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Even though the local Mercedes is changing ownership starting January 1st, the current dealer is still getting new cars. The completely redesigned 2019 G-Class is now available in Kuwait and the prices are as follows:

2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G500 – from 43,000 KWD
2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G63 – from 55,000 KWD

They currently have one on display in their AMG showroom if you want to check it out in person, but their whole stock is currently sold and so they’re only taking preorders.

Last night I was at The Avenues and decided to pass by the newly opened Pick. When I got there I walked up to the tiny 2 person line behind the cashier and waited for my turn. While waiting, I noticed a long queue on the left side of the place lined up behind another cashier. I realized it might be a one-line queue for two cashiers and that I might have been cutting the line. Or maybe the other people didn’t realize there was a second cashier?

I decided to leave Pick because the situation was confusing, but decided to message them on Instagram just out of curiosity to see if it was actually two separate lines, or one line with two cashiers. My exchange with them was so good I felt it was worth posting about.

Firstly, someone saw my DM right away, they then quickly responded to my question and were apologetic and admitted the situation was actually confusing. The whole conversation was so friendly and sincere, they made me an even bigger fan of the brand.

The situation made me realize again how amazing social media has become for communicating with brands, especially when you have a problem. I’ve DM’d brands a ton of times either to complain, give feedback, ask questions or even to try and cut through lines at clubs (Thank you @the.garten). Other than my internet provider I no longer contact brands any other way. When I had an issue with AVIS in the US I tried calling them on the phone and after spending an hour either on hold or trying to navigate their robotic call center, I decided to tweet them. I ended up getting a response back on twitter in less than 5 minutes! In Kuwait it’s been no different, other than the local Ikea and Jeep dealer (still waiting for a response guys), my experience with customer service on instagram has been pretty good so far. I love it.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday addressed an ultimatum to Wataniya Airways to resolve problems such as recurring flights’ delay and cancellation.

The DGC warned in a statement that in case the company failed to fulfil its duties properly, its permit would be suspended, effective September 6 for three months as an initial penalty, while compelling it to fulfil its financial and legal liabilities toward passengers.

If Wataniya Airways fails again to tackle these problems, it will be stripped of the license permanently.

The directorate said several warnings had been given to the company to no avail. It assured passengers that it would do its best to ensure their safety and rights, vowing to follow up on Wataniya’s commitment to secure their comeback either on its aircraft or planes of other companies. [Source]

I knew they were having delays and flight cancellations for a few months now but didn’t think it was this severe of an issue even though someone had even sent me a video of the crew loading up supermarket bags of food on the plane because at one point they had lost their catering contract. I hate seeing the airline fail like this since I worked with the original Wataniya Airways on their launch many years ago so when the airline came back again from the dead last year, I had high hopes. And even though I had an average experience flying with them back in November, it was still good having an extra airline to choose from when planning trips. Maybe this will be their turning point…

I’m in Lebanon on a short vacation which is why posting has been slow this week. I should have posted this at the start of my trip but I originally thought I was going to continue to post normally which I’m clearly not doing.

News tips are appreciated a lot more than usual when I’m on holiday so if you have anything interesting for me to share on this blog, send it in!

We launched our PantryBee iOS app yesterday and Mark asked me to write about why we made that decision for our business. As a small business with limited cash reserves, it’s always hard to make the decision to invest in a new platform, and it was a year of back and forth before we decided to finally go ahead.

Why did we do it? Well, it’s obvious to everyone that mobile usage is super high in Kuwait, and that a lot of purchases are done through mobile. We knew that, but we also wanted to verify against our own traffic. So after a year of data collection, we did find that most of our users were indeed purchasing PantryBee meal kits from their phone and that the majority of those were iPhone users. Armed with that info we decided to go for it. The biggest hurdle, of course, was cost. We didn’t have thousands of KD to throw on something that might not be useful, so we went about it as economically as we could with the goal of making our customers experience better.

The first step to creating an app is setting up an account with the Apple Developer Program. This honestly wasn’t that difficult of a process, there’s just a bit of waiting time in order to be verified as a legitimate business. The second step for us was finding an appropriate third party to assist with the App creation process. Seeing as we already had an existing e-commerce backend (Shopify), we searched for companies that had an app that would integrate with the Shopify platform. The whole process from A-Z took about 3 months to get to the current app we have out right now.

Though our site is already mobile friendly, our new app allows a more seamless navigation of our offerings, including app-specific promos, notifications and more. It has all the info and products available on our site, just better suited to a mobile experience. So head to the app store and tell us what you think! You can download our app from this [Link]

If you have any specific comments or want to know more about the process for your own business, feel free to email us at [email protected] and we’ll try and help as much as we can.

Post by Hind
CoFounder of PantryBee where home cooking is made easy.

Barakat is an old school store located in Salmiya that has been open since the early 80s. They sell supplies for knitting, crochet, embroidery, needlework, sewing, weaving, as well as hobby and crafting materials, and magazines relating to all these.

I thought they had closed down their old Salmiya location since they had opened a small shop in Al Bustan Mall, but turns out the original store is still alive and kicking.

I passed by with a friend the other night and it reminded me of when I was a kid and I would accompany my mum. When I was a kid I hated trips to Barakat since I used to get super bored, but now as an adult, I appreciate the place a lot more.

I was tempted to get something, so ended up leaving with a “My First Embroidery” kit of a cute cat. Since I’m always curious to try new things, I figured I could try embroidery for fun and this kit contained everything I needed to learn embroidery.

If you’ve never been to Barakat, you should pass by to check the place out especially if you’re looking for a new hobby to get into. They’re located on the first floor of a building near Beit Dickson Restaurant in Salmiya. Here is the building on [Google Maps]. They’re also on instagram @barakat_kuwait. If you do pass by, make sure you pick up some kunafa from Al Tibawi down the street before you leave the area.

Kuwait Airways launched an outdoor campaign last week to highlight the fact their new terminal is opening this month. One thing I don’t get is the date format they’re using on all their advertising material which is 08-08-08/018. The date doesn’t make any sense.

The new terminal is opening on August 8th with a limited number of flight routes which is already going to be confusing to travelers, and now you have this abstract date format they’re using.

Over the weekend I asked my followers on twitter if they could translate the Kuwait Airways date format and nobody could.

08-08-08
This date is August 8th, 2008.

08-08-08/018
This could be read as August 8th, 2008/2018 although it doesn’t make sense why they’re using 018 and not 18, and what does 2008 have to do with this?

08-08-18
This is the actual date they should be using.

A follower suggested the first 08 might mean represent that fact they’re opening at 8AM but it wouldn’t make sense to insert a time into a date format. IF they could do that it would have at least made more sense to have it 08/08-08-18 for example.

Even with the Kuwait Airways tweet above which says the terminal is opening on 08-08-18 at 8AM, and the first flight will be KU0808, it still doesn’t explain what 08-08-08/018 is. What a confusing mess.

Every year on the anniversary of the 1990 Kuwait Invasion, I like to share some links related to the war. The last two links are new this year, check them all out below:

Free Kuwait
This is a website that focuses on the campaign that was led by Kuwaitis in exile and is loaded with photos and information.

Kuwait Invasion – The Evidence
This is a website that contains over 1,200 pictures taken right after the 1990 invasion as photographic evidence to all the destruction caused by Iraq.

Short movie: Hearts of Palm
Hearts of Palm is a short movie set in August 2nd 1990 and deals with Kuwaiti students living in Miami Florida during the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait.

The Class of 1990
This is a short documentary about reuniting class mates years after the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

Homemade video from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
Video clips taken by a Kuwaiti family during the Iraqi invasion

Desert Storm Photos
Photos taken by soldiers during Desert Storm.

Short Animation: Sandarah
A captivating story based on true events that took place during the 1990 Iraqi invasion.

First Account of Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait
Interviews with various Kuwaitis that were in Kuwait during the 1990 invasion.

Iraqi Invasion Pictures
Photos of the Gulf War aftermath.

Politics of Wor
A tumblr account with some not so commonly seen photos from the Gulf War. (Warning some are graphic)

Magnum Photos
A gallery of images taken during the Gulf War by some great photographers. (Warning some are graphic)

Photos in this post are by Bruno Barbey

Screenshot from The Spy Who Dumped Me

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

New This Weekend:
Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa (5.4)
Our House (5.3)
Patrick (5.8)
PLOEY – You Never Fly Alone (5.5)
Shock and Awe (5.0) ♦
The Ashram (5.1)
The Spy Who Dumped Me (6.3) ♦

Other Movies Showing Now:
Ant-Man and the Wasp (8.0)
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (6.5)
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (7.2)
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Ocean’s Eight (6.3) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
Still/Born (5.4)
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (6.8)
The Little Witch (6.3)
The Lullaby (5.8)

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

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

Three years ago I posted about how I plastidipped parts of my FJ Cruiser. Plastidip is non-permanent paint which you can just peel off to revert back to the original color. I had plastidipped various parts of my car and the paint had survived pretty well except on my wheels where it started to peel off (pictured below) and look gross. I needed to get my wheels permanently painted but that meant I had to find a paint shop and then keep the car with them for a few days which I didn’t have time for.

Then, last week, I found out a friend of mine started a new business called Dr Dent. He sent me the profile over instagram and I half-jokingly told him what I was interested in was a service where they could come take my FJ wheels, get them painted and then drop them back off to me. My friend told me that was a service they actually offered and it would be done at my place without having to take the wheels away. After a bit of back and forth of me trying to confirm I had understood him correctly, I called them up and booked an appointment.

Dr Dent offer a number of services that include dent, windshield and wheel repair, as well as wheel painting. They came over in their large van which has a built-in paint shop and started work right away. They first took off the wheels from my car, prepped them by removing the old plastidip, and then cleaned them up before taking the wheels one at a time into their paint booth to get painted. I had requested ahead of time to get the wheels painted in the Toyota TRD bronze color, so they got the paint code and mixed the paint for me before coming over.

It was incredibly convenient, I just gave the guys my car keys, got into my Lotus and headed to Avenues to do some shopping while they worked on my car.

The cost of this service varies from car to car depending on the size of the wheel and if there is any damage (like deep scratches from swiping a curb) that need to be fixed but the maximum it would cost to repair or/and paint a wheel is KD50. So if you’re looking for a convenient way to get your wheels painted or repaired, you can check Dr Dent out on instagram @drdentkw

Screenshot from Mission: Impossible – Fallout

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

New This Weekend:
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (6.8)

Other Movies Showing Now:
A Prayer Before Dawn (7.1) ♦
Ant-Man and the Wasp (8.0)
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Escape Plan 2: Hades (3.8)
Gotti (4.7)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (6.5)
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (7.2)
Ocean’s Eight (6.3) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
Still/Born (5.4)
The Domestics (5.7)
The First Purge (5.5) ♦
The Little Witch (6.3)
The Lullaby (5.8)

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

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (6.3)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

Just when you think this whole situation with Sondos couldn’t get any worse, well guess what.. it does!

With all the backlash she has been getting in regards to her racist comments on domestic workers, you’d think she would issue an apology. But, instead of apologizing she published another video this time talking about how employers of domestic workers deserve rights.

The video starts of with her talking about how her story has hit the news and how she hopes the local authorities will take action on this and provide employers of domestic workers with rights. After rambling for a minute or so on how she wants rights, she ends the video by stating the subject is now closed and that there are more important matters in life, like the fact that she’s thinking of getting botox. I swear I’m not making this up!! Check out her video above.

Yesterday the makeup brand Max Factor posted the story above on their Instagram account @maxfactorarabia distancing themselves from the influencer Sondos. Over the weekend Sondos had posted racial comments on her social media account which got picked up by news outlets around the world and caused a great deal of controversy locally.

From what I’m aware Max Factor are the first brand to distance themselves from her. Previously a reader had told me that Boutiqaat had dropped Sondos as well, but, that doesn’t seem to be the case since she’s still listed on their website and they’ve refused to comment on the situation when I spoke to them.

Anyway, I thought it was impressive that Max Factor disassociated themselves from Sondos since I didn’t hear of any brand dropping 3bodka after his incident.

Update: The cosmetics brand Etude House posted a story today also distancing themselves from Sondos although they don’t mention her by name. You can check their story [Here]

Screenshot from Gotti

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

New This Weekend:
A Prayer Before Dawn (7.1) ♦
American Animals (7.6)
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Gotti (4.7)
In Darkness (5.7)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (7.2)
Still/Born (5.4)
The Domestics (5.7)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Ant-Man and the Wasp (8.0)
Deadpool 2 (8.1) ♦
Escape Plan 2: Hades (3.8)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (6.5)
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (6.8)
Ocean’s Eight (6.3) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
The First Purge (5.5) ♦
The Little Witch (6.3)
The Lullaby (5.8)

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

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (6.3)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

Last night I spotted a recycling machine at Sultan Center Salmiya. It wasn’t working so I’m assuming they’re still setting it up but from what I managed to find out its a TOMRA Reverse Vending Machine.

One of the benefits of these machines is that it works with a loyalty program, so how I am assuming the way they will be used is when you recycle plastic bottles or cans, instead of getting money back you’ll get points added to your Sultan Card. If that’s the case then it might just get people to recycle.