Search: “kuwait”

The New York Times has an article about Shake Shack and their expansion plans and this is the first time that I know of where Shake Shack themselves confirm the fact that they’re opening up in Kuwait. Previously when Shake Shacks PR department was asked regarding the Kuwait launch they wouldn’t confirm it. As I mentioned before in one of my previous posts, Shake Shack will be opening early next year at The Avenues mall. My personal opinion is that they will open up in the location where the Debenhams home store just closed. [Link]

Note: My fingers are still crossed for someone to bring back A&W, Wendy’s and most importantly, Arby’s.

Update: Big Moe sent me the link to this YouTube video of an interview with the Shake Shack guys. Kuwait of course is mentioned since the journalist wanted to know “why Kuwait???”

[YouTube]

I can’t figure out if this is serious or just a spoof. [YouTube]

via p0ach

The owners of the kuwait.com domain have put it up for sale. It’s not very affordable, you would have to get two house loans to be able to buy it but if you’re interested you can contact Fahad on [email protected].

Before I purchased my Drobo backup system I passed by the local dealer 3gghead and checked out their price. They were selling the Drobo for KD165 while on Amazon it was being sold for KD100. So I ended up ordering mine from Amazon figuring I would be saving a good chunk of money.

When my Drobo finally arrived to Kuwait I ended up paying KD39 for shipping and customs which brought my total to KD139. Not much of a saving compared to the local dealer but still a saving.

Then a couple of days back I get an email from the local dealer saying they wanted to give my readers a discount on the Drobo to help bring down the price difference between ordering online and buying locally. So, if anyone is interested in the Drobo you can now have it for KD150. That means for just KD11 more than it would cost you to order it from Amazon, you can get the Drobo locally with a 2 year warranty. So you guys are lucky since I got mine without warranty and had to wait a week to get it.

3gghead is located in the basement of Baitak Tower in Kuwait City. If you haven’t been to Baitak Tower before it’s an interesting small place, there is an X-Cite Electronics store on the ground floor along with Quiznos, Salad Creations and The Nut Tree.

Update: Here is a picture they sent me of the store

A reader left the news article below as a comment but didn’t mention the source:

Municipal authority calls for halt of bulldozing unlicensed planted plots

The Municipal Council recommended on Monday halt of bulldozing plots of lands that have been cultivated without obtaining advance permit from the relevant authorities.
The council, at a regular session headed by the Chairman Zaid Al-Azmi, with unanimous blessing, recommended the halt of the removal of plants and trees at such plots till introduction of amendments into the regulations regarding plantations off private houses.

The council approved the cabinet decision to change the name of the border region from Um-Qaser to Al-Buhaith, and referred a request by the Environment Public Authority (EPA) to name the north of Boubyan island as “the reserve of Mubarak Al-Kabeer” — in reference to the late Amir, to a panel tasked with choosing names for public sites and regions.

The members of the council pondered various other procedural and bureaucratic matters related to maintenance of roads and water sewage systems.

If this is true then it’s great news.

Picture by Ramez

Animal Friends just launched their new redesigned website. You can check it out by clicking [Here]

Desert Girl sent me the most amazing thing today, a PDF of scanned pages from a National Geographic issue from 1952 which talks about Kuwait. The article is 20 pages long and contains 25 pictures of which 11 are in color. It’s incredible I love it. The caption under the picture above says:

A Mobile Medical Clinic, Bought with Oil Wealth, Tours Kuwait Villages
For ailing Arabs who cannot travel to the capital, the Sheikdom provides an American-built trailer unit staffed by a physician, nurse, and technician. Here the doctor examines an elderly man at an outlying village; other patients wait their turn. Treatment costs them nothing. New hospitals, including one for animals, are part of Kuwait’s heavy investment in its own well-being.

Here is the PDF for you to down. It’s around 4MB in size. [PDF Link]

Thanks Desert Girl!

Someone shot a video of Kuwait while up in a paramotor (powered paraglider). I don’t recognize the area but it looks beautiful. [YouTube]

A week back I posted about how I wanted the HPI Baja 5b, a giant 1/5 scale radio controlled buggy. Well since then I’ve changed my mind. Turns out the buggy is too big to be allowed to race on the new off-road track that’s being built by the Radio Control Car Club of Kuwait near the 360 Mall (29°16’16.34″N 48° 0’10.48″E). The off-road track is going to be one of the largest in the world (they’re checking to see if it’s actually the largest) so it would be a shame if I couldn’t take advantage of it.

The track (pictured above) should be ready in 2 weeks time and anyone will be allowed to use it. Members have to pay KD2 per day of track use while non-members pay KD5. It’s going to be very cool and next year they’re planning on holding the Asian championship here in Kuwait. The picture above is made of multiple pictures combined since my wide camera lens wasn’t enough to fit the whole track. You can see a larger version of that picture [Here]

If I want to compete in the weekly friendly races on the track I need to get a nitro 1/8 scale buggy and I am currently leaning towards a 2009 XRAY XB808 (pictured above). I hadn’t heard of the XRAY up till yesterday but from what I’ve read it’s the Rolls Royce of R/C cars.

If you would like to get more information about the Radio Control Car Club of Kuwait (RCCCK) who are responsible for building this track and setting up all the events then visit their website [Here]

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A reader scanned and sent me the old pictures below of Kuwait. A lot of them are aerial shots most probably taken from a helicopter. On the back of the photos there is a stamp that reads “With the compliments of the Ministry of Information”. Is the building in the picture above still around? The file name says it was museum.

Thanks Khalid!

Update: I’ve reuploaded all the photos above in high res and you can view them here.

Didn’t know it was that popular and they have a pretty active blog. [Link]

I got the following by in my mail about an Improv Comedy Troupe that’s in affiliation with LOYAC:

Are you the funniest person in your family? Do you make people laugh with your clever wit and humor? Is Jokey your favorite Smurf?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then
Audition for Kuwait’s first ever Improv Comedy Troupe

When?
Saturday, November 1st from 4:30-6:30pm
Monday, November 2nd from 6:00-8:00pm

Where?
Bayt Lothan – Room 78 (Drama Studio)
Bayt Lothan is located right next to Marina Mall in Salmiya

Who?
Males and Females, age 18+, all nationalities are welcome, proficient English speakers only.

No preparation necessary.
For questions, contact Hassan at 97211327.

Since we don’t get that many world class sport events here in Kuwait I would think an event like this deserves a bit more publicity…

The Kuwait Men’s World Open will be staged from the 1st to 7th November 2009 and will boast a record prize fund of US$277,500.

The championship is the climax of a three year agreement with the Professional Squash Association (PSA) which has already seen the successful staging of Super Series Platinum events in 2007 and 2008.

As well as offering the largest prize money of any World Open, the championship will also include spectacular opening and closing ceremonies as well as an Official Championship Gala Dinner.

The championships will bring together all of the world’s leading players from the PSA World Tour. World No.1 Karim Darwish of Egypt will head a star-studded field including compatriots Ramy Ashour and Amr Shabana, Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou from France, Australia’s former World Open Champion David Palmer and England’s British Champion Nick Matthew.

The quarter-finals, semi finals and finals will be played on a dedicated court being built on Green Island which sounds cool considering the weather is great at the moment. For more information visit the official website [Here]

Thanks Akbar!

A friend of mine found Tupac’s Centerpoint card on the floor near Ruby Tuesday. [Link]

A reader sent me a link to a travel guide about Kuwait which I thought was a bit… strange. Here is the interesting piece which talks about the nightlife:

Well, you may not find any trace of Arabian Nights while visiting Kuwait, however, Nightlife in Kuwait has its own charm to add a different kind of flavor to your vacation at this small constitutional monarchy on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Nightlife in this city does not only mean Nightclubs and Bars in Kuwait, but also stands for lots of other Things to Do in Kuwait.

At the nightclubs and bars in this city, you may find the lack of alcoholic drinks. However, that will not affect by any means the tourists’ entertainment since the staff is specially selected to meet the extreme need for Nightlife in Kuwait. Visit clubs and find there provocative-futuristic style! But it’s true that sometimes the drinks become even more exotic when served by the European ladies-staff.

Nightlife in Kuwait also offers you a royal smoking experience with hubble-bubble available in bars. The smoke is drawn through a syrupy fruity mixture of flavors into a water bowl filled with cold lemon flavored water which cools the smoke before entering the pipe you draw on. Enjoy life in the form of Nightlife in Kuwait. Experience a relaxing atmosphere at any one of the nightclubs.

Nightlife in Kuwait also includes shopping and modest people watching. However, one of the best ways to enjoy the night is having a stroll along the seashore which is moonlit and converting the white sands into silvery in color. For ladies, malls, beaches and restaurants are the options; however, it is advisable not to stay outside after 10 pm without any companions.

In fact, at midnight tourists may enjoy car race by local people in Jahra Road. Besides, you can also go for camping or join the desert gathering tent with local people (Duwaniya).

Enjoy the Nightlife in Kuwait!

Does anyone else see a few issues with this article? Here is the link to the source. [Link]