Search: “salmiya”

I know this might sound a bit odd but the weather at night isn’t bad at all for riding your bike. I used to ride my bike only during winter but the past 2 weeks I’ve been riding it in our current summer heat and I’ve really been enjoying it. It’s really not as hot at night as it is during the day.

The first time I went riding was last week when the weather was very humid. I dropped my car in Kuwait City to get detailed and since I needed to leave it there overnight I ended up riding back home on my bike. I thought the humidity would bother me but it actually helped keep me cool. Then this week I started riding my bike to the gym and back home. It’s a 30-40 minute ride (depending on the headwind) from my house in Salmiya all the way to my gym which is just before the Kuwait Towers. Because I take the Gulf Road sea path the weather is a bit cooler and I don’t end up feeling too hot or bothered.

So if you’re looking for an activity to do in the summer then biking can be a good one. There are a bunch of places in Kuwait that sell bikes but my favorite brands are Cannondale, Trek and Specialized. The Cannondale dealer is Sultan Motor Sports (tel 24826723) but they don’t bring a large variety of models sadly. The Trek dealer is Extreme Sports (tel 22254567) and they have a very large and nice showroom in Tilal Complex in Shuwaikh (pictured above) as well as a decent website [Here]. The Specialized brand of bikes I haven’t been able to find in Kuwait yet. You can also find some bikes at Go Sport in Avenues including a few Trek models and there are a few shops in Salmiya that carry new and used bicycles, you can find them with Google maps [Here]

There is also a bike club which organize rides nearly every week. You can check out their website [Here]

I think I’m going to continue to ride to the gym all summer long. If you have a bike you really should take it out. Keep in mind I’m talking about night time riding here (7PM and onwards) and not daytime riding. I would highly recommend not riding during the day!

I spotted the above garbage bin outside Salhiya Complex earlier today. What grabbed my attention was the fact they’re the the exact same kind of garbage bins as the ones currently used all over Salmiya, except they didn’t look as bad. That’s because instead of the bins being painted bright yellow causing them not to blend with their environment, the Salhiya bins are tastefully painted and placed so they fit in with their surroundings.

The new Quiznos in Salmiya has finally opened up. The brand is no longer run by the same company that used to have the Baitak Tower branch, it’s now a completely new owner so hopefully the food will be closer to the American counterpart than the previous Quiznos was. They’re open in Salmiy right behind Olympia Mall on Salem Mubarek Street.

The Lebanese store Lama recently opened a new and much larger store near my house in Salmiya. They’re mostly known for importing and supplying the local supermarkets with Lebanon fruits, but if you visit their store you’ll also find other interesting food products. Most of the products don’t mean much to anyone except the Lebanese in the same way strangers to Kuwait won’t understand the obsession with Sunkist and KDD Gold for example. But, if you’re Lebanese you’ll be interested to know that Lama carries some of our favorites including Gandour products like Tarboush, Unica, Pik-One Safari, dry biscuits and more. They also carry BonJus, SMEDS, Picon, Lebanese bread from the Wooden Bakery as well as Taanayel dairy products.

If you’re interested in passing by they’re located in the street that’s parallel to Baghdad Street. Just take a right after Dodo and head down until you reach the main road, the store should be in front of you.

For other In Focus posts click [Here]

On my way to work I spotted some banners on the road advertising “KarimKTV @ YouTube”. I didn’t think much of it but decided to check it out on YouTube and after watching one of his videos I’m wondering what the consequences will be to his campaign. It’s a successful one that’s for sure since twitter has been buzzing all morning with people talking about the banners. I thought the banners were placed just around Salmiya but it seems they were placed all around Kuwait.

Picture by Abdullah

On Thursday two engineers from Mada came over and handed me a router so I could review and after using it over the weekend here are my findings. I’ll start the post with the speedtest results since I know that’s what everyone has been waiting for. I used speedtest.net for the testing and although I was originally planning to test using the servers in London, New York and LA, I ended up running into issues with the New York and LA server and so decided to add two more locations which are New Jersey and San Francisco.

I don’t know why the NY and LA servers were giving me such terrible numbers but I think it had to do more with the server than my connection since the connection worked perfectly again with their neighboring cities. The location of the WiMAX router does effect the speed of your connection. For example I live in Salmiya block 9 and according to a Mada engineer, Salmiya is one of their most focused areas so the speeds I’m getting are probably the fastest you can get. When I tried the Mada router at my office in Kuwait City, I was getting on average around 2.8Mbps tops. The engineer told me it had to do with the location (Kuwait City), the fact my office is on the 21st floor (connection starts dropping after the 15th) and the fact the windows were double glazed (bounces signals). A reader called Kevin tried Mada in Mangaf block 1 and his download speed was around 6.5Mbps. So location does make a big difference on the speed. I don’t play many games online but my brother who lives next door and leeches my connection does. He spent the weekend playing on his Xbox online and according to him he didn’t notice any difference going from DSL to WiMAX.

Setting up and connecting the router was a very simple process. You just plug in the power cord, wait a minute and that’s it. You can then either connect to the router via one of the two ethernet ports on the device or by wifi. I did face a minor problem when I wanted to log into the device so I could change the wifi password as well as setup other options. Underneath the device you have two sets of login information. One is supposed to be the default wifi password the other I assumed to connect to the device to change the settings but it wouldn’t work. It was around 11PM and I wasn’t sure if there would be anyone at Mada support to help but I called them up and someone answered right away and gave me the default username and password which was just “user”. I liked the fact that I didn’t have to go through a dozen menus on the phone just to get to someone from support and I liked the fact that I didn’t have to wait on hold either. This probably has to do with the fact that the service is still new and so not many people have subscribed with them yet.

Which brings me to the future. The Mada WiMAX service currently has no download cap for the next 3 months, after that they are still not sure what the download cap will be but they’re saying it will be at least 20GB and that they will be offering a package for people who consume more. 20GB a month means around 600MB a day which is too little and makes the device really useless. 600MB a day is suitable for users who just use their internet to check email, maybe visit a few websites and also watch a video or two on YouTube. Those kind of users aren’t heavy internet users and for them if it’s a 1MB connection or 10 it wouldn’t make a difference. The real people who can use and fully take advantage of Mada’s WiMAX speed are users like me who spend all their time online surfing through a ton of websites, watching a million YouTube videos while iTunes is busy in the background downloading all the latest TV shows and Movies, the Playstation and Xbox downloading game demos and the server downloading torrents. For me it makes a huge difference if the connection is 1MB or 10.

Which brings me to a potential future issue. The connection is really great right now but that’s because the service is only a few days old, how will it be a month from now or even a year from now? I am not sure. Mada has been around for awhile now catering for the commercial industry so that gives me a bit of confidence in them. But still, 20KD for 10MB is going to attract a lot of people specially with all the problems people have with the ISP’s introducing download caps. Personally I am going to take it day by day and right now the Mada WiMAX internet connection is the fastest connection I’ve ever had. I’ve already disconnected my DSL modem at home and replaced it with WiMAX, that’s how much I’m loving this connection.

Mada currently have a booth setup at Marina Mall right outside the Mac store Digits and they also have a booth at Mohallab. It’s KD20 a month and if you sign up for 3 months it’s KD60 but you get the router for free. Here is a link to their website [Link]

Remember when back in February there were rumors floating around that internet providers would start implementing download limits? Back then I spoke to Qualitynet support and was assured that “I could relax and download the whole Internet if I wanted to and I would be fine”. Then, two weeks ago when they added the fine print on their DSL page saying “Terms and Condition & Fair Usage Policy Apply” I called them up again. Support told me this was just a temporary issue because of a cable cut.

But now it seems they’ve changed their stance on this sensitive subject. I just called them up and they told me that even though they still haven’t received an official letter from management with details on what the limits are going to be, we should expect that there will be a limit in place soon.

Unconfirmed user reports have placed the limits as the following:

– 2MB DSL users will have 2.8GB daily limit, 19GB weekly limit or 85GB monthly. Once you surpass your limit your connection speed will drop to 512KB.

– 4MB DSL subscribers, one subscriber says Qualitynet told him they will be limited to 139GB a month while another said Qualitynet told him it’s 85GB as well.

Not sure what to say about this, I find this a bit depressing. Please Qualitynet don’t cap our bandwidth!

Note: ALL ISP’s in Kuwait will be applying caps, it’s not just Qualitynet.

Update: According to a reader in the forum KEMS will start watching for bandwidth abusers starting tomorrow. They won’t be setting a cap but if they notice a user abusing their bandwidth then those users would have a cap applied. The reader couldn’t get an exact figure from the KEMS support guy on what counts as abuse.

Update2: I just got an email telling me about a NEW internet provider called Mada. They are offering WiMax, 10Mbps in Salmiya area (I guess might be higher or lower other areas), NO DOWNLOAD CAP and it’s KD60 for 3 months. They have a booth at Marina Mall. I was there last night actually and saw the booth but didn’t know what it was. This is their website [Link]

I was heading home from my late night walk when I spotted a large palm tree on fire and I managed to capture the incident on video. This happened in Salmiya on the corner of the roundabout next to Farah. The flashing light at the end of the video is a fireman telling me to stop recording. [YouTube]

The Ahmadi Music Group has an upcoming show which you guys might be interested in called The Desert Song:

The Ahmadi Music Group, directed by Richard Bushman, is delighted to announce the forthcoming production of The Desert Song by Siegmund Romberg. Fully-staged, with costumes, dancing, professional soloists, a cast of around fifty people and a full symphony orchestra, this will be a wonderful opportunity to experience an evening of musical theatre in the stunning new Performing Arts Centre at The English School Salmiya.

The Desert Song is one of very few operas in existence set in the Arab world. It tells the story of the efforts of the French in Morocco, in about 1910, to suppress rebellion by a band of desert outlaws, the Riffs. The stern General Birabeau is sent from France to be in charge of the combat; he is impatient that his son Pierre is not interested in soldiery. Only at the end does he discover that Pierre is secretly the dashing Red Shadow, leader of the Riffs. The production includes comedy, romance, warfare, and more romance.

Desert Song is not well known nowadays, but in the first half of the 20th Century, its songs were performed by every major singer and orchestra and dominated the charts. Most tellingly, it has been made into a full Hollywood film three times, making it one of the most sought-after theatre properties ever created. In 1929, it was the first all-talking Hollywood musical ever made.

Date: Tuesday May 31st, 2011
Type: Preview Performance for students
Tickets: KD4

Date: Wednesday June 1st, 2011
Type: Black-tie Gala opening performance followed by buffet supper
Tickets: KD10

Date: Thursday June 2nd, 2011
Type: Performance
Tickets: KD8 for adults and KD4 for children under 12

Date: Friday June 3rd, 2011
Type: Performance
Tickets: KD8 for adults and KD4 for children under 12

All performances start at 7pm at The English School, Salmiya.
For more information and booking visit their website [Here]

I was reading on Me Blogging about her visit to the Swatch exhibition in Geneva where they had on display all the Swatch watches ever produced from 1983 up till today. That made me want to dig out my first Swatch watch which is the one above. I purchased it back in the 80’s from Fay in Salmiya. You could try finding your first Swatch by clicking [Here]

A friend of mine was at Kinko’s in Salmiya awhile ago and it turns out they were robbed last night. Someone broke into the shop and the photo studio next door last night and stole the money drawers. They broke into the shops by breaking the tiles under the door which has the lock.

Thanks Patrick

The Mojolaters Blues Band have two upcoming gigs. The first is going to be held at Cafe Supreme in Salmiya this Wednesday while the second is going to be held next Thursday at Al Manshar Rotana. Check below for more information:

Cafe Supreme
Date: May 18th, 2011
Time: 7:30pm to 9:00pm
Location: Cafe Supreme, Salmiya Hawalli (opposite Sultan Center)
Ticket Price: It’s free – No tickets

Al Manshar Rotana
Date: May 26th, 2011
Time: 9:00pm
Location: Al Manshar Rotana, Fahaheel (Al Kout Ballroom)
Ticket Price: KD12 +15% and includes and open buffet
Reservation Number: 23931000

For more information visit their website [Here]

Update: The Cafe Supreme gig got canceled because they weren’t able to get a license sadly

I used to be a big fan of the raft race when it used to be held at Messila Beach in the late 80s but haven’t really been to any ever since. This weekend though the annual raft race is going to be held at Shaab Sea Club in Salmiya so depending on the weather I might end up passing by.

I couldn’t find any details regarding the timings but their website does mention the following activities that will be available on the day:

Children playground
Beach volleyball
Beach football
DJ
Costume show
Face painting

Ticket prices are KD4 for adults and KD2 for children. For more information visit their website [Here]

Update: Sorry I forgot to mention the date which is May 6th. I also found out the start time of the event which is 9AM. (Thanks Rashed)

So Thursday after work I decided to walk home as a bit of exercise. My office is located in Kuwait City near Muthana Complex and my apartment at the beginning of Salmiya. I estimated the distance would be around 15km and I wanted to try and make the trip in 3 hours or less. Well the whole trip turned out to be 12km and took me around 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete. I thought that was disappointing because my regular walks around Salmiya are 11km long and Kuwait City to Salmiya sounded a lot longer than that. I didn’t feel tired or exhausted and it really wasn’t challenging enough. What was even more depressing was when I got home and was checking Facebook I noticed pictures of a friend of mine who had just gotten back to Kuwait after participating at the Marathon des Sables… a 6 day long 243km endurance race. I guess I’m taking baby steps? On the bright side at least it’s something I can do more often now. I took some pictures during the walk and was uploading them to twitter but in case you missed it you can see them at the bottom of this post.

On a different note I measured my body fat percentage today and it’s 13%. That means I dropped down 1.6% since the beginning of the month (I was 14.6) and I lost 1.2kg of body weight and all of it was fat, no muscle loss. So not what I was hoping for but still better off from where I was earlier in the month.

I thought April would bethe final month for Cinemagic’s rooftop movies since they usually stop playing movies once the weather gets really hot but they’re still on for May and they’ve got some very cool movies lined up for everyone.

Thursday, May 5th at 7:30pm
CUBE
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Country: USA
Release: 1997
Genre: Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi
Running time: 90 minutes Language: English | English Subtitle Awards: Best Director, , Best Cinematography
Rated: R

Saturday, May 7th at 7:30pm
LADY VENDETTA
Director: Park Chan Wook
Country: South Korea
Release: 2005
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Running time: 112 minutes
Language: Korean | English Subtitle
Awards: Best Film, Best Director…
Rated: R

Thursday, May 12th at 7:30pm
DANCER IN THE DARK
Director: Lars Von Trier
Country: Denmark
Release: 2000
Genre: Drama | Musical
Running time: 140 minutes
Language: Danish | English Subtitle
Awards: Palm D,or and Best Actress
Rated: R

Saturday, May 14th at 7:30pm
VOLVER
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Country: Spain
Release: 2006
Genre: Drama
Running time: 121 minutes
Language: Spanish | English Subtitle
Awards: Nominated Palm D,or, Winner Best Actresses
Rated: R

Thursday, May 19th at 7:30pm
UZAK
Director: Nuri-bilge Ceylan
Country: Turkey
Release: 2002
Genre: Drama
Running time: 110 minutes
Language: Turkish | English Subtitle
Awards: Grand Prize of the Jury, Best Actor
Rated: PG

Saturday, May 21st at 7:30pm
OF GODS AND MEN
Director: Xavier Beauvois
Country: France
Release: 2010
Genre: Drama
Running time: 122 minutes
Language: French | English Subtitle
Awards: Grand Prize of the Jury, Best Director
Rated: R

Thursday, May 26th at 7:30pm
THE HUNTER
Director: Rafi Pitts
Country: Iran – Germany
Release: 2010
Genre: Drama
Running time: 90 minutes
Language: Persian | English Subtitle
Awards: Nominated at Berlin festival for Best Film
Rated: PG

Saturday, May 28th at 7:30pm
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD
Director: Sidney Lumet
Country: USA
Release: 2007
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Running time: 117 minutes
Language: English | English Subtitle
Rated: R

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. There is a KD1 charge for the venue fees which includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]