Search: “kuwait”

Although I knew there was a big chance this wasn’t going to happen to begin with, it still feels sad now that it’s been officially canceled.

The Supreme Committee of the Public-Private Partnership Projects Authority has decided to cancel the Kuwait Metro project, which is part of the Rapid Transport Systems Project. This decision, made in lieu of the Authority’s Board of Directors, was based on the project’s significant administrative and financial burdens on public funds, amounting to 2.152 million dinars, as reported by the Audit Bureau. Source

Back in 2012 they had stated the metro project would be completed by 2020. That didn’t happen but in 2020 they did say the project was still happening and gave more details would about:

Metropolitan Rapid Transit System Project (KMRT) will be built over five phases stretching over 160 kilometers, and will have 68 stations along three lines, according to the plan. The first phase of the project includes a railway stretching 50 kilometers from Kuwait City to Kuwait International Airport, with 27 new stations, 30 percent of which will be underground with two underground stations. Source

Since the metro is now canceled I’m not sure what’s the plan to improve the public transportation system will be, if there is one.

Below are some events taking place this weekend, as usual, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday, November 16
Gardenia Pop-up
TK Market
GulfRun GP 2023
GR Yaris Cup 2023

Friday, November 17
DAI Fall Festival
GulfRun GP 2023
GR Yaris Cup 2023
Gardenia Pop-up
TK Market
Classic Cars & Trucks Gathering

Saturday, November 18
GulfRun GP 2023
GR Yaris Cup 2023
Tape Painting in the Garden
Gardenia Pop-up
Basta Gardening Workshop
Kashta with MADANG
Storytelling with Mariam AlEissa
Winter Market
TK Market
Classic Cars & Trucks Gathering

Exhibitions
Arabia Felix and Rome
Palestine Art Stands
The Eye of The Sky Drone Photography Exhibition
SIF, An Introduction by Mohammad Kassem

This is something I never thought I’d write about, Kuwait’s National Ski Team. Over the past few weeks, Kuwaiti athletes have been participating in competitions organized by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and Ski Dubai.

Four Kuwaiti athletes took part in various competitions:

Salman Alkandari
Abdulwahab Almaatouq
Faris Alobaid
Abdulrahman Alwahibi

The journey to get to this point took Faris Alobaid (@therealcurator) nearly 5 years of intense lobbying to make it happen. The team eventually became fully affiliated with “Kuwait Winter Sports Club” which is how they were able to get an FIS seat and become the first athletes to compete under the Kuwait National Ski Team banner.

The athletes are now planning to compete extensively during the winter seasons to rack up as many points as possible with the aim to qualify Kuwait to enter the Winter Olympics 2026.

Training is going to be challenge for obvious reasons. To compete at an international level requires a lot of investment, correct gear and training, which they had none of. They just winged it with their own equipment because it was a last minute thing and they needed to desperately start collecting points.

Now that they’re back in Kuwait after taking part in the competitions, the ski team is hoping to get more financial and moral support from the Kuwait Olympic Committee.

They also want to start rallying the private and government sector to financially invest in winter sports to help put Kuwait on the international map. Both UAE and Saudi Arabia have made skiing a national priority by investing heavily in the sport. Saudi Arabia, for example, is set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM.

Most importantly though, the ski team right now needs investment in gear and the hiring of a coach. They really want to pave the way and inspire the next generation of Kuwaiti male and female skiers.

To stay updated on their progress and other winter teams and athletes, follow @kuwait_wgc and @fahad_alajmi_10

Below are some events taking place this weekend, as usual, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday, November 9
Flare Fitness Festival 2023
ArtnDine x Barba
AIU Film Festival 2023

Friday, November 10
Flare Fitness Festival 2023
Story Telling with Mansoor AlMansoor
AIU Film Festival 2023

Saturday, November 11
Flare Fitness Festival 2023
RunKuwait 2023
Coming Renaissance Art Experience
Sadu House Guided Tour
Grand Mosque Tour
AIU Film Festival 2023

Exhibitions
Arabia Felix and Rome
Palestine Art Stands
The Eye of The Sky Drone Photography Exhibition
SIF, An Introduction by Mohammad Kassem

Magnolia Bakery, the popular New York chain reopened in Kuwait yesterday.

Magnolia originally opened in Kuwait back in 2012 but eventually closed down all their locations. They’re now back in Kuwait again and have reopened in 360 Mall, on the top floor, right next to Bloomingdales.

My favorite item of theirs is their banana pudding but the Magnolia cupcakes gained a lot of popularity after being featured on the popular TV series Sex and the City.

UAE’s Al Tayer Group are the local franchisee.

Every Monday and Tuesday the Kuwait Motor Town racetrack is open to cyclist and it’s free.

The track is 5.6KM long but has 3 different configurations, each a different length so you can pick and choose which part of the track you want to ride on. The track isn’t flat but has uphills and downhills which makes for a more interesting ride (my Apple Watch recorded 14m of elevation).

I got there yesterday while the sun was setting, and it was such a chill experience riding around the track. Because the track is far off the main road and not surrounded by anything, it was very quiet with only my own bike making any sounds. There were less than a dozen other riders when I was there so the track was empty. But even if there were 30 or 40 riders, it would still feel empty because it’s such a large racetrack.

Riding around without having to worry about potholes, curbs or cars running you off the road is very calming especially with the beautiful backdrop of the sunset. Once the sun disappears the track lights come on for nighttime riding and that’s a completely different experience as well.

If you want to try riding at the track, they open to the public from 4PM to 8PM on Mondays and Tuesdays. You don’t need to pay anything or even register, just get to the track, park your car in the parking lot and then ride into the racetrack. There is a security guard there with a sign in sheet, just put your name and number and continue onto the track. You need a helmet but that’s the only requirement. You can’t bring rollerblades, scooters or skateboards onto the track, but if you want to walk, jog, or run around the track you can.

There is also plenty of security and even an ambulance on standby in case of any emergency or an injury, it’s all very professional.

The only downside really is that it’s around a 30-to-40-minute drive out depending on where you live. If you don’t know where the track is, here is the location on Google Maps.

Their website is kmt.kw and their instagram is @kmtkw

Below are some events taking place this weekend, as usual, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday, November 2
The IMPROVengers Comedy Night
The Perfume Expo
Kuwait Outdoor Expo
AlSadu Museum Guided Tour

Friday, November 3
The Perfume Expo
Kuwait Outdoor Expo
AlSadu Museum Guided Tour
Alboyahra Farm Reopens
Eco Warriors Beach Clean Up

Saturday, November 4
The Perfume Expo
Kuwait Outdoor Expo
AlSadu Museum Guided Tour
Alboyahra Farm Reopens
Art N Dine: Weave of Cultures

Exhibitions
Arabia Felix and Rome
Palestine Art Stands
The Eye of The Sky Drone Photography Exhibition
Sacred I by Yasmine El Hazek
SIF, An Introduction by Mohammad Kassem

I’m a huge Tamiya fan even though I haven’t put together a Tamiya model in years. But, I recently found out that we have an online Tamiya store here in Kuwait which I’m tempted to impulse buy from.

They don’t have a huge collection of cars, but it’s a fairly decent one especially if you aren’t looking for anything specific. Prices are also higher than prices online but similar if you include shipping. They also have a large selection of paints and tools as well to help you with the build.

I don’t think I’m going to order anything even though I want to, this would have been perfect during the covid lockdowns but I don’t think I have the time or patience for it anymore. If you’re interested though their website is q8tamiya.com

Last month IKEA launched the cheapest falafel sandwich in Kuwait priced at just 50 fils. Initially, the post was going to be about that, but I just realized, this might actually be the cheapest sandwich in Kuwait. I can’t imagine any sandwich costing less than 50 fils and I think the cheapest I’ve ever come across is 100 fils.

If you know of a sandwich cheaper than 50 fils, let me know. Also, what other sandwich can I get in Kuwait for just 50 fils if any?

Dubai’s beach-born concept SALT is coming to Kuwait next month and they’ll be popping up at the new Blajaat project in Salmiya.

Although SALT is mostly known for their iconic Airstream trailer, over the past few years their pop-ups have turned into beautiful and elaborate setups, so should be interesting what they’re planning for Kuwait.

The exact date hasn’t been finalized but they should be popping up the last week of November.

I thought the events were starting to pick up but I guess it might be still a bit too warm. Below are some events I found taking place this weekend, if I missed anything, let me know.

Thursday, October 12
Bunka x Cadillac

Friday, October 13
Game Night at Bonjiri

Saturday, October 14
IFK Brunch in the Garden
Storytelling with Aseel AlYaqoub
Sunrise Paddling
Risograph Workshop

Exhibitions
The Eye of The Sky Drone Photography Exhibition
Sacred I by Yasmine El Hazek
SIF, An Introduction by Mohammad Kassem

A few years ago I came across the photo above taken by George Rodger in 1952 of the first elephant in Kuwait. Initially, I thought the elephant was for our current zoo, but that couldn’t have been possible since the zoo opened much later, in 1968. Turns out there was another zoo in Kuwait before that called “Salwa Garden”.

Salwa Garden was the first zoo in Kuwait and the first modern zoo in the Arabian Gulf. It was established in Rumaithiya by Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in 1954 back when the area lacked basic infrastructure like roads or electricity.

Sheikh Jaber traveled to India and Africa in search of animals, and whenever he got the animals he also brought with them their minders to help ensure that the animals received proper care. He also strived to establish near-normal conditions for the animals. For the Himalayan bear for example, he purchased ice slabs for it from the Al-Ghanim ice factory until it adapted to Kuwait’s climatic conditions. He also made sure that all the animals were well fed and medically cared for.

The garden was called “Salwa” because it was an Arabic term for recreation and entertainment. Admission was free because Sheikh Jaber wanted to share his love for nature with others and it the garden ended up attracting both locals and foreigners.

A decade after establishing the garden, Sheikh Jaber decided to close it due to rapid urbanization and the establishment of the Kuwait Zoo in Al-Omariyah which he ended up donating most of his animals to.

It’s a really interesting story and if you want to read more about it, there is a great paper written by Rua Alshaheen, Yousef Alharoun and Mohammed Alajmi called “A case study of Kuwait’s Salwa Garden” which has a lot of info and where I got most of mine from.

There is also a book called “Salwa Garden” that was published by Mona Al-Sabah which contains information as well as a lot more photos of the garden.

Kuwait is currently holding the 2023 IBF World Bowling Championship and I don’t think anybody knows. The international sporting event which started on October 4th and is ongoing until October 15th is taking place at the Kuwait Bowling Sporting Club in Salmiya. The bowling alley is one of the largest in the region with 48 bowling lanes and when I passed by yesterday, they were all being used for the event.

The men’s competition includes teams from Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, UAE, Oman, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Czechoslovak, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Colombia, Canada, Egypt in addition to Kuwait.

The women’s teams include Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany, Colombia, Canada in addition to host Kuwait.

There is plenty of seating if you want to go and watch the event live. When I passed by there were multiple matches taking place simultaneously and I just moved from one area to another to watch the games. Entry to watch the event is free and the matches start at 9AM and continue throughout the day till around 5PM. You can check out the schedule below.

The event is also being streamed live online. They have 4 cameras streaming simultaneously and you can watch those on YouTube. Link

Don’t miss the Draconid meteor shower tonight.

The shower will be visible just after sunset and throughout the evening hours. Expect to see around 10 meteors streak across the sky per hour which is less than other showers, but the advantage is, they’re going to be moving slowly. The Draconid meteors are know to move slower than other showers so they should be visible for one or two seconds instead of disappearing in a blink of an eye.

You don’t need a telescope or any special equipment to view the shower, but if you want the best viewing conditions then it helps to be as far from artificial light as possible.

Russell Peters, the incredibly popular stand-up comedian is coming to Kuwait for the final leg of his Act Your Age World Tour. It’s pretty crazy how we just got Mo Amer last month and now we’re getting Russel Peters as well.

He’s only going to perform in Kuwait for one night only and it’s happening on November 8th at The Arena. Tickets just went on sale and they start from 20KD for the Bronze and go up all the way to 120KD for the VIP.

If you’re interested to book, head over to The Arena website. Link