Search: “kuwait”

Last week I found the old ad above from 1984 for a video game store that was located in Sharq Tower in Kuwait City. I actually visited that store back then specifically to check out the Intellivision gaming console advertised in the ad but ended up getting the ColecoVision instead.

But this reminded me of a computer store that was located in Salhiya back in the 80s on M2 opposite the Korean restaurant that used to be there. I don’t remember the name of the store I just remember they sold computers and they always had Dig Dug playing in the display as well as having computer chess boards.

If anyone remembers it or knew who the owner was please let me know!

Update: Found the Coleco ad below in a 1983 newspaper. I guess now I know where I bought it from!

Back when I visited the National Library in October you couldn’t access any of the books yourself due to COVID safety precautions, you needed to have someone fetch the books for you. But, things are back to normal now. Yesterday morning I passed by the National Library and I was allowed access to all the books and archives. I still had to book an appointment via the meta.e.gov.kw website and you also need to be vaccinated to be allowed in, but other than that things are back to normal.

The library is next to my office which means I can go back to randomly passing by in the mornings on the way to work. I usually love going through old newspapers to find gems similar to the Hardees ad above from 1988 featuring the Thunder Cats. If you want the full resolution version click here.

The library is open Sunday to Thurday from 9AM to 1PM and for more info on what’s inside, check out my old post here.

Back in the mid 90s we really only had two places to hang out as teenagers, a restaurant called Fuddruckers on the Gulf Road and Johnny Rockets in Salmiya. Both were pretty expensive for broke teenagers and we didn’t have malls or places like Starbucks where you can just go and chill for hours. But then McDonald’s came to Kuwait and they opened a location over Johnny Rockets and it became the go-to place for me and my friends to meet up at. The staff didn’t care if we just hung out without ordering anything and the street corner outside became a popular meeting point for teens. So when Mcdonald’s shut down and Shakir took over the location, I was kinda upset about it but also curious to see what Shakir would with the place.

Yesterday I passed by the new location to get a sneak peek and noticed they had removed the large hoarding that had covered the side of the building revealing a brand new facade. The old building no longer looks dodgy anymore and instead looks pretty great. As I walked into the space I was expecting to see some indoor seating since McDonalds had seating but there wasn’t any. The whole interior was designed and optimized around fast order pickups. Shakir is so popular that the whole indoor space is one large queuing system with a long railing that splits the interior in half. As you go in through the entrance, the railing leads you to the far end of the restaurant where the ordering windows are. After you’re done ordering the railing leads you back towards the pickup area which is near the exit doors.

Disappointingly, there won’t be V-Thru at this location which is what I currently use to pick up my orders at their Rai location. If you haven’t used V-Thru before it’s one of my favorite services, you order from a restaurant via their app and once you arrive outside the restaurant, they bring the food out to your car. I mostly use it for Arabica when I order beans and Shakir to avoid the long car lines.

Shawarma Shakir Salmiya is opening tomorrow, July 7th at 7PM. They’re on instagram @shawarmashakir

I was just organizing some photos on my Mac and was moving some images into my “Vintage” folder when I noticed one of the photos in the album had Pearl Marzouq written on it. It was a photo of my parents (pictured on the right) with my aunt and uncle having dinner at the restaurant in what I presume to be the early 70s.

I had forgotten I had this photo and then I remembered just a few weeks ago I had spotted an ad for the restaurant in a 1972 issue of The Daily News. I need another trip to Lebanon so I can go through all the photos and see what other treasures I could find.

Below is also a photo of Pearl Marzouq taken in 1971 after construction. It was designed by SSH, the same architects behind JACC. I’ve tried getting more photos from them but they’ve been unresponsive so if anyone can help me get access to their archive, please let me know! SSH were behind a lot of big projects in the 70s including Messilah Beach Hotel and half of the buildings in old Salem Mubarek Street.

Other than the Suzuki Jimny from a couple of years ago, I can’t really think of any other car in recent history that interested so many people. The hype and demand around the new Landcruiser is so huge that there were people selling their spots on the waiting list for up to 2,500KD! Last Wednesday I picked up a brand new Landcruiser to review, and after spending 24 hours with it I have mixed feelings about it. People really do love this car though, I don’t think I’ve gotten so much attention on the road or interest in a review car as much as I got with this Landcruiser. Since you guys left a lot of questions under my what do you want to know post, this review is going to be a combination of my opinion on the car as well as answers to all your questions.

The first thing I need to discuss is the looks of the new Landcruiser which I’m not a fan of yet. I kinda like the front of the car which now has a huge grill, but not a big fan of the side profile or the rear of the car yet. I think the wheels look too small in proportion to the car and I think the rear quarter window gives it a minivan feel. The rear of the car is also fairly boring, but so was the last generation so at least that’s consistent. I remember not being a fan of the last Landcruiser when it came out either. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for new designs to grow on you and I’m expecting the same with this new Landcruiser as well.

I had the fully loaded GX-R model which comes with a leather interior, electronic ventilated seats, a large 12.3″ center display and some safety features like lane assist, radar cruise control and collision detection. The Landcruiser finally has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built-in which is great but also expected. Their digital side is still lagging behind the rest of the market. For example, we now have this gorgeous new super-large screen in the center console, but I still can’t control any of the car settings on it. If I want to change the settings for lane assist, or reset the tire pressures, adjust the sensitivity for collision detection or any other settings related to the actual car, I need to use the tiny black and white screen in the center of the gauge cluster. The only thing I can control with the large screen in the center console is the media center and climate control, that’s it. I don’t understand why there are two different systems in the car, I should be able to change all the settings from the main screen like in other cars. The technology side of the car makes it feel dated. Everything new on the new car should have already been on the last generation of the Landcruiser, but Toyota has always been like this. They’re one step behind in technology because they go for reliability and simplicity over having all the latest gizmos, and I think the majority of the people prefer that.

What are the differences between GX-R vs VX-R?
The model I drove was the fully loaded GX-R, but the VX-R is actually the top-of-the-line model and costs around 4,500KD more. The main differences between the two are the fact the VX-R uses better quality leather, has electronic suspension, 4 cameras vs just 1, electronically foldable third-row seats, memory seats in the front, front and rear locking diffs, blind-spot monitor, and a tailgate that opens by waving your foot.

How’s the handling and ride quality?
The first day I found the car too soft but that’s how Toyota’s generally are. My FJ Cruiser had soft suspension and one of the first things I did was replace them with stiffer ones. The soft suspension gives the car a soft ride but also makes the car feel heavier since there is a lot more sway on breaking and turning. When I drove the car the second day I enjoyed the ride a lot more since I was used to it by then. It’s comfortable, it’s quiet and definitely a car I wouldn’t mind taking a long trip in.

How is the AC?
I had the car parked under direct sunlight for 5 hours and it took less than 10 minutes of blasting all the AC’s on max for the car to turn into a freezer. So it’s great like it always is on Toyotas.

How is the entertainment system and JBL speakers?
As I mentioned, it has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Oddly you can’t have them occupy the full center screen, parts of the screen always has to show the climate controls. The speakers were fine, loud with boomy bass, they’re good enough for 99% of the buyers. There were a lot of USB-C and USB-A ports scattered around the car plus a wireless charging pad in the center console near the gear shift. There was also a home power socket in the trunk.

How did the 10-speed gearbox feel like?
Not that great actually. The gearbox never seemed to be in the right gear and shifting in the 1st and 2nd gear was always rough. Even putting the car in sport mode didn’t help much.

Can the car handle Kuwait roads?
I think Toyota has proven themselves over the decades that all their cars can handle the Kuwaiti climate and roads with no issues. One of the reasons the Landcruiser is so popular is because of how reliable they are and I don’t expect the new ones to be any different.

Is the steering wheel still heavy?
I haven’t driven the previous generation to compare, but I had two friends who own Landcruisers test drive the car and both said the new Landcruiser is an improvement over the previous one in every way. The steering is lighter, the car feels faster, the brakes better and the overall ride smoother.

What do you think about the price, is it worth it?
This is a difficult one to answer, personally, I think the new Landcruisers are too expensive. The model I drove costs 24,250KD after discount. I think if you’re paying over 20,000KD for a car you’re buying a premium or luxury brand but Toyota isn’t that. It’s a reliable brand that’s meant to be accessible to everyone and I don’t think thats the case with the Landcruiser. With every new generation of Landcruisers, the price has gone up and I think paying nearly 30,000KD for a Landcruiser is just too much.

Is the GR Sport edition getting released in Kuwait?
Yes, it’s coming and the price is around 28,000KD.

Obviously love or hate the new Landcruiser, there is no denying the fact that we all know they’re going to be extremely reliable and popular. I was at a traffic light on Wednesday in the Landcruiser and I looked around me and I was surrounded by 4 other white Landcruisers, one in front of me, two on my left and one behind me. People love them for good reason and anyone with a Landcruiser is going to feel right at home in the new one. If I forgot to answer any of your questions or if you have any more, let me know in the comment. For more details info on the car including the specs and features of the different models, check out the Landcruiser page on toyota.com.kw

This has to be the most bizarre story to come out so far this year. I first heard about it a couple of days ago but then yesterday Associated Press published the story and so got picked up by the international media.

An Egyptian expat posted a video on TikTok during the dust storm last week complaining about the weather. That video caused him to get arrested and legal action will be taken against him. Arrested over a video complaining about the dust storm!

I just watched the video and can’t figure out what in it would cause him to get arrested. There isn’t anything in the video that should get him in trouble, the worst thing the guy said is that it was a shitty morning. I’m not gonna embed the video here because I don’t know anymore what can get someone arrested or deported, but here is a link to it, it’s still up on his TikTok account @ahmed_krombo. The guy seems like a chill dude based on his tiktok videos so whats going on? Why all this drama? I’m so confused.

I found this old aerial photo of Kuwait taken in 1960 but I can’t figure out where that area is today. There are some major clues to help, the school on the bottom, the mosque across the street and what looks like another school behind the mosque.

All three structures should still be standing today but I couldn’t find a similar combo on Google Maps. If you’re bored and looking for something to kill time with today, help me find the location! Here is a link to the super high res copy of the image.

Update: With the help of a reader it looks like we might have found the location and it seems to be Farwaniya. Here is the link to the mosque on Google Maps and I’ve taken a screenshot of the map and rotated it to match the direction of the original photop=. I also highlighted all the similar areas that existed in the original photo and that still exist today. The old huts/shacks in the background of the original image look to be what today is Ishbilia and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.

Image Source

Yesterday I read a story about a guy who drove his 1982 Mitsubishi Galant from Kuwait to Delhi, India during the 1990 invasion. The family still owns the car today and the son is now trying to restore it. If that wasn’t interesting enough, there is a similar story of another guy who drove his 1984 Mitsubishi Galant from Kuwait but to Kerala, India, and also still has his car today. Both cars seem to be the same color and they both might have been in the same convoy of cars that left Kuwait to India by road during the escape.

The journey from Kuwait to India took around 110 days and involved driving through Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan before finally reaching India.

You can read the story on the 1982 Galant journey here.
You can read the story on the 1984 Galant journey here.

The 1984 Galant and the owner Mathunny Mathew seem to have gotten more coverage online. There is a video interview with the owner on YouTube but it’s in Malayalam so I couldn’t watch it. But, there is another very cool video on YouTube where the Petrolhead Motor Garage guys attempt to start the car. It’s not in English but there is very little talking, it’s mostly them taking apart the engine to try and start the car which is a total rust bucket. It’s a chill video and I’ve embedded it above.

I love stories like this so if you know of anymore, let me know!

Thanks Fahad

I have Snapchat on my phone but I barely ever use it. In fact, I realized the other day that whenever I do use Snapchat it’s for checking out fires. Snapchat has this cool feature that allows you to look at a map of Kuwait and then click on an area to see Snaps taken there. So want to check out the parties on Kubbar on the weekend? Just click on Kubbar, want to see if the Marina Mall to Scientific Center walkway is busy? Click on any part of that walkway. It’s a great feature I wish Instagram had. Firefighters tend to use Snapchat a lot, even during an active fire so whenever there is a big fire somewhere, I just find the location on Snapchat and then check out all the videos they’ve taken.

On Saturday morning for example as I was heading towards Avenues when I noticed a large plume of smoke coming from Shuwaikh. The first thing I did when I parked was to check out Snaps from that area. I ended up finding videos taken by Snapchat users of what looked like a warehouse that caught fire, but the firefighters had still not arrived by then. So I checked back again later in the day by then there were a whole bunch of videos taken by the firefighters that ranged from videos of their colleagues working on putting out the fire, to videos of them during rest breaks. One firefighter even filmed a petty cool and creepy-looking walkthrough of the warehouse after the fire had been put out that had a very Silent Hill vibe because he was walking around in complete darkness which just the flashlight lighting up different spots.

So if like me you like watching behind-the-scenes footage of fires, I guess kinda like a firefighters mini reality show, next time you see a large plume of smoke in the distance or hear about a large fire that took place, just open up Snapchat.

A few years ago I scanned and uploaded a Kuwait TV Guide issue from back in 1989. Back then we didn’t have satellite channels just regular UHF and VHF stations with the English one being KTV2. If the weather was humid, we used to get Saudi Channel 2 and Dubai Channel 33 sometimes but we mostly survived on KTV2 and video rentals.

But after the 1990 invasion, we started to get access to satellite television. I remember we had around 8 satellite channels with the main English one being Star Plus. A few weeks ago I found a 1994 and 1995 copy of the TV Guide and I decided I’d scan the 1994 one. It’s got the KTV2 guide as well as Star Plus, Prime Sports, Zee TV, Star TV Music and the CNN and BBC guide. I also added a bonus Showbiz ad that was in the Arabic section.

If you want to flip through the PDF or download it then click here.

This is a follow-up post to one from last year where I posted about how PayPal started allowing users in Kuwait to withdraw money. I got an error back then when trying to withdraw and so did a lot of people, but yesterday I had some money on my PayPal and decided to try and withdraw it and it worked!

It was also pretty instant, less than a minute after requesting the refund with PayPal I started getting messages from my bank NBK saying that a refund is being processed and then a minute later got confirmation that the amount was in my account.

So if you’ve previously tried withdrawing money from PayPal and it didn’t work, try now.

Over the weekend the government announced that starting June 27th, only those who’ve been vaccinated will be able to dine at restaurants, visit large malls, go to the gym or visit the hair salon. Obviously, the reason behind this decision is to push people to get vaccinated, but many expat residents have signed up to get vaccinated since December and have yet to get an appointment. I think so at least because I still get comments on older posts of people complaining they registered in December or January and have still not gotten an appointment.

Seems pretty unfair so here is a quick poll to get a rough idea of how long people have been waiting for their appointment:

[poll id=”17″]

Found some old photos of Video Club in Salmiya I had taken back in 2011 before it closed down. Cassettes were being sold for 500fils and CD’s for 1KD.

At this point the store had shrunk to half the size and I don’t think the video rental upstairs still was around then.

My favorite coffee shop used to be the % Arabica location in downtown Kuwait City, the one across from Crystal Tower. It was their first location, it was small and it used to be really cozy. Since that location closed down I’ve been waiting for them to open a new one on that street and they’ve finally gotten a spot and it’s right next to my office, like literally one building away. They’ve taken a pretty large location, a whole ground floor of a tower a couple of buildings down from where Ora is located so I’m pretty excited. Here is the location on Google Maps, they’ve just put the hoarding up so I’d assume they would need 6-12 months to open.

I was going through some of my old bookmarks and found an article I had saved years ago on the backstory of how Elevation Burger came to be in Kuwait. It was written by Ali Ashkanani, one of the local owners of Elevation and it gives an interesting behind the scenes look into the opening of the brand in Kuwait. It’s worth reading and it’s not too long so check it out here.