Search: “kuwait”

Bas Ya Bahar (or The Cruel Sea in English) is a Kuwaiti film directed by pioneering filmmaker Khalid Al Siddiq and released in 1971. It’s considered to be the first feature-length motion picture made in Kuwait, and also one of the first from the Gulf region.

I recently got my hands on what I think are two important pieces tied to the movie, the original film poster and the international film brochure, so I figured it was the right time to do a post about it again (previous post here).

The film is set in Kuwait before the discovery of oil, when people lived in poverty, surviving on small-scale farming and fishing. Their only hope of changing fate came from the sea, where pearl divers risked everything for the chance of finding a life-changing pearl. The story follows a young man ashamed of his family’s poverty and his inability to win over the family of the girl he loves. Determined to change that, he becomes a pearl diver, returning to the same sea that left his father crippled and half-blind.

Bas Ya Bahar starred the then-young, now legendary actors Hayat Al Fahad, Mohammed Al Mansour, and Saad Al Faraj. The film was selected as the Kuwaiti entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 45th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

I purchased the poster from a guy who watched the movie at a film festival in Algeria back in 1975. He got the poster from Khalid after the show and kept it stored away until I bought it from him. What struck me most about the poster were the colors. Everything I’d seen related to the film was always in black and white, so the neon green and pink instantly caught my attention. The Brochure is also in great quality and is in three languages, English, Arabic and French.

I took a few photos of the poster and scanned the brochure since I don’t think many copies are still around today and so I wanted to share them. I also reached out to @badshaiji to see if he had any photos in his collection, and he did. The black and white shots are from him and were taken at the film premiere at Cinema Al Andalus on 03/27/71.

Khalid Al Siddiq passed away in 2021 at the age of 76. If you want to watch the film, it’s on YouTube and I’ve embedded it below.

I’ve uploaded all the photos in their original resolution to my Flickr account, you can check them all here.

IKEA currently has a huge sale taking place, but this time they’re also doing something special.

Every weekend they’re hosting a variety of fun activities for kids, so you can shop, save, and make memories together. From balloon shows to science shows, the activities are happening at all IKEA branches:

IKEA The Avenues
IKEA The Warehouse, Sabahiya
IKEA Khiran Mall
IKEA 360 Mall
IKEA Assima Mall

Different branches have different schedules, so click the branches above to see what’s happening and when. @ikeakuwait

A couple of weeks ago I used AliExpress for the first time, for two orders back to back. I never had a reason to buy anything from AliExpress before but it just strangely happened that I needed to buy two different things from them.

I wanted to buy a CD player called the SMSL PL100. They were out of stock on Amazon but found it available on AliExpress with free shipping to Kuwait. Basically was going to be the same price as Amazon or maybe slightly cheaper. I placed the order on August 3rd.

The next thing I wanted to get was the new ANBERNIC RG 477M game console. It was available on the Abnernic website but they were charging $50 to ship to Kuwait. It was the same price on AliExpress with free shipping to Kuwait. So I placed the order on August 6.

I wanted the Anbernic for my LA flight which is later today and wasn’t sure if I’d get it in time. To my surprise both items were delivered to my door on August 13th. I thought they would arrive to the post office but similar to TEMU, my items got delivered to my home.

Overall it wasn’t a bad experience. I only had difficulty at first creating an account, both accounts I created were locked up instantly because it thought I was a bot or spam or something. Nearly put me off but then got it working. There are always offers as well it seems, and I used a coupon to get a discount on my Anbernic order as well. I’ll probably order more items from AliExpress in the future but with Amazon free shipping I’m not sure how often that will be. I always prefer buying from Amazon, but at least now I have a second site to compare prices with, at least with items that come from China anyway.

Wplace is a collaborative, real-time pixel canvas layered over the world map. Anyone anywhere in the world can paint and create art together. I just checked out Kuwait and the map was packed with tags.

It’s really bizarre, kinda like the graffiti you’d find on neighborhood electrical substations, but if they were done by 10 year olds. No idea why this is popular. Link

Russell Peters is coming back to perform live in Kuwait on October 20 at The Arena as part of his Relax World Tour. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Thursday) at 11AM through The Arena’s website.

Fame Entertainment, the same company that brought Fluffy, Craig David, and Blue to Kuwait, are the ones bringing him back.

Tickets will start from KD25. If you want the best seats, make sure to grab your tickets as soon as they go on sale. thearenakuwait.com

Back in June Amazon started offering free delivery to Kuwait which I’ve obviously been taking advantage of. One incident recently happened to me which I thought was worth sharing.

I was looking for a DAC that would take digital audio from my Mac mini and convert it to analogue to send to my KEF LSX speakers. I was using the Apple USB-C to headphone jack dongle but wanted something better. I previously ordered an optical in analogue out converter but it didn’t allow me to control the volume from my Mac mini, I had to do it from the speaker which I didn’t want to do. Anyway, after a lot of research with ChatGPT, and a limited budget of under $100, ChatGPT recommended I get the iFi UNO. According to ChatGPT I’d be able to control the volume from my Mac which was perfect.

ChatGPT was wrong. Last time I’m using it to help me buy electronics. Once plugged in I had to control the volume either from the speakers or the DAC but the volume control on my Mac wouldn’t do anything. I had bought it for around $80 plus I had ordered some high quality cables with it so I was down over $100. I was just going to dump it in my electronics box but decided to see if I could return it. I had thrown the box and manuals out already so wasn’t hopeful. I checked the return policy for Amazon and it turned out that if I returned the item even though it was without the box I might be entitled for possibly a 50% refund. Figured that was better than nothing.

So I applied to return both items. Returning the items was free of charge, I just had to print the DHL labels Amazon gave me and go to the DHL store to drop them off. Process at DHL took like 5 minutes, I didn’t even have to bring any packaging, they just dumped them into the standard DHL bags and shipped them. I mailed them back July 25, on July 31 I got a full refund back from Amazon!

That’s crazy. Forget the fact that they’re shipping the stuff for free to Kuwait, you can actually return the items for free as well, that’s really insane.

I’ve posted about Deboned before since they’re my go-to spot when I want to eat clean or healthy. I like their grilled chicken because it’s packed with flavor, and since they have branches near me, delivery is always quick. To keep things exciting, they’re constantly introducing new flavors, and yesterday they launched their latest one, Sweet & Chili.

The new Sweet & Chili flavor is available across all their chicken dishes, including Shawarma, Wings, and of course, the Half and Whole Chicken options, served with either oven-baked fries or rice.

Their Friday Meal Boxes are also available with the new Sweet & Chili flavor, and they’ve introduced a new Mango flavor for their Rice Pudding dessert.

The last time I posted about Deboned I found out they had branches in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. For now, the Sweet & Chili flavor is only available in Kuwait and for a limited time only.

If you’ve never tried Deboned before, or if you want to try their new flavor, head over to their Instagram page for more info @deboned.kw or order directly from debonedkwt.com

This villa in Abdullah Al-Salem was recently featured in Architectural Digest and is known as the Shell House. It’s a four-bedroom home designed by AlHumaidhi Architects in collaboration with interior design firm Studio Nesef (@studionesef). What caught my attention was the courtyard in the center featuring a private garden and pool. Not a lot of homes are being built today with a courtyard, but it’s a feature I’d want to have in my home.

I think courtyards work really well for privacy. You can have spaces completely closed off from the outside world, while keeping them open to the inside. So you still get views and natural daylight without giving up your privacy.

The villa is called the Shell House because its design, inspired by the natural geometry of shells, gently rotates around the central courtyard across three levels. Each floor shifts slightly, creating shaded terraces, rooftop gardens, and covered outdoor spaces that adapt to sunlight and privacy needs throughout the day. The villa is designed with soft curves and finished in custom stucco cladding, a dust-resistant material chosen to withstand Kuwait’s climate.

The interior follows the same soft, curved style as the outside, with natural colors and different travertine stone finishes. Sliding doors, wooden slats, and metal screens inspired by traditional mashrabiya help connect the indoors with the outdoors while also keeping the home cool.

The photos here were taken by @ngphoto.com.pt. Check out admiddleeast.com for a detailed write-up and more photos.

I’m a huge fan of KEF, since Xcite hooked me up with the LSX speakers 6 years ago, I’ve bought a second pair of LSX, a KEF R7 and now just got a pair of LS50 Metas. I wasn’t really looking for speakers but I was refurbishing one of my rooms that had a pair of floor standing speakers and decided I wanted to create more space by getting bookshelf ones. I had an extra pair of LSX lying around but then I found out the LS50 Metas were 44% off on Xcite and ended up buying a pair.

They’re literally the cheapest pair of LS50 Metas in the world. When BestBuy discounted them down to $1,000 in the US people in forums made a huge fuss about how much of a great deal that was, we have them for $650 in Kuwait. Well technically there is only one new pair left in that price point. For some reason the black and titanium colors aren’t discounted, only the white is priced at 199KD. When I bought mine the salesman told me there were only two pairs left, so one left now if anyone wants it. Link

The Ministry of Interior has set a new validity period for driving licenses. If you’re Kuwaiti the driving license is valid for 15 years while if you’re an expat it’s valid for 5 years. Used to be 10 years before for expats then they decided to make it 1 year for some reason which overwhelmed the traffic departments, 5 years now doesn’t seem to bad and at least we can now get the physical copies again. Link

The last time I used a 3D printer was back in 2016 when I reviewed the Micro 3D Printer. Things have come a longggg way since then.

I was eyeing the A1 Mini for a few weeks, just out of curiosity since I had watched a YouTube video that had it and thought it was pretty cool for a 100KD printer. Then during Amazon Prime it went on sale for $250 and I actually bought it but then canceled the order before it shipped. Then randomly one night I was on the UK Bambu Lab website and saw it was on sale for £149, so 60KD~ or $200, I bought it right away. Shipping and customs was another 30KD but that was still cheaper than the 140KD price it was selling in Kuwait for.

Total was like 90KDish and I bought the Bambu Lab PLA Basic filament from the local dealer for KD8.750 so to get it up and running it was just under 100KD.

I’ve only had the A1 mini for around a week now, it’s plugged in and always on. There is a really great app for the phone and anytime I find something I want to print I just send to print from my phone. It even has a built in camera so I can watch the printing happening or shoot a time-lapse. The quality of the print outs is amazing, you can barely see any layering and things look like they’re store bought.

I also found it super easy to create something in Adobe Illustrator, import it into the Bambu app and then turn it into 3D. So for basic stuff you don’t even need to 3D model.

I’ll eventually do a proper review of the printer but just wanted to post about it now quickly since I noticed it’s back on sale but at £169 if anyone wants one. Link

Orion Strom, one of Europe’s fastest-growing mattress brands, has officially opened its first standalone showroom in Kuwait.

The journey that brought the Greek brand here wasn’t led by a marketing push or franchise expansion, but by a personal connection and a shared belief in doing things right. The local owner, a longtime friend of the family behind Orion Strom, had long admired their commitment to craft. When his friend visited Kuwait and toured local mattress stores, they were both struck by the same thing: high prices, low standards, and a market flooded with outdated or gimmicky mattresses that fell short compared to the offerings in the European market.

That moment was the spark. They launched with just one model in Kuwait, selling it without a showroom or proper display. It quickly sold out, reaffirming their belief in the product. That early success led to a carefully developed range of ten models, each tailored to different sleep preferences. Now, with the showroom open, customers can finally see, feel, and experience the difference firsthand.

Founded in 1998, Orion Strom isn’t just another mattress brand, it’s a company built on substance and experience. Their mattresses are made in Greece using certified European components like springs from Portugal, foam from Italy, latex from Belgium, and Kevlar from Bulgaria. If you’re someone who cares about certifications, the factory is TÜV Nord certified and holds four ISO standards. All the materials used in the mattresses are also certified with CertiPUR, OEKO-TEX, and SGS.

Orion Strom focuses on real materials and proper craftsmanship. The mattresses are dense, built to last, and nearly twice the weight of most mattresses in their price range.

This isn’t a mass-market chain, it’s a product-first company, driven by people who believe sleep is serious. If you’re looking for a proper mattress that is designed to give you better sleep and built to last, check them out orion-kw.com or visit them at Waves Mall (Google Maps).

This batch of photos was taken by the parents of John Fidler, who used to live in Kuwait back in the 50s and 60s. There aren’t a lot of photos, but a few really stood out to me, which is why I wanted to share them. The main photo, for example, shows the Ahmadi post office which I thought was a great shot with the empty street, the bicycle, and the retro bunting (flags). It has a small-town America feel to it.

The other photos I really liked are of the Fahaheel high street. It wasn’t paved back then, and there’s a cow in the middle of the street eating trash. This is the second photo I’ve seen of that street with what I’m guessing is the same cow, so it must have lived there.

The rest of the photos are just random bits and pieces. The outdoor cinema above was taken at the Hubara Club in Ahmadi. To check the rest of the photos out, click here.

Back in February I bought the Wolfbox electric air duster from Amazon. It had excellent reviews and in every comparison test it usually beat out the competition. I had it on my wish list for awhile and then when it dropped down to $62 I ordered one. That was before Amazon shipped free to Kuwait so I ended up paying $83 with shipping to Kuwait so say KD26.5 with my banks conversion rate.

I just found out that it’s now available locally for KD25, basically the same price I paid for it. The price of the blower is now $90 on Amazon and even through it’s free shipping to Kuwait there is an $11 import charge so the price locally is actually cheaper than Amazon. If you want one, it’s available here.

With so much competition in Kuwait’s beauty salon scene, any new spot really needs to stand out. That’s exactly what the new Laha Lounge has done.

Laha, which means “for her” in Arabic, was designed with one goal in mind: to make you feel like the center of attention. Every detail, every service, and every moment is carefully curated to make you feel special.

Located in Sabah Al Salem (Google Maps), Laha Lounge specializes in hair color, styling, nail care, along with their signature baths and natural masks. According to regulars, the interior design makes it feel like an escape from the everyday rush, the kind of place where time feels like it just pauses the moment you walk in. That level of design makes sense considering Laha Lounge is owned by Amina Al Failakawi, the founder of the popular design studio @past.modern.

If you’re looking for a new salon to try, Laha Lounge is open daily from 11AM to 8PM. You can book through WhatsApp at 63330832 or send them a DM on Instagram @laha_lounge.