Search: “kuwait”

This has to be the first for Kuwait because I haven’t seen one like it here yet. Down the street from my place in Salmiya, right towards the end of the 4th Ring Road, they’re constructing a pedestrian bridge that uses escalators instead of your usual stairs. The pedestrian bridge is also covered so I’m guessing it will probably have airconditioning as well.

I find this odd because the area is pretty ghetto so it’s weird we’re getting such a fancy pedestrian bridge. Now I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the Metro plans. I know in the metro map (pictured above) there is meant to be a station in this area and there is plenty of room around this bridge for one as you can see in the map below. Could this be connected to it?

Back in September, they announced that part of Salem Al Mubarak Street was going to be turned into pedestrian only. I took the video above this morning right outside my apartment building to show you the current status, and as you can see the project has progressed considerably since my last post on the street.

My biggest issue with the project was that they had killed 25 trees on that street that had been there for over 50 years. They’ve now planted new palm trees instead which although is a nice gesture, palm trees just don’t offer any shade and can’t house as many birds as the older trees did. I really wished they had managed to keep those older trees.

In any case, the street is starting to shape up and I think they’re trying to have everything done by February 25th which right now seems unattainable.

But, a new issue is starting to pop up and that is gentrification. Because the street is getting fixed up, the value of real estate around it is also going up. My rent was already slightly increased since my building is suddenly now in a prime location, people are also now bidding on the empty stores in my building which previously nobody wanted. I’d really really hate it if my apartment rent goes up to the point where I’ll be priced out and be forced to move.

On the bright side, they haven’t sorted the parking issue in the area. Parking in my neighborhood has always been historically terrible and now they’ve gone and removed all the parking spots on the main street without adding any new ones. With this street facelift, we’re now going to have even a higher influx of people come into the area than before, so the parking situation will be even worse which is kinda great for me. Hopefully this parking mess is going to help keep the popularity of the area down to a reasonable level, which in return should keep my rent at a reasonable level.

In case you didn’t watch the episode last April when it was first aired on HBO, VICE have released the episode “Fast Food of Arabia” that features Kuwait onto YouTube. Here is a summary of the episode:

As Americans become increasingly health-conscious and junk food sales plateau in the States, fast food companies are spreading to new global markets, expanding their revenue — and the waistlines of their customers.

VICE correspondent Gianna Toboni travels to Kuwait, now one of the most obese countries on the planet, to witness the health effects on a country deep in the throes of an unlikely obsession with U.S. fast food.

For my previous post on this episode, click [Here]

I’ve always heard of counterfeit alcohol that’s bottled locally, but I think this is the first time I see how an operation looks like. The photos below have been making their rounds on WhatsApp and shows how dealers bottle and label bottles. Although the photos are being labeled as taken in Kuwait on WhatsApp, they’re actually from Saudi Arabia (the logo is of the Saudi National Guard).

One of the dangers of illegally obtaining alcohol is you never know what you’re really buying.

A couple of days ago the Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre was inaugurated by the Emir and the event was broadcasted live on TV. In case you missed it, the ceremony is now available to watch on YouTube.

The cultural center will be open to the public later this month.

Thanks lovelykuwait

A couple of months back I attended a “Marine Mammals of Kuwait” seminar which focused mostly on dolphins and whales. It was kinda upsetting because it turns out we don’t have that much data on the whales and dolphins located in our waters. We don’t even have a proper database that archives sightings and we have too many local organizations that don’t seem to work or share data together. I actually had a huge rant I wrote right after attending the seminar but decided against posting it because I’m trying not to let shit like this get to me.

Sharks & Rays of the Arabian/Persian Gulf is a book I found out about after attending the seminar. I was sharing my frustration with a friend of mine and she told me about a Kuwaiti biologist who had a deep interest in sharks, so much so that she published this book that documents the sharks and rays in our waters. The book was only available on Amazon or The Palms dive center, so I didn’t end up picking it up until a few days ago when I found out that the book was now available at the Scientific Center gift shop.

The book costs KD10 with 60% of the income going to support sharks and rays research around the Arabian Peninsula. So if you care just a little bit, then you should really pick up a copy of this book.

I posted my first blog post ever exactly 15 years ago to this day. It wasn’t on 248AM, I launched that two years later, it was on another blog called qHate. Back then I was still living with my parents, I was piss-ass broke and didn’t really know anyone in Kuwait. Crazy how that was just 15 years ago since a lot has happened over that time. It’s kinda scary when I think about where I’ll be 15 years from now, probably in L.A. working in the electronics section of a Walmart would be my best bet.

My computer setup back in 2003

There are dates that represent important moments in my life, I was born in 1978, 1988 was my first trip to L.A., the Gulf War in 1990, graduating from high school in 96 and so on.

2003 is when I started blogging.

The Staged in Kuwait IMPROV comedy night is back again and will take place next weekend. I got my tickets right away last night as soon as they went on sale and would highly recommend you get tickets to. They’re my favorite local comedy troupe and this season they’re holding their shows at the impressive American United School so even the venue is great. For more information, click [Here]

For those of you interested, the Russ concert is back on next month. Originally Russ had backed out of the concert after seeing how much the promoter was charging for the tickets, but now it looks like he backed down from his stance and the concert is back on.

The ticket prices were reduced slightly but not by that much:

VIP – KD250 KD225
Gold – KD200 KD180
Silver – KD150 KD135
Bronze – KD100 KD90
Normal – KD50 KD45

For more information and a link to the tickets, click [Here]

Thanks Mubarak

A bunch of people and friends have been forwarding me the screenshot above taken from the account @kuwait_projects. Kuwait Projects post is a bit misleading since he makes it seem like an official Apple store is opening in Avenues Phase 4. That isn’t the case. The store in the picture above is just a regular authorized Apple store, not an official one.

I thought Kuwait had canceled plans to build a nuclear power plant but a Russian company just applied for a building permit so they could construct one.

The Russian state corporation Rosatom has applied for building permit for construction of the nuclear power plant in Kuwait, announced the Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Currently, the main talks on the implementation of the project are under way. [Source]

I have mixed feelings about this, I’m pro-nuclear power but in our case, solar kinda makes more sense since its sunny all year round and it’s safer. Nuclear is a lot more practical though:

– Kuwait consumes around 13,000MW of electricity

– The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the USA is the largest solar station in the world and it produces 392MW

– The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan is the largest in the world and produces 7,965 MW

So one nuclear power plant could supply more than 60% of Kuwait’s power needs while the largest solar station would supply just 3%.

Over the weekend I went to the movies to watch Jumanji, a good movie by the way, just censored the hell out of in Kuwait. Seriously this has to be the most censored movie I’ve ever watched in Kuwait, and I have no idea how that’s possible since it’s a PG-rated film.

So, originally we were planning to watch it at Grand Cinemas in Hamra Mall, but surprisingly, they didn’t have any theater that would accommodate a wheelchair. I don’t mean the theater playing Jumanji, I mean neither of their theaters playing any movie had wheelchair access.

So I gave Cinescape a call and they told me they had wheelchair access at ALL their theaters except for two, Laila and Central Place. The operator also told me that if the person was permanently in a wheelchair, then they could get a lifetime pass to watch movies for free at their theaters.

I think that’s pretty thoughtful of Cinescape and pretty odd of Grand Cinemas considering their Hamra theater is fairly new. The only feedback I would give Cinescape is to mark the wheelchair areas on the seating map since I had to call the operator and find out where they were. For example, the map above is how it currently looks like while the map below is what I think they should do (notice row J).

Anyway just wanted to thank Cinescape with this post for being so considerate.

I haven’t reviewed a car for some time now mostly because there really hasn’t been a car I’ve been interested in, but also because I love my Lotus so much I’d rather be in it than any other car. But, since my Lotus isn’t with me at the moment (more on that soon), I decided to take advantage of the situation by test driving the Ferrari 488 GTB.

Driving off in a car for the first time that costs as much as a home is a pretty nerve-wracking experience. The fact the car is also super low, and the roads around the dealership in pretty bad shape didn’t help the situation either. But the Ferrari 488 I was driving had the option to raise the suspension to give it a bit more ground clearance, so I managed to make my way out onto the main road without too much drama. It was pretty early in the morning so the first thing I did was head to Arabica in the city for some coffee. I took the long way by going through a bit of traffic on the 4th all the way to the 30th, and then from the 30th exiting onto the Gulf Road. I spent most of my day taking the longest way everywhere I went. Instead of grabbing my usual acai bowl for example from Liquid near Arabica in the city, for example, I decided to drive all the way to Bida’a and pick one up from Be Cafe. After spending the day zigzagging across Kuwait, I headed out to the desert to get some shots before the sunset.

After driving the Ferrari 488 GTB for a day I’ve come to the conclusion that the car has just two speeds, fast, and I’m going to get deported fast. I’m being serious here. The Ferrari 488 hits 0 to 100km/h in just 3 seconds. That’s just 0.8 seconds faster than my Lotus but damn what a difference that 0.8 makes. But that’s not even the impressive part, if you keep your foot down on the gas for just one more tiny second, you’re suddenly in the getting your license revoked territory. The car is insanely powerful, so much so that there just isn’t enough road for it. Usually, when I take out a sports car to review, I tend to drive it like I stole it. The 488 is probably the first car that I drove decently just because stepping on it would get me in a lot of trouble. Ferrari 488 owners are really going to love our racetrack once it opens up, its the only way to really enjoy and take advantage of all the power the car has to offer.

Other than the speed, a few other things impressed me quite a bit. The brakes on the car impressed me more than the speed of the car, the pedal feel is just so on point and the car stops in an instant. The interior of the car is also a wonderful place to be in. The interior is covered in leather with beautiful stitchwork and lots of carbon fiber trimming. I never felt uncomfortable, and even on my long trip with my friend into the desert, we spoke about how great the car would be on super long trips. Even though the 488 is a sports car first, you’re not sacrificing with comfort or amenities. The sound system was impressively good and the car I drove even came with front and rear parking cameras. It’s a luxury car that just happens to also be crazy ass fast.

So are there any downsides? Well yeah, the car costs as much as a house. The 488 GTB starts at KD78,000 which means I’m not really going to end up owning one anytime soon. But on the bright side, the Ferrari 488 GTB does come with a 5-year warranty (that can be extended up to 15) and 7-years free maintenance. So really the only costs you’ll have to factor in down the line are tires and brake pads. Not bad.

If you’d like to find out more about Ferraris in Kuwait then you should follow the dealer on instagram @ferrarialzayanikuwait. You can also go ahead and build your own 488 by visiting the Ferrari online car configurator [Here]

Last month I posted a sneak peek of the new ORA and mentioned that it was opening this month. Well, it’s opening this month, tomorrow in fact.

If you were a fan of the old ORA then you’re gonna love the new space and their updated menu. If you weren’t a fan of the old ORA, or maybe thought their prices were too high, then you’re gonna have to give the new ORA another chance since they’ve added a ton of new items to the menu and also reduced their prices.

The new ORA is located in Kuwait City, here is a link to [Google Maps] and you can also follow them on instagram @ora.kw

Açaí is starting to look like the new frozen yogurt craze with more and more places starting to pop up offering it. I had my first bowl a couple of months back and now its something I have whenever I feel like having a treat. Açaí is a berry and is said to contain a high level of antioxidants, similar to cranberries, so it’s pretty good for you. If you’re looking to grab a bowl, below is a list of some açaí places I’m aware of:

Be Cafe
Be have my favorite açaí bowl in Kuwait, but they’re more of a dine-in place and they’re pretty out of my daily routine so I don’t have it that often. But its really good with quality toppings especially the granola (pictured on top).

Bowl’d
Not my favorite place but definitely the most convenient since their location in Salmiya is pretty close to where I live. They’re also open all day so whenever I feel like having a dessert I know I can pass by and grab a bowl from them.

Liquid
Liquid is the new kid on the block since they just recently opened up. They’re located in the city near Vol.1, so I usually pass by them whenever I’m in the city. It’s a cute little place with a nice quiet seating area upstairs. I’ve heard their smoothies are great but I haven’t tried any yet.

The Foundry
I haven’t tried their açaí yet but they’re the only ones that deliver via Carriage that I am aware of.

If you’ve got a favorite açaí place that I didn’t mention, let me know in the comments.