Search: “kuwait”

This is a new photo Eng.Aljamea has uploaded onto his flickr account. The previous one was the Gulf Road picture and this time its a picture of a gas station. There is no date mentioned but I guess it could be the 60’s. [Picture]

MyUS is a US forwarding mailbox that has been around for a long time now, before Aramex even but their prices were always more expensive.. or I thought. I always calculated small packages like 1KG and Aramex would come out cheaper but a reader made me realize that MyUS is actually cheaper when it comes to heavier packages. They also offer a few features that Aramex doesn’t offer like you can have them ship your magazines once a month while your regular packages twice a week. If you get a lot of junk mail you can choose not to receive any. You could even ship stuff when you want instead of a regular interval. So for example you ordered a few items from Amazon, instead of having them ship to Kuwait as soon as they arrive to your mailbox you could wait until they’re all in your mailbox and then ship them all together in one box.

Here is a price comparison with Aramex:
10 lbs Aramex $89 – MyUS $101
25 lbs Aramex $203 – MyUS $172
50 lbs Aramex $403 – MyUS $287
100 lbs Aramex $796 – MyUS $500
150 lbs Aramex $1201 – MyUS $500

If you decide to sign up use this link:
https://www.myus.com/AWL
It will cancel the annual membership fee. Just make sure you should choose annual while you’re checking out and it should reduce the amount to just the setup fee. I’m also in contact with someone at MyUS and they’re going to try and reduce the amount of the lighter items to compete with Aramex. So here’s another option for everyone, enjoy.

Two weeks ago one of the Z4’s wheels developed a crack probably from a pothole and I had an option of either repairing it or getting a new wheel. Since the crack was pretty big repairing it wouldn’t have been a good idea and buying a new wheel would have cost me in excess of KD250. My friends suggested that I order a set of four new wheels directly from TireRack.com. Surprisingly it turned out Tire Rack ship wheels and tires to Kuwait and for a very reasonable price.

K.thekuwaiti gave me the email of a sales specialist he had dealt with before called Gavin and I started searching for my wheels on TireRack.com. They had a huge collection that fit my beemer but I was looking for 18×8’s for the front and 18×9’s for the rear and there were only two models that interested me and were under $400 a wheel. Since I had narrowed down my choices to two, I emailed Gavin asking for a quotation and a few questions. He was very helpful and patient answering all my questions, I even changed my mind twice and he didn’t seem to get annoyed or pissed. I finally got a quotation back and the shipping for four wheels to Kuwait via FedEx economy was just $270. That was around KD18 per wheel which was very reasonable since the total weight of four wheels was 50KG.

I paid via money transfer with NBK online and as soon as they received the amount they shipped me my wheels. It took around a week for the wheels to get to Kuwait and I just installed them today at the Pirelli dealer next to AceHardware. If you’re interested in ordering wheels from TireRack.com you can email Gavin at [email protected].

Even the US embassy is on YouTube. The video starts off interesting but quickly gets boring. I’ve never been to the US embassy here in Kuwait but it looks huge. [YouTube]

After Aramex increased their prices last month many readers decided to sign up with DHL’s version of the same service which they call EasyShop. If you happen to be one of the readers who signed up with DHL and started receiving packages with them could you please post your feedback about them below in the comments. I am curious as I am sure many other readers are to see how they differ from Aramex. Both DHL and UShopWeShip have kept their prices the same.

I had two packages delivered to me after Aramex set up the new rules and my experience has been mixed and here is why.

I had two packages, one containing a computer the other tshirts.

T-shirts
Arrived in mailbox on: 23/10/2009
Shipped from mailbox on: 29/10/2009
Arrived to Kuwait on: 08/11/2009
Paid: KD5.5 for shipping + KD1 handling charge

Computer
Arrived in mailbox on: 31/10/2009
Shipped from mailbox on: 02/11/2009
Arrived to Kuwait on: 08/11/2009
Paid: KD18 for shipping + KD1 handling charge

So the good news is computers don’t get held in customs. The KD1 extra charge is annoying on small packages but not a big deal on big important ones.

The bad news is it took over 2 weeks to get my tshirts.. whats up Aramex?

I am a huge fan of XBMC which I believe is the best media playing software out there. I first started using it on my original xbox, then I installed it on the AppleTV and now I just moved over onto the Acer AspireRevo. XBMC on AppleTV was great except for the fact it couldn’t play 720p and 1080p videos.

Two weeks back I found an article on Gizmodo about how XBMC installed on an AspireRevo could handle 720p and 1080p video files with great ease and best of all it cost only $199. So after failing to find one for sale in Kuwait I placed an order for one on Amazon and got it via Aramex.

Installing XBMC was super easy and after I set it up I copied all my settings from my AppleTV and started experimenting. I can’t believe how easily this thing plays HD files! I have trouble playing HD files on my Apple G5 yet this little thing which is slightly smaller than an AppleTV can play it without a hitch. It has HDMI out, its small, its super silent and streams HD movies from my server with great ease, I love it.

I ordered a remote control for it but it hasn’t arrived yet so I am using my browser or iPhone to control it. Shipping with Aramex cost me KD18, no tax since computers no longer get taxed.

If you want to get one here is the [Amazon Link]
If you don’t know what XBMC is click [Here]
Here is a guide to install XBMC on the Revo [Link]

Update: This is the remote control I bought for it [Amazon Link]

Mr. Sadman Trailer from Mr. Sadman on Vimeo.

Just found out about this movie called Mr. Sadman and I can’t wait to watch it. Here is the synopsis:

In 1990, before the First Gulf War, Mounir, an impressionable and sheltered Saddam Hussein body-double, loses his job and moves to Los Angeles in search of a new start. But once the real Saddam invades Kuwait and makes international headlines, Mounir learns the truth about the Iraqi dictator and vows to shed his Saddam persona forever. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to be anyone else.

Here is the link to the Mr. Sadman website where you can buy and download the movie for just $8! [Link]

Al Watan Daily published a new article where they basically say I was wrong and they were right with regards to the Friday Market fiasco. Here is a recap of what has been happening the past couple of days:

On Monday, Al Watan Daily published an article where they stated that the municipality wasn’t allowing the shop owners at the Friday Market access to their animals. The article stated that the shop owners haven’t opened their stores in 15 days and all the animals were dying from hunger and lack of air. Here is a link to that article [Link]

But, according to three different sources, I stated Al Watan Daily were wrong. Here are my sources from the least credible to the most:

Source 1 – Anna (anonymous reader):

I just called a store owner there who I’ve dealt with extensively with my salt water fish tank. The good news is that all stall owners sneak in at night to feed the animals. The bad news is that the animals are there in total darkness, and sanitary conditions are even worse than usual (if you can imagine that).

Source 2 – Mrs F (a very good friend)

My husband spoke to a few shop owners and they mentioned that they were actually allowed to open their shops in order to clean and feed their animals.

Source 3 – Ayesha (founder of Animals Friends and K’s Path)

We have investigated the situation and most of the information around is incorrect. The shop keepers are able to enter their stores and care for the animals. We have a volunteer that knows many of the shopkeepers very well and he has visited them multiple times and spoken to them throughout the last two weeks of closure and they are still able to enter their shops. In fact you can even buy things from them they just can’t officially open their doors for business. On the weekends and evening you will see them outside on the road selling so clearly they can get in. Also the area has been closed for two weeks, if it was true that these animals have not been fed then they would all be dead at this point but you can hear them in the shops.

I will leave it to you to decide who’s right and who’s wrong. Here is the link to their “Citizen Journalism” article [Here]

I was taking this shortcut through Shamiya today and I accidentally found what I think is the only Filfila branch left in Kuwait. I thought all of them shutdown but it looks like there is one left.

I got the below email from an editor at Al Watan Daily regarding the animals at the Friday Market post:

Hi Mark,
I’m the local editor of Al Watan Daily, and I would like to start off by saying that when I read your post last night, I was livid. No newspaper wants to print misinformation, that is not our goal, least of all mine. Our lead had actually originated from an Arab Times report that came two weeks ago, and we performed a follow up. In today’s Arab Times on page 3, you can see they were confused over the matter as well, because they had not reported that the animals were trapped. [Link] However, they do corroborate our story.

From Arab Times update: “Meanwhile Abu Sulaiman Al-Hadad, one of the shopkeepers, claimed that he, along with other proprietors, have not accessed their shops since these were shut down on Oct 15. “My animals have been imprisoned for more than two weeks and have all died from starvation,” he complained. Asked if he had entered his shop at all during this period he said it’s “impossible”. “If any of us is caught entering a shop we’d be obliged to pay a fine of KD 500, along with other legal action,” Al-Hadad said.”

Now, I did not sleep last night, I really didn’t, over your post, and the image it portrays, as well as some of the comments that followed. I planned to come in this morning and set the record straight, by either finding confirmation that our reporter had done their job correctly, or that she had failed in my trust in her. In the case of the latter, I had already informed my General Manager that I would print a retraction.

However, in the case that you were wrong in your citizen journalism, which is the case in my opinion, I feel that you should print an update, and perhaps even slant it towards recognizing that we were not printing misinformation and that perhaps you and the commenters on the post were quick to jump the gun at our expense.

Khaled Al-Ramly
Local Editor
Al Watan Daily

A blog reader also posted the following comment awhile ago:

I went there few hours ago, and the situation is:
All the shops are closed
4 or 5 from the ex employee are sitting there
I asked them about how do they feed the animals inside, and they answered with:
NO WE CANT, The shops are closed by the municipality and there is a sticker attached on each shop’s door and they cant open the door and they cant remove those stickers.
All the dogs inside are whining and barking from being without a food, water, air and also without light.

Its just a big MESS

-Ramez

I’ve contacted K’s Path regarding this issue and I am still waiting for a response. K’s Path are a Kuwaiti non-profit working to improve the lives of animals by protecting and preserving them and the places they live.

Update: I just found this article from todays Arab Times where Ayesha who is responsible for Animal Friend’s and K’s Path said the following:

Ayesha Al-Humaidhi, from Animal Friends League of Kuwait, assured that shopkeepers do have access to the shops and tend to their animals. “They do enter their shops and do conduct their business, but they can’t run their business openly until they settle the rent dispute with the Municipality,” she said. [Source]

Updates2: Ayesha emailed me back stating:

We have investigated the situation and most of the information around is incorrect. The shop keepers are able to enter their stores and care for the animals. We have a volunteer that knows many of the shopkeepers very well and he has visited them multiple times and spoken to them throughout the last two weeks of closure and they are still able to enter their shops. In fact you can even buy things from them they just can’t officially open their doors for business. On the weekends and evening you will see them outside on the road selling so clearly they can get in. Also the area has been closed for two weeks, if it was true that these animals have not been fed then they would all be dead at this point but you can hear them in the shops. Basically the welfare at the Friday Market has always been bad but it is not a whole lot worse at the moment.

We are hoping this rental disagreement with the Baladiya will be resolved soon. We are waiting to see.

Look’s like Hard Cook has some competition.

Picture taken by k.thekuwaiti

A friend of mine was passing by Wagamama at 360 Mall and managed to capture this picture of the interior. Looks like they are sticking to their signature long shared tables but they also seem to have some smaller 4 person booths. Wagamama was supposed to open in September but they never did.

Thanks B!

Aramex and the Kuwaiti customs have come to an agreement. From now on all goods that are valued at $100 and up will be subjected to a 5% customs charge and a KD1 handling charge. No additional delays or charges.

Thats actually not a bad compromise at all. I would rather pay 5% than pay KD20 + 5% they were talking about last week.

Update: Some readers have brought up an interesting theory which is there never was any issue with customs and that Aramex created all this so they could just increase their prices. Some readers have also written that they had contacted USWS and DHL both of which had said they didn’t receive any letter from customs and that it was business as usual for them. This is just a conspiracy theory but an interesting one nevertheless.

A reader sent in pictures of the Chairman’s Club which is located on the last floor of the Burgan Bank building. The Chairman’s Club is an invite only club where they supposedly have a KD35 burger. Check out the pictures below.

Thanks Alex!