Search: “kuwait”

A reader just sent me a link to an Arab Times article which has both good news and bad news. The good news is that it seems expats can now own pick-ups, the bad news is that expats can only own 3 cars:

The Ministry of Interior has clarified that expats in Kuwait are permitted to own a maximum of three vehicles for personal use.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Bouhassan, Assistant Director of the Traffic Awareness Department, the permitted vehicles can include motorcycles, pickup trucks, or other types of cars.

Bouhassan added that while expats are allowed to renew the registrations of their existing vehicles, they are not permitted to register any additional vehicles beyond the three-vehicle limit. Source

I had to register my pick up under my wife’s name because expats couldn’t own pick up trucks. Now that we can, I still can’t move it to my name because I have 6 other cars registered. I don’t know why they keep complicating things. If it’s to reduce traffic this isn’t going to help.

There is always something intriguing about looking into other people’s homes in Kuwait. Not many people like sharing their homes, so it becomes a mix of curiosity and a little bit of nosiness, seeing how others live, their furniture choices, and the small details. I personally appreciate it when they do, mostly because I’m curious by nature.

This latest project from NADA Design Studio gives us a look inside an open plan contemporary farmhouse in Wafra. According to them, the interior was shaped around family living, dining, and play, while still being grounded in the surrounding landscape. I think my favorite design feature is the bookshelf, I just love the combination of the wood they used with the dark brown brick backdrop.

If you want to check out more photos, click here.

Over the weekend I went on a desert trip with some friends and decided to bring a kite along, which turned out to be the best idea. I hadn’t flown a kite since I was a kid, probably back in the 80s, and I didn’t even own one until a couple of days before the trip. Now I own three.

The idea of getting a kite came up because a friend was worried it was going to be windy in the desert, so I started thinking about how we could actually take advantage of that. My first thought was to get a kite for the kids, but once I found out no one was bringing their kids, I figured I’d just get one for the adults instead.

I did a bit of quick research and found someone in Kuwait selling Prism kites. They looked great and he had a wide range of options to choose from. I ended up going with the Zenith 7, one of the larger single line kites. The reviews were very positive, and the kite itself is pretty big, spanning over 2 meters wide, which I thought was very cool.

Flying the kite was surprisingly a lot of fun. There was no cellphone reception in the desert and it was really quiet, just dunes and nothing else, so flying the kite felt kind of therapeutic. It might not look that fun when you’re watching from the side, but when you’re actually flying it, it really is in its own way.

Whenever I handed the kite over to someone, they instantly understood why it felt so relaxing. That’s what convinced me to buy two more kites, a slightly smaller Zenith 5 and a different style kite, a two line foil kite. That way next time we can fly multiple kites at the same time.

If you’re thinking of getting a kite, they’re not that expensive and you can fly them almost anywhere, not just in the desert. The Gulf Road walkway would be a great spot, and even parks work well. It gives you something to do other than just sitting on a bench and watching people go by.

The guy I bought my kites from has a pretty good selection on his website which you can check by clicking here.

Yesterday, Henley & Partners released their 2026 Passport Index, marking two decades since they first started sharing this list. Henley releases the list every year, and they rank passports based on how many countries holders can enter without a visa.

For 2026, Kuwait ranked 50 on the list with 96 visa-free destinations. Interestingly, it used to be 102 visa-free destinations back in 2024, so I’m curious to know which countries Kuwait had a falling out with.

Compared to neighboring GCC countries, Kuwait has the third best passport, coming in behind the UAE and Qatar. Singapore had the most powerful passport, while Afghanistan had the weakest.

Here are how some other countries ranked compared to Kuwait:

1 – Singapore
5 – United Arab Emirates
7 – United Kingdom
8 – Canada
10 – United States
46 – Turkey / Russia
47 – Qatar
50 – Kuwait
54 – Saudi Arabia
55 – Bahrain
57 – Oman
73 – Philippines
80 – India
85 – Egypt
90 – Lebanon
101 – Afghanistan

If you want to check out the full list, click here.

La Petite Maison Abu Dhabi is hosting a 50 Best Signature Session in collaboration with MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants, and they’ve invited a Kuwaiti chef to take part in the event.

Chef Basmah Marouf, best known for her concept Cantina, will be collaborating with an international chef on a one night only dinner on February 5. The evening will feature an exclusive four course set menu created especially for the event.

Being invited to take part in a 50 Best Signature Session is a pretty big deal, and since the event is being promoted by 50 Best, it does make me wonder if Cantina might have made it onto their Top 50 Best Restaurants list. We’ll find out for sure when the winners are announced on February 3.

For more info on the dinner, head to @lpmabudhabi. To find out next month if Cantina made it onto MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants, keep an eye on @menas50best.

A couple of years ago, I posted photos of an old mosque I came across while browsing the Tareq Rajab Museum’s private photography archive. The photos were taken sometime in the 1970s, and with the help of my Twitter followers, we were able to track down the mosque, which turned out to still be standing in the city.

The mosque was identified as the Ahmad Abdullah Mosque, built in 1915, and located in the area behind the Dickson House. When I passed by, it was in terrible condition and looked like it could collapse at any moment. Someone must have seen my post because restoration work started last summer and was recently completed.

I’m not sure how authentic the restoration was, but the important thing is the mosque wasn’t demolished or left to crumble. It’s now fenced off, and no one is allowed to access the area around it. I’m not sure what the plan is, but they might be keeping is closed until the old city project surrounding it is eventually completed.

If you want to check out my previous post with the old photos, click here.

The Neighbourhood is a nostalgic space built around good coffee and food. Their first location in Kuwait opened last year in Qortuba, and a few weeks ago they opened their second location, this time in the brand new Hessah District.

The new location is bigger than the first, with plenty of outdoor seating along with some indoor seating. It’s located right at the start of Hessah District, and the outdoor area overlooks the main road. Inside, the space follows the same nostalgic look that made the original location popular, with dark brown wood, beautiful tiles, and the striped umbrellas that have become synonymous with the brand.

The fresh-baked goods section and the new protein boost menu have become the main reasons people keep coming back. The award-winning matcha is another big draw, alongside the newly introduced hojicha and specialty coffee, which pair perfectly with the menu.

If you’re looking for a new, cool outdoor spot for coffee, good bites and vibes, the weather is perfect to try out the new location (Google Maps). There’s plenty of parking, and it also gives you a reason to pass by and check out Hessah District if you haven’t already. Check them out @nbrhood.me

Yesterday I posted that Kuwait Airways will start flying to Mykonos but according to my contact at Kuwait Airways, they’ll soon be launching new direct flights to more interesting destinations, including:

• Beijing
• Maldives
• Moscow
• Phuket

Maldives and Beijing are the two destinations I’m most interested in. Maldives because I’ve been wanting to experience it for a long time, and Beijing because I want to explore parts of China and it would be a great starting point. I do wish they brought back Athens instead of Mykonos though, especially since after deciding it would be my go-to summer spot, they suddenly stopped flying to it.

Kuwait Airways will start flying to Moscow three times a week and Mykonos twice a week, both starting in June. I’m still waiting to hear back on the other destinations, but you can keep an eye on their account for an official announcement @kuwaitairways

There were recently articles in the newspaper about Royal Pharmacy having their license revoked. The article didn’t make much sense to me since it didn’t really explain why their license was revoked. I read a few comments online about people thinking it was because they had too many branches open in the same area, and a lot of people sounded like they were happy their license was being revoked, like they wanted Royal Pharmacy to be punished for their success.

I have a Royal Pharmacy near my house (actually 3) but there is one I pass by the most. So I asked my pharmacist what the issue is and if they were in fact closing down because all three pharmacies near me were still open.

According to my pharmacist the issue is that basically the Kuwaiti owner of Royal Pharmacy had his citizenship revoked. So all the Royal Pharmacy stores no longer had a Kuwaiti partner.

I think the way pharmacies work in Kuwait is that an individual pharmacist needs to be the owner. So for example Royal Pharmacy or Boots are brands names, but each pharmacy is owned by an individual pharmacist. That’s why sometimes you’ll find a pharmacist name on the sign or a window sticker written in a small font.

According to my pharmacist who is an expat, because the Royal Pharmacy owner is no longer Kuwaiti, all the pharmacists need to find a new Kuwaiti partner. So the pharmacies won’t be closing (or most won’t at least), but they will be renamed or rebranded. One of the three Royal pharmacies next to me already had the word Royal removed from the signage. I’d imagine some other big brand might now want to take over the Royal Pharmacy brand.

Anyway, the above is just based on what my pharmacist told me so it might not necessarily be accurate, but it makes sense to me.

Recently, I noticed the Thunayan Al Ghanim Building at the Sheraton roundabout had been vacated and looked like it might be getting demolished. That worried me because of its historical importance, so I reached out to the family, and it turns out the building is actually going to be restored.

When the building was constructed in the 1950s, it was considered one of the most advanced in Kuwait. In the photo above the building is under construction while surrounded by traditional Kuwaiti houses, a very noticeable contrast at the time.

The Thunayan Al Ghanim Building was also the first building in Kuwait to have an elevator. There are stories of Bedouins coming in from the desert just to watch what they called “the flying horse” that can go up and down. Over the years, the building housed the original Kuwait Oil Company offices, the British Consulate, Kuwait’s first English bookshop (later opened in the basement of Al Muthana Complex), and the original Sultan Gallery.

Because of its historical value, the family plans to preserve the building.

Recently I picked up the Canon Selphy CP1500, it’s a small photo printer which surprisingly turned out to be pretty good. I say surprisingly because it wasn’t that expensive and neither were the photo papers needed for it.

My wife wanted to print her digital photos so she asked me to look for a good printer she could get. There were a few brands available locally but I decided to go with Canon because the reviews were great and it’s not HP. The printer doesn’t use ink cartridges and instead uses a ribbon system to print. Each pack of paper comes with the ribbon required to print on those sheets. So for example the photo paper packet includes 108 sheets, and two sets of ribbons, each good for 54 prints. I like this system.

So far it’s been pretty good. I have an iPhone so I use Air Print to send photos from my phone to print on the printer over my home network. There is also a Selphy app which gives you more options like if you want borders around the photos or if you want to make a collage etc, but it doesn’t work with Air Print. Instead you need to connect to the printers wifi hotspot and send photos to it directly which I guess is fine, but Air Print is just simpler.

The printer comes in three colors, black, white and pink. I wanted white which Xcite had available but they were selling it for KD50 while Lulu were selling it for KD37. Lulu didn’t have white so I got the black instead. But, I was just checking out Xcite’s website and it looks like they’ve now dropped the price of the printer to KD37 as well. Lulu on the other hand have now increased the price to KD53.

The photo paper and ribbon sells for KD13.5 for 108 prints. So thats 125 fils per print. But I found them on noon.com for like KD7.5 so next time I’ll just order a few packs from there.

Ever since Nando’s reopened in Kuwait, I’ve been a regular, usually ordering my go-to dish, the Espetada with the hot peri-peri sauce. If you’ve never been to Nando’s, the best way to describe the Espetada is that it’s their version of taouk. It’s flame-grilled boneless PERi-PERi chicken thighs served to your table on a skewer hanging from a stand. It’s pretty eye-catching, and you’ll usually notice people glancing your way when it arrives.

Recently, Nando’s launched their most epic Espetada to date, the Espetada A Torre Dukkah Lima, which was created to feel a bit more special than the usual lineup. The dish still features flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken thighs, but this time they’re stuffed with a spiced PERi-dukkah and cream cheese filling, layered with yellow pepper, red onion, and lime, then finished with a PERi and herb tahini pour-over sauce. You also get to choose your sides, and my favorites are the corn on the cob and coleslaw.

It’s a good excuse to try the Espetada if you’ve never had it before. It’s available for dine-in at The Marina Crescent, Assima Mall, The Warehouse Mall, and Al Kout Mall. If you don’t feel like leaving the house, their menu is also available on Talabat. If you want to check out the full menu and prices, they have it linked in their profile @nandos.kw

Similar to last year, I put together a year in review highlighting some of the most popular posts from the past year.

Last year I had one post that went viral internationally, and that was my Gaza Cola post. I still don’t really understand why it took off the way it did, and honestly it brought a lot of unwanted noise with it. I ended up closing the comments and repeatedly hiding and unhiding the post until things finally quieted down. In the end that post got over 2 million views and over 160,000 likes.

I generally don’t like posts going viral since they tend to attract followers outside my usual audience. I love it when a post does really well, but once it goes past around 5,000 likes, things start to get really weird.

When it comes to ads, the most liked ad last year was my post on HBR opening in London which got over 5,600 likes. The runner up posts were for OffTheCoal and Aseer Time. The income I generated last year from ads actually allowed me to quit my job to blog full time. My previous job not paying salaries definitely helped push that decision, but either way, I blog for a living now. The last time I quit my job to blog full time was back in 2012, but back then I still took on a part time job back for the extra income.

Since quitting my job I now live in gym gear, with pants reserved for special occasions. I also don’t play as many video games as I hoped I would, but on the other hand, I think my dog is happy that I now hang out with him all day. Although most of the time he’s just sleeping while I’m working on my Mac.

Other random info: the most shared post for 2025 was my Primark post, which is interesting since the most shared post for 2024 was also Primark related. That shows just how much interest there is around Primark. The most controversial subject last year was gym pricing, with two of the top three most commented posts being gym related.

Finally, I ended 2025 with around 96K followers, compared to 55K at the end of 2024. It’s not double, but I do spend a lot of time removing fake followers, so at least it’s real.

Check out the most popular posts below.

Posts with Highest Views

Gaza Cola is Now Available in Kuwait
2,295,025 views

Primark Kuwait Prices Compared to the UK
598,661 views

Bella Hadid is Coming to Kuwait
417,638 views

Posts with the Most Likes

Gaza Cola is Now Available in Kuwait
160,721 likes

It’s Official – Wingstop is Opening in Kuwait
12,442 likes

More Old Kuwaiti Houses from the 1960s
11,766 likes

Posts with the Most Comments

5 Reasons Women’s Gyms in Kuwait Cost More
433 comments

The Drama Behind the 750s Latte
378 comments

Men vs Women: Gym Prices in Kuwait
372 comments

Posts with the Most Shares

Primark Kuwait Prices Compared to the UK
22,952 shares

It’s Official – Wingstop is Opening in Kuwait
20,434 shares

Bella Hadid is Coming to Kuwait
20,268 shares

Best Performing Ads

Kuwaiti Burger Brand HBR Opens in London
5,608 likes

This Might be the Most Unique Spot in Kuwait
4,488 likes

Aseer Time Just Opened in China
4,112 likes

Last summer I posted that Spinneys, the popular supermarket chain, might be coming to Kuwait in partnership with Alshaya. That turned out to be true, and now I’m being told their first location could be the recently vacated West Elm store in The Avenues.

The West Elm location didn’t make much sense to me at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The space is pretty big, probably double the size of the old Dean & Deluca location, so size shouldn’t be an issue. It’s also right next to the escalators leading up to the valet area outside Harvey Nichols, and they’d definitely add elevators or even escalators down to the basement parking, similar to what Carrefour has, so access shouldn’t be a problem either. Spinneys is also considered a premium supermarket, so a Grand Avenues location would reinforce that.

Neither my contacts at The Avenues nor Alshaya have been able to confirm this news, so this remains a rumor for now.

This morning I posted about different fireworks displays taking place around Kuwait, but one by one they were canceled. A short while ago, the Ministry of Interior issued an explanation, saying the cancellations were due to violations by the organizers.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the decision to cancel fireworks displays was due to public safety after authorities uncovered serious violations during inspections. These violations included companies operating fireworks without the required security approvals, using unsuitable storage locations, and failing to follow approved procedures for importing and storing fireworks. Due to the risks these violations posed to lives and property, the MOI decided to prohibit fireworks unless the necessary security approvals are obtained from the competent authorities. It seems many organizers didn’t manage to get the required permits in time.

If you want to read the full announcement (in Arabic), you can check it on @moi_kuw