I’m trying to ease myself back into posting, and while thinking of a subject, I remembered some photos and research I’d gathered last year on the Kuwait Fire Force. Most of it was kindly provided by Colin Tomlinson and Ali Asad, whose fathers Len Tomlinson and Husain Asad both served as Chief Fire Officers.
Before 1946, fires in Kuwait were fought by the residents themselves using water carried by donkeys and mules. Then in 1947, a Ford tanker truck equipped with a pump and hose was brought in to help extinguish fires and in 1949, a second truck was added to meet growing demand. By 1950, the fire brigade had added four new tanker trucks and personnel had grown to 30. Development continued from there, and the photos in this post are of the Ahmadi Fire Department, taken mostly in the late 50s and operated by the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).
KOC had originally established two fire stations, one in Ahmadi and one in Mina Al Ahmadi. In the mid 60s, the government established another fire station in Ahmadi. Then in the early 70s, KOC handed over all the firefighting activities to the State fire force and one rule was established which is still active today, any fire involving KOC assets in Ahmadi is led by a KOC fire officer.
Last week I decided to get a racing sim setup and since I’m now spending so much time at home, the timing turned out to be perfect.
I’ve been following @gamehexshop on Instagram for some time now. They’re a local business that sells sim rig setups for the home. I used to check their online store often but never really knew what I needed to get or how much a setup would cost so eventually I just decided to DM them last week and ask. They had shared a home setup on their story so I messaged them asking how much it would cost and if it would work with my Xbox. The setup they had shared on their story cost 279KD but they told me I would need the Xbox bundle version if I wanted it to work with my Xbox. 279? That’s less than I imagined it would cost so after a bit of back and forth and some research from my end, ordered a setup for my home.
Most of the time I just play racing games on my Xbox. Every now and then I might play a FPS but there hasn’t been one I invested a lot of time in in years so it’s not that important. Plus I have the Switch 2 which I use for other games. Gamehex carry two brands, Moza Racing and PXN. Both are pretty popular brands especially Moza Racing.
What you need for a full setup:
Computer or Xbox
Wheel base
Steering wheel
Pedals
Seat
TV/Monitor
Cockpit (what seat, TV and everything connects to)
Additional accessories like handbrake or manual shifters
Moza Racing sells all their sim components separately including the steering wheel, wheel base and pedals, or you can buy them as a bundle. They have an R3 Xbox bundle that works straight out of the box with Xbox, which is what I went with.
The R3 is their entry level wheel base and it’s what provides the force feedback from the road along with the steering feel. The bundle includes the R3 wheel base, an Xbox compatible steering wheel and a set of pedals.
Since I mainly do rally racing, I also picked up the Moza Handbrake and the 12 inch steering wheel. The 12 inch wheel replaces the standard 10 inch D shaped wheel that comes with the bundle. It’s just the outer frame, so you unscrew the original rim from the hub and attach the new one.
They also offer a formula style wheel for those who do more GT or F1 racing.
In addition to the Moza stuff I got Gamehex’s GMX Rig GT4, the monitor mount for it, and the GMX R11 seat. I already had a 55″ OLED TV screen for my Xbox so mounted that to the setup. Their prices are extremely reasonable with everything basically costing close to Moza’s MSRP in the US. Because I bought a package they gave me a 10% discount but they’re also offering 10% off throughout Ramadan.
The total cost for my setup was 305.300KD, not including the 12″ steering wheel which I bought a couple of days later for 20KD. They were able to deliver the items on the same day and then the following day they sent over a technician to set everything up. They did a really clean install, hiding all the wiring so that the setup doesn’t look messy. They then custom fit the sim for my needs, adjusting everything including pedal location, steering wheel angle, etc., all to my liking.
The result? It feels like I have my own arcade machine in my room. It’s insane! All the parts are made of metal no plastic anywhere and the R3 wheel base is really powerful. Although by Moza’s standards this is the entry level base providing “only” 3.9Nm of torque, in reality it’s incredibly strong and when I’m rallying and hitting jumps or ruts on the ground I’m constantly fighting it and getting a lot of feedback. Using the handbrake feels great as well. I chose not to get the manual shifter because the steering wheel already has paddle shifts and when I’m rallying I prefer to keep the car in auto anyway so I can just focus on steering and braking. If you check the price breakdown above you’ll see a “performance kit” listed, this is for the brake pedal and gives it a more realistic feel. Highly recommended, otherwise the pedal feels too light.
My 55″ TV is overkill for sure but I wasn’t about to go buy another smaller TV just for this setup. Also the 55″ kind of gives the games a close to real life scale. When I posted the photo above from Dirt Rally 2.0 one friend thought I was out of town and had taken a shot of me driving before he realised what he was looking at. So no complaints there. For sound I initially was using headphones but decided to connect a pair of KEF LSX speakers I have along with the KEF KC62 subwoofer and it’s been amazing. I 3D printed some speaker stands for them to make them point up towards me since they’re located on the floor and it works really well.
The only issue I had was when trying to upgrade the firmware. Moza have iOS and Android apps where you can control various settings, sensitivity and do calibration, but if you want to calibrate the handbrake or do firmware updates you need their Windows only software. I’m a Mac user so the only way to get it done was to install a virtual Windows environment, which worked for me but it was a hassle to do.
Luckily for me all the racing games I wanted for my Xbox were on sale so I ended up getting them all for a great deal:
Assetto Corsa – $7.49
Assetto Corsa Competizione – $10.88
DIRT 5 Year One Edition – $21.76
DiRT Rally 2.0 – Game of the Year Edition – $21.76
F1 25 – $30.47
I already had Forza Horizon 5 and Forza Motorsport from before. Dirt 5 I used to play when I had GamePass but just bought it outright now since I no longer have GamePass and it’s actually one of my favorite games and the one I’ve been playing the most since it’s the most arcade-like.
So yeah, this has been a really great buy and what I’m spending all my time on now. If you have an Xbox I highly recommend the Moza R3 Bundle. You don’t even need to buy a rig to use it, it comes with table clamps so you can connect it to any desk or table you have. Gamehex also sell more advanced setups for people with PCs, you can check their full range on their website and build your own package, here is the link.
Last week I posted about how all pharmacies now are being forced to be brandless, well it sucks that it’s happening.
Over the weekend I needed to get a specific plaster from a pharmacy which according to Talabat only Al Hajery Pharmacy had. Great, so I decided to pass by Al Hajery Pharmacy to get it since it’s a 500fils item and didn’t make sense to order it with Talabat. I couldn’t find an Al Hajery Pharmacy.
I obviously knew pharmacies were brandless now but I thought I remembered an area in Hawally where one branch was located. I also knew they used the color green for their branding so I figured it wouldn’t be so hard to find it. I was wrong. I went to three different green pharmacies in that area, two turned out to be Al Mutawa and one a Pharmazone!
I haven’t come across any news article about this change so I still don’t know what the reason behind this decision is. As an example of what I mean by pharmacies going brandless, the image on top is of a Boots store at The Avenues.
I just published a post on Instagram about how I’m not going to post about the war over there. But, I will be posting about it here, at least for archival purposes.
When I initially launched the instagram account I gave it a different set of guidelines to follow vs the main blog, and one of those was that I wouldn’t post negative content. It’s why you’ll sometimes see a post here complaining or criticizing something, but you wouldn’t find it on my instagram account.
The blog on the other hand serves as a personal diary of a sorts, a memory timeline for myself where I come to and search for places, events, things and whatever else that happened during the past 20+ years of blogging. It would feel weird if in the future I wanted to find articles about this period we’re going through and not find anything. Especially since war blogging was how I first started in 2003.
Yesterday the airport getting damaged was pretty shocking and unexpected. I think the last time our airport got hit or damaged because of a missile was during the Iraq invasion in 2003, but I can’t seem to find any info on that especially now since all the news popping up relates to yesterday.
I’ve been using twitter to find most of my content like videos and stuff relating to different incidents happening around the region, but there is also so much fake stuff to sift through. So much fake content or inaccurate content that even when I come across a real incident it’s hard to tell if it’s actually real. A good example is how there is lots of content about Burj Khalifa being hit in Dubai which isn’t true, but then when I came across content about Burj Al Arab being hit I couldn’t tell if it was also fabricated.
On the other hand there are also a lot of funny memes on twitter which has been lightening up the mood.
Anyway, stay safe everyone, hopefully all this will be over soon.
Not sure if anyone noticed but ALL pharmacies are now rebranding. Pharmacies can no longer have franchise branding. So no more Royal Pharmacy, Al Hajery, Al Mutawa, Pharmazone, Boots, etc.. Instead each pharmacy needs to have a different name, You’ll also notice they all have the official government pharmacy logo on their signages now.
I’ve been publishing my annual Ramadan buffet list since 2013, which means I’ve built a pretty solid and interesting archive of pricing data over the years. Below is the list of Ramadan buffets, updated for 2026. The list divided into two parts, hotels and restaurants. If I missed a place let me know in the comments, especially really cheap/affordable buffets.
If there has been an increase or decrease in price compared to the previous year then I’ve also highlighted that.
I just downloaded this great looking Ramadan app called “Siraj – Your Ramadan Light” by a developer called Forsan. It’s got a really cool simple to understand interface and is great for knowing what time Suhoor and Iftar is as well as all the prayer times.
Ramadan apps shouldn’t feel outdated.
So I built one in pure SwiftUI that feels like a modern iOS product.
Forsan wanted the app to feel calm and have an animated live sky that changes from Suhoor to Iftar throughout the day. It has a clean countdown, no clutter and the following features:
• Accurate prayer times
• Live fasting countdown
• Qibla compass
• Daily Quranic duas
• Widgets + Dynamic Island
The app is free to download, no ads or anything. Link
Back in 2020 I posted about the Extreme Sports van parked outside Green Island renting bicycles to anyone who wanted to ride up and down the Gulf Road. That was before the waterfront makeover and the addition of dedicated bike paths.
A few days ago, Extreme Sports soft launched their first Extreme Bike Rentals storefront on the Gulf Road pathway outside Green Island. They’re planning to open four more spots along the Gulf Road, with approximately one new location launching every 10 days.
The other locations will be next to the Kuwait Towers, opposite the Kuwait Society of Engineers, next to Villa Fayrouz, and next to the Swimming Pool Complex.
They have bicycles and tricycles available to rent in adult and kids sizes, and they haven’t increased their prices. It’s still just KD3 per hour. At the moment they’re open from 6AM to 10PM, but during Ramadan the timings will change to 3PM to 3AM. @extremebikerentals
eL Seed, the popular French Tunisian street artist known for creating large scale murals that blend Arabic calligraphy with graffiti, is currently in Kuwait. The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters invited him to paint a mural around the Abdulhusain Abdulridha Theater in Salmiya as part of an overall revitalization and maintenance of the building.
I always thought the building looked dull and lifeless, but the burst of color from eL Seed’s mural has completely transformed it. The mural should be finished by tomorrow from what I’ve been told. I was going to wait until it was finished to take photos, but the sky and light yesterday were perfect, so I had to take my pictures then.
If you want to pass by and see them working on it, you still can. The Abdulhusain Abdulridha Theater is located in Salmiya across the street from the Kuwait Bowling Club. Here is the location on Google Maps.
As a pet owner myself, I think this is a pretty cool idea.
Bubbles & Paws is a local pet furniture concept started by three pet lovers who ran into the same issue a lot of pet owners have faced before, they couldn’t find pet furniture that worked with their living spaces. Most of what was available was either too plain, too bulky, or looked like it belonged in a storage room. On top of that, a lot of the options they came across weren’t very comfortable or didn’t feel safe enough for their pets.
So instead of settling, they decided to create what they couldn’t find.
The goal wasn’t to make flashy designer pieces, instead, it was to design furniture pets would actually enjoy using, while still fitting naturally into a home. Furniture that felt cozy and looked good, not something you felt like hiding when people came over.
What started as a personal frustration quickly turned into a business idea. One built around the idea that pet furniture shouldn’t feel like a compromise, either for your pet or your living space. They currently have around a dozen different designs, each in its own color, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find something that fits your space. Their Minty Heaven bed for example might work for my dog, while the Frosty Ears bed could be a better fit for your cat.
They have options that work for most living spaces, so if you want to see the full collection, head over to their website bubblesandpawscompany.com
Last night I found out that Xcite have the JBL L100 Classic MkII speakers for sale. I had my eye on these years ago but shipping them to Kuwait would have costed an arm and a leg on top of the already crazy expensive price. Eventually I ended up getting the KEF R7’s, but now the JBL’s are available in Kuwait.
These speakers were originally released in the 1970s and became an iconic model. These’s MKII’s are a modern take on them and they’re selling at Xcite for KD 540 per speaker. So KD 1,080 for a pair. Sounds like a lot, cuz it is a lot but it’s still cheaper than how much they sell for abroad. This is technically a good deal.
It also looks like they recently got some new FOCAL speakers and updated their Marantz collection. Only reason I found out about all this is because I’m always looking for KEF items and it seems they’re no longer getting anything new. I need speaker stands for my LSX and LS50 speakers which they were selling at a steal at one point when they were getting rid of them, but now they don’t have any left in stock.
I also noticed their website no longer lists any SVS subwoofers nor any Bowers & Wilkins speakers. Looks like they stopped getting those two brands as well. It’s really sad they stopped getting SVS products, they make the best subwoofers. I guess I’m lucky I bought the PB-2000 Pro and SB-2000 Pro when they had them in stock. Can’t recommend them enough!
Since the 24th Annual Kuwait International Camel Racing Championship starts today, I thought it would be the perfect time to share these photos taken by Mark Lowey in 1988.
Mark Lowey (also known as AbuJack) worked for the Kuwait National Petroleum Company and lived in Kuwait with his wife from 1985 to 1988. One Friday on his day off, Mark and a friend headed to the camel races, where he captured a number of photos. This was during a period when camel jockeys were mostly children, a practice that was later banned in the 2000s.
Mark actually put together a photo essay from that day, complete with a detailed write up, but it was published on the Aramco Expats website, which shut down a couple of years ago. Luckily I still had some of the photos saved from when I first shared his photos on my blog back in 2021.
Also, for those of you interested in the camel racing championship, it’s taking place from February 7 to 12 and I’ve shared the schedule below.
Saturday, February 7
Morning Races start at 8AM
Afternoon Races start at 3:30PM
Sunday, February 8
Morning Races start at 8AM
Afternoon Races start at 1:30PM
Monday, February 9
Morning Races start at 8AM
Afternoon Races start at 1:30PM
Tuesday, February 10
Morning Races start at 8AM
Afternoon Races start at 1:30PM
Wednesday, February 11
Morning Races start at 8AM
Afternoon Races start at 3:30PM
Thursday, February 12
Races start at 1:30PM
Here is the location of the race track on Google Maps.
City Hypermarket, Kuwait’s fastest-growing locally owned supermarket chain, officially opened its newest location in Aswaq Al Qurain on February 4th. The new store was launched by the Founder Mr. Adel Alghanim, Deputy CEO Mr. Nasser Alghanim and Mr. Marzouq Alghanim, delivering on the brand promise of “Value, all the time” with a spacious, redesigned store and competitive Ramadan promotions for families across Kuwait. The opening was also attended by members of the press, the mall owners and landlord, amidst a festive celebration with the general public.
The new Qurain store features refreshed and redesigned layouts that deliver a more elevated and spacious shopping environment for customers. To celebrate the opening, City Hypermarket launched competitive deals across fresh produce, supermarket food items, and household essentials — all designed to make Ramadan shopping more cost-effective and convenient for families across Kuwait. The opening celebrations also featured a cultural Kuwaiti performance, family activities, and free giveaways for all to enjoy.
Deputy CEO Mr. Nasser Adel Alghanim expressed pride in the opening, stating:
“We are proud to open our first store in Mubarak Al Kabeer Governorate to serve the Al Qurain community at such an important shopping period. As a Kuwaiti company, this opening reflects our commitment to bringing our ‘Value, all the time’ promise closer to more families across Kuwait, helping them prepare for Ramadan with stronger value and greater convenience.”
In addition, City Hypermarket highlighted its specially curated household range for the season, developed with locally inspired designs that reflect Kuwaiti and Arabic culture and heritage. The range features three dedicated collections: Alanoud, Andalous, and Fajer from its exclusive Into Home Arabesque brand, as well as the beautifully designed WABA range. It also provides everything needed to prepare for the season, including kitchen essentials, serving and dining sets, glassware, cookware, and more.
Renowned for its large-format stores and one-stop-shop convenience, City Hypermarket has built its reputation as one of the best locally owned hypermarkets in Kuwait. The brand’s commitment to value-driven pricing and customer-centric service has driven consistent growth and increasing market share across the country in recent years.
The Qurain opening marked another milestone in the company’s growth trajectory, with another store planned to open in 2026 in Eqaila as the brand continues to expand its footprint across Kuwait.
The Qurain location welcomed its first customers on February 4th and is now serving the community 24 hours a day with the same commitment to value and service that has made City Hypermarket a trusted name across the country.
About City Hypermarket
Founded in 1999 by Mr. Adel Alghanim, City Hypermarket is Kuwait’s fastest-growing locally owned supermarket chain, committed to delivering exceptional value to Kuwaiti families and the wider community through competitive pricing and continuous promotions, including its signature 900 fils offers and ½-1-2-3 KD deals. Guided by its brand promise of “Value, all the time,” City Hypermarket has proudly served Kuwait for 26 years, with ambitious plans for continued expansion.
Below are my favorite events taking place this weekend. If you’re interested in the camel races this Saturday they start at 8AM and then again at 3:30PM since it’s the first day of the Kuwait Camel Racing Championship.
