Search: “kuwait”

For such a big and really well-organized event, it’s sad to see the beach area trashed like that.

Out of curiosity, how many people here watched the last race of the Formula 1 season last night? I’m kinda curious to see how popular the sport has gotten in Kuwait especially after Netflix’s Drive to Survive series.

[poll id=”18″]

Last week while visiting AAB World in Symphony Mall, I passed by a place called the Q8 Comedy Club. I hadn’t noticed it before so I quickly checked Instagram to see if I could find out more about it and I ended up at their Instagram account. Turns out they were holding comedy shows at this location and the next one was scheduled for December 6th so I booked two tickets so I could check it out.

I ended up going last night and I left pretty impressed. The show was a combination of improv and standup, with the majority of it being improv. The host was Ahmad Alshammari from Shenoya3ni and was extremely funny, but so were the rest of the comedians, everyone was pretty great especially when you consider that fact we don’t even have a comedy scene in Kuwait.

The show started 7:30PM and finished around 9PM. The place was packed and although the audience weren’t the participating type, the comedians still managed to work with what they had and do really well. My Arabic isn’t that great and I was cracking up with my friend through the whole thing. Strangely, the tickets were free, probably because they’re trying to promote the comedy club and get people to come to a show which is a new idea here.

Checking their instagram account they haven’t announced their next show yet so if you want to go to the next one, follow them on Instagram to find out about it once it’s announced. @q8comedy1

Ace Hardware opened up a new location at Boulevard Mall in Salmiya last week. The new location is bigger than I expected it to be, I think it’s bigger than the Hawally location. I now have two Ace Hardware’s near me now, the Hawally location and this Boulevard one but would have preferred a Bin Nisf close by as well. Ace is located on the ground floor next to Sears. Here is the location on Google Maps.

This is a pretty useful local app that just got launched. Ever needed a pickup truck to move a large item or maybe a moving truck to shift your furniture to your new apartment? Droob is a new app that allows you to order a vehicle for just that.

I played around with the app a bit and the way it works is you first choose the kind of vehicle you want to order which depends on what you’re moving. You then let the app know where the items are and where you want them dropped off. After scheduling a pick-up time you’ll be presented with the cost. I got quotted 9KD for a pickup truck from Ikea at Avenues to an office in Kuwait City which isn’t bad at all. Payment can be made either by cash, k-net or credit card.

If you want to check out the app yourself, it’s available for both iPhones and Android devices. Here is a link to their website.

Kuwait City’s impressive skyline has welcomed a new skyscraper that sets a new benchmark for high-end urban living. Located in Bneid Al Gar and rising a stunning 22 stories above the city, Al Maha Tower offers a new definition of contemporary apartment living complete with breathtaking panoramic views and provides its residents with subtle but exclusive luxury.

Al Maha Tower’s strategic location near the city centers, trade zones and famous shopping centers enhances convenience and provides the perfect home next to workplace and modern lifestyle experiences.

Adding to that, Al Maha features superior amenities including a rooftop infinity pool, fully equipped gym, rooftop barbeque area, high-speed internet, 24/7 security service, landscaped gardens, and outdoor and indoor children’s play areas that enable kids to safely enjoy. These amenities offer endless possibilities for comfort, security, independent lifestyle and enhanced quality of life.

To learn more about all that Al Maha Tower has to offer, please call 5173 5543

Looks like eVisa’s are finally being issued again. According to the US Embassy website, Kuwait has announced that people of certain nationalities who would like to travel to Kuwait can apply for a visa electronically (e-Visa) through the Ministry of Interior’s website. There are some requirements:

• you need to be vaccinated
• you need to have proof of vaccination
• you need to register in the Immune app

But, it seems they’ve also placed a limit on how many eVisa’s can be issued. I’m trying to issue one for my mum but whenever I want to start the process I get the error “We have reached the maximum limit of visa applications, please try again later.” If you’ve successfully managed to apply for an eVisa, let us know in the comments.

@th9neighborhood is an interesting Instagram account if you appreciate old-school architecture. There are so many interesting buildings all around Kuwait that would look incredible if they were refurbished but instead are left to crumble till they eventually get demolished. Maybe the photographer will eventually capture enough buildings and publish them in a book, an archive of what we lost.

Last week I posted about how you can now add your driving license to the Kuwait Mobile ID app as part of Kuwait’s move to digitization. Well according to the MOI you can’t use a digital driving license!

I guess the different departments didn’t coordinate together or something because although you can use the digital form of your CiviL ID as a form of identification, if you try using the digital driving license without having the physical license with you then you’ll get fined. Hilarious. Source

Note: If you prefer a horribly written English source, click here.

Update: Last night the MOI backtracked and released a statement saying that the digital license is now considered an official document. You can check that post here.

I’ve previously posted about the PASS and Mawqif apps, two apps that offer you ticketless and cashless parking. I love using them because I love the convenience of not having to get a ticket or look for coins in my car to pay for parking. I now have two apps on my phone dedicated to parking which is kinda annoying but it might get worse because I found out another new app called PARK IN just got launched.

It must be frustrating for businesses when they come up with a good idea only to see copycats pop up seemingly overnight. Competition is usually good but in this case, it’s going to go from being a convenient thing having a parking app, to an annoyance if users will have to install different apps for different lots and manage wallets across them all.

PARK IN just launched so they don’t have a lot of parking lots they work with, only two right now, Souk Al Wataniya in Kuwait City and International Hospital in Salmiya. If you want to download this app as well then click here.

Last Wednesday I decided to head to the car auction in Ardiya. They were auctioning the 60+ cars I posted about earlier that week which were confiscated from one guy. Many of the cars were now classics and so I went with a friend who was interested in one of the cars so we could try and bid on it. The experience was pretty interesting to say the least.

This must have been the most popular car auction ever held in Kuwait due to all the hype built up around the cars. I’d guess 99% of the people there, and there were A LOT of people, had never been to an auction before including myself. Due to the number of people they were expecting to show up, a makeshift setup was put together across the street in an empty lot.

The auction was meant to start at 3PM but ended up starting shortly after 3:30PM. Basic rules were announced at the start, if you win a bid you must come up to the front and give them your civil ID card. You then get it back once you pay for the item. You need to pay on the spot. Knet only, no cash. Pretty simple although no idea how you can pay KD30,000 for a Ferrari Testarossa on your Knet card since I thought there was a 10,000KD limit? No idea.

The whole experience was really casual. The cars weren’t there, so if you hadn’t seen them last weekend in person at the police lot and noted down details like the license plate number, then you were pretty much screwed. There was just a list to go by which you had to print out yourself from their Instagram account or just keep looking at your phone. Most of the items on the list were misspelled and many lacked any details. For example, there were three BMW 8-series for sale and the only way to tell them apart on the list was with their license plate number. So if you hadn’t written down their plate numbers when checking the car out you were out of luck.

The auction moved fairly quickly but because we were right next to the mosque they had to stop twice for a prayer break. Not sure if that’s what they usually do or if they had to do it because we were right outside the mosque and the mosques speakers were louder than the auctions. By 7PM we had gone through two pages worth of cars and it was getting pretty chilly. There were no outdoor lights so the auction turned into a moonlight auction. The majority of the people must have been there for the two Ferraris since most of them left once they were sold. By the time I left only the first few rows of seats were filled.

My friend didn’t win the car, he was interested in a Volvo which he was willing to pay up to 2,000 for but it ended up going for 2,700. I had my eye on a 1997 Alfa Romeo Spider but I wasn’t going to pay over 250KD for it and the car ended up going for 350. Overall I had a good time, it was an interesting experience for sure.

If you ever want to go to a car auction you can find out about upcoming ones on the Instagram account @mzadmoj. The location of the auction is at the Deposit Reserve and Judicial Arbitration Sector Building in Ardiya, here is the location on Google Maps. They usually have the cars on display there it’s just this specific time that things were a bit different due to the circumstances. Let me know if you have any questions below.

I buy my beans from %Arabica just because that’s what I’m used to but there are a lot of other coffee bean roasters in Kuwait who also roast green beans in house for espresso. Below is a list compiled by radaaitor which I’ve arranged in alphabetical order:

%Arabica
48East Roastery
Air Roastery
AJ’s Roastery
Alameed
Albadawi Coffee
Altitude Roasters
Bait Qahwa Co.
Black Horse Coffee
Coffee Choices
Coffee Jug Roastery
Coffee Masters
Collective Coffee Company
Earth Roastery
House Of Beans
Jumo Coffee
Methods Roastery
My Habit Roastery
Origin Roasters
ORU Roasters
Pause Coffee Roasters
Rawi Coffee
Richards Coffee Co.
Roots Roastery
Stockroom Coffee
United Coffee Roasters
Vol. 1 Roast Lab
Wjaar Roastery

If I missed a place let me know in the comments. Also if you could recommend your favorite beans/roaster that would be helpful for anyone looking to try new beans. Personally, I get the Arabica Blend beans from %Arabica because it’s the same blend they use for their in-store coffee. I like consistency and I know their blend will always be consistent because it’s what they use themselves.

Also, the photo on top isn’t my setup but a friends. Super cool coffee corner and he even imports his own green beans and roasts them himself at home using an Aillio Bullet R1.

Good espresso machines aren’t cheap and if you’ve never used one before you might be hesitant to invest in one which is why getting a used machine could be a good idea for a lot of people. There is a local Instagram account that specializes in selling used coffee machines, grinders and various accessories that usually are pretty expensive like Acaia scales. A lot of the items available for sale aren’t even available locally so most likely they were ordered online like I did with my setup.

Some cool brands of machines and grinders I spotted for sale include Baratza, Breville, Eureka, Profetic, La Marzocco, Niche, and Rocket. If you’re interested in making your own coffee at home but don’t want to invest a lot of money, check out what’s for sale on @coffee_market_kw

Thanks radaaitor

Galaxy Juice: A new music video by one of my favorite local bands, Sahran (Rave Arabia) is from their latest album “and the forty thieves“. The music video was made by Salvador Cresta from Argentine who has previously worked with the well-known indie artist Ariel Pink.

If you want to listen to their full album, it’s available to stream on: Spotify, Anghami and Apple Music.

You can also follow Galaxy Juice on Instagram @galaxyjuiceband

Boom.Diwan: An ensemble of traditional Kuwaiti musicians who combine Kuwaiti bahri (sea) music with global jazz, Boom.Diwan’s latest EP ‘Minarets’ was conceived across three countries; UAE, Kuwait and South Africa. The band collaborated with pianist Nduduzo Makhathini for these tracks, the first-ever South African musician signed to the legendary Blue Note Records. You can check out the EP below or on Spotify, Sound Cloud, Apple Music or Anghami.

You can also follow Boom.Diwan on Instagram @boom.diwan

Situated at a scenic and strategic location near the Arabian Gulf coast, Al Nada Tower now introduces a new concept to contemporary living by combining modern lifestyle experiences with design, luxury and comfort.

This premium residential building located in Dasman offers everything that makes up the perfect home. Its elegantly designed apartment units housed over 25 floors offer breathtaking views of the city and sea, and is located in close proximity to Kuwait City, the financial district, and numerous shopping centers.

Al Nada Tower provides a range of amenities and facilities designed for your utmost comfort and convenience, including:

• Rooftop infinity pool
• Large lap pool on the ground floor
• Fully equipped gym
• Outdoor and indoor kids play area
• Barbeque area
• Security personnel, CCTV, and entry/exit access controls
• Underground car parking
• Large built-in closets/wardrobes and cabinets
• Appliances provided for all flats
• Flexibility in renting furnished or unfurnished flats

To learn more about what Al Nada Tower offers, please call 90030901 or visit our Instagram @alnadatower