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Last night I passed by Sultan Center in Boulevard to pick up a Christmas tree, but when I got to the top floor where the Christmas decorations would be, the shelves were all empty. I asked one of the staff where the Christmas trees were and he told me that the baladiya had told them to remove them. I didn’t think much of it and decided to walk over to Ace Hardware on the other end of the mall. When I got to Ace it was the same situation, all the Christmas decorations were removed and the shelves were empty. I figured ok, someone must have been in Boulevard and seen the Christmas decorations and complained, which is why the shops Boulevard were asked to remove the Christmas stuff.

Then I decided to head to Daiso in Souq Salmiya. As I’m walking into Daiso I spotted Christmas trees on the opposite end of City Center. I was like great I can pick up a tree from here. Once I got close to the trees I noticed staff were busy packing up all the Christmas decorations as well. They still hadn’t packed the trees so I picked one up and then headed to Daiso. Once in Daiso I noticed they were also packing up their Christmas decorations. So I asked the staff there and they told me the same thing, that they were told to remove the Christmas decorations.

Looks like its going to be one of those years where Christmas is banned in Kuwait. I’m hoping the shops in Avenues haven’t been told to remove their Christmas stuff as well. There were some Christmas tree ornaments I was hoping to pick up this weekend but now have to head there today to try and get them before they get taken off the shelves.

If you’ve ever wanted to see the rare Mercedes Gullwing in person, Mercedes currently have one temporarily on display.

The Mercedes dealership recently renovated their main showroom in Al-Rai and part of the new look is a display area in the middle featuring two cars. The first is a replica of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen which is considered to be the first practical modern automobile and was built in 1885. The second car on display is a 1956 Mercedes 300 SL “Gullwing” which is on loan from the popular plastic surgeon, Dr Adel Quttainah.

The car is nicknamed the “Gullwing” because of its doors which open upwards. They’re pretty rare cars and can cost anywhere between $1,250,000 to $2,000,000. Some rarer examples of the car have sold for three times that amount as well.

The new dealership is actually pretty nice and around double the size of their previous showroom. They had a lot of cars on display including the Maybach by fashion designer Virgil Abloh, which is the sand colored car above.

If you want to check the cars out, the showroom is right next door to Xcite in Al-Rai, right on the 4th Ring Road. Google Maps

Below are some of the cool events taking place this weekend, as usual, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday, November 30
Pinocchio – The Panto
Murouj Perfume Market
The OUTLET Expo
Kuwait International Bookfair

Friday, December 1
Pinocchio – The Panto
Murouj Perfume Market
The OUTLET Expo
Kuwait International Bookfair
Messilah Equestrian Club Show Jumping Event

Saturday, December 2
Pinocchio – The Panto
Murouj Perfume Market
The OUTLET Expo
Jusoor Run 2023
Messilah Equestrian Club Show Jumping Event
Kuwait International Bookfair
Authentic Palestinian Art Event

Arabella has gone through a major overhaul, half the place closed down and got rebuilt as a 5-star hotel while the remaining parts got a full refurbishing. The hotel called the Arabella Beach Hotel is now set to open next month and I got a tour of it back in October while it was still getting finishing touches.

I don’t think there is another hotel like it in Kuwait, there are definitely much nicer hotels in Kuwait, but I can’t think of another hotel where your hotel room is right on the sea.

The hotel has a few suites located at the far end of the hotel with just the sand followed by the sea as you can see from the picture above which I took from one of the balconies.

The hotel is pretty small due to the location so they’ve tried to make the best of it. There are two pools, one on the ground floor right next to the beach, this isn’t for the hotel but for the gym which is going to be run and managed by a third party. The main hotel’s pool is actually on the roof and is a much nicer place to be since it overlooks the area. But, they missed a great opportunity for an infinity pool that overlooks the sea sadly.

The hotel’s main restaurant ZO Eatery is also not located in the main hotel building, but instead it’s located across the Arabella courtyard where Ora used to be located.

I was also given a tour of all the rooms. The suites were definitely nice, not that big, but plenty of space and interesting layouts with the one pictured above being my favorite. The regular rooms on the other hand weren’t as interesting, so if I was going to stay there, the suites is where I’d want to be.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the hotel is going to do, I’d imagine it might become a popular staycation location since you have a nice pool on the roof and Five Guys right at the entrance of Arabella, so everything you need.

If you want to read more on the hotel and see more photos, here is the link to their website.

Kuwaiti artist Farah Behbehani was one of seven artists shortlisted for the third edition of Louvre Abu Dhabi ‘Art Here’.

This year ‘Art Here’ explores the theme of ‘Transparencies’ and Farah’s installation titled Hiya (She) is a homage to the 10th-century Syrian Muslim astronomer, Mariam Al-‘Ijliya who changed the face of astronomy by pioneering an early scientific instrument used to measure time and to calculate the position celestial bodies.

Farah’s installation is inspired by the Tughrul tower, a 12th-century brick tomb tower that also functions as an indicator of time. The original brick structure is recreated in colored glass, referencing the tradition of stained glass used in sacred monuments dating back to the Umayyad dynasty. The colors of the 48-paneled glass structure are based on the visible light spectrum, which varies in wavelength across the day. As light permeates the colored glass, it transforms throughout the day, painting its surroundings with a rich interplay of color and light.

Farah Behbehani is also shortlisted for The Richard Mille Art Prize 2023 with the winner taking home a $60,000 cash award.

If you’re in Abu Dhabi anytime in the next couple of months, Art Here 2023 is running till February 18th, 2024.

It’s flamingos and birdwatching season right now. Winter in Kuwait is an excellent time to observe rare birds that you wouldn’t see during the rest of the year with flamingos probably being the most popular one people like to see.

There are a number of spots across the coast where you can watch flamingos in the winter, they start from near the free trade zone and stretch up all the way to Doha. One of my favorite spots to birdwatch is the “Flamingo Observation Deck” which you can find by searching on Google Maps.

The Flamingo Observation Desk is a long stretch of pathway that takes you close to some marshes near the sea, and close to where many birds tend to hang out. Don’t expect to be able to get close to the birds since the closer you get the further they fly away from you. I’ve previously been able to watch the flamingos using my drone, but a better way would be to just watch them from a distance, or through binoculars or cameras with zoom lenses.

Sometimes the tide is low and the birds are further away, in that case I recommend a good pair of Wellington boots so that you can walk in the mud and get closer to them.

Wherever you decide to birdwatch from, please cleanup after yourselves and don’t leave anything behind. After posting about duck park last time I got a lot of people telling me they visited and it was littered. Don’t leave any trace after you leave.

A couple of months ago E-Fly, the scooter-sharing service started placing some scooters near my office in the city. Having scooters you can rent and take around the city is actually really practical and now is very common in cities around the world.

When I needed to pass by the Xcite office in Al Hamra Tower to pick up the iPhone 15 Pro for review back in October, I took the scooter instead of driving. Trying to find parking in Hamra during working ours is impossible so instead, I took the scooter that was parked under my office building and rode it down the street and around the corner to Al Hamra Tower. I ended up parking on the curb across the street from Hamra, went in, picked up the iPhone and then was back again on the scooter heading back to the office. Super fast, super convenient and much cheaper than a taxi (around 300fils from Arabica Downtown to Hamra Tower).

This would be something I’d do a lot more of and I’m sure other people as well, if it wasn’t for the fact we don’t have sidewalks. Riding the scooter on the side of the road is pretty freaky. I don’t trust drivers, everyone seems to be in a hurry, and busses are extremely aggressive and the worst.

Although I was hoping to use the scooters a lot more frequently zipping up and down the city anytime I needed to go anywhere, I’ve only really used it two or three times and that sucks. Scooters are fun, they’re affordable and are so convenient. I know there is no hope of us ever getting sidewalks, but I still wanted to vent about it.

This is an interesting and random project, BBT is opening a haunted house next month on the Gulf Road. The project is in collaboration with TEC and is located near where Jeans Grill used to be in Salmiya (the good old days).

The haunted house looks to be hospital themed which gave me Raccoon General Hospital vibes from Resident Evil. In addition to the haunted house there will also be a new BBT location right next to it.

Both the haunted house and the new BBT are expected to open mid next month. Tickets to the haunted house will be through the TEC app. If you want to check the place out it’s still under construction but here it is on Google Maps.

If you weren’t planning to visit a mall this weekend then you should probably reconsider. There are some crazy sales taking place, check out the list below to see which malls and how many stores in each have sales.

The Avenues – Shopping Marathon
Over 150 stores on sale

360 Mall – Luxury Friday
Over 100 stores on sale

Al Assima Mall – White Friday
Over 70 stores on sale

The Warehouse Mall – The Warehouse Friday
Over 28 stores on sale

Al Khiran Mall – The Outlet Friday
Over 85 stores on sale

The Gate Mall – Gate Winter Festival
Over 100 stores on sale

Al Kout Mall – Kout Friday
Over 100 stores on sale

So this is a quick update on my previous post about the garbage issue behind my house. It’s taken me a while to post this update because I was waiting for things to settle but I do have some very interesting information.

In my last post I posted about how after complaining to the baladiya about the overflowing garbage, they started removing the bins one by one until there were none. After sharing the photo of the huge pile of garbage on the floor because there were no bins, the baladiya came and cleaned it up. They didn’t replace the bins but went around warning all the buildings not to dump garbage there anymore. Overnight there were no longer any bins or any garbage.

So I was talking to our building manager about the garbage situation and he filled me in on how the whole thing works and this is where it gets interesting.

If you look at the photo above you’ll see the bins are different colors. Each color represents a different garbage collecting company. There are a number of companies that are licensed by the baladiya to collect the garbage, different buildings work with different companies. Our building works with a company that has blue bins and we pay 50KD a month to dump our garbage in their bins. The building next to us might have a deal with the red bins or yellow bins and pay 35KD a month to dump their garbage in it. When I flagged the garbage issue with the Baladia, they told the companies to remove their bins which is why every day one bin was disappearing, it was the companies coming and collecting their bins.

So when that happened, the buildings in the area got stuck with no where to throw the garbage. If you have a contract that says you can throw your garbage in the red bins, you can’t throw them in the blue bins and vice versa. Luckily for our building, there was a blue bin down the street so our building cleaners had a place to dump our garbage, they just had to walk further down the street. Not sure what other buildings did, but for a few days, there were no bins and no garbage in the sand lot.

Then bins started arriving, but it wasn’t like before:
– The bins were newer and cleaner (photo on top)
– They were laid out in pairs with two from every company
– We finally got 6 bins instead of 5
– The garbage hasn’t overflowed since

It’s been over a week since the new system was implemented and the garbage hasn’t over flowed since. Not sure if adding one extra bin is the reason the garbage stopped overflowing, maybe the red company had too many contracts for one bin and the Baladia forced them to put a second bin, I’m not sure. Also, there no longer is a blue bin so I’m guessing our building has now signed up with another collector, or we’re still dumping our garbage in the bins further down the road.

Whatever the case, the whole thing was interesting and the garbage situation seems to be sorted… for now.

Popeyes, the popular fried chicken chain is coming back to Kuwait. Tanmiah, the Saudi food company that owns and operates Popeyes in Saudi Arabia announced in a press release that they will be expanding into two new markets, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Popeyes used to be open in Kuwait until they closed down back in 2014. Interestingly, we’re now seeing a trend of brands making a comeback in Kuwait with Nando’s, Magnolia Bakery, Little Caesars, and now Popeyes all reopening again. Hopefully A&W and Arby’s are next!

Although I knew there was a big chance this wasn’t going to happen to begin with, it still feels sad now that it’s been officially canceled.

The Supreme Committee of the Public-Private Partnership Projects Authority has decided to cancel the Kuwait Metro project, which is part of the Rapid Transport Systems Project. This decision, made in lieu of the Authority’s Board of Directors, was based on the project’s significant administrative and financial burdens on public funds, amounting to 2.152 million dinars, as reported by the Audit Bureau. Source

Back in 2012 they had stated the metro project would be completed by 2020. That didn’t happen but in 2020 they did say the project was still happening and gave more details would about:

Metropolitan Rapid Transit System Project (KMRT) will be built over five phases stretching over 160 kilometers, and will have 68 stations along three lines, according to the plan. The first phase of the project includes a railway stretching 50 kilometers from Kuwait City to Kuwait International Airport, with 27 new stations, 30 percent of which will be underground with two underground stations. Source

Since the metro is now canceled I’m not sure what’s the plan to improve the public transportation system will be, if there is one.

Yesterday I experienced the worst rain I’ve ever experienced in my life. It was insane, and it feels like it only hit Salmiya.

Last night I decided to walk to Marina Mall but as I left my apartment it started to drizzle and my Apple Watch told me there would be light showers. So went back home, took my car and drove to Marina and then Symphony Mall since I needed to pass by AAB World.

While in Symphony I started hearing loud bangs, one of the shops under construction hoarding was fluttering from the wind. I looked at my Apple Watch and it said the windspeed was 24km/h which wasn’t that bad. But then I noticed people starring up at the glass roof and thats when I realized it was raining, heavy.

My car was parked a short walk from the mall and because I didn’t have an umbrella, I kinda was waiting for an opportunity to get to my car when I got a call from my building guy telling me I should get home and move my cars because the parking was starting to flood.

My underground parking is 3 basements, the last basement usually floods ankle deep during storms and so I tend to move my cars up to the middle or top level basement. When there is a storm warning, I sometimes move my cars to a multistory lot down the street and park it on the high floors. This time I didn’t get any warnings (light showers my ass weather app) and ALL my cars were parked in the most bottom basement.

Realizing the urgency of the situation I ran to my car (getting super soaked in the process) and drove back as quickly and safely as possible. Traffic was moving slow on the Gulf Road but thankfully it was moving. The water was so deep you couldn’t tell where the road ended and the sea began. You also barely could see because it was raining so heavily and there was even hail.

By the time I got to my neighborhood, the rain had stopped but the roads were all flooded but I was in my lifted Hilux so I wasn’t too worried (thank you Hilux for being a beast). I knew I didn’t have much time, I only had three out of seven car keys with me with the rest up in my apartment, but my priority was the Lotus since it’s the lowest of all my cars and I had that key on me. When I got to the basement the water was still shallow but there was a river coming down the parking entrance and a pipe in the basement had burst.

I first moved my Lotus up right away and then I’m not sure how, but I managed one by one to move all my cars up to the higher floors safely. I started with my lowest car and moved to the next tallest car until they were all on the safer higher floors. My Datsun had a fuel leak which I luckily just repaired this past weekend. My BMW M3 had a dead battery but I knew that and had a battery booster with me so managed to start the car easily. Suburban I hadn’t started in months and luckily just started. I feel really really lucky all the cars started and I was there in time to save them.

The water eventually got knee deep in the basement to the point even my tall knee high Hunter boots were filling up with water. I actually had four shoe changes starting with the sneakers I was originally wearing, to my water proof ankle hhigh hiking boots, to tall knee high boots to finally realizing I should just be in shorts and flip flops cuz the water was too deep.

I’ve never seen a storm like this. Sadly one of my neighbors wasn’t home and couldn’t get his car out in time and it’s now half deep in water and flooded on the inside.

After I calmed down and my adrenalin rush subsided, I decided to get online to see how the rest of Kuwait coped. To my surprise, all the drama seemed to have just been in Salmiya. wtf!

Below are some events taking place this weekend, as usual, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday, November 16
Gardenia Pop-up
TK Market
GulfRun GP 2023
GR Yaris Cup 2023

Friday, November 17
DAI Fall Festival
GulfRun GP 2023
GR Yaris Cup 2023
Gardenia Pop-up
TK Market
Classic Cars & Trucks Gathering

Saturday, November 18
GulfRun GP 2023
GR Yaris Cup 2023
Tape Painting in the Garden
Gardenia Pop-up
Basta Gardening Workshop
Kashta with MADANG
Storytelling with Mariam AlEissa
Winter Market
TK Market
Classic Cars & Trucks Gathering

Exhibitions
Arabia Felix and Rome
Palestine Art Stands
The Eye of The Sky Drone Photography Exhibition
SIF, An Introduction by Mohammad Kassem

I think I watched more TV on TikTok this week than I did on my TV. I’m still watching Lessons of Chemistry, it’s still pretty good. Also started the new season of For All Mankind, I think it’s gotten fairly boring, even last season wasn’t that great. Can’t wait till Saturday though when the first episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters comes out.

Let me know what you watched this week in the comments below.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Weekend:
Boonie Bears: Guardian Code (7.0)
The Good Mother (4.6)
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (6.9)
The Piper (6.2)

Other Movies Showing:
Deep Fear (4.0)
Five Nights at Freddy’s (6.2)
Freelance (5.3)
Killers of the Flower Moon (8.6)
On Fire (5.9)
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (6.1)
The Inseparables (7.0)
The Marvels (6.1)
The Snow Queen and the Princess (5.2)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Dirty Harry (7.7)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (7.0)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.