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Last June I posted about Magnolia Bakery opening in Kuwait but I didn’t know where. But, Magnolia Kuwait recently opened a twitter account and according to their latest tweet they announced they’re opening in Hamra Tower. I’m not sure when they’re opening but since the mall is now open I’m guessing its ASAP.
The Q80 High Street blog has pictures of all the stores and restaurants that are currently open at Al Hamra Tower and pictures of ones that are opening soon. I personally need to pass by and check out the Adidas Originals store since it’s the first one in Kuwait. You can check out her post [Here]
A blog reader contacted me around two weeks back asking me if I wanted to review his McLaren and of course I said yes. After spending the day with it this weekend I can easily review the car with 3 words… “I want one”. Seriously I want one. I can’t afford to buy it but that doesn’t change the fact I really really want it.
There are a lot of reviews of the McLaren online and Top Gear have a great one which you can watch on YouTube. So, not wanting to come about this review in the same way I decided to look at the car differently. It’s obviously a fast super car and everyone already knows that but I was curious to how the car would perform as a daily driver in Kuwait. I would hate to spend this much on a car and then only drive it on weekends. I’d want to drive the car to work, to the gym or even to the supermarket.
First thing I looked for after getting into the car was cup holders and I ended up finding two right behind the center console. Cup holders are great for holding your drinks but they’re also more useful for storing items like your phone or sunglasses. The McLaren not only has two easy to access cup holders but there is also a 12v socket inside one of them which means you can plug in your phone charger as well. That’s practical. Another practical feature is the AC, both the driver and passenger have separate control panels which is a feature you usually find in large cars but not super cars.
The seats are also fully electric and have 3 memory positions which is convenient if the car is being shared between say a couple or family members. The sound system is naturally located in the center console and is made by the high end audio guru’s Meridian. The sound system control panel is a large touch screen that is more than double the size of the iPhone and is 100% iPhone/iPod compatible. Once you connect your iPhone or iPod to the car you can then navigate your music by touch and even view album art beautifully all on the center console screen. I think it has the best iPod integrated system I’ve seen so far. The car boot is a lot bigger than I expected. I wouldn’t take the car to IKEA if I need to get a bookcase but it’s definitely supermarket friendly.
The McLaren is very comfortable to drive. I actually found it more comfortable and forgiving on worn out roads when compared to say my old Z4. I’m also pretty tall (6’1) and I didn’t feel claustrophobic or cramped in the car neither did I have problems finding my correct seating position (the seats are incredibly adjustable). Driving the car I was actually impressed by the fact I could cruise in it at 80km/h and not feel like I should be driving it a lot faster. Of course once you step on the gas the car is breathtakingly fast but as a daily driver you want to be able to drive on regular roads at regular speeds and the McLaren does that really well. Even the car’s gas mileage is pretty good at 15mpg which is similar to my FJ Cruiser. I did find the brake peddle a bit too stiff to press but it’s something you would get used to after a few hours in the car.
The only two things that hurt the car as a daily driver is the ride height and the doors. It’s a pretty low ride since it’s a sports car which means the majority of the speed bumps you’ll need to take sideways. The second issue is the doors, they swing open upwards which means you can’t park in very tight spots. If the parking spot is tight you won’t be able to open the doors so you always need to make sure you have ample room on the sides. But again if you’ve paid this much for the car, I doubt you’re going to be squeezing it anywhere.
I love the car but then again who wouldn’t? The thing is I don’t only love it because it’s a super car, I love it because it’s a super car you can actually use every day. I wasn’t kidding when I said I want one, I do I just can’t afford the starting price of around KD70,000. But if anyone from McLaren is reading this, give me a fat discount (like 75%) and you’ve got yourself another customer.
Taken from Skyscraper City:
This is a proposal for a Hyatt Regency hotel and full-fledged convention center that was proposed way back in 1975. I can’t help but be completely floored by this concept – the hotel and overall complex look absolutely massive! The hotel building itself has a timeless classicism to it; I think it would cohesively fit in with all the modern, glassy buildings we have today while retaining its 70s feel. This could have been our equivalent of the Sheraton in Doha, which began construction way back in 1978 and opened in 1980. That Sheraton is one of Doha’s iconic landmarks today, something Qataris are proud of. –ChaoticTranquility
Client: Kuwait Hotels Co.
Location: Kuwait City, Kuwait
Starting Date: 1975
Completion: 1977
Cost: 33,000,000 KD
Project Description:
The site of Hayatt Regency Kuwait on Kuwait Bay, overlooks a traditionaly landscaped Arab park in downtown Kuwait City. The focus of six floor, 586 room luxury hotel will be a large landscaped atrium lobby. Restaurants, commercial space, recreational facilities, service amenities and the hotel rooms will face on the atrium. The fully air-conditioned hotel will feature 16 special duplex suites on thetop two floors in addition to its many luxury suites. An adjoining conference center, similar in character to the United Nations General Assembly Hall, will provide seating for 700 presons. Fixed seating for 400 will be placed on the main floor with 300 filling the balcony, which can be subdivided for smaller conferences. Parking for 885 cars will be below grade. Recreatinal activities such as swimming and boating and the hotel’s health club will be linked to the hotel by an underpass to the beach. [Source]
Last month I posted about how a friend ordered photography gear from DigitalRev.com and ended up paying just KD12 for customs. Shipping was free, they cover warranty in Kuwait and more importantly their prices are either similar or cheaper than Amazon. Since I posted about them I know of at least 3 other friends who ordered gear from DigitalRev as well as two other forum users and everyone reported the same thing, that DigitalRev is basically the best place online to order photography gear from.
There are a few advantages to ordering with DigitalRev over for example Amazon. First of all shipping to Kuwait is for free and they use DHL to ship the items so they arrived in just a few days. That’s quicker than the Amazon+Aramex combo. Plus you have to pay Aramex while they ship the stuff for free. Secondly on average people are paying just KD8 for customs which is pretty cool, I was expecting at least double that. The items are also wrapped as if DigitalRev are aware of the state of the postal service here because their packaging are drop proof. The items arrive in a box and inside that box the item is rolled in a ton of bubble wrap. So if the box is thrown around you don’t have to worry about anything getting damaged.
Not sure why I only recently found out about DigitalRev but I guess it’s better late than never. They’re selling the D800 for example for $150 more expensive than Amazon but with Amazon you pay tax which is $320. That means DigitalRev are selling the D800 for $170 cheaper and that includes DHL delivery to Kuwait. If that’s not a good deal I’m not sure what is!
Anyway you can check them out [Here]
Update: Ignore my last example since I can’t calculate to save my life!
Jay King is an American Security Expert and trainer living and working in Kuwait. His real passion though is Parkour and he is a superb Traceur. He is also a funny, loyal and well liked guy. He is close friends with and constantly traines with the PK Jaguars, Kuwait and the Middle East’s premiere Parkour team. Keep your eyes open and you are bound to see him running around Salmiya or Sawaber at any given time.
My favorite shot is the one pictured below. Reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock movie for some reason. [YouTube]
I love watches so when I was given the opportunity to get a preview of the new Behbehani Luxury store I was very interested, not because I was going to get to see the store but because I knew there would be a ton of watches I would get to play with and try on. It’s always a very strange and exciting feeling holding a watch that costs as much as my house.
The Behbehani Luxury store is located in the Hamra Tower Luxury Center opposite Hermes. The interior actually looks pretty good and very tastefully done. From what I understood the store was actually designed and built overseas in Europe then dismantled, shipped and rebuilt again here in Kuwait. Everything is imported from the lights to the walls. The way the shop is structured reminded me of Harrods watch court because once you walk into the shop there is a space in the middle with some displays and then small boutiques for various brands all around. Some of the brands they carry in their new store are Blancpain, Breguet, Cartier, Hublot, Omega and Roger Dubuis among others. My favorite brand from the bunch is easily Hublot not only because their watches are sportier then the rest but because their CEO Jean-Claude Biver actually contributes and participates in the Time Zone forums (his nickname is jcbiver). He’s a very cool down to earth guy.
So anyway about the watches, I got to play with a whole bunch and I took some pictures of some of my favorites. They had four limited edition Formula 1 Hublot’s I got to check out as well as the new Maradona edition. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this before but Maradona wears two Hublot’s at the same time one on each hand (picture).
The Hublot’s looked great but at 48mm they’re just ridiculously big on my skinny wrists. I also got to check out a Breguet Tourbillon and a Blancpain with a flying sapphire carrousel (super tiny movement floating in the middle of the watch on transparent glass. Both are definitely too classic for my taste (and cost as much as my house) but it’s hard not to appreciate the engineering.
If you’re interested, the Hamra Tower Luxury Center as well as the Behbehani Luxury store open starting from today. For those of you who are into watches I’ve got something very cool coming up next week (at least I think it’s very cool) so stay tuned.
If you guys remember around 3 years back I posted about Smoke House who at one point I thought had the best burger in Kuwait (that’s pre-OFK, Elevation, Fatburger and Shake Shack days). Well things went from perfect to a mess, they had consistency issues, they changed their burgers and some people ran into issues with their management.
But it seems things have finally been sorted out. They posted a very honest and fun to read update today on their website where they talk about some of the problems they had and how they’ve gone ahead and changed or improved things. After reading their post I actually have a much better impression about them and I’m now interested in going back and trying them out again. Why can’t more businesses be this down to earth and honest with their customers? Check out their post [Here]
I heard that BoConcept the trendy furniture store that recently closed down might be reopening again in Avenues Phase III (possibly under new ownership). I was kind of surprised when they originally announced they were closing down but the fact they’re planning reopen in Avenues Phase III (if the rumor is true) might explain why they shut down their small Marina Mall location.
The brand should do a lot better in Phase III specially since there should be a lot more foot traffic. Also previously they were located inside THE One which is a completely different brand with a different pricing structure and I’m sure it wasn’t helping BoConcept’s brand. If they do indeed open in Phase III it would be their third store location in Kuwait since for a short period they were also open in Tilal Complex but that location must have not done so well because it didn’t take long to close it down.
While I was at the Violet Concept Store checking out the Wolf Designs watch winders (check previous post) I got to see something else that was very very cool. The Violet Concept Store have an “OriginTimes’ Big Block Winder” on display! The Big Block Winder was featured in Robb Report’s “21 Ultimate Gifts” back in 2010 and while the Wolf Designs watch winders are on the affordable side, this watch winder lies in the other end of the spectrum.
The Big Block Winder is a large watch winder that’s made from an actual Bugatti Veyron engine block. The watch winding mechanism are located in each of the 16 cylinder locations and the whole thing is controlled with a futuristic looking control panel. This thing is a beast! The price? KD35,000. Expensive I know but this wasn’t built for us. If you have 16 decent automatic watches which cost on average say KD7,000 and up then you probably already have an actual Veyron in your garage and this watch winder is just pocket change. It’s for the person who has everything. You can check out some more cool pictures below or on the Robb Report website [Here]
A reader emailed me this old Video Club membership card he found dating back to the mid 80’s. Back then you’d pay to be able to rent a certain amount of videos and every time you rented a video they’d punch a hole in the card. That was back when The Video Club was one of the coolest video rental places in Kuwait.
Thanks Kyle
Persons who barbecue at unallowed public locations will be fined KD 1,000, the Director-General of Kuwait Municipality warned yesterday. Ahmad Al-Sebeeh, in a statement to KUNA, indicated that the authority, after realizing that some citizens and residents do not abide by public cleanliness laws because of soft penalties, decided to increase the fine for such a violation from KD 100 to KD 1,000.
There are specific locations for barbecuing in 144 public parks, he said, stressing that grilling is restricted to these places. Municipal teams will monitor such violations, he re-stressed, urging the nationals and expatriates to abstain from inflicting damage on public properties, such as the seaside green spots, with such random barbecuing, dumping of ashes on plants and littering. Beautification of the public spots costs the State millions of dinars for entertainment and well-being of the people, thus these properties must not be target of such harmful acts and conducts. [Source]
How come the fine for BBQing is KD1,000 but running a red light is just KD300?
I watched Battleship earlier tonight at the movies and I thought it sucked. The movie was filled with every cliche you could imagine and it also felt like a Transformers movie mixed in with the movie Armageddon. Once you get near the end of the movie it goes from bad to worse with some of the most cheesiest scenes I’ve ever seen which is why I have no idea how it scored a 6.5 on IMDB (it’s too high a score).
On the bright side there isn’t anything to be cut from this movie, I don’t even recall a kissing scene so it’s Kuwait safe. Still, that shouldn’t be an excuse to go and watch it. It’s not worth it. [Movie Website]
Yesterday after my visit to MRC I decided to pass by the tire graveyard which was located around 5 minutes down the road from them. The road that takes you to the tire graveyard is unpaved and unmarked but with the help of Google Maps I didn’t have any trouble finding it. Once there I was awestruck with the amount of tires that were piled up on top of each other, literally millions and millions of them.
To get a better look at the tires I first had to climb a tall wall of tires but once I got to the top the sight was spectacular. I know it’s not a good thing because these tires are an environmental disaster but still you can’t deny it’s a scene like no other.
I didn’t know if I was allowed to be there of if I was allowed to take pictures so I quickly snapped a few shots and got out. I really need to go back since it’s full of photo opportunities. On the bright side I did end up with a cool desktop wallpaper (pictured above) so that was worth it. If you want to use the picture above as a wallpaper as well you can download the higher resolution version from [Here]
