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Last year I was contemplating what to get Nima (a close friend of mine) for his birthday when I decided to give him a 24 hour pass to post whatever he wanted on the blog. He’s always critical of what I write so I was like here, take my blog and see if you can do a better job. He took the pass and started thinking of various ways he could use the blog, maybe even turn it into one of his art projects.

Months after I gave him the pass we were sitting down and I asked him what ideas he had come up with and after sharing some with me one stood out. He was joking around about how he wanted to give a “Chinnah Mo Kuwait” award to a place that made you feel like you weren’t in Kuwait. “Chinnah Mo Kuwait” translates to “It doesn’t feel like Kuwait” and I thought that was actually a brilliant idea. It’s the best compliment you can give a place in Kuwait so, instead of just a 24 hour pass, I told him we should expand this idea and turn it into a proper awards with different categories and different winners. Now this is the plan, starting next week both Nima and I will be announcing winners for the following categories and in the following order:

Best Coffee Shop
Best Local Store
Best Shopping Mall
Best Bank
Best Hospital
Best Fitness Center
Best Art Gallery
Best Cinema
Best Internet Provider
Best Customer Service
Best Leisure
Best Restaurant

I won’t be editing Nima’s opinions nor censoring them. So if you have any complaints with his writing then direct it to him. Without further ado, here is Nima:

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“It doesn’t feel like Kuwait”

The aspiration of anyone with means. To build a house, garden, restaurant that filter out the elements of the everyday ‘struggle’ of being here. Our mutual disdain for the loud, hot, smelly, smoggy, honk-happy traffic. To filter-out loud and obnoxious riffraff. To trip-up the loud screaming children who insist on playing football with anything remotely shaped like a ball and foot. This, my dear loathsome friends is the highest compliment we can offer.

Oh, shut up, don’t act so incredulous. You’ve said it too. Maybe you were at your grandfather’s farm or a friends chalet. And they’ve spent considerable effort to build walls up to block out the sounds of the road, mere meters away and traffic mere centimetres apart. They lined the walls with trees and bushes to block out the…lets say…overly enthusiastic sun. They’ve hired gardeners and maybe an agricultural engineer to keep the plants from incinerating. And you refuse to pay him the greatest complement in this countries vernacular?? I think not. This is so nice, it doesn’t feel like you’re in Kuwait. Chinnah Barees.

That is why we, the custodians of current events in Kuwait feel it is high time to pay the ultimate respects to the gems of this country we all call home. Here’s to that extra effort people put to be not half-assed. We are a full-assed people. Here’s to the complete package!

– Nima

Update: I’ve made some changes to the awards, for details click [Here]

Mujawharaty is a new website where you can buy jewelry. I don’t have any interest in jewelry but I’m just glad people are launching ecommerce websites and not just trying to sell stuff on instagram. The website is still under development because there are a few sections not working but there are a ton of items on there already if you just wanna browse. [Link]

Also, there’s a new online electronics store that just launched called Beraven (and they also just started advertising on my blog). You can check out their website [Here]

Last week I found out the Millennium Hotel & Convention Centre off the 4th Ring Road had finally opened up. Construction on the hotel started years ago, before the financial crisis (I think) and then after the crisis work on it stopped until a few years ago it continued again. Even when construction started they still ran into issues with laborers not wanting to work in the basement because they thought it was haunted. Many weren’t even willing to work alone on any floor because the hotel was built where the old ghost house used to be. But this past May the hotel was completed and opened up for business. Once I found out the hotel was open I decided to pass by and check it out of curiosity. The on duty manager was kind enough to give me a tour of the place and brief me a bit on the hotel.

The hotel is located on the corner of the 4th Ring Road and the 30th. It’s an odd location because the area around the hotel is full of old low rise residential buildings. But, according to the hotel, they’re conveniently located because they’re close to Kuwait City and also close to recreational areas like Avenues and Salmiya. The hotel has nearly 300 rooms and over 20 meeting rooms. It’s a business hotel and it’s designed with that in mind. For example all the business rooms look different so that if you host meetings often at the hotel, you can choose a different room every time to keep the employees excited. The color of the hotel room corridors is also different on every floor so you don’t get a sense of ‎déjà vu if you’ve stayed at the hotel before.

I took a few photos while I was getting a tour which I’ve shared below. The view from the top floors was pretty cool since the hotel is the tallest building in the area by far and you could see for miles without any obstruction. Would be interesting to see how the hotel ends up doing.

This year I’m starting a new list and its restaurants that deliver before Iftar. The idea for this list started when someone on Reddit asked if it was true some of the restaurants on Talabat deliver during the day. Many restaurants are listed open during the day on Talabat but I figured most take the orders and deliver them after 5PM. So to prove my point I started calling the restaurants one by one and to my surprise, there were quite a few that were willing to deliver during the day. So I started calling more and more places and I finally put together the list below. The cut-off time for this list is 3PM, anything after that I didn’t list here.

Adobo Burritos
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 69957242

Baking Tray
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 1842887

Donner Kebab
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 22200123

HanHum Restaurant
Deliveries start after 2PM
Telephone: 22270234

Kitchen Art
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 22552233

Marina Thai
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 23720040

Osaka
Deliveries start after 10AM
Telephone: 22637331

Q Cafe
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 22495067

Shater Abbas
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 22420030

Taal Indian Restaurant
Deliveries start after 2PM
Telephone: 22253142

The Southern
Deliveries start after 3PM
Telephone: 98949799

Osaka deliver the earliest starting at 10AM. I actually tried them out the other day and the food was good but the experience felt dodgy. I called them up to pick up takeaway and they told me they’re open in their Salmiya location only. Their location is inside the old Marina Thai restaurant on Baghdad Street. All the windows outside are blacked out and the sign still says Marina Thai but once you walk inside they’re Osaka. As someone who doesn’t fast, I like the fact that I can continue to eat food at normal hours if I choose to do so. I never understood why restaurants are forced to close during the day but supermarkets are allowed to open with many serving ready made food as well.

If you know of other places that deliver during the day let me know.

The Daily Mail have published an article on the popular Kuwaiti bodybuilder ‘Shredded Diesel’. I used to come across his photos on instagram often and thought he was just another musclehead, but turns out he’s actually a personal trainer and has worked with the likes of Timbaland, Madonna and Justin Timberlake. One interesting thing in the article is that he encourages taking candy after workouts. It sounds a bit iffy but I’m probably going to research it a bit more after this post and see if that means I can have my favorite chocolate after the gym. Anyway check out the article with loads of photos on the Daily Mail website [Here]

The blogger Crazy in Kuwait posted a few pictures of some interesting looking houses in Kuwait and the one that caught my attention was the house that looks like an American suburban house complete with a white picket fence. Check out the other houses [Here]

Last Wednesday exactly 4 weeks after my ankle surgery, I left the house without crutches for the very first time and it felt amazing. The simple act of walking is something I’ve learned to appreciate so much more because I couldn’t do it while I was recovering. Going around in crutches was such a pain in the ass experience but it could have been a lot more difficult if it wasn’t for the fact the majority of the places in Kuwait are disabled friendly.

The most disabled friendly places in Kuwait are probably the malls especially the new ones like Avenues and 360 Mall. In Avenues I found out that some stores even had elevators in the back that you could use if you wanted to (like Williams Sonoma) and that’s not including all the other elevators located all around the mall. Actually the only place in Avenues I couldn’t access was the men’s section at COS. The mens section at COS is on the top floor and can only be accessed by stairs. So if you’re a disabled guy in a wheelchair or crutches, tough luck you can’t shop at COS.

Once you step outside of malls things generally take a step down but not too badly. I think there is a law that stipulates all buildings are required to have ramps for people in wheelchairs and I think most places do. It’s probably one of the few laws that is actually enforced. Only issue is some of these ramps are so steep that I can’t imagine anyone in a wheelchair being able to go up them without any help. If there was a place I wanted to go to and wasn’t sure if they had handicap access I would call ahead and check. Its how I found out Almakan has an elevator. One place that susrprised me and I’ve already mentioned this before is Sultan Center Shaab. Even thought they aren’t required to do so, they have a regular wheel chair and an electric scooter available at their main entrance for anyone to use. Avenues also have these scooters available.

I obviously can’t speak for everyone and I only had to use crutches for a month but from my short experience, I’m actually impressed at how accessible Kuwait can be to the disabled. Parking though is definitely another issue all together. It’s not the lack of disabled parking spots but the lack of respect for these spots by the general public. The best example of this I could think of is a short video made by Hasan Bomejdad, a player in the Kuwaiti national table tennis team. I posted that video back in 2010 but the issue is still relevant today, people continue to park in disabled spots when they shouldn’t be. You can check out that video [Here] If you have anything to add on this subject based on personal experience, let me know in the comments below.

Top photo by Sara

Last week me and some friends rented out the cinema room at Cinemagics and watched episode 9 of Game of Thrones. It’s a small VIP theater with 12 reclining leather seats, a large 5×2.5m screen and a dolby digital surround system. It was pretty fun since we all had dinner at my place first and then walked over to Cinemagics which is just down the street from me. I wasn’t planning on posting about the room until after the finale tomorrow since I was going to book the room again. But, I decided to travel for a couple of days so I won’t be here anymore for the final episode.

The room is very cozy and the seats really comfortable. They provide you with water and popcorn and they also will stay open late for you since last week we ended up heading there are 10:30 at night and leaving around midnight. The only thing I would recommend is if you’re 10 people NOT to try and take the lift up to Cinemagics together. We got stuck for a few minutes and it wasn’t fun. Anyway if anyone is interested in booking the cinema room tomorrow, you can contact Yousif on 67001250.

This weekend, specifically Saturday is just insane with a ton of interesting events taking place. Probably the most oddest thing however is the K-Pop World Festival thats taking place in Mishref. That’s definitely something worth checking out. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
Study for a Domiciled Gallery
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sukar Ramadan Sweets Expo
Health Informatics

Friday
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sukar Ramadan Sweets Expo

Saturday
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sukar Ramadan Sweets Expo
Yoga for K’SPATH
Concert: Taksim Trio
Ride With Us
It’s Story Time
K-Pop World Festival
Reddit Meetup

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

Update: The K-Pop World Festival venue has changed, the event is now taking place at the Korean Embassy

If you check the sports page on CNN.com right this moment, the current featured article is on Kuwait’s abandoned Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. The stadium which was completed back in 2007 has only been used once since then for an officially sanctioned match.

I just read the article and I’m still confused to why the stadium is closed. Supposedly what I heard is what everyone else had heard which is the stadium had a structural fault. But, according to the article, the contractor and the stadium’s security chief have both denied there is any kind of fault in the building. Yet the article also states that the Amiri Diwan have now taken over the project and have hired a new contractor who is currently in the process of repairing the building. So was there a fault or wasn’t there a fault? I don’t get it. Check out the article on CNN [Here]

A couple of days back I posted a letter from a British teacher who was deported for driving without a Kuwaiti license. The post ended up gaining a lot of attention (nearly doubling my blogs traffic) as well as creating a heated discussion in the comments section of the post.

I managed to stay out of the conversation but I just wanted to clarify a few points. Firstly the teacher never said he was an English teacher, people assumed he was an English teacher or that he even taught in English just because he mentioned he was British. Originally when the teacher first contacted me, he shared a photo of a letter he wrote when in the prison cell. The letter was in Arabic which I couldn’t read so I told him to resend it in English which is what I ended up posting on the blog.

If you’d like to read his original letter in Arabic click [Here]

Based on the amount of attention the letter garnered it’s clear that deportation is a sensitive issue. Having your life taken away from you for a minor wrongdoing is just too extreme and it puts everyone on the edge. I’ve personally highlighted these overkill punishments a number of times on the blog and I’ll say it again, I find them ridiculous. How does barbecuing get your deported? Unless you’re barbecuing a wild boar outside the gates of Bayan Palace while cracking open a 6-pack of beer with some friends, barbecuing shouldn’t get you deported. It certainly doesn’t deserve a stiffer and harsher punishment than a person caught running a red light.

One final thing I’d also like to say, just because expats complain doesn’t mean they hate Kuwait. “If you don’t like it leave” is a bullshit statement. If people accepted everything that was given to them then there wouldn’t be any progress or improvement. If you’re out dining and you find a bug in your dish do you not complain? It doesn’t mean you hate the restaurant if you do, and the manager definitely wouldn’t tell you to leave and never come back if you don’t like it (insert Benihana joke here). Expats are as much part of Kuwait as Kuwaitis are and we all want to see it get better. We’re all on team Kuwait.

Last week after posting my review on the Lexus IS 350 I got a phone call from VW regarding the Golf since I had left a comment about how they don’t want me to drive their cars. Awhile back I had sent them a couple of emails requesting to test drive the car but no one had ever gotten back to me. Actually one person did the first time I sent an email and they told me they didn’t have the car available for a test drive, but they’d call me back once they did. The second email just never got through due it turns out to a technical glitch from their side. The marketing manager was fairly apologetic about that and told me they had a Golf GTI ready and that I could pass by and pick it up anytime I wanted to. So an hour later I was leaving the VW dealership in a hot red hatch for the weekend.

I have a personal connection with the Golf. My granddad in Lebanon had the original Golf MKI which my family used to use during our summer holidays. It was a great car, compact and really reliable. The car I believe was a 1977 model but stayed in the family up until the late 90s. When I moved to Lebanon for university my first car was also a Golf, the MKIII. It was the car I learned to drive on and in the two years I had it, I managed to get 14 flat tires (stupid potholes) and 7 accidents. Sounds bad but it’s because of the Golf I’m a much better driver today. The car then moved on to my sister who continued the tradition of carelessly driving into giant potholes as well as hitting other cars. Sadly though, she still sucks at driving today. The Golf took a lot of abuse before we finally sold it. I still miss the car and wish I still had it but it’s probably in a better place now. Since then the Golf has gone through four facelifts and the current model is the Golf MKVII.

So yeah I love Golfs and I was in love with the current model even before driving it. And now after spending the weekend with the car I’m seriously contemplating getting one. I tend to do this with every car I test drive which isn’t healthy obviously, I even did it with the Ferrari 458 Spider and the McLaren. You can just imagine the conversation I had in my head trying to convince myself how it’s possible the 458 could replace my FJ Cruiser as my daily driver. Most of the time though the itch wears off a few days later and I start looking for another car to test drive. This time, I’m not sure if the feeling is going to go away.

The new Golf GTI is just a blast to drive. The seating position is fantastic, the handling is ridiculous and it just takes a few minutes to feel super confident driving it. I was also driving like a douche, cutting people off and trying to squeeze between cars. Its how I used to drive my own Golf and I guess I was just reliving the old days. Because of the extremely accurate handling, Golfs are known to be great for “inbetweens” which is the art of trying to squeeze yourself between two cars by creating a new lane between them. Luckily, no sideview mirrors were lost in the making of this review. Seriously though the car is so much fun to drive and the more powerful Golf R is supposed to be even more fun which is insane.

One thing that surprised the hell out of me was the car’s AC. I wouldn’t usually mention the AC in a review but this past weekend the weather was really hot and the car spent a lot of time parked in the sun yet the AC was so powerful it would give Toyota a run for their money. On the other hand I found the sound system disappointing with really boomy bass, a small claustrophobic screen and no navigation. For those of you who’re interested in the back seats, there’s pretty good legroom and like all Golf’s the rear seats fold down turning the already large trunk into an IKEA friendly one.

There are two Golf’s available to purchase in Kuwait, the Golf GTI and the Golf R (they don’t get standard non GTI or R Golfs). The Golf GTI in Kuwait comes fully loaded with features such as the performance package, auto parking, rearview camera and sunroof and costs KD10,600. If I was getting the GTI I would custom order it (which is possible) and not have the auto parking option (because I can park myself) and instead get the upgraded sound system with navigation. The Golf R is the most powerful version of the Golf with more horsepower than the GTI, an all wheel drive system, upgraded sound system with navigation and leather seats. But the Golf R also costs KD14,800.

I’m having a real hard time trying to decide if I’d be willing to swap my FJ for the Golf. I’ve already been researching Golf bike mounts and roof bars that can hold wakeboards. But, I’ve also kinda gotten used to being able to drive over anything and on anything so thats going to be something hard to let go of. If you’re interested in test driving the Golf or if you’re looking for more information, then check out the dealers website [Here]

I still haven’t been to the Museum of Modern Art in Kuwait but after receiving the image above it looks like I’m headed there in the morning to check it out. There is currently a study being exhibited at the museum and based on the photo above it looks like a beautiful setup. For details on the exhibit click [Here]

Last week when I posted about the teachers getting deported for working illegally, I received many emails from teachers on the subject. One email that caught my attention was from a British teacher who had gotten deported for driving without a Kuwaiti license. I thought that was a sort of an urban legend or a law at least the police were being “selective” on who they apply it to. I’ve always wondered how the deportation process works, do they give you time to pack? Do you get to close your bank accounts and transfer your money? Do you get a court hearing even? Well this is what the teacher had to say on this subject (I’ve posted two of his emails below):

I am a British teacher working in Kuwait who has been deported for not having a Kuwaiti driving license. I am not a criminal and have many parents, students and people who will vouch for my good character. I have been treated like a dog in the deportation center where there are no human rights – you are seen as a worthless animal. This abuse must stop.

—————–

I have a British and International driving license, I have not had an accident in 12 years and have never been in trouble with the authorities before.

I was stopped by the police and immediately they started shouting at me, and swearing at me, I showed them my license and they said no that is not enough. My daughter was with me who was crying, I called my friend to collect her, they took me to the police station, booked me in and then to the prison in Talha. I was treated like a piece of shit by the police, I told them I want to speak to my embassy who visited me and said if I stay and wait for a decision I will be here for a long time, so it is better to leave. I told my family to pack up there things and take the same flight as me.

Whilst in prison I was not allowed to use the bathroom, we slept in filthy conditions and ate on the floor like animals, all for not having a Kuwaiti license – which incidentally the standards are much lower compared to British driving standards.

All the people getting deported where not criminals, there where business men, designers, sales executives, teachers, all whom contribute in a positive way to the country, yet we are being deported.

This needs to stop.

I know that this story is going around on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I now have to start my life again, no job, no money, no house of my own, no school for my kids, I will get back on my feet, I accept i have broken the law, but is this sentence not too harsh for such an offense.

I have to agree, I also believe this sentence is too harsh for such an offense in a similar way to how I found the KD1,000 fine for illegally barbecuing to be out of proportion (and later replace by deportation), or how you could get deported for fighting in public or merely being annoying on a jetski. I have no idea why the answer to everything is deportation but whatever their reason might be, I hope I never end up on the wrong end of the stick.

Photo from Kuwait Times

One of my favorite blog perks is that whenever I see an interesting car, I can just contact the dealer and request to take it out for a test drive. I’ve been lucky enough to drive nearly all my favorite cars and all the dealers have been extremely good to me. Well most at least, Audi and VW don’t seem to want me to take out their cars for some odd reason (VW put me in a Golf already!). This past weekend I took out a car that recently sparked my interest, the Lexus IS 350 F Sport. When I had my surgery on my ankle a couple of weeks back I was being driven around in my dads Lexus LS. It was my first time in his car and I was sitting in the backseat playing with the massage option thinking I could live like this. It was comfortable, quiet, had a ton of leg room, it was everything my FJ Cruiser wasn’t. But I also knew that if I end up getting an LS that would basically mean I was admitting I was getting older. That was going to happen. A few moments later we pulled up to a traffic light right next to a new Lexus IS. The new Lexus IS has been out for awhile now but it only really caught my attention for the first time that very moment. I suddenly started loving the way it looked and a few days later I contacted the dealer and asked them if I could borrow the car for the weekend.

Before picking up the car there were two things I was hoping for, one the car wouldn’t be maroon since I believe thats the ugliest color on the car, and the second is that the interior wouldn’t be beige. Luckily my prayers were answered and they even handed me the keys to an F Sport version of the car which looks and is a lot cooler than the standard version. I’ve never thought of Lexus as exciting, but their new IS and NX cars are just so hot. Once I got in the car I fell in love with the interior as well, it’s very minimal with clean lines and all tastefully put together. The digital dashboard board is inspired from the Lexus LFA sports car and physically moves. I’ve never seen that in a car before, you can choose to have the speedometer in the middle with information running on both sides or with a press of the button have the speedometer slide to the right to reveal a larger screen with information displayed. Very cool.

[YouTube]

Most of the cars I take out to review I start to fall in love with as I spend more time with the car. With the Lexus IS, I fell in love with the car as soon as I got in it, and was still in love with it when I had to give it back. The car is just really comfortable to drive and I think it’s one of the hottest looking 4-doors in this price bracket. But the best part about it is the fact that its a Lexus so you know it’s going to be reliable. I’ve got a friend who drives at 12 year old Lexus that still looks new and she’s only now considering getting it replaced. Their cars are bulletproof.

The only thing that probably let the car down is the lack of features. The fully loaded Lexus IS I drove didn’t have any of the new features you would find on the new luxury cars like lane keeping assist, collision detection, blind spot information etc… It wasn’t a major let down for me but it could be for people who care about these gizmos more than the way the car looks. The sound system on the other hand was one of the best I’ve heard in a car and surprisingly was brand-less. It was just their standard 8 speaker sound system but yet I found the sound impressive.

In Kuwait the dealer has three different IS models, the IS 250, the IS 350 and the IS 350 F Sport. The main difference between the IS 250 and 350 is the engine size while the main differences between the IS 350 and IS 350 F Sport are mainly visual upgrades like spoilers, sportier seats, larger wheels, the digital dashboard I mentioned earlier and a few other things. The price of the IS 250 starts at around KD12,000 while the top of the line F Sport is around KD16,900. Would I buy this car? Yes in a heartbeat. If I was in the market looking for a 4-door sporty looking sedan then this would be right there on the top of the list. For more information on the Lexus IS you can check out the dealers website [Here]