Search: “kuwait”

According to recent figures published in the Arab League’s annual economic and social report, Kuwait has the second highest life expectancy in the region. Kuwait came second with a rate of 77.4 while Qatar came first with 78 years. That’s not bad at all considering our eating habits. [Link]

Brett Jordan is still scanning and uploading pictures of Kuwait from the early 60s. So far he has uploaded over 100 pictures and he’s still uploading. What I like about his collection of photos other than the fact they’re being scanned in super high resolution revealing some amazing details but also the fact some of them show Kuwait in a way I hadn’t seen it before.

He’s got some really great stuff there, the three pictures here are just some of the new one’s he’s uploaded. Here is the link to his collection [Link]

The luxurious car show Concours d’Elegance is going to be held for the second time in Kuwait early next month. Like last year, it going to be an important and prestigious event that will attract people from both inside and outside Kuwait.

What is the Concours d’Elegance?
Concours is a French word meaning competition. The concept of Concours originates in 17th C. France when aristocrats used to choose their best horse carriages to parade around parks of Paris during the summer week ends and holidays. Later these traditions changed to automobiles from the 20th C. Concours today have strict regulations and cars are inspected by qualified judges. Trophy winners are carefully chosen. Each year there are numerous events which take place across the world, many of which are world famous, including Villa d’Este in Italy, Goodwood in UK, and Pebble Beach in USA. The Kuwait Concours d’Elegance is rapidly becoming a fixture in this international programme, able to attract some of the world’s rarest and exotic motorcars.

Date
February 2nd to the 6th 2011
10:00AM – 10:00PM

Location
Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn.

That’s one large kite and a very trippy one. The video description says the largest spinner but I am not sure if they mean in Kuwait or the world. Based on the fact we’ve got the largest kite in the world it wouldn’t be a surprise if we’ve got the largest spinning kite as well. [YouTube]

Last week I posted about how Go Sport at The Avenues was strangely selling Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister clothing. Well I was emailed some more information regarding this. Turns out the A&F and Hollister items at Go Sport are 100% authentic. Go Sport was given rights by the host brands to sell both A&F and Hollister clothing. The only thing is that their merchandise is last seasons not the latest. Another thing I found out is that Go Sport falls under one of the companies of Al Homaizi Group. I am assuming they will be bringing both those brands to Kuwait in the near future.

That’s a pretty cool (and big) RC plane. [YouTube]

A few days back I posted two pictures that were taken by this guys parents back in the 1960’s when they were in Kuwait. Well the guy (Brett Jordan) has uploaded more pictures including the one I’ve posted above which is of the Sheraton roundabout. I can’t believe it was that beautiful. I can see Fahad Al Salem street in the background and it looks so green with all the trees! The whole street looks very spacious and clean, I wish it still looked like that today. Check out the rest of the pictures by visiting his flickr page [Here]

I hadn’t noticed this before but there is a huge mural covering the graveyard wall in Kuwait City right after JW Marriott hotel. The mural depicts life in Kuwait in the past. I recorded the whole thing on video which you can watch above. [YouTube]

I found this local online store that sells TapouT clothing and gear here in Kuwait. Whenever I wear my Kenny Florian walkout shirt to the gym I always get asked where I got it from and my answer would be the US. Now though I can buy the t-shirts locally and their prices are pretty good. I haven’t ordered from them yet and I emailed them last week asking them if they had a physical store I could go and try the sizes but I still haven’t gotten a response. Not a good sign but it’s cash on delivery so nothing really to worry about. [Link]

Update: I placed an order on the website and received a phone call the following day asking for my address. The items were then delivered to me the same evening. Turns out they have a 15% discount at the moment so the price of a tshirt came out to KD11.900 which is great. Only comment I would have is now that I bought my first tshirt I wish they had an online payment option.

Today I noticed Kuwait Times got redesigned. I used to really hate their old layout since it looked really outdated but the new design is the complete opposite. Their typography and grid layout is very clean and it’s just wayyy more enjoyable to read now. You can check out their new design by viewing their digital edition online [Here]

I also spotted Arab Times ads on buses saying they will be updating their design in the coming few days as well.

This is definitely the coolest thing Kuwait Times have ever done. Today’s issue of their free Friday Times newspaper was wrapped with a copy of their first issue ever dating back to September 24, 1961. Their first issue was only 4 pages but there are enough gems in there to make it worth picking up. Here are the coolest things I found in the paper:

– An ad announcing a new 1962 model of an RCA TV arriving at Morad Yousuf Behbehani

– An ad from the then not yet opened Gulf Bank (pictured below)

– Kuwait Airport arrival and departure timings. The only destinations were Bahrain, Damascus, Beirut, Abadan, Doha and Cairo. No European or any other countries

– A classified ad for a car “Immediately available Austin 55 – 1969, roughly used by it’s careless owner, with one head lamp broken (by courtsey of a fellow motorist) dented all over it’s sleek frame, springs making noise only when driving on bad roads (bad roads non-existent at Kuwait), if you are still interested, send offers to K.T. Box, No. 524 Kuwait.” What I found funny is the honesty and the fact you need to send him a letter if you’re interested. The postal service must have been very reliable back then

– Kuwait Cinemas schedule, Psycho was playing at Al Andalus, Al-Hamra was closed due to repair, Al-Firdous was playing The Golden Horde, the open air cinema in Hawalli was playing Bayabit Al Ward and finally the open air cinema at Fahaheel was playing Tomb of Love.

I highly recommend you pass by a bakala or newspaper stand and pick up today’s free issue of the Friday Times. And if anyone from Kuwait Times is reading this, if you still have all your old issues, please convert them to PDF and upload them online!

Thanks Q

I hadn’t heard of Cookie Time until around 15 minutes ago. It seems they’re a very popular cookie chain from New Zealand who had previously held the record for the largest cookie in the world. According to an article I just read, it looks like they’re currently in negotiations to open up four stores here in Kuwait. Sounds good to me. [Link]

The Dasman Diabetes Institute is putting together a collection of anonymous, but real stories from real people, here in Kuwait.

They’re searching for personal stories concerning the following categories:
-Diabetes – Asthma -Cancer – Obesity – Arthritis – Multiple Sclerosis – Heart Disease -Social Issues (Loss of a loved one or the effects of divorce on a family) -Maternity (Pregnancy, breastfeeding, postpartum depression) – Health Conditions and Illness (Any disease or condition which is not already mentioned above)

Why is it so useful to share these stories?
3 reasons…

First of all, it gives hope to those many people out there who think they are “the only one going through this”

Secondly, sharing your story can have a positive effect on someone else’s life, and bring comfort and support to many

And thirdly, it can raise awareness about an illness or a condition. This can lead to better understanding and more compassion from the wider community.

How can you share your story?

To share your story visit hope.dasmaninstitute.org
No personal details will be required.

For more information visit their Facebook page [Here]

Blogger chillnite posted pictures of what looks like a replica of the Taj Mahal that is being built here in Kuwait. According to him it’s a new mosque located off the 7th Ring Road. The picture above is of the Kuwaiti Taj Mahal while the one below is the original one in India. [Link]

Thanks Amir

Ibrahim Al-hulail is a Kuwaiti student who’s currently studying in Japan and wanted me to share this video he put together of Japanese people trying to speak Kuwaiti by saying “7ad ouma bard” which basically means it’s very cold. [YouTube]