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One of the rooms inside the House of Mirrors was a private library filled with old books dating back to the early 60s. Amongst the vintage Tell Me Why’s, one book grabbed my attention called The Kuwait Urbanization. It’s an old book published back in 1964 and it was filled with old sketches and photos of Kuwait. Near the end of the book I even spotted artists sketches from the competition to design the Kuwait waterfront (Gulf Road).

I checked online to see if I could buy the book but I couldn’t find it anywhere but luckily a follower of mine on Instagram had a PDF version which she was nice enough to email me. I’ve also decided it’s worth sharing this book with everyone so if you’re also interested in old Kuwait you can download the 166MB PDF file from [Here]

With all the problems with the Kuwait Zoo we sometimes forget it still can be a nice place to visit. A friend of mine passed by last week and she wrote about it in a much more positive way than I could ever do.

Did you know that the entrance fee is [500 filss] ONLY?! And now that the weather is still breezy & the sun isn’t eating our heads, half a KD will grant you scenery, active animals, great open space, clear skies, and best of all- an adventure to remember.

Her pictures are also really great so check out her post [Here]

I’ve posted bout Kuwaiti singer Aishya before but back when she used to perform with her sister Sharifa. Well Sharifa has stopped singing but Aishya is still chasing her dream in the States. Aishya now has a page up on ReverbNation with a bunch of her songs so check them out, she’s got an incredible voice. [Link]

With all the gun control talk that’s currently taking place in the States right now I thought this little bit of information was interesting. According to gunpolicy.org, the rate of private gun ownership in Kuwait is 24.82 firearms per 100 people. When I first heard that figure it sounded like a lot until I realized the rate in the US in comparison is 88.8 firearms per 100 people. But, confusingly, the rate of private gun ownership in Lebanon is just 21 per 100 people.

You can get a lot more information on gun numbers in Kuwait along with more facts and figures by checking the following [Link]

Back in November a Golden Jubilee monument of Kuwait’s Constitution was revealed in Martyr’s Park in Kuwait City. The monument looked really cool surrounded by a beautiful garden and a water fountain. Fast forward a few months and the design of the monument and surround garden is being finalized and two things caught my attention.

The first is they’ve now erected a high metal fence around the monument and monument garden. There is literally another park inside the Martyr’s Park and one that is going to be closed off to the public.

The second issue is they’ve basically cut the Martyr’s Park in half by building the Golden Jubilee monument park across the Martyrs Park from one side to the other. The oval running track which people used for exercising now ends in the middle as roughly demonstrated by the yellow box in the image above.

These two issues kinda seem like poor planning to me. I understand they probably erected the high metal fence to stop barbequers from barbequing inside the monument park but I think they could have created some sort of path way that would still allow people to at least walk up close to the monument but keep them outside the monument garden. Right now there is a hole in the metal fence which is how I got in a took my picture but once the hole is closed you won’t be able to stand in front of the monument or even get near it. It also sucks that the running track has been sliced in half since they could have shrunk the Golden Jubilee monument space slightly and built the whole thing inside the oval instead of over it. Oh well…

I get a lot of strange emails all the time and so a few months ago I decided I would start posting them up on my secret tumblr account. Today I decided I’m going to share my tumblr with everyone. Check it out [Here]

Organica Fish & Chips has been open for a couple of years now but I just got to pass by and try it today. I ordered the large fish & chips platter which included 2 pieces of fish along with chips in addition I ordered an extra side order of calamari. I went to the Salmiya branch which has a lot of seating inside but since it was a nice sunny day I decided to sit outside.

While waiting for my meal I got served lemonade which I thought was a nice thing to do. Once my fish & chips basket came I snapped a few pictures before I dug in. I thought the whole basket tasted pretty bland and between the calamari and the fish I think I preferred the calamari. The tartar sauce which I personally believe makes or breaks a meal wasn’t that great either but it did help add some much needed flavor to the meal. On a side note if you want to know what good tartar sauce tastes like go to try it at Sheraton Hotel. Finally the chips were the most disappointing part of the meal, they were undercooked and soft which was a let down.

Overall, even though the fish basket didn’t awestruck me I still think it’s a good place to pass by for a quick bite. It’s not located in a mall, there’s lots of seating, places to park and the food was above average. Price wise the large fish & chips platter goes for KD3.750 (KD2.750 for the small) while the extra calamari cost me an additional KD1.400. They have three locations around Kuwait and if you want to find out more you can visit their website [Here]

Just before Christmas I decided to get myself a KitchenAid mixer. Originally I wanted to get the regular 4.8L mixer similar to the one I reviewed back in 2011 but it turned out there was a new larger 6.9L KitchenAid mixer and I ended up getting that instead.

I used to think the regular KitchenAid mixer was pretty hardcore but once I saw the 6.9L version the regular one started looking pretty tame. Other than the obvious size difference the other thing that sticks out is the fact with the 6.9L KitchenAid the head doesn’t tilt. Instead, the bowl is locked into place and then lifted up towards the mixer head. Not sure what the advantage of this is but I like it better this way.

Since I got the mixer I’ve baked an apple pie, five different brownies, a cake and muffins. I could have done them all with the regular sized mixer but I realized my mixing is a lot less messier using the 6.9L mixer since with the larger bowl, whatever is inside it tends to stay inside. Also because you can raise or lower the bowl to the mixing head I tend to lower the bowl first before I stop the mixer and that way whatever is stuck on the paddle or whisk gets released into the bowl.

The 6.9L mixer has one major disadvantage over the regular 4.8L KitchenAid mixer and that is the lack of colors. While with the 4.8L mixer you have 29 different colors to choose from, with the 6.9L version you’re limited to just 5. The other more obvious downside is the price. The 6.9L mixer is more expensive than the smaller 4.8L mixer and it’s selling for KD283 here in Kuwait. Whichever you end up getting be it the 4.8L or 6.9L they’re both a lot of fun to use.

I got my KitchenAid from the dealer Mabrook in Shuwaikh but I also spotted them for sale at Williams-Sonoma. If you’re interested, here is a link to the Kuwait KitchenAid page on Facebook [Link]

According to a post on FogTa7t there will be a Bungee Jumping Festival at Marina Mall next month. I’ve never bungee jumped before so hopefully it’s the proper stuff so I can finally try it out.

Check out their post for more details. [Link]

A couple of weeks back I was walking in Avenues Phase III when suddenly I smelled something incredibly good. I followed the smell all the way inside the Williams-Sonoma store to a pot sitting behind the checkout counter. I asked one of the employees about the smell and she was extremely helpful, like she went into their store room and brought out all the ingredients to show me kind of helpful. She told me it was basically just a crockpot (rice cooker/slow cooker) filled with water and had the following ingredients boiling inside:

– 2 sliced oranges
– 2 chopped apples
– 2 sticks of cinnamon
– 3 teaspoons of cinnamon powder

So last night I passed by Kenwood (Jashanmal in Kuwait City) and picked up a crockpot along with all the ingredients I needed from the supermarket. I found crockpots that were as cheap as KD5 at Xcite but they only had crockpots in white while I wanted a black one. The Kenwood dealer didn’t have a black one either but I ended up getting the stainless steel version pictured above which looked pretty cool but also cost around KD15.

All you do is add the ingredients with water into the pot and then just wait until the water boils and your house fills up with an incredible aroma. My apartment now smells like I’ve been baking apple pies all day long and I love it.

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching is a cool concept that has been floating on YouTube for awhile now. The idea is you go to a public place, put on your headphones and then dance as if you’re at home alone while recording yourself doing it. After posting a video on 248PM last week called “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching: Airport“, I decided I wanted to do one as well. And I did. I headed to Souk Mubarkiya, found a cool spot and then recorded myself dancing to a song. It was hilarious and a lot of fun since no one around me knew what the hell was going on since they couldn’t hear any music and all they saw was some random white guy dancing in the middle of the road.

This was supposed to be just a quick test because I wanted to see if I had the balls to actually do it but a short clip got leaked out (complicated story) and somehow it ended up on YouTube which you can watch above. Since this was just a trial video I’m not planning to upload the full version online but the second one should be better and that one I’ll definitely upload onto YouTube myself. [YouTube]

The photo above taken by Mohammed Alsultan of the tire fire near the scrapyards made it on 500px’s Best of 2012: Journalism list. It’s a pretty fantastic photo. [Link]

Thanks Guru

The GulfRun 8 car show is going to take place this weekend at 360 Mall and a lot of super cars will be on display including a McLaren MP4-12C, Ferrari 458, Lamborghini Aventador and two KTM X-Bow’s. The cars will be on display for two days, Friday the 11th and Saturday 12th so make sure you pass by and check them out. Below is the full list of cars (and their quantities) that will be on display at 360 Mall:

2010 Porsche GT3RS (x5)
2013 BMW M6
2007 BMW M6
2013 BMW M5
2011 Audi R8 V10 (x2)
2010 Audi R8 V8
2008 Mitsubishi Evo 10
2009 Mitsubishi Evo 10
2006 Mitsubishi Evo 9
2005 Mitsubishi Evo 8
2007 Subaru STi
2009 Nissan GTR (x2)
2010 Nissan GTR (x2)
2009 Nissan GTR
2012 McLaren MP4-12C
2011 Mercedes SLS
2012 Ferrari 458
2012 Lamborghini Aventador
2011 Ferrari 599
2009 Chevrolet ZR1
2012 Lamborghini LP1500-4
2012 KTM X-Bow R
2011 KTM X-Bow ClubSport

Finally here is a video of the recent Karting event that was held at Mishref by the GulfRun team. [Video]

Over a year ago the owner of 965 Flowers contacted me wanting me to write about his website. It’s basically a website similar to 6alabat except instead of ordering food you order flowers. I’m not a flower kind of guy so the website really didn’t interest me at all. I then kept getting emails from him every few months and even phone calls but I still wasn’t interested and it was kind of getting annoying. But, one thing he did achieve was implant the website into my head so I wouldn’t forget it.

Finally the day came where I needed to send flowers and 965flowers.com popped into my head. The website has 10 flower shops listed which combined means I had hundreds of different flower options to choose from with a lot of different prices. After painstakingly hunting through all the thumbnails I finally found what I wanted and ordered it. I placed the order around 9AM and asked it to be delivered between 11AM and 2PM of the same day. At 12:18PM I get a confirmation email telling me the flowers were delivered.

So yeah it works and I thought it was easy to use and practical. Only thing I would have liked is the ability to view all the flowers from all the stores on one page since it was pretty annoying going into every store one by one and then flipping through pages and pages of thumbnails. Other than that I had no issues at all.

Here is the link to the website if you want to check it out. [Link]

Update: Based on my feedback they’ve now added the option to view all the flowers from all the store at the same time, but you’re still limited to viewing just 15 thumbnails at once.

The documentary is now out and has made it’s way to YouTube. Here is a description:

For many Londoners, the summer is a chance to escape the noise and bustle of the capital in search of relaxation and sun overseas, but as the Brits hit the beaches, London becomes the top destination for super-rich Arab tourists and their supercars.

This documentary provides an insight into the influx of supercars and their wealthy owners in central London each summer.

Swapping the searing heat of their homes in the Middle East for the cool of the UK, increasing numbers of super-rich Arabs are packing their bags and cars for their annual vacation in the capital.

Million-pound Bugatti Veyrons and extravagant Koenigsegg supercars have become a common sight on the streets of London but it has divided the opinion of the residents.

These elite supercar owners, often young Arabs in their twenties, enjoy showing off their motors but many of those living in Knightsbridge and Chelsea are less enthusiastic; they say summer in the city has become unbearable.

The locals are complaining about sleepless nights caused by revving engines and speeding cars racing down the narrow streets, leaving the police with no choice but to clamp down on noise offences and reprimand those driving without the correct insurance, tax and number plates.

The supercar phenomenon has also sparked a fan base of ‘carparazzi’: young – mostly male – Brits are tracking down the latest arrivals so that they can photograph and film the cars and post them online: the noisier and shinier the supercar, the better.

[YouTube]