 and now in the third release Kuwait dropped further down to 39.

Not sure what caused the drop, I mean since the 2013 report we’ve had a ton of new burger joints open and Abercrombie & Fitch as well. Everyone should be super happy by now.

Download the full report from the World Happiness website [Here]

Not that busy a weekend but there are a bunch of interesting events taking place including a Show Jumping Competition, the Gulf Jazz Festival and the Shakshooka Market is back. Check out the full list of events below:

Thursday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: New Species by Hunt Slonem
Show Jumping Competition
Kuwaiti Story Night
Rooftop Movie: Chinatown
A Night In

Friday
Kuwait Dino Park
Show Jumping Competition
Culinary Event: Farmers’ Market Finds
Shakshooka Market
Gulf Jazz Festival

Saturday
Kuwait Dino Park
Yoga in the Park
The First K-Pop Youth Festival in Kuwait
Guided Tour: Arab Organization Headquarters
Madeenah Tour: AGi Architects
Rooftop Movie: Agora
Peak – A Vertical Race
Shakshooka Market

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]

Update: Due to bad weather, Shakshooka has been rescheduled and will now take place Saturday night at The Secret Garden instead.

Yesterday, local activist Bashar Al-Huneidi set out on a 200km kayak journey around Kuwait’s islands to raise awareness about our local maritime environment and the issues affecting it, especially the many forms of pollution. This morning Bashar ran into an issue with his support boat and now the journey has been postponed a bit.

Bashar is documenting and sharing his journey via his instagram account using solar powered internet from his sponsor Gulf Telecom, so he’s got internet even out in the middle of nowhere. Make sure you follow him not only as encouragement but also because this is for a good cause and any exposure will help. His instagram account is @kayak4kuwait

via Red Paddle Co Q8

This is just hilarious:

Oil isn’t the only worthwhile commodity in Kuwait … one woman claims it’s also the home to the idea for “Frozen” … and she claims Disney stole it from her. Muneefa Abdullah claims she came up with the idea that true love conquers evil, a central theme in “Frozen.”

Abdullah has filed a lawsuit against Disney, claiming she wrote a book called “New Fairy Tales” which contained the short story, “The Snow Princess.” Abdullah says her story involves a princess who possesses magical ice powers that give her the ability to turn people and objects into ice … which just so happens to be the plot to “Frozen.” Abdullah fires off a number of similarities, including:

– A kingdom made of ice and surrounded by mountains
– A sibling in search and rescue of the sibling possessing the magical ice powers
– A journey up the mountain, snowy guards guarding an icy castle on the mountaintop
– The idea that only love is capable of defeating evil

Abdullah wants a barrel of money.

Check out the article on TMZ [Here]

Thanks Mona

Now that the weather is warmer I thought the number of events would start winding down but that doesn’t seem to be the case this weekend. Check out the full list of events below:

Thursday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: Gardens of Al Andalus
Golden Renaissance by Hiroto Rakusho
Exhibition: New Species by Hunt Slonem
The Pearl Fishers Opera
Acting Troupe Acting Workshop
Social Media Writing Workshop
Rooftop Movie: Before Midnight

Friday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: Gardens of Al Andalus
Golden Renaissance by Hiroto Rakusho
The Pearl Fishers Opera
Acting Troupe Acting Workshop
Culinary Event: Vitamix Techniques
Book Club Meeting

Saturday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: Gardens of Al Andalus
Golden Renaissance by Hiroto Rakusho
The Pearl Fishers Opera
Think Work Live Positive
Yoga at the Park
Guided Tour: Aladdin House
Al Fereej Expo
KTAA Bazaar
Bus Tour – A day for sustainability in Kuwait
Gather To Give
Rooftop Movie: La Vie en Rose

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]

Snapchat Geofilters are special overlays for Snaps that can only be accessed in certain locations like the ones pictured above. If you’ve ever used Snapchat while traveling you’ll sometimes notice different special overlays depending where you’re located so if you’re in Paris near the Eiffel Tower you would get an Eiffel Tower overlay. Turns out you can design your own and submit them to Snapchat for approval. So if you’re a designer, go ahead and make one for Kuwait by clicking [Here]

Speaking of Snapchat, yesterday Dubai was live on Snapchat and there were a bunch of great Snaps. They’re actually still in my feed this morning so they’re probably in yours as well so check it out. Also if you want to add me on Snapchat my handle is “mark248am”

The Kuwait Cultural Centre is currently under construction on the Gulf Road and the video above is a guided tour of the construction site. The tour is 40 minutes long and in Arabic but you can skip through various sections of the video if you just want to get a rough idea on the current status of project. [YouTube]

It’s a super busy weekend again. My personal picks are the Gardens of Al Andalus which is the first exhibition being held at the newly opened Al Shaheed Park. If you’re a UFC fan like me then the Gold’s Gym opening is a must just because you’ll get to see and meet the legendary Anderson Silva. On the other hand if you’re a Harley fan then on Friday you should pass by the dealership since they will be revealing the Street 750 as well as offer test rides. Finally on Saturday the Secret Garden is holding their second Saturday Night Lights event, the first one (pictured on top) was a lot of fun with a lot of great food. Check out the full list of weekend events below:

Thursday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: Gardens of Al Andalus
Gold’s Gym Opening with Anderson Silva
Out of Kuwait Film Screening

Friday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: Gardens of Al Andalus
Behind the Scenes Seminar
Culinary Event: Pie, Pie & More Pie
Harley-Davidson Street 750 Reveal

Saturday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: Gardens of Al Andalus
Be A Gunner, Be A Runner 2015
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Akon Concert
K’S PATH Open Day
Madeenah Tour: Mubarakiya
Saturday Night Lights
Kids Story Telling
Play: Antigone

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For the rest of the months events click [Here]

One of my favorite UFC fighters, the legendary Anderson Silva is coming to Kuwait this weekend for the opening ceremony of Gold’s Gym. This caught me by complete surprise when I found out and I have no idea how they managed to pull it off. I was lucky enough to be put in touch with the organizers Activate Kuwait (Thanks Pat), the same guys who brought the BASE jumper to Kuwait to jump off Al Hamra Tower. I managed to get myself a VIP ticket to the event as well as a ticket to giveaway on the blog.

There will be a bunch of activites taking place at the opening including:
– Live radio broadcast on FM88.8
– Spin the wheel game with valuable prizes to be won
– DJ
– Bike show
– Percussion artist Albert Boyadjian will be performing
– Anderson Silva will meet and greet people

The event is open to the public but the general admission crowd will be located outside the Gold’s Gym premises while the VIP ticket (which you can’t buy FYI) will grant you access inside the building. The VIP ticket will allow you to hang out and chill with Anderson Silva inside the gym as well as guarantee you a photo with Anderson Silva as well as an autograph if you want one.

Just incase I wasn’t clear, ANDERSON SILVA IS COMING TO KUWAIT! I’m definitely going to have him sign my UFC tshirt which so far has signatures from Dan Henderson, Brian Stan, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and a few other fighters.

If you’re an Anderson Silva fan and would like to win a chance to meet him then all you need to do is answer the following question in the comments: Who did Anderson Silva last fight in the UFC?

Rules: The comments will be closed tomorrow morning. Winner will have to pick up ticket from Salmiya. Only one entry per person and please make sure you use a working email since the winner will be contacted by email. If winner doesn’t respond, another winner will be randomly chosen.

Update: Post has been closed for commenting

Update2: Using random.org I chose a winner which was commentator #57, Tania. Email has been sent, if she does not respond in time a second winner will be chosen. Thank you everyone for participating. Just a reminder you can still pass by and get the chance to see Anderson Silva in person but, depending on the amount of people at the event, you may or may not get a chance for a photo opportunity with him.