Search: “kuwait”

…gun ownership in Kuwait amounts to 24.8 firearms per 100 people, and that there are approximately 630,000 civilian guns in the country… Kuwait’s defense forces possessed roughly 30,000 guns that year, while the police had only 8,358.

I was reading an article about a guy who killed a wolf in Kuwait and thought that bit of information on gun ownership was a bit shocking. The number is based on a 2007 count of civilian firearms published by Cambridge University press. I don’t know but that number seems a bit unreal to me. [Link]

Haven’t seen much Christmas decorations in Kuwait yet this year. Ted Baker had the cool Marilyn Monroe Santa last year but this year they’ve replaced it with a tacky looking banner. I spotted the Christmas tree above at Alraya Mall which is pretty cool (and big). Cartier in Salhiya also has some decorations up but other than those three I haven’t really seen anything else.

Another day another record. This time it’s for the most expensive camel in the world.

A camel named Bedour entered the Guinness Book of Records when it was purchased for 2 million dinars cash after the seller refused to take a cheque or ATM card during the Safat Camel Auction in Sulaibiya, reports Al-Shahid daily.

According to the seller, the camel is expensive because it’s unique and exceptionally beautiful, which makes it different from other camels and on par with camels the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions rode. He affirmed that this revelation is verifiable and has already been established. Therefore, the camel is worth the amount he collected from the purchase, the seller noted.

He reiterated that the value of the camel has nothing to do with quality of its meat, hyrax, milk or urine but its offspring and byproducts. He said the buyer will recoup the KD 2,000,000 with huge profit, stressing that mere onlookers were surprised that the camel had been sold for 2 million, which is almost enough to buy a private jet and way beyond the prices of latest automobiles.

He claimed the camel originates from camels the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions owned. He also said the buyer could insure the camel just like human beings, cars and houses, even though he refused to mention profit he made through the deal. [Source]

KD2,000,000 cash!

Thanks Tuan

The 2011 Corruption Perception Index is out and although Kuwait does poorly compared to our GCC neighbors, overall we’re not that bad when compared to the rest of the world. Kuwait ranked 54 out of 182 countries in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index with New Zealand being the least corrupt coming in 1st place while Somalia is the most corrupt landing at the bottom of the list at 182. Here is our ranking compared to our neighbors (the higher the less corrupt):

1- Qatar
2- United Arab Emirates
3- Bahrain
4- Oman
5- Kuwait
6- Saudi Arabia

You can check out the full results [Here]

It looks pretty good in this pictures. [Link]

Update: I’ve been requested to remove the picture.

They’re called One Soul Crew and they’re heading out to Lebanon soon to star on the TV show Arabs Got Talent. [YouTube]

With this one we also broke the Guinness World Record for lamest idea ever. Here’s a link with a bit more details. [Link]

Thanks Mishari

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I’m flying Turkish Airlines from Kuwait to New York Business Class courtesy of the airline. The trip is divided into two stages, the first is a short flight from Kuwait to Istanbul while the second is the longer journey, Istanbul to New York. One of the main reasons Turkish Airlines wanted me to review them is because they’ve gotten a brand new plane for the Kuwait – Istanbul leg of the journey which they’ve recently entered into service.

The new plane is an Airbus A321 and I think it was entered into service around a month ago if I’m not mistaken. First thing I noticed once I boarded the flight was the trendy color scheme of the seats which were dark gray and had minimal red accents and bright turquoise pillows. The seats have built in power sockets, USB ports, a large pull out screen and a remote control. Since the flight is a short one the seats don’t fold down flat into beds but they do recline back a good deal with leg supports as well. Since this was business class there was lots of legroom as well.

The trip going to Istanbul is 3 hours and 20 minutes long. One of the advantages flying with Turkish Airline to the States or any other European airline is the fact your journey starts by flying west which results in a quicker overall trip since you don’t waste time backtracking your flight path (if your journey started by going east for example).

Breakfast was served on this trip and even though I was told by some readers the food would be great I actually wasn’t expecting much for this first stage of the trip. I was wrong since the food turned out to be pretty good. They started of breakfast with some cheeses, labneh, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. A light combination which I’ve noticed Turkish Airlines likes a lot since there was a similar setup at different stages of my trip (lounge and Istanbul-NY flight). There was also a bit of turkey, freshly squeezed orange juice, fruits, jam, butter and yogurt. Once I was done with my starter I was served a cheese and tomato omelet which was also very good. The whole meal actually made me look forward to the one I would be having on my next longer flight since there would be a chef on board on that one.

It was a pretty good start to my trip. My only quibble and I’m being picky here is the lack of a phone network on-board. The only planes I’ve been on where I could use my phone while flying to check my email and chat on BBM are the Wataniya Airways ones and I’d like to see other airlines introduce this feature as well. Below are some pictures I took on this trip.

Note: I will be posting about my Istanbul to New York flight as well as the lounge in separate posts.

Before on top, now on the bottom. Other than the clutter I think the biggest change is the lack of natural daylight inside the airport.

Here is a link to a previous comparison. [Link]

via Thorsten

This is the best thing to happen to the airport since they shutdown McDonalds. They’re opening them all in place of Costa right after immigration.

According to Arabian Business, Kuwait is raising the bar and aims to generate 10 percent of its electricity from sustainable sources by 2020. All I have to say is it’s about time. With our sunny cloudless skies all year round, solar energy is the way to go. Next stop should be replacing all the heavily polluting buses with electric running ones and it should be pretty easy to do. [Link]

Kuwait Black Market spotted the Walls brand ice cream at Geant in 360 Mall. I remember someone telling me ages ago that Walls ice cream was banned in Kuwait because the Walls logo upside down read as “Allah” in Arabic. Kinda like those Nike Air shoes back in the 90’s that were also banned because the way “Air” was written also looked like “Allah”.

I guess the Walls thing was just an urban legend and now we can all enjoy our Magnum ice cream. [Link]

Yes it exists. If you’ve got a cat you can join the Kuwait Cats Club. [Link]

Now this is an organization that needs all the support they can get. Their mission: Make Kuwait Green.

This group is for an environmental project which calls on people who go camping during the winter time to plant 10 trees of certain type and irrigate it during the winter season. By the end of the season this tree will be able to survive and year after year our deserts will be our kid’s oasis.

Doesn’t sound very difficult and you can buy the small trees for really cheap from the nurseries on the 4th Ring Road. Imagine how beautiful the desert would be all green. Check out the Kuwait Oasis Facebook page [Here]