Search: “maki”

Starting October, GCC expats will no longer be able to get a visa on arrival to the UAE. Instead, GCC expats are required to apply for a visa online before the trip. The idea behind this is do reduce long queues for on-site visa applications and payment at the airport. They’ve already started the online service and a friend of mine just applied for his visa online and the total amount he had to pay was AED230 (around KD19).

Although the graphic above has been making its way around whatsapp, according to online news sources [1,2] it’s not accurate. Applying for an online visa became possible starting May 15th but visitors will continue to be able to get visas on arrival until October. You can apply for visas online at [ednrd.ae]

Thanks Fahad

Last week was a pretty eventful one for me and it all started Monday morning when I headed to Khiran for my wakeboard session. I spent the first half of the session doing jumps and the second half learning to ride switch. Just before the session was over I figured I would perform some more jumps and thats when I messed up. I got a bit over confident and rushed into a jump and ended up taking off wrong and then landing nose first into the water. The board immediately sank into the water and then snapped back out again aggressively which is when I felt an instant pain in my ankle area. Right away I knew I was hurt and so I took off the board and swam back to the boat before heading back to shore. When I got to shore I picked up my board and gear and started walking towards my car. I could barely put any weight on my left leg without feeling pain but I kept heading towards the car since I just wanted to get home. While leaving Khiran I found a bakala van so I pulled up and bought a bag of ice which I then used to ice my ankle while driving back home. It was around an hour drive to get home and a painful one. By the time I got home my ankle has swollen up to the size of a large mango I googled sprained ankles online and how to treat them and started following instructions. I didn’t think it was too bad, figured I might need 2 weeks or so to get all better.

A few hours later I decided to head to a doctor. While reading about ankle sprains online I realized there were three levels of sprains and my symptoms didn’t really fit under any one of them. So I visited a doctor so I could find out exactly how badly sprained my ankle was. I headed to International Clinic and saw and orthopedic doctor there. He made me move my ankle a few directions and it didn’t seem like I had any muscle problems. So he told me just to be safe we should do an x-ray. I had an x-ray done and when I got back to his room he was like I have some bad news, you’ve got a fracture. I was like whaaaaaattttt?? He was like not only do you have a fracture but you need surgery, we need to insert two screws to connect the dislodged bone back to your ankle. I was in complete shock and became sad and depressed. Right away in my head I was thinking that means no more wakeboarding, it means no more gym and it means I wouldn’t be able to go snowboarding in Sweden the following week. I just imagined myself sitting on the couch for a month pigging out on junk food and gaining like a zillion kilos. I told him I needed to get a second opinion and he completely understood that. We wrapped my leg in a half cast and I headed home.

I was sad and upset for like an hour before my mood and feelings about the whole thing completely changed. I basically had a little chat with myself in my head. I asked myself what do I prefer? No extreme sports but also no injuries, or would I rather have fun and enjoy life but every now and then get injured? I obviously prefer the later and right away my mind started working trying to solve various issues. How will I go grocery shopping? Simple I’ll order my groceries from Saveco since they deliver. How will I shower? How will I do my laundry? How can I make breakfast? One by one I found answers and solutions to all my questions. I didn’t want my fractured ankle to change anything in my life. I figured I can even continue to go to the gym but I would just weight-lift while seated or lying on my back. I accepted my injury and started feeling so much better about the whole thing, I started looking at the injury like a cool scar and I was kinda proud of it.

The next day I headed to Seef Hospital for a second opinion. I saw the doctor there and he told me the exact same thing, I needed surgery and two screws. I tried to schedule the surgery for the same day but we ended up scheduling it for the next day 8AM. I didn’t want to wait, I just wanted to get it done with and start the recovery process. I asked about the brand of screws I was going to get inserted. I figured if they’re going to be in me I wanted the best screws available. He told me I was going to get two titanium Stryker screws which were some of the best, I tried googling reviews funnily but obviously didn’t find any. I noticed the color of the screw online was purple and was going to ask him if I could choose the color I wanted but decided that might be a bit too anal of me.

Wednesday morning at 6AM I checked into my room at Seef Hospital. I had such a beautiful view but really wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it at that moment. I never had a surgery before, this was going to be my first one and I was going to get two screws drilled into me. I was quiet and emotionless. Whenever I am in a situation where I should be scared I instead feel nothing, no fear or anything, I just become quiet and didn’t care that I was having a surgery in an hour. Anyway to cut it short, I ended up having the surgery and it went well. I spent the morning falling in and out of consciousness because I was so sleepy. I wasn’t in pain and I ended up checking out later in the evening around 8PM. I hadn’t told my friends or anyone about the surgery, I just wanted to go through it alone and I found the whole process very therapeutic.

I’m now moving about normally although very slowly because I’m using crutches. Crutches by the way are such a workout, I was worried at first that I was going to end up turning into a couch potato but because the crutches are such a workout, I’m actually feeling fit. I’ve customized my crutches with stickers to try and make them look less medical. I’m still eating healthy, I just cheated with my last meal before surgery by having a burger but since the surgery I haven’t cheated at all. I’m taking a break from my gym this week but will hopefully start going back next Saturday. The doctor told me I can start putting some weight on my ankle starting from next week so thats good news. The most difficult thing I’ve been dealing with is making my bed every morning, it’s such a slow process using crutches but I’m getting it done. I’ve also been doing laundry, ironing and the dishes all while standing on one leg. My right leg is definitely going to bulk up over the next few weeks,

One thing I’ve noticed is I hate the way some strangers look at me with pity because I’m on crutches. It really bothers me because I don’t want anybodies pity, I’m doing just fine and I can take care of myself. I noticed Sultan Center Shaab have a wheel chair and a motorized scooter at the entrance for those who need it. It’s an extremely nice gesture but there is no way I would use them. I don’t want to feel helpless or weak so I would rather exhaust myself hopping around with crutches then take a wheelchair or scooter. I noticed whatever I do, I try not to show any weakness, even when I went to the hospital for my surgery I went and stayed in my gym gear. When I’m hopping around with crutches… I always have a smile on my face. The psychology behind all this has been entertaining.

I’m finding this whole experience with my ankle and crutches to be so educational and interesting. I am so not bothered by my fracture at all anymore, in fact what it’s done is slowed my life down, something which I needed to do anyway. I have been feeling so much more relaxed and less stressed since I hurt my ankle last week. I’m also having fun solving all these puzzles of trying to do stuff with crutches and one leg. The doctor said I can remove my cast after 5 weeks and then I can then start my rehab. I think time is going to fly by pretty quickly.

According to an instagram post by the Ministry of Interior, the emergency lanes on some of the major highways are now open to the general public to use from 6AM to 10PM as long as you don’t exceed 45km/h. The roads are the ones highlighted in blue in the map above. Their post is in Arabic so I couldn’t understand most of it but looking at the map my best guess is the emergency lanes they’re talking about are on the 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th roads, as well as the 5th and 6th Ring Roads.

Now for a bit of venting…

Why isn’t this information on their website? What about all the expats like me who can’t read Arabic? Why is the road open only from 6AM to 10PM? I mean if it’s open during the whole day why not just keep it open 24/7 instead of making it illegal after 10PM. It just complicates things. And why are they limiting the speed to 45km/h? Why don’t they just pave the road and turn it into a proper lane and again simplify things. It’s as if they still haven’t made up their minds on if they should completely cancel the emergency lanes or keep them.

Last summer I posted about how tap water is safe to drink even though the general consensus was that it wasn’t. Now a video is making its rounds around social media where four different bottled water brands have their pH levels tested alongside tap water and it seems tap water scores another win by being alkalized. According to proponents, alkalized water can neutralize acid in your bloodstream, boost your metabolism and help your body absorb nutrients more effectively. Check out the video above or on [YouTube]

Emirs Operetta Al-Bait Al-O'd Kuwait 2015 Teaser from Yannis Michalandos.

Someone uploaded the video above of the Kuwait National Day Operetta that took place back in February at the Bayan Palace. According to the uploader it was the first time in the world a full box projection was made and going by the video above it looks like it was a visually stunning experience. I would definitely have loved to have watched that live.

The same uploader also uploaded a making of video which shows you how it was all put together. The video is 13 minutes long but it’s very interesting to watch if you’re into making of videos. Check it out below.

Emirs Operetta Al-Bait Al-O’d Kuwait 2015 Behind The Scenes from Yannis Michalandos.

I just got back from a morning of wakeboarding and figured it’s that time of the year when I post about this activity. The weather today was perfect, it was around 30ºC, the sky was clear and the water wasn’t chilly at all. Like I do every year, I went wakeboarding with the Q8 Balance guys. They’re a great bunch of people who love what they do and it really shows with the amount of work and time they’ve put into making the sport popular in Kuwait.

For those of you who don’t know, Q8 Balance charge by the hour and provide you with all the gear you need to wakeboard. They use one of the best wakeboarding boats available and this year they even got a brand new one since their previous one started to breakdown last year. All the wakeboarding is done in the lagoons in Khiran City and they charge KD35 per hour. I usually go with a friend or two and split the cost since it’s too exhausting anyway to wakeboard the full hour alone.

They also have surfing which I got to try for the first time today. The instructor (pictured above) made it look so easy but it really isn’t. The way it works is they setup the boat in a way that it creates a large wave behind it which you surf on (rope free) with a special board. I’ll probably try it again next week when I go back again.

I usually book via whatsapp a week ahead of time and for the middle of the week since they’re usually super booked on the weekends. Actually they’re usually booked in the middle of the week as well which is why I book a week in advance. So if you’re interested in wakeboarding or surfing, here is the link to the Q8 Balance instagram page @q8balance and their number is 99679705.

Healthy Feast is a new restaurant that soft launched last week. As you can tell from the name, it’s a healthy restaurant and they pride themselves in having fresh, locally grown, organic and gluten free dishes. Even their menu starts off with the following introduction:

We support local, organic and sustainable practices wherever possible. Our menu is always changing according to what is available and seasonal. This is today’s menu:

So right off the bat I was pretty excited to try out their dishes.

The restaurant is located in Bneid Al Gar and although the exterior doesn’t look like much the interior is very cute and bright with lots of natural daylight coming in. The walls were rough and painted white with natural wood being used everywhere. I would have taken a photo but a couple of tables were already occupied so I couldn’t. Once I sat down I was given the menu and after going through it I decided to go with the following:

Raw zucchini with almond thai dressing KD1.950
Pumpkin & avocado maki roll, with beet brown rice KD2.500
Root vegetables in curried lemongrass coconut milk KD3.500
Green Wellness juice: spinach, cucumber, apple, celery and lemon KD1.850

While waiting for my dishes I was also served a complimentary bowl of cheesy kale chips which usually costs KD1.500.

The first dish to arrive was my raw zucchini which looked like a small bowl of spaghetti. This dish completely caught me by surprise since it was so full of flavor. It tasted like an intricate starter I would have at a Japanese restaurant and I loved it (I later found out the chef was Japanese). The second dish I was served were the maki rolls. They were also pretty good although I was worried they would fill me up before my main dish arrived. I really wish they had chopsticks though since my first two dishes could have used them. When I asked the waitress for chopsticks she went into the kitchen and came back and told me the Japanese chef said I should use my fingers. I thought that was a hilarious soup nazi moment and proceeded to eat the rolls with my fingers, I had no problem with that. Once I was done with the rolls I was served the curry bowl. For the curry bowl I had three choices for the base, cauliflower rice, brown rice or quinoa. I went with quinoa although I haven’t been having quinoa for awhile now since I’m so over it. But, the curry was so flavorful and delicious I don’t think it would have mattered if I had gone with quinoa or any of the other rice options.

It’s a new restaurant, I ordered three completely new dishes I hadn’t tried before and I ended up loving all three. The chances of that happening are pretty rare which is why I fell in love with the place. It kind feels like an evolution to Gia or what Gia should have become. I did have two minor issues though. The first was with my juice, it was served in a beaker but it was filled less than half way which made it look like either someone had already drank from it or they had run out of juice while filling it up. The second thing is the lack of chopsticks. Again it’s not a big issue but two out of the three dishes I had were Japanese like and my guess is there are more dishes like that on the menu so why not have chopsticks as well?

In any case as I said I loved the place and I’m actually going back for lunch today. Healthy Feast is located in Bneid Al Gar and right now they’re open daily except for Sundays from 2PM to 7PM. Here is a link to their instagram account @healthy_feast and here is their location on [Google Maps]

I’ve had my Vespa for over 6 months now and not only have I not gotten bored of it, but I love it even more than ever. It’s by far my best purchase of 2014. As I mentioned in part 1 of my review, whenever I’m riding my Vespa I feel like I’m on a vacation and 6 months later that feeling hasn’t changed one bit.

I don’t even know where to begin this post because there are so many great things about living with a Vespa. The obvious one is the fact there is no traffic when you’re on a Vespa. Throughout the past 6 months whenever I had any kind of work in the city or Shuwaikh during the day, the Vespa was my go to ride. You would think any motorbike would fair the same in traffic but that’s not true because scooters are much more agile and nimble. In Shuwaikh where there’s lots of road construction taking place the cars don’t really line up properly because the lanes aren’t properly divided. So you could be making your way between the cars in traffic and then get to a point where the cars are just too close too each other and you’re stuck.. unless you’re on a scooter. Scooters are much more lighter and more compact so it’s so much easier to just weave your way between cars in traffic and the fact the Vespa has an automatic gearbox also means it’s quicker and less of nuisance to stop and start. There hasn’t been a single traffic jam yet in which I wasn’t able to make it to the very front.

Imagine if the roads were empty all day long… thats life with my Vespa.

I own the Vespa Sprint which has a 125cc engine. It’s not that fast, the maximum speed is around 95km/h and I can sometimes hit just over 100 when going downhill. Although that doesn’t sound fast it’s more than enough when riding on the Gulf Road or even the 4th Ring Road where the maximum speed is 80km/h anyway. Vespa do have have different models with larger engines but the bikes themselves are also slightly larger and heavier. My Sprint is usually the first off the line at a traffic light but after that acceleration is fairly slow. But really you don’t need the bike to be faster since it’s not like you’re going to ride the Vespa down to the chalets on the weekend, it’s for city errands and at that I can’t imagine anything performing better. Even though my Vespa isn’t fast I still ride like a hooligan because the bike gives so much confidence. Probably too much confidence because I slid and fell at a small roundabout near my house a couple of months back scratching up the left side of my bike. Luckily my favorite pair of jeans and sneakers were unharmed.

The Sprint has a good amount of storage space in case you do some shopping. Under the seat you’ve got a large compartment which I use to store my helmet in and you also have a small glove compartment in the front which I use to store my phone and wallet. In case there isn’t enough space under the seat for your grocery bags, there is a small hook that comes out from the seat in the front which you can hang your bags on. I also love the retro looking analogue speedometer since it adds a lot of character to the bike.

A lot of people have asked me if you need a license to ride a Vespa and the answer is yes, you need a motorbike license to ride one. That wasn’t an issue for me since I got my license years ago when I got my first motorbike, but it’s still worth noting for anyone considering getting one.

With all the traffic issues in Kuwait I’m surprised not more people have gotten scooters. It’s obviously impossible to ride one in the blazing summer heat but there are at least 6 months a year where the weather is great for them. I really don’t have anything negative to say about my Vespa, maybe if there was a built in USB port to charge my phone that would have been convenient but actually thinking about it now, I probably could get one installed easily. Honestly it’s so much fun riding a Vespa I can’t stop recommending it to people. Get one if you can.

This past weekend Harley Davidson sent me to Lebanon for a bike ride as part of a media trip. They took care of my airline ticket and I hadn’t noticed until the very last minute that they had booked Kuwait Airways for me. If I had noticed earlier I would have obviously requested to change my flight to MEA but it was too late to change the ticket and I was stuck flying Kuwait Airways.

While checking in at the airport I asked if I was flying a new plane and turns out I was. I still wasn’t too thrilled about flying on the new planes because based on the photos Kuwait Airways had published in their instagram account (here and here), the new planes looked outdated, ugly and gloomy. Not sure why Kuwait Airways posted those horrible pictures but turns out they’re misleading and not an accurate representation of how the planes actually look like.

When I got onboard the new plane I was completely taken a back by how nice and bright the interior was. In the photos on the Kuwait Airways instagram account, the chairs looked dark and the walls and ceiling had a dull grey tone but in reality, the blues were vibrant and the walls and ceiling were bright and light colored. I sat down in my seat and noticed I had really good legroom as well, so far I was really impressed. I started flipping through the media center checking it out while the passenger next to me plugged in a USB stick with movies and started watching something. This is a completely new Kuwait Airways and I was liking it.

I flew both ways with the new Kuwait Airways plane and honestly I think the planes are better than the MEA ones which I normally fly with to Lebanon. There was even internet onboard the Kuwait Airways plane which I tried out on the way back ($10 for 30mins, $20 for 1 hour and $40 for 3 hours). Even the food wasn’t too bad at all and because no one flies Kuwait Airways, the plane wasn’t very packed making the experience even more enjoyable.

[YouTube]

I did have an issue though and it was with the flight attendants. When I headed to the bathroom at the back of the plane while we were flying, I noticed one of the flight attendants was sitting in a passenger seat with the headphones on watching a movie. I thought that was pretty unprofessional. Another incident which also showed a lack of professionalism, when we landed and the plane was still on the runway heading towards our parking spot, a passenger got up from his seat and started getting his bag from the overhead compartment. Instead of the Kuwait Airways flight attendant telling the man to sit back down she got up and walked over to him and helped him carry his bag down from the overhead compartment. Then other people started getting up to get their overhead bags while the plane was still moving. Total chaos and I though it was ridiculous that the flight attendants weren’t telling the passengers to stay seated until the plane stopped. But then again this was Kuwait Airways. Although everything does look new, modern and up to date, end of the day this is still the same airline and the flight attendants are a reminder of that.

Putting aside my issue with the flight attendants I actually had a great experience with Kuwait Airways. In fact I would choose Kuwait Airways over MEA in a heart beat if the Kuwait Airways flight wasn’t an hour longer (they don’t fly over Syria, Jordan or Israel so they take a big detour). I thought the in-flight entertainment system had more than enough entertainment for the 3 hour flight, I found the seats comfortable, the legroom was great and my overall experience was very positive. The only thing I would say though is that they can update all their planes as much as they want, they can get the new A380s even and have onboard showers but that’s not going to be enough to move the airline forward unless the employees get retrained and their professionalism reestablished. And I’m not talking about just the onboard flight attendants but every employee you interact with from the minute you checkin to the last Kuwait Airways employee you see should reflect this new and improved Kuwait Airways. Other than that they’re off to a pretty good start.

Last week I went looking for an 18″x24″ picture frame for an artwork I had recently purchased. The first place I checked was IKEA but they had European sizes which were either larger or smaller than the size I wanted it. I then decided to check other places like Pottery Barn, The One, West Elm, A2Z, and Ace Hardware but none had the correct sized frame. Out of frustration I decided to ask my followers on twitter for an alternative place and was recommended to get a custom frame made. One of the locations recommended was near Avenues where I was, so I headed there straight away to see how much it would cost and how long it would take to get one made.

There were around three frame shops next to each other but I ended up choosing one which had a picture framer working. The other places looked like they just took size orders and sent them somewhere else to be made.

The reason I didn’t head to a picture framer first is that I thought it would be a complicated and expensive thing but surprisingly the process was fairly simple and affordable. I showed the picture framer the artwork, he measured it and then asked me to choose a frame which I did. He then quoted me a reasonable KD10 and told me to pick up the frame the next day.

The next day I went back, gave him the artwork and he mounted it in the frame. A very easy and simple process. The picture framer I went to was an old Lebanese or Syrian guy who according to him has been making frames for over 40 years. I’ve heard of other picture framers located next to Coops but this is the one I ended up going to and the one I’d go back to.

If you’re interested in getting a picture frame the shop is called “The Kuwait Center for the Installation of Glass and Frames” and the guy’s number is 99810731 (Abu Hassan). Also here is the location on [Google Maps]

Update: He just moved to a new location around the corner from his previous place so I updated the Google Maps location in the post above to point to the new location. Below is a photo of the shop from outside (no sign up as of now).