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If you’ve got a dog come by to the Pet Gala on Saturday, I’ll be there as one of the judges. Check out all the events below.

Thursday, November 13
The Social on the Roof
AIU Film Festival Movie Screenings

Friday, November 14
KEF Tour 2
The Social on the Roof
Cultural Centre Fall Festival
Picnic Potluck at the Farm
Oil Pastels & Coffee
Salt Beats Live Band Session
Joy Hub Opening

Saturday, November 15
KEF Tour 2
Home Alone Screening
The Social on the Roof
Coffee, Canvas & Connect
Da Gusto’s Pet Gala
Paint & Sip Japanese Edition
Voltaire Market

Note: Camel Racing starts at 1:30PM this Saturday

This past weekend Al Andalus revealed The Petal Pavilion, their new pop-up kiosk located at the center of their plaza. I’m currently halfway across the world on vacation, but they sent over photos of the project for me to share.

The Petal Pavilion was originally designed as a functional oyster bar by the Copenhagen-based studio @lasovskyjohansson for an art fair in Denmark a few years ago. The design won many awards and a version of that pavilion stands at the Design Museum Denmark, serving as a permanent café installation.

What’s cool is that this isn’t a copy of that design, Al Andalus actually worked with the original architects to reinterpret their award-winning concept to meet their specific requirements and adapt it to our unique weather. The result is this new 6.5-meter-tall kiosk where the petal folds open and blooms during the day, casting shadows below, but as daylight fades, the pavilion’s surfaces come alive with colored linear lighting.

The Petal will be hosting different pop-ups throughout the year with the first being @boostcafe from November 6 to December 31 followed by @kello.kw in January.

This tiny spot is a new Japanese concept opening in Jabriya next week. It’s an omakase conveyor belt experience with a French influence and a design that looks way too nice for what’s essentially a hole in the wall.

I found out about Bar Frés and its chef through a friend of mine. When she sent me the chef’s Instagram account, I thought she’d sent me the wrong one because he looked like he’d just graduated high school. I wasn’t far off, Fahad Al-Zaid is only 22 and moved back to Kuwait just six months ago after finishing university in the US. His Instagram is @fahadthefoodie_, which makes sense since that’s how he describes himself. He’s always loved food and cooking, so when the opportunity came along to run his own concept, he took it.

The first thing that caught my attention when I got there was how the place didn’t fit the environment at all. Bar Frés looked way too fancy for the neighborhood, and it was right next door to a baqala. The contrast between the two is actually pretty amazing, and I think it adds to the experience, which itself isn’t typical. Bar Frés won’t have a traditional menu. Instead, the chef will decide what goes out on the conveyor belt depending on various factors like who the guests are, what produce was available that day, or even just the chef’s mood. Fahad meets the guests when they arrive and asks a few questions. If, for example, the guests are into raw dishes, then he’ll serve more raw items than usual. That’s why he calls it an omakase conveyor belt because he wants to decide what to serve.

The interior looks amazing. The small kitchen filled with chefs is located in the back, while the main dining area is just one long bar with 14 chairs. It all looks very upscale, but Fahad assured me the prices will be very reasonable. While I was taking photos, Fahad started sending out dishes for me to try on the conveyor belt, mostly raw items since that’s what I like, but also a few others he thought I’d enjoy, and he was right.

Bar Frés is set to open this coming Sunday and will only be open in the evenings. To stay posted on the opening and bookings, follow @bardefres

These are my favorite events taking place this weekend.

Thursday, October 23
A5 Mall Kashta Expo
FULLOUT HipHop Dance Workshop
Sonatas for Violin & Piano
RoadRush Festival
The Flag-wavers of Gubbio

Friday, October 24
A5 Mall Kashta Expo
The Elite Comedy Show
Let’s Go Hiking!
RoadRush Festival

Saturday, October 25
A5 Mall Kashta Expo
Self-care Day: Violence Awareness & Empowerment Event
Botanical Gelli Printing Workshop
Sip & Flow
Farmers Market
Trash Hero Beach Cleanup
DAI StoryTime at Amricani
Sama & Cacao Ceremony

I just ran into the weirdest internet issue. I have the 5G unlimited internet package from Redbull Mobile. A few days ago I got a message telling me I’ve used up 90% of my bandwidth and today it stopped working. So I got in touch with RedBull Mobile to find out what was up.

Firstly for anyone considering Redbull Mobile you need to be aware they don’t have a call center. Your only option for support is chatting with someone. I tried to do that from within the App, but the person the live chat kept connecting me to wouldn’t respond. Like in 10 minutes he said 1 thing which was unrelated to what I was asking and then stopped replying. I tried closing chat and reopening and got the same person and no response. I usually hate talking to bots but this was actually one time I wished I was chatting to a bot instead of a person. At least bots respond. Eventually I tried live chat from the website and got someone.

Turns out unlimited really means only 3TB which I don’t know why they’re calling it unlimited then. Unlimited means no limited but whatever because looking back at my history the max I’ve ever hit is like 2.2TB a month. But for some reason this month I consumed 3TB already and I still have 10 days to go. I don’t know how, I need to check my Xbox and see if it downloaded anything without me realizing. I got a new phone so maybe downloading everything back to my phone consumed bandwidth but that would be like max 300GB. But all of this isn’t even the issue I have right now.

The problem is I don’t have a choice to add more bandwidth. Technically I do but it just doesn’t make sense. I asked support if I could recharge my internet by adding an additional 500GB or 1TB and turns out the only option I have is to add 50GB at a time and it costs 5KD for every 50GB. That is crazy expensive when I’m paying 10KD for 3TB a month. I can get a new pre-paid line with 500GB internet for 8KD which is actually what I’m going to do now. Going to use that line temporarily fro the next 10 days.

So weird, now I need to go and figure out what consumed so much bandwidth this month.

There are some interesting activities this weekend from book launches to stargazing trips. Check out all the events I could find taking place this weekend below:

Thursday, October 16
An Archive of Love Volume II

Friday, October 17
Cars & Coffee
Emperor of the Mats
Perform Series Showdown
Beach Sunrise Yoga & Sound Healing
Stargazing Trip
Morning Milers Pink Campaign Run

Saturday, October 18
Emperor of the Mats
Perform Series Showdown
Da Gusto x HYbrid
Morning Walk with the 5AM Club
studio in-between pop-up cafe
Blueprints of Memories
Visual Journaling & Coffee Painting
Turn Your Story into a Book
Nomads Discussion Night
Story Time: A Squash and a Squeeze
Soof Wool Mill Tours
Paws in the City Collage Workshop

With winter approaching, it’s finally cool enough to take your pets outdoors without worrying about the heat. That’s why I put together a guide of pet-friendly spots, from coffee shops to parks, with the help of @mocha.i.am, who inspired me to make this post. If you know of more pet-friendly spots, mention them in the comments.

Cafes & Restaurants – Indoors
Masaha 13
Sluggish

Cafess & Restaurants – Outdoors
Back Burner – SVN
Baked
Barasti
BBT – The Hilltop and Shamiya Park
Brick Pizza
Broskis
Da Gusto
Earth Roastery – Bida’a
Edo
Gia – Salmiya (Temporarily Closed)
Joe & the Juice – Salmiya
Masaha 13
Okan Coffee House
Seoulian
Speak Coffee Roaster
The Sandwich Shop

Parks
Shuwaikh Park – Popular on Friday & Saturday Mornings

Hotels
Four Seasons Hotel (under 11.5KG)
Grand Hyatt Residences (2 pets max)
The K Hotel

Barari is a local landscaping company I’ve been following for a couple of years. I’m a fan of their work, and they’ve done some really interesting projects. One that stood out to me is called Tree Den.

For the Tree Den project, they took a tiled-up garden with artificial turf and turned it into a vibrant desert sanctuary. Looking at the before and after photos, it’s hard to believe they’re of the same place.

Instead of covering the ground with artificial or real grass, they decided to embrace the sand as a natural, breathable surface. According to Barari, they wanted to celebrate the desert rather than fight it. They planted dense greenery along with mature trees to create a cozy and immersive space. Even the kids play area encourages hands-on exploration and digging. It’s a simple idea that I think is executed beautifully, and they managed to convince me that sand doesn’t need to be covered but can actually be a beautiful part of the landscape.

If you want to check out all the before and after photos of the transformation, head over to their website here.

Qudra is a Kuwait-based freelance marketplace that connects freelancers with clients. I posted about them when they first launched last year, and now, a year later, they’ve expanded beyond Kuwait with a launch in Dubai to serve the wider MENA region.

Their platform connects talent in Kuwait and the MENA region with clients seeking services like graphic design, digital marketing, and interior design. The app offers secure payments, direct chat, and detailed freelancer profiles to help clients find the right match.

Since I last posted about them, Qudra has rolled out new features including Qudra Pro, a way for freelancers to verify their profiles, gain more visibility, and access exclusive opportunities. They’ve also improved payments, added better project management tools, and enhanced communication features based on user feedback.

If you’re a freelancer
Qudra lets you showcase your skills and get discovered by clients. Payments are secured before you start a project, and once it’s completed, the funds are released to you.

If you’re a business
Qudra simplifies the hiring process by providing access to a diverse pool of talent with a wide range of skills. You can also post a job listing with a specific budget and have freelancers reach out to you.

Qudra makes freelancing safe, efficient, and rewarding for both sides. Try them out joinqudra.com

Camel racing is back for the 2025/2026 season, running from October to March, with races taking place every Saturday at the Kuwait Camel Racing Club. Since the weather is still hot during the day, this Saturday the races start at 5:30 AM with a total of nineteen scheduled. As the weather gets cooler, the races will start later in the day (check my weekly “Things To Do” weekend list for updated timings).

There’s no entrance fee, and you can either watch from the sidelines, drive up to the starting line to see the start, or follow the race around the track in your car (it can get a bit chaotic).

It’s really fun, especially if you’ve never been before. It’s never that busy, everyone there is pretty friendly, and it’s fairly easy to get to.

To find the location and entrance to the race tracks on Google Maps, just search for “Kuwait Camel Racing Club”.

You’ve probably noticed this strange futuristic-looking building on your way to the airport (Google Maps). It’s always been kind of a mystery to me since, although there’s quite a bit of information about it online, there aren’t that many photos of it. This is the Amiri Terminal, also sometimes called the VVIP Terminal.
 
The Amiri Terminal was built to host reception ceremonies on a presidential level. Construction started back in 2007 and was completed three years later.

 
The terminal was designed by the firm TAEP who had to take into account Kuwait’s extreme temperatures and sandstorms. Since it’s difficult to plan a typical outdoor reception ceremony throughout the year, they came up with an alternative solution by designing the building around a huge reception hall.
 
The terminal was shaped by a large dome that allowed them to create a hall with a 24-meter-tall interior, helping eliminate the feeling of being in a closed indoor space. To further enhance the sense of openness, the ceiling was painted black and 250,000 fiber-optic light points were embedded into it to recreate the feeling of a desert night sky.
 
The terminal is made up of six buildings: the Amiri Hall, the glass reception area, the parking lot, baggage check, services, and the plane hangar.
 
The Amiri Reception Building consists of three floors. The first floor includes the protocol and reception halls, the dining area, the Amiri meeting room, a press conference hall, a hall for ambassadors, a protocol hall, a women’s waiting hall, and a multipurpose hall.
 

The ground floor houses the main kitchen, offices for the Amiri Guard, a screening room, a waiting room for journalists, a Civil Aviation staff room, a resting room for the plane crew, a rest room for the guests’ guards, a first-aid room, a security room, and offices for the Interior Ministry.
 
The second floor contains the guest wing and the operations room.
 
The glass dome on the outside which you can spot in some of the photos is part of the reception area. The first floor is connected to an air bridge, while the ground floor is for guests arriving on smaller planes.
 
To check out more photos, click here.

Akon, the popular American R&B singer, is coming to perform in Kuwait this November. He rose to fame in the 2000s and still has a strong following today with over 10 million fans on Instagram. He was supposed to perform in Kuwait back in 2015, but the concert was canceled.

Fun facts, Akon holds the Guinness World Record as the top-selling artist for ringtones, and he is also the first artist to hit 1 billion views on YouTube.

@fame.entmt and @quantumconkw are the ones bringing Akon to Kuwait, and he’ll be performing at The Arena on November 21. Tickets will go on sale soon through thearenakuwait.com

I’ve posted about UFO sightings in Kuwait in the late 70s twice on the blog, first time back in 2013 and then again in 2021. Recently, I found out (via @thevenerablebetty) that Kuwait was also featured in the 1979 summer edition of UFO Update! magazine, and I managed to get a copy of it.

The article was written by an executive from an American oil company who was in Kuwait on business. While driving out to one of the oil fields, he spotted a strange aircraft, and the piece details what he experienced and saw. He wasn’t the only eyewitness that night.

I’ve also uploaded additional clippings as a bonus read. These were declassified by the US State Department and include US embassy wires along with statements from KOC officials, KISR, and even the Ministry of Interior, who investigated a report by a Kuwait Airways pilot who had spotted an “unusual light phenomenon.”

I used to be a huge UFO buff, so I always find these stories interesting. Even if you don’t believe in UFOs, they’re still fun to read. I’ve uploaded everything to my Flickr and you can check them out there.

Back in 2019, a small Bhutanese spot called Momo Zaa opened in Salmiya and quickly became popular for their delicious momos (steamed dumplings). Sadly, the pandemic hit the following year and they ended up closing. The good news is they’re now back, this time with a new name and a new location.

Lepo & Lemo opened this past August in a new location in Salmiya. I actually prefer this new location because it’s walking distance from my place, like literally a 10 minute walk which is great. The restaurant is small but cute, with a good amount of seating for the space, including some seating outdoors.

We were a total of three so we ordered a bunch of things to try:

Crispy Chili Potato KD 1.850
Veg Juma (Vegetarian Sausage) KD 1.850
Chicken Momo (Dumpling) KD 1.850
Beef Momo (Dumpling) KD 1.950
Kewa Datshi (Potato Chili Cheese Stew) KD 1.750
Norsha Pat (Stir-fried beef) KD 2.650
Steamed Rice KD 0.750
L&L Signature Fried Ice Cream KD 2.650

For some reason my food photography skills seem to get worse with age, but trust me, everything looked great and tasted even better. Like, unexpectedly delicious. It’s been a while since I last had their food, so I’d forgotten how good it was. Everything was full of flavor and by the end I couldn’t decide what I liked most. The sausage I think really surprised me with how good it was, but I’d say the beef dumplings were my favorite dish. The cheese stew was my least favorite but even that wasn’t bad, it’s just everything else was much better.

I try not to post about food unless it’s something special, and L&L is definitely special. Even if you’ve never had Bhutanese food before, their dishes feel approachable and not at all intimidating. They had some unusual items like noodles with laban, which I’m saving for my next visit, but the dishes I mentioned above are all pretty beginner friendly.

We were three people and the bill came out to KD 13.650. They gave us the dessert on the house.

If you want to check them out, Lepo & Lemo open from 3PM to 11:30PM and are located in Salmiya right behind the 4th Ring Road fire station (Google Maps). They’re also on Instagram @lepo.lemo

his is a super busy weekend. If you’re a fan of House of Dragons, Milly Alcock is going to be in Kuwait for the comic festival this weekend. Check out all my favorite events taking place below.

Thursday, September 25
Comic Festival Convention
Bugsha Market at Assima
Auto World Show
Pokémon Trading Event

Friday, September 26
Comic Festival Convention
Film Club: Hook
Bugsha Market at Assima
Song Circle & Cacao Ceremony
Auto World Show

Saturday, September 27
Comic Festival Convention
Girls Only Game Day at Cozy Den
Seeds of Connection
Brunch, beats & tote bags
AIESEC x Qesati : Re-Inventing Myself
Bugsha Market at Assima
The State Symphony Orchestra of Moscow
Basics of Astronomy
Visual Journaling Session
Literary Open Mic
Soof Wool Mill Tour
Book Club: Confetti & Ashes
Auto World Show

Photo from @hadoolalk