Search: “kuwait”

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]

Not a lot happening this weekend but the Hot Dog Pop-up Party tonight seems like something fun and you’ve got Herbie Hancock performing this weekend. Check out the full list of this weekends events below:

Thursday
Hot Dog Pop-up Party! (Pet Friendly)
Shinsawi: Wild Game Night

Friday
Concert: Jazz Legend – Herbie Hancock
Extreme Challenge

Saturday
Scott Kelby’s World Wide Photowalk
Messages of Coexistence
Concert: Jazz Legend – Herbie Hancock

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

Screenshot from Venom

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Singularity (4.0)
Venom (7.1)

Other Movies Showing Now:
211 (4.3)
Alpha (7.0)
Johnny English Strikes Again (6.7)
Luis & the Aliens (6.0)
Peppermint (6.0)
Searching (7.9)
Smallfoot (6.8)
The Bouncer (6.4)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (6.0)
The Nun (7.0)
The Wife (7.3)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Tiny Giants 3D (7.9)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.

My personal favorite has to be the Johnny Rockets apple pie.

Yesterday the New York Times published an article relating to Kuwait, but like most of the times we make the news, it wasn’t for a good thing. The New York Times had an article on the increase of book bannings that have gotten so extreme, we’re actually banning books that are not banned in Saudi Arabia. If that’s not absurd I don’t know what is.

Some of the books that were banned were written by local authors, so it’s not just foreign books that are being affected by this recent banning. Over 4,300 books have been banned so far since 2014 with 700 of them being banned just this year alone. Check out the New York Times article with more details on this [Here]

It’s been a while but the weekend list is back! I’m personally going to The IMPROVengers tonight, the opera tomorrow, and then the carnival on Saturday and Marketspace as well since its taking place down the street from where I live. Check out this weekends list of events below:

Thursday
Opera: The Magic Flute
Exhibition: The Graphic and Typographic work of Tarek Atrissi
The IMPROVengers – An Evening of Killer Unscripted Comedy

Friday
Opera: The Magic Flute
Exhibition: The Graphic and Typographic work of Tarek Atrissi
Exhibition: Rebel Against Skin Cancer
Iredecent, Live with Skyhope

Saturday
Exhibition: The Graphic and Typographic work of Tarek Atrissi
Exhibition: Rebel Against Skin Cancer
Guided Tour: Arab Organization Headquarters
British Academies Carnival 2018
Marketspace
Yerevan Opera House – Classical Music Concert

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

Screenshot from Searching

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
211 (4.3)
Searching (7.9)
The Bouncer (6.4)
The Wife (7.3)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Alpha (7.0)
Animal World (6.5)
Boonie Bears: The Big Top Secret (6.0)
Christopher Robin (7.9) ★
Final Score (5.5)
Johnny English Strikes Again (6.7)
Luis & the Aliens (6.0)
Mile 22 (6.6) ★
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Peppermint (6.0)
Peter Pan: The Quest for the Never Book (N/A)
Smallfoot (7.8)
Slender Man (3.0)
The Equalizer 2 (7.1) ★
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (6.0)
The Nun (7.0)
The Predator (6.9) ★
The Yellow Birds (5.7)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Tiny Giants 3D (7.9)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.

Before the 1990 Gulf War, Kuwaitis used to live on Failaka Island. But, during the war, the island got destroyed and then was never rebuilt again forcing the “Failakans” to move and live on the mainland. Now 25 years later, Doti Watkins, a local resident is working on a project to preserve the stories of the Failakans. She’s trying to track down anyone who used to live on Failaka to interview them about their lives on the island, as well as hopefully share with her photos, documents or artifacts.

I think this is a really interesting so if you know anyone who used to live on Failaka, please get in touch with her (her details are below). Here is some more info on this project:

The Kuwaitis of Failaka Island
An Oral History Project

Failaka Island is a unique place in the Arabian Gulf in general, and Kuwait specifically. It is located 20KM from Kuwait City and is well known for its rich and diverse archeological sites. What is being overlooked is that the Kuwaiti settlement of Failaka is also an important archeological site and there is an urgent need to preserve the geography, culture, and history of the Kuwaiti’s who once lived there. They are the most recent people to settle on the island, with a history that is estimated to be 300 years

The Kuwait Failakans are of special interest because they were neither urban nor nomadic. Their landscape and resources were different from the Kuwait mainland. They had different soil and water sources for agriculture compared to mainland Kuwait. They lived in relative isolation and relied on marine travel for connectivity to the rest of their society. Additionally, their sense of place included the remnants of all the other settlements before them.

It has been more than 25 years since the Kuwait Failakans were removed from their homes. This means the surviving population is aging and it will only become more difficult with time to acquire firsthand information and preserve an understanding of what it meant to be a Kuwaiti Failakan.

The purpose of this project is to collect the oral histories of Kuwait Failakans and use GIS (Geographic Information Science/Systems) to develop a GIS database “library” which will store and preserve their histories, traditions, folklore, photos and other documentation as available.

Doti Watkins
[email protected]
96007801
@doti_watkins

RAM Mounts make some of the best mounting solutions be it if you want to mount your tablet inside your car, or your camera outside of it. I wouldn’t trust any other brand when it comes to mounting my camera outside the car, it’s actually what I use to mount my GoPro on top of my car during track days (pictured above). I know no matter how aggressive my driving will be and how fast I go, the suction is going to hold up. They’re actually known for having some of the most impressive suction cups in the world and most if not all of their mounts are made of aluminum, so they’re super durable.

I’ve previously had to order my RAM mounts off Amazon but I recently found out there is a store in Kuwait that sells them. The store is called Q8 Mounts and they have a huge selection of RAM hardware to choose from. They even have an online website but if you go to the actual store, they have a ton of different mounts available on display for you to play with and check out before getting what you need.

Pricewise it’s complicated. Some of the items are double the price of Amazon, some are exactly the same and some are a lot cheaper. It’s pretty weird because usually, places are either have the same price as Amazon, more expensive prices or cheaper prices, I’ve never come across a place that has all three. If you’re looking for RAM mounts then check them out, they’re on instagram @q8mount, their website is q8mount.com and here is their location on [Google Maps]

Screenshot from Johnny English Strikes Again

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Animal World (6.5)
Johnny English Strikes Again (6.7)
Smallfoot (7.8)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (6.0)
The Steam Engines of Oz (4.4)
The Yellow Birds (5.7)
Wildling (5.5)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Alpha (7.0)
Boonie Bears: The Big Top Secret (6.0)
Christopher Robin (7.9) ★
Destination Wedding (6.1)
Final Score (5.5)
Juliet, Naked (7.0)
Luis & the Aliens (6.0)
Mile 22 (6.6) ★
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Peppermint (6.0)
Peter Pan: The Quest for the Never Book (N/A)
Reprisal (7.4)
Slender Man (3.0)
The Equalizer 2 (7.1) ★
The Little Mermaid (4.6)
The Predator (6.9) ★
The Meg (6.8)
The Nun (7.0)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Tiny Giants 3D (7.9)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.

I love eating outside and I rarely eat home cooked meals, in fact, I don’t even remember the last time I ate a home-cooked meal. So, I’ve been wanting to put together a list of my favorite places and I finally got it done. I’ve divided my favorite places into categories, it wasn’t easy in some cases just choosing three, but I forced myself to do so to keep things consistent. Check out my favorites below and let me know what your favorite places are:

Restaurants
1- White Robata
2- Mana
3- Lavan

If I had to choose just one restaurant to eat at forever, it would probably be White Robata. I’m there usually once a week and would go more often if it wasn’t so freaking expensive. So much good food combined with incredible staff make this easily my favorite restaurant in Kuwait at the moment. Mana, on the other hand, is a lot more accessible and great for going to in groups. They’ve got the best guacamole in Kuwait and generally, everything I’ve tried there has been really good although the rosemary chicken is my goto dish. Finally, Lavan is my favorite Indian restaurant. I go there mostly for their tandoori grills since I’m always trying to eat healthy, but I always manage to convince myself to have one of their delicious biryanis as well.

Healthy
1- Super Foods
2- Leila
3- Little Rubys

There are a lot of healthy places nowadays but these three are my goto ones. Super Foods doesn’t need much of an introduction since I think they’re the most popular healthy food place. They’ve got great snacks, cold bowls, delicious sandwiches, and even healthy desserts. They also have a lot of drinks to choose from including my favorite, their Blue Majik. The next place would be the Lebanese restaurant Leila, like most Lebanese restaurants, it’s a great place for healthy options since they have salads and grills. But, what sets Leila apart is their light menu which contains food options with even lighter dressings and more healthier sides. I know Little Rubys might seem out of place on this list since they’ve got delicious burgers and crazy good fries, but they also have my favorite salad in Kuwait, their pumpkin salad. It’s a baby spinach salad which I usually have them add grilled chicken too, so delicious.

Breakfast
1- Cocoa Room
2- Lunch Room
3- Baker & Spice

I had difficulty deciding on the number one spot here, it should be Lunch Room but since it’s more convenient getting a table at Cocoa Room I chose them as number one. Lunch Room is my favorite breakfast spot at the moment but the place is small and so there is always a waiting list. And unlike Cocoa Room, you can’t call ahead and put your name on the list so you have to go there, put your name and then just sit in your car since there isn’t anything else around them to do. Cocoa Room is also always super busy but I tend to call them an hour before I plan to be there to put my name on the list. Then, usually by the time I get there, my table would be ready or I just have to wait for one or two tables before it’s my turn. Baker & Spice is my healthier choice here, but during the summer months, I tend not to go to Baker & Spice since I enjoy the place more sitting outdoors especially at their Souk Sharq location.

Delivery
1- Joa
2- SimSim
3- Clean Eats

Before Carriage came to be, I think I used to only ever order food from Hardees. Now I’ve got a whole list of places I order from but these are my favorite ones. JOA I love ordering from when binge watching a show with a friend or when I’m having movie nights. Their poke bowls are the best and they’ve also got affordable sushi rolls if I want. SimSim is a place I find delicious but I try not to order them a lot because they’re all carbs. SimSim easily have the best flatbreads in Kuwait (get the pumpkin or musakhan) as well as a delicious rose water flavored knafa for dessert. Finally, Clean Eats I heard about at first because of their delicious yoga bowl which is what I used to order all the time but then I started making my own bowls. Now I tend to mostly order their banana and chocolate chip overnight oats since its a great source of energy before I hit the gym.

Cheat Meals
1- CHKN
2- Arby’s
3- Eighty Six

This was another category I had trouble trying to pick a favorite place. Both CHKN and Arby’s have perfect cheat meals but I decided CHKN was slightly better because of their sides. I tend to order their Slaw CHKN sandwich with the original CHKN bites on the side. So soooo good, it’s like the best fried chicken burger ever. Arby’s on the other hand, I just order their Double Roast Beef N’ Cheddar sandwich but that’s all I really want from life sometimes. Full disclosure on the third spot which is Eighty Six, they’re one of the brands I work for at the moment so I literally go to sleep thinking about them. So although I might be a bit biased here, I’m really a huge fan of their Billie Jean burger as well as their Saku Saku chicken burger.

So there you have it, my favorite spots around Kuwait right now. I might more add categories to this if I think of anything but this should be good for now. Don’t forget to let me know your spots!

Screenshot from The Predator

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Destination Wedding (6.1)
Final Score (5.5)
Juliet, Naked (7.0)
Luis & the Aliens (6.0)
Peter Pan: The Quest for the Never Book (N/A)
The Predator (6.9) ★

Other Movies Showing Now:
Alpha (7.0)
Boonie Bears: The Big Top Secret (6.0)
Christopher Robin (7.9) ★
Mile 22 (6.6) ★
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Peppermint (6.0)
Reprisal (7.4)
Slender Man (3.0)
The Darkest Minds (5.5)
The Equalizer 2 (7.1) ★
The Little Mermaid (4.6)
The Meg (6.8)
The Nun (7.0)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.

With all these recent negative articles on Kuwait here is one that’s good. BBC Travel shared a list of five places that make living easy and Kuwait made the list. The five places in no particular order are:

Honolulu, United States
Budapest, Hungary
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Auckland, New Zealand
Taipei, Taiwan

Not bad right? Check out their article [Here]

According to a recent report from the World Health Organization, Kuwait ranked as the least active country in the world. The most active country, on the other hand, was Uganda.

Most Active Nations:
1- Uganda
2- Mozambique
3- Lesotho

Least Active Nations:
1- Kuwait
2- American Samoa
3- Saudi Arabia

The WHO defines enough exercise as at least 75 minutes of vigorous activity or 150 minutes of moderately intense activity per week, or any combination of the two.

According to the report, 67 percent of Kuwait’s population failed to hit WHO’s recommended exercise target. That sounds absurdly high considering how much more active everyone in Kuwait has become over the past few years. Check out the full report [Here] or the summarized version on Bloomberg [Here]

Photo on top from Battle of the East

Screenshot from Crazy Rich Asians

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Alpha (7.0)
Crazy Rich Asians (7.6)
Boonie Bears: The Big Top Secret (6.0)
Peppermint (6.0)
The Nun (7.0)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Christopher Robin (7.9) ★
Mazinger Z: Infinity (6.0)

Mile 22 (6.6) ★
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Papillon (6.8)
Reprisal (7.4)
Slender Man (3.0)
The Darkest Minds (5.5)
The Equalizer 2 (7.1) ★
The Little Mermaid (4.6)
The Meg (6.8)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Movies Showing Now:
Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Oceans: Our Blue Planet (7.4)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in.