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Lots of events taking place this weekend! Tonight is the last night of the Palestinian Cultural Exhibition and they’re having a bake sale. Friday you have the Kuwait Rising Music Festival which features Grammy award-winning artist Joss Stone among others. Finally, on Saturday you have a full day of activities taking place during Soul Fest. Check out the list below for all the events taking place this weekend:

Thursday
FUSE X COMMONS Pop-Up
Raclette & 3 Short Films
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Monsoon Wedding
48th Palestinian Cultural Exhibition

Friday
Kuwait Rising Music Festival

Saturday
Peak Vertical Marathon
Soul Fest
Yoga with Cats
Market Space
8th Annual CELL Conference
Perspectives in Kuwaiti Art
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Buena Vista Social Club

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.

Last night I was invited to drop by the new VOX Cinemas in Avenues phase 4 to get a tour of their space. This is their first VOX Cinemas location in Kuwait, and since there are three other cinema chains already in Kuwait, they know they’ve got to bring their A-game if they’re hoping to succeed.

VOX is nearly ready to open up to the public and tonight they will be premiering the new Avengers film with an invite-only affair. The only area that was still under construction and one that I wasn’t able to take photos in was the THEATRE by Rhodes section.

Tickets + Food
When you first go up the escalators into the VOX Cinemas you’ll find ticket machines on the sides and the food area in front of you. Ticketing and food are combined into one, so you can buy your tickets and popcorn at the same time. That’s pretty great and convenient if you didn’t buy your ticket online since instead of waiting in line to buy tickets and then a second line to buy food, you’re combining it into one line. The disadvantage is to those who already have their tickets. The food line is usually pretty long anyway but now you have to also wait for people to decide what movie they want to watch and where they want to sit. So I’d imagine trying to get food is a longer process with this system.

THEATRE by Rhodes
This is VOX’s equivalent to VIP theaters in other cinema chains. There are 4 small theaters located in a separate section and the reason the area is called THEATRE by Rhodes is because the food menu was created by Michelin star chef Gary Rhodes. THEATRE by Rhodes will have reclining seats with adjustable footrests, blankets, pillows and, a waiter service which you can call via a button on the seats. This area of VOX should be completed in two weeks time.

Their Largest Theater
The picture above is of VOX’s largest theater, they have two of those. It was huge, filled with seats and yet it still felt so spacious because of the fact they’ve left a really large gap between the screen and the first row of seats.

I liked the color scheme as well which was all black with red accents. The seats were comfy, large and had a pretty good amount of legroom as well as cupholder and a side table for your food or phone.

If you arrive to the theater when dark, you’ll be able to find your seat easily since the aisle and chair numbers are lit up.

Their Regular Theaters
VOX has 17 theaters in total, 4 are the Rhodes theaters, 2 are their large theaters which I’ve posted about above, then they have 2 more kids theaters (more on those in a bit), 1 rentable theater and finally, 8 regular theaters. These regular theaters are smaller in size, have smaller seats compared to their larger theater and, less legroom. If you notice in the picture above there are two colors of seats, black and blue. This is to separate their VIP or premium location seats (in black) which cost more than the seats in the not so prime viewing area (in blue).

The theaters I used to frequent in London had a similar setup, if you want to sit in the prime area you’ll have to pay more for the ticket. I’m not a fan of this system although in London it was great since nobody wanted to pay for premium seats so I always got great seats, even though I booked late.

Their Kids Theaters
VOX have a separate area for kids. The area is colorful with a play area and a separate entrance. You’ll be able to book the area for your kids birthday and they can run around and scream without bothering the rest of the movie goers.

The theaters themselves are small and have multi-colored seats. They look tacky but I guess kids will love it.

Thier Millennial Theater
It’s not really called the millennial theater thats just what I’m calling it because that’s the age group they’re targeting with it. The small theater is filled with reclining sofas and the concept behind it is that you would be able to rent it out for you and your friends to watch a movie or even to play video games on the large screen.

VOX Cinemas is opening tonight but like I mentioned already, it’s invite only. Once they’re done with tonight’s opening they have a few more things they need to finalize before they open to the public. No specific date has been set but it’s probably happening in the next week or two. Here is a link to their web site [Link]

Update: I went last night to watch Avengers and here are some observations. They don’t have any IMAX theaters. They have MAX theaters that sound like IMAX but are just regular theaters. I wish the chairs in the MAX theaters were slightly more reclined. The seat numbers that light up are actually a bit annoying in the dark since you can see light coming from the chairs behind you.

I just left Rihab Complex with the Nintendo Labo variety kit. There is only one store at the moment in Rihab selling the Labo and its Kuwait Toys Center. They’ve got both the Variety Kit and the Robot Kit and they’re selling each for KD40. That might sound expensive compared to the US price, but it really isn’t that bad of a deal.

The Variety Kit sells for KD22 on Amazon while the Robot Kit sells for KD25 not including tax. The Variety Kit weighs nearly 3KG so if you shipped it using Shop&Ship they’ll charge KD17 for shipping without the customs fees. With PostaPlus they’ll charge you KD12 without the customs fees. So if my calculations are correct:

Variety Kit KD23 with tax
+ KD17 shipping (Aramex Shop&Ship)
+ KD1 clearance fee
Total = KD41

If you ship to your PostaPlus mailbox the total would still be around KD36. So paying KD4 more to have it first isn’t that bad of a deal. If you’re interested in picking up a Nintendo Labo, Kuwait Toys Center only had a handful in stock when I passed by so you’ve got to hurry. Check them out on instagram @kuwait_toys_center

If you’re looking for new shows to watch while you wait for a new Westworld episode every week, here are three:

Lost in Space
Even though I finished watching the whole first season, I am still undecided if I like the show or not. I managed to binge watch ten episodes over two days but that’s not really a tell on how good the show is since I also binge-watched the terrible Seven Seconds over two days as well. Lost in Space is a remake of a series from 1965 with the same name, it follows a family who get thrown off course in space and crash into an unknown planet. The show started off really entertaining but there was this one character and story plot I couldn’t stand which is why I’m not sure how I feel about the show. It’s worth checking out and I’m curious to see how the second season will develop. Lost in Space is on Netflix.

The Crossing
I originally thought this show was by the same creator as LOST, but while looking for info on the show for this post I realized it’s not. This should give you an idea on what kind of show this is. The Crossing is four episodes in and it has me hooked. The plot is very interesting and focuses on refugees that end up on a beach outside a small town, but the thing is, these refugees are from a war-torn future. The trailer above is what got me watching the show so check it out. The Crossing is available to watch on Hulu.

Barry
From the three shows here, Barry is my favorite. The show stars Bill Hader who plays the role of a hitman who moves to LA and decides he wants to quit to become an actor. Its a funny show that stars some legendary comedians like Stephen Root (Newsradio, Office Space) and Henry Winkler (Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation). Barry just recently started so only five episodes are out so far. If you’re interested, Barry is available to watch on HBO.

VOX Cinemas, the UAE-based cinema company is opening up in phase 4 of Avenues tomorrow night (April 25). They’ll be premiering the new Avengers movie but it’s an invite-only affair although, from my understanding, the box office should open up to the public tomorrow night if you’re interested in booking tickets for this coming weekend. *update below*

The VOX cinema has 17 screens with a seating capacity of over 1,500 seats. They’re the fourth cinema chain to open up in Kuwait and will be competing head to head with Cinespcape that is also open in Avenues. Here is a link to their [Website]

Update: I was just told tickets will NOT be going on sale tomorrow. They’re just opening the theater for the private premier and they are still waiting on some permits before they can sell tickets to the public.

As most of you are aware by now, part of the old souq in Salmiya is being turned into a pedestrian-only area. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in February but due to delays, work is still going on right now.

The photos in this post were taken a couple of days back and they show the current progress. For more photos, click [Here]

Why do we now have billboards every 20m on the Gulf Road? It used to be one of the most scenic roads in Kuwait and now it’s plastered with billboards all down the middle. If it was one billboard every now and then I can understand, if they were on the side of the Gulf Road, I could understand that as well, but they’re just back to back all along the middle. I think there are more billboards down the middle of the Gulf Road than there are palm trees, and I’m not exaggerating.

Speaking of billboards, do people still not know what it means when a word has a red squiggly line under it?

Supplements are pretty expensive in Kuwait but I had forgotten how expensive until last night. I dropped by Health Planet to pick up ZMA and they only had the supplement in the MET-Rx brand. I decided to check Amazon for reviews and noticed that the price on Amazon was just $9.99 which is basically 3KD. The price at Health Planet? 14.5KD. That’s nearly 5 times more expensive than the Amazon price.

Why are supplements still so expensive in Kuwait? A few years ago there weren’t that many places that sold supplements but now there are a whole bunch of them and the prices have yet to fall.

I used to order my supplements from UAE based Sporter, but they’ve now started charging for shipping so it’s no longer feasible to order from them anymore. I should have gotten supplements back with me from LA, no idea why I didn’t think about that but even if I did, that would have just been a short-term fix.

The new Al Kout Mall opened up yesterday and I passed by last night to check it out. Driving down to Fahaheel feels like such a journey which is why I rarely ever go down there and I’m assuming people who live there also rarely ever journey up to the city. This is why the new Al Kout Mall is a great addition to the area.

The new Al Kout replaces the old Al Manshar Mall and the large residential buildings that used to be located right behind it. It’s a fairly small sized mall when compared to the Avenues, but it’s still substantially larger than 360 Mall. One thing I noticed is that the stores are all pretty small, so you have all the big brands there but their store sizes are probably the smallest ones in Kuwait. I guess its how they were able to fit so many stores into the mall.

Not all the stores are open yet nor are the movie theaters and the karting track on the roof. The karting track once completed will be the largest indoor karting track in the Middle East which I think is pretty exciting. If you’re curious about the parking situation, the mall has 3,600 parking spots accessible from a variety of entrances around the mall. But, parking isn’t an issue there its traffic that’s the problem. The street there had heavy traffic even before the mall was open so expect it to be even worse now.

For more information on the mall including a list of all the stores you can visit their website [alkout.com] or follow them on instagram @alkoutmall

Lord Curzon and his staff being carried ashore to be welcomed by the Sheikh November, 1903

I just found out about the Bridgeman photo library a short while ago and going through it I spotted a bunch of interesting photos of Kuwait I had never seen before. I’ve included some of my favorites in this post along with their captions.

Kuwaiti man holding a kid on the leash on a pavement. Kuwait City, December 1956

Kuwaiti woman entirely covered by her dress selling chickens in the street. Kuwait City, December 1956

Kuwaiti woman with a veil on her face holding her son in front of the cages containing birds on sale.

Check out more old photos of Kuwait by clicking [Here]

Lunch Room is a new restaurant that has been open for a few weeks now, but I finally got to try it this past weekend. Lunch Room is the creation of Ahmed Al Bader, the same chef behind one of my favorite restaurants, Habra. I went to Lunch Room with a friend, and although we didn’t over order, everything we did order turned out to be delicious. We started off with the maple-roasted carrots and Mexican Mango juice, and then for my main, I had the scrambled egg on a Dutch buckwheat pancake while my friend had the poached eggs dosa. We finished things off with the Dutch buckwheat pancake dessert that came with berries, salted honey butter and whipped mascarpone.

You can take a look at the full menu [Here]

Usually, it takes more than one visit to a new place to find a dish that I love and would come back for, but with Lunch Room I managed to hit the nail on the head from my first visit. Everything we had turned out to be delicious especially my scrambled egg dish which I’ll have a hard time not ordering on my next visit so I could try something else. But not only was the food really good, I also found the restaurant super cozy and the service was great as well.

I don’t know why they didn’t call the place Brunch Room since it’s more of a brunch place than a lunch one, but really, even if it was called Dinner Room I wouldn’t care and still go back to it. It’s probably going to be my favorite brunch spot for the next few months since I think I’ve overdosed on Cocoa Room. If you’re visiting on the weekend expect to wait for a table. I passed by around 10:30AM and there were 14 names ahead of mine. Luckily, they’re walking distance from Arabica in Arraya, so I killed time by having coffee there. Lunch Room is open from 9AM to 3PM and they’re located in Kuwait City next to RAW sushi [Google Maps]. You can also follow them on instagram @lunchroomkw

If you want your car washed at home then there are a lot of companies that offer the service, and there is even an app that can connect you to most of them. But not all car washes are equal which is why I found this latest service from ProTech Monte-Carlo interesting.

ProTech consider themselves a car spa, they offer premium detailing services as well as tinting, paint protection and a variety of treatments for your car. Just flipping through their Instagram account you’ll notice they’ve worked on some of the hottest cars in Kuwait from classics to supercars, and I’ve personally used them twice, first time to detail my Datsun 240z, and the second time for paint protection on my first Exige.

Over the weekend I got a message from them letting me know they’re now offering membership packages for their premium car wash service to your home. For KD40 a month they’ll come by once a week at a prearranged time to wash your car. If you want them to come by more than once a week they have packages for that as well which you can see below:

There are a couple of things I like about this, the first being that they actually know how to wash cars the right way. I know washing a car sounds simple and it is, but there are special techniques to washing the car properly and how to avoid getting swirls in your paint. For example, they’re the only place I’ve seen use clay bars when washing the car. If you’re got an expensive car then the extra care is definitely worth it. The second thing I like about this service is the membership aspect, I like the idea of signing up to a washing service and have them come over say every Sunday at 8AM to wash my car. The only thing is you need to commit to 12 months and I don’t like thinking that far ahead.

If you’re interested in signing up to the service, you can contact them by phone or whatsapp on +965-96912001. Here is a link to their [Website]

Below are all the events I found taking place this weekend. If there is anything I missed let me know.

Thursday
Exhibition: Four Hundred Days
Cofe Festival
George Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra
Forests “By The City”
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Force Majeure
Dvorak Piano Quintet

Friday
Exhibition: Four Hundred Days
George Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra
3rd Women’s Volleyball Tournament
Concert: The Warehouse Series 0.3

Saturday
Exhibition: Four Hundred Days
George Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra
Guided Tour: Arab Organization Headquarters
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Good Time

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.

Niqashna is a platform for open debates that was launched early last year. Every few weeks they discuss an interesting subject and tonight they’re debating freedom of speech in Kuwait. The debate is in Arabic but the Q&A will be in both Arabic and English. If you’re interested in attending (its free), you can get more details [Here]

AGI Architects recently published an interesting article called on the modern architecture of Kuwait in the 70s. If you have any interest in architecture you should check it out [Here]

From the same article, I also found a link to a Danish architecture photographer who had some interesting insight into the original Central Bank of Kuwait building (which I’ve posted about before). This is what he had to say about it as well as about the refurbishment:

Bharani sent me a link describing the fate of modern architecture in kuwait, including jacobsen’s late project for the kuwaiti national bank, built after his death by business partners dissing & weitling. I thought I’d share it with you.

the house in its original state bears a resemblance to the national bank in copenhagen, but with important differences: the fort-like cube above the base with its hidden courtyard, the dome in front of it, the sun screen facade, the slanted walls of the base, suggesting mud-brick construction, all have more or less local precedents.

not all equally subtle – the gold dome may well hurt your eyes – they nevertheless point to the possibility of a kuwaiti modernism which would not simply be a copy of western architecture.

that a local version of 20th century architecure arrived by way of copenhagen may cause some to reach for their copy of edward said’s ‘orientalism’, but I believe they would be wrong. since le corbusier’s love affair with arab architecture, it has been part of the DNA of modernism and has often been met with the admiration and study afforded a true role model.

the central bank has changed, should you be in doubt. its current state shows a make-over in a style I like to call hotel lobby exotic, and which not only renders any building instantly provincial, but also shows a trend I have been following for a while and from a distance, that of self-orientalism in architecture.

I lack the necessary masochism to appreciate eward said’s slut-shaming of the entire west except as a polemical stance, but here’s a useful concept: self-orientalism is most obvious in the staged sights of mass tourism, in which western stereotypes from the days of colonialism are applied or should we say self-inflicted for profit.

on a smaller scale your local ethnic eatery could be pandering to stereotype, we all know examples of that, but the real interest always lies at the level of architecture where we are invariably talking politics.

lately, we have seen new mosques in copenhagen in a similar style – two parts budgetary cynicism to one part fairground attraction. few have commented on their inadequacies – with the cartoon crisis still in fresh memory, nobody wants to draw the attention of the muslim right or of the Danish nationalists for that matter.

what the mosques show only too well is how poorly we are answering the question of what it means to be a Danish muslim as opposed to just being a muslim in denmark. or how poorly the 200.000 people struggling with this question daily are represented by their own institutions.

it is no accident. islamic institutions are financed from abroad by conservatives to whom integration itself is a threat. when Danes fear that muslims will forever be strangers in the land, this fear is willfully confirmed by silly orientalist ornament, designed to be misread.

yet, it strikes me as obvious how well architecture could provide a dignified answer. the lessons of islamic architecture are already found in the legacy left us by jacobsen, utzon and spreckelsen. the stern repetitions of the great persian brick monuments are mirrored perfectly in many of kay fisker’s buildings.

how easily we could build democratic institutions that would be right at home in copenhagen, yet feel like home even to a newcomer. how easily we could set in stone the values that unite us. only the state could pay for such a thing, but it would finally release Danish muslims from the subjection to foreign interests.

the muslim world cannot be expected to do it, split as it is along any number of lines you can think of, be it national, ethnic, shia/sunni, moderate/fanatical, educated or not, grotesquely rich or grotesquely poor. it is a house divided against itself, as the expression so tellingly goes, offering us the architectural equivalent of a fast food vendor dressed in a fez.

If you want to check out more pictures of the Central Bank when it was originally constructed, click [Here]