Search: “kuwait”

10 years ago this month (December 2012) I got the Instagram account @248am. I really wasn’t planning on using it and whenever anyone told me I should move to Instagram I was always quick to kill the idea. I couldn’t see my content working on Instagram and so I wasn’t interested in moving. One of the best things about my blog is that it serves as a major resource for google searches. Anytime anyone searches for anything related to Kuwait, they’re most likely going to end up on my blog. With 13,500+ posts and counting, I’ve covered basically every single topic relating to Kuwait. This vast archive of content accessible by anyone with just an easy google search is something that Instagram just can’t compete with.
 
Then, 6 weeks ago I randomly came across a plugin for the blog that would automatically post my content to Instagram. It wouldn’t require any work from my side so I decided to give it a shot. It didn’t take long for me to realize my content wasn’t really working there. I’d refer to a link on my blog post but since I can’t have links on Instagram it wouldn’t show there. Or I’d refer to a bunch of photos in a post but the plugin I was using would just post one photo. It looked like I didn’t care and I hated that, so I started adjusting and editing my posts a bit to get them more Instagram-friendly.

A month in things just clicked, and I quickly got a grasp of what was working and what wasn’t, I reworked my logo, created a new template for posts, and deleted everything I had posted before that. I also made a new internal set of rules, a list of what I would or wouldn’t post on Instagram, and what kind of topics I would or wouldn’t cover. Things quickly took off and the response has been incredible.

The amount of people I’ve reached, the number of engagements, shares, it’s all been really overwhelming.

The biggest difference I realized between my blog and Instagram is all the feedback that Instagram gives you. With the blog, even though I get thousands of people to come through it every day, the only way I can tell is if I check my stats which I rarely do. But on Instagram, there are so many ways for people to interact with you, people can share posts, they can heart posts, follow you, leave a comment, send you DM’s, tag you, tag a friend, repost you, etc. It’s also super easy for brands to interact with you by reposting your content or just sending you a thank you or a heart. The whole experience so far has been a nonstop bombardment of interactivity that has really gotten me excited about blogging again.

I’ve been blogging daily on this exact same platform for close to 20 years now. That’s obviously incredibly tedious and repetitive work so Instagram is now a new and very exciting challenge for me. I’m taking everything I’m good at and everything I’ve learned and applying it to that platform. My blog isn’t going to go anywhere, it will continue to be my main platform with the more varied posts, but Instagram is now going to play a much larger role and I’m really excited to see where this is all going to go.

@248am

Kei, the first and oldest Japanese restaurant in Kuwait is reopening next month outside Assima Mall.

Kei first opened in Kuwait in 1980 and was initially located at the now-demolished Hilton Hotel in Bneid Al Gar. When the hotel got demolished, they moved to JW Marriott where they remained for 20 years until they had to move out again because the hotel was undergoing a major renovation. Kei is now moving to Assima Mall and for those of you who’ve been long-term customers, you’ll be pleased to know the majority of the old staff will be coming back as well.

The new Kei will be called Kei Downtown to differentiate it from the Kei Restaurant that will eventually reopen again at the JW Marriott. The new Kei will be a more casual dining experience with a more relaxed atmosphere.

The new location is in Assima Mall but on the outside and on the back with no mall access and adjacent to the entrance of the soon-to-open Marriott Executive Suites. To stay posted on the opening, follow @kei_downtown

Since Souq Mubarakiya is under renovation due to the fire earlier this year, an architect asked the question, what if we redeveloped it with trams? Using the artificial intelligence program Midjourney, he was able to generate a few images which I think look great.

Souq Mubarakiya might be too small to need a tram but it could work if it started in the old village under construction across from Seef Palace and then continued through the market and back down to the Kuwait National Museum and library. Check out more photos @architect_abdulahad

According to my source, Pret A Manger is planning to open three new locations in Kuwait after the successful opening of their first one in Al Hamra Tower.

The three locations are:
– Argan Bedaya, Sabah Al Salem
– Hybrid Outlet Mall, Al Khiran
– Argan Square, Salmiya

I’ve reached out to Pret for confirmation and I’m currently waiting for their response.

Saudi Arabia’s leading online food delivery platform is launching in Kuwait next week. Jahez is the Saudi equivalent of Talabat and if you download the app right now you browse through the available restaurants. But, when I tried to register for an account, it wasn’t sending me the OTP code so that will probably start working next week. @jahezapp

Back in August, I posted that Beefbar, the popular meat-focused restaurant from Montecarlo was coming to Kuwait. When I originally posted they hadn’t chosen a location yet but now it looks like they’re hoping to open in Al Hamra Tower. If this location is confirmed, they’re expected to likely open by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Beefbar is already available in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and they’re also opening soon in Bahrain.

This definitely isn’t a coincidence, after posting about the lack of news on Apple Pay this morning, it was just announced that Apple Pay will be launching in Kuwait on December 7th. Source

If you’re looking for a cool and free spot to watch the World Cup matches then you should probably head over to the Sheikh Jaber Causeway. Castra who were in the news last week because their desert lounge setup got shutdown for not having a license are back now (with a license) and have set up a World Cup viewing area on the Southern Island of the causeway (called Al Saji Island).

The Castra setup is right on the edge of the island with a beautiful view of Kuwait City and is surrounded by food trucks and plenty of seating. Although they were still working on setting up a kiosk area for pop-ups when I visited, they’ve been open and broadcasting the games daily.

There is no entrance fee which is great and because it’s located on the Southern Island of the causeway I think makes this location really fun and interesting to visit. Weirdly, there isn’t anything posted about this anywhere, not even on the Castra Instagram account which is @castra.kw

If you want to head to the location, here it is on Google Maps

Last month the Ministry of Finance and the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority reached an agreement with Apple to operate Apple Pay in Kuwait after removing all the obstacles that prevented the service from operating here.

That announcement was followed by a lot of hype with banks testing Apple Pay and even launching the service on their websites. But, that was a month ago and since then the Apple Pay pages were pulled down from the bank websites and there hasn’t been any news, not even leaked videos or photos.

I wonder what happened since it looked like they were set to launch at the start of the month.

Kuwait Airways have posted that there will be a second airshow today from 11 AM to 12 PM near the Kuwait Towers. So if you’ve got a sea view from your office, keep an eye out for them in a bit.

Is it me or is Kuwait getting a lot of Overlanding tourists this year? Back in September, I posted about Petra, the German lady traveling around the world in her huge MAN KAT 8×8 but I keep spotting other visiting overlanders parked on the Gulf Road or mall parking lots. Yesterday one tourist overlander posted a photo showing three other overlanders parked near him. It seems they all use the app iOverlander which has a list of safe to camp spots in Kuwait and around the world which is how they all end up parked in the same spots.

Speaking of places to park, all the Gulf Road parking lots are starting to look like RV campgrounds with lots of motorhomes (not overlanders) parked each taking up multiple parking spots. We clearly don’t seem to have any regulation against this and you know what that means, eventually they’ll just ban motorhomes so they don’t have to deal with it.

Anyway back to the subject, currently, there are at least 4 overlanders passing through Kuwait, @aufaufunddavon_, @the_travely, @busleven and @defendter_. It’s really interesting checking their accounts and watching what they do while they’re in Kuwait. They all seem to really love it here, @busleven for example have spent the most time in Kuwait than any other place they’ve been to so far because of how much they’re liking it. So check out their accounts, they usually all have great photos as well.

I just found out the Red Arrows will be performing aerobatic shows today (Monday 21) between the Kuwait Towers and Green Island from 3:45 pm to 4:30 pm. If you’re hearing jets, that’s what’s going on. @ukinkuwait

Alo Yoga, the Los Angeles-based premium lifestyle/yoga brand is opening at The Avenues this coming Wednesday afternoon. It will be their first store in Kuwait and it’s going to be located next to the Mercedes showroom in the Grand Plaza.

To stay posted on the launch or to check out pictures from their event this past weekend, check them out on Instagram @alo.me

Last week I posted a couple of ways you could watch the World Cup tournament including subscribing with TOD for $80. But, a reader left a pretty negative review of his experience with the service after trying to watch the first game yesterday:

Tod is the Worst app on the planet , missed most of the game , it keeps crashing . Its a waste of money, its a scam not worth 80 dollars subscription, you cant even contact them. I watched 10 min of the game then it stops , after resting the app it tells you you need to register the device. I registered my tv maybe 10 times. Dont recommend it at all. And even on your phone it takes a long time to work if it works.

Did you stream with TOD? How was your experience?

In other surprising news, the container park KWT FAN BOX did in fact open in time yesterday to broadcast the opening of the World Cup.

The first ever Disney Store in Kuwait and the Middle East is opening at The Avenues this weekend. They’re having a meet and greet with some Disney friends at the store. They just posted the schedule up on their Instagram and the meet and greet is taking place on November 18th, 19th and 20th.

If you want to take your kids to meet some Disney characters, the store is located in the Grand Avenues adjacent to Gia and you can check out their Instagram account for the full schedule @disneystorealshaya