A reader sent me a link to an article on FRANCE 24 Observers website on a domestic worker’s experience in Kuwait. The worker was held against her will by her employer and was sexually abused for several months. In the end, she got rescued and you can now read about her ordeal [Here]
Since we are on the subject of domestic workers, can I say how much the housekeepers category on the Q8 4Sale website bothers me? I really like the website but this category basically allows domestic workers to be sold off like household goods.. [Link]
Just a quick update to my Kuwait Airport Terminal 4 post from last week. In addition to Kuwait Airways GCC and Middle East flights, Kuwait Airways flights to and from Europe (excluding London) now also use the new terminal.
If you missed my previous post check it out [Here]
I’m not into the NFL but if you are then you’ll be interested to know that there is a pretty big NFL community in Kuwait. Since the weather has gotten better, they’ll be holding their first NFL viewing event of the season tonight in Salmiya. The viewings are outdoors and the games are projected on a large screen and there’s always food and lots of seating. So if you’re interested, you can get more details [Here]
I just found out that the popular British online food delivery company Deliveroo is coming to Kuwait. Deliveroo is the British equivalent to Carriage and they operate in over two hundred cities including Dubai. Kuwait is going to be a pretty tough market for them since Carriage and Talabat have the market cornered here, but competition is always great for us.
Al Mulla Group have officially announced that they’re the new Mercedes-Benz distributor in Kuwait. Al Bisher & Al Kazemi have been the dealers for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait since the 1950s so its a pretty big deal that its now going to Al Mulla Group.
Al Mulla Group are already distributors to a number of car brands in Kuwait including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Mitsubishi. They officially takeover Mercedes from January 1st and you can read more about it in their official press release [Here]
Over the weekend I flew to Dubai with Kuwait Airways, and so got to fly in and out of the new Kuwait Airways terminal, terminal 4. The terminal still has a lot of work to be done to it and so a lot of changes are still happening, but as of October 15th, the below information is accurate.
Right now, only GCC and Middle East Kuwait Airway flights use the new terminal.
Departure
– The exit from highway 50 to terminal 4 is still closed and the terminal 4 sign has been covered. The only way to get to the new terminal is through the cargo terminal exit (there are signs).
– There is plenty of parking, all shaded and right now for free. They haven’t installed entry or exit gates so you could park your car there short term or long term and not pay anything. This is a huge plus.
– None of the self-check-in machines work. I tried the ones on the parking side, I tried the ones inside the main terminal, none of them worked.
– You only have one security checkpoint which is right after passport control. The security guys didn’t seem very confident but were wayyyy better than the Jazeera Airways terminal guys. They have the full-body scanners but they weren’t being used. I wonder if they will ever be used here? When the scanners were launched in the States, people had privacy concerns because you could see the shapes of private parts with these scanners, I think people in Kuwait will have an even bigger problem with this.
– There is no duty-free yet, there are no shops whatsoever at T4 right now.
– There are currently no restaurants at T4. Your only options for food and drinks at the moment are 2 Costa kiosks and 1 Kuwait Airport kiosk. Both kiosks sold coffee, water, sandwiches etc..
– There is a lounge (pictured above) but only for Kuwait Airways business class and first class passengers. So if you have a platinum Visa card, American Express or any other card that usually gives you entry to lounges at airports, you’re out of luck.
– One SUPER strange thing about the airport was the PA announcement chime. In airports before they make an announcement, you’d here like a ding dong like chime before the announcement. For some reason at T4 the chime they’re using is the same one used for The Undertaker’s walkout music. I’m not exaggerating, watch the video above and then watch the video below. Every time they made an announcement I was expecting the lights to go off and the Undertaker to make an appearance. Such a weird chime to use at an airport.
– There was plenty of seating around the airport spread out over two floors. All the seats have power sockets and USB ports although I had to try a few before I found working ones. I’m not sure if the seating will be enough when all Kuwait Airways flights start using the terminal, but for now, there is plenty.
Arriving at the airport, parking, checking in, going through passport control and then security was all a smooth and pleasant experience. There were some minor issues, but understandable for a newly opened airport.
Arrival
– This was super smooth. The plane was fairly empty so passport control was a breeze.
– Right after passport control is a carry-on baggage security check, this is the only time you scan your bags. The luggage that comes out on the conveyor belts already passed through a scanner before coming out so you just pick them up and walk out of the airport.
Overall a pretty positive experience. When I travel to Dubai I usually take FlyDubai but this time the Kuwait Airways ticket price was cheaper so figured I’d try them out. I’ll most likely fly out with Kuwait Airways again next time because of the new terminal and my positive experience. I could nitpick a lot of course but honestly, ANYTHING is better than our old airport, so I’m just glad we have this new terminal to keep us going until the new airport opens up in a few years.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.
Update: As of October 22, 2018 the new Terminal T4 is now open for services for all Kuwait Airways Flights To/From GCC, Middle East and Europe except for London.
The weekend is here and there are quite a few things to do including a vinyl pop-up on Saturday. Check out the full list of this weekends events below:
After my last post on who has the best apple pie in Kuwait, a number of people recommended The Pie Shop so I ended up trying it out this past weekend. Was it any good? Yes it was!
Johnny Rockets or The Pie Shop? That’s a harder question to answer because it’s like asking me which is better, Five Guys or Johnny Rockets? Both burgers are good and they’re both very different, same with these pies.
The apple pie from The Pie Shop definitely tasted healthier, after having a big slice I didn’t feel guilty even though my slice was huge. You can clearly see all the sliced apples inside their pie while with Johnny Rockets, their pie has more of a chunky apple jam kind of filling. I prefer the Johnny Rockets mushier style filling but The Pie Shop crust was definitely better. The Pie Shop apple pie also looks perfect.
Price
Johnny Rockets: KD6.150
The Pie Shop: KD9
So my recommendation? If you’re picking up a pie last minute or craving a slice and want one right now? Definitely Johnny Rockets. On the other hand, if you’re invited to a lunch or dinner and want to take a pie with you, then go with The Pie Shop for sure. Keep in mind though, with The Pie Shop you need to order a day in advance. Here is a link to their instagram @thepieshopkw
I was going through Kuwestions when I spotted a question by a reader who asked why taxis were so filthy? One person left a pretty interesting response which I’ve shared below (with minor editing):
Taxi drivers don’t have salaries (although on paper it says they do). The system works as follows:
a- The taxi company (most of the time it is just a small office with one owner) rents the taxi for the driver by day. According to the car, the condition of the driver (new in Kuwait or not) and how greedy the owner is, the rent can go from KD5 to KD7.5 per day.
b- The driver is responsible for everything in the car. The company doesn’t pay anything. If the car is hit, stolen, damaged or whatever, the driver pays for it and they have to keep paying the rent even if the car is in the garage being repaired.
c- The driver pays all the car registration fees, insurance fees, residency fees, etc.. usually the company should pay for these, at least the residency fees, but not in the case of the taxi drivers, they have to pay.
d- The drivers have to deal with greedy employees inside the taxi company as well. You want the mandoob to get your driving license so you can work today? Pay him KD5-KD10, otherwise just wait, maybe he will go there next week to get it for you while you are paying your daily taxi rental fees but not driving and making money.
As a result of all the above, the drivers get greedy as well and try to survive by any means. Another reason drivers don’t care about the cars is that most people here treat them extremely bad. So what is the point of cleaning the car, and wasting an hour or two when they can instead just rest, or try to find another customer who will eventually also leave their trash behind.
The taxis that are just plain white are “Call taxis”. These taxis are not permitted by law to stop and pick a customer off the street, they have to be ordered by phone. But, taxi companies just give these cars to drivers and let them go and pick customers off the street because the government stopped issuing “Gawwala” licenses (the licenses for the beige/white cars). These taxis get fined a lot because of that and they also have to pay these fines.
One more thing. Before the new taxi fares, taxis would not let you pay by the meter because the price of the meter was too low. And now after the new higher meter fares that were introduced, people are not willing to pay by the meter because its more expensive. So cab drivers are still stuck in the same place.
So basically unless major restructuring of the whole taxi system happens, things aren’t going to get any better.
The reader had gotten all this information from one of his best friends who is currently working as a taxi driver in Kuwait. You can check out the original thread on Kuwestions [Here]
Recently I decided to get a S’well bottle to keep in my car since I have a habit of collecting water bottles which clutter up the interior. By having a S’well bottle permanently in the car, I could just keep refilling it from the water bottles I collect throughout the day and then just throw away the empty bottles.
I decided to go with S’well because of the multiple color and design options they have, but the only place in Kuwait that seems to sell them is Paper & Nest in KIPCO Tower.
They’ve got a pretty good selection of bottles to choose from and their prices are pretty similar to US prices. For example, my bottle cost me KD12 while the same one on Amazon sells for around KD11. They also have most of the bottles available on their website so if you don’t feel like going to KIPCO, you can just order it online. If you’re looking to get a S’well bottle, here is a link to Paper & Nest’s [Website]
I got the photo above over WhatsApp. It’s an aerial photo of Kuwait from 1957 and the numbers correspond to the different areas below:
1- Al Shamiya
2- Shuwaikh
3- Kaifan
4- Al Faiha
5- Al Khalidiya
6- Al Qadsia
7- Al-Dahiya
8- Nuzha
#8 is the old airport that was located in Nuzha. I actually have a bunch of pictures of that airport which I got from the KOC Archive and you can check those photos out [Here]
