Search: “sti”

Photo by Ahmad Dashti

Back in 2015 I posted about an abandoned zoo project off the 6th Ring Road. Turned out the abandoned project was a small zoo. Around 10 years ago there used to be a small zoo in Fintas called The Little Jungle but it closed down when the government took over the land to convert it to a residential area. To compensate the owner, the government gave him a much larger land off the 6th Ring Road so he could rebuild his project. I guess the owner ran into financial problems and the project was abandoned until last month when the project was completed and The Little Jungle finally opened its doors again.

Photo by Abdulghani Abulkareem

The Little Jungle is a mini zoo with various exhibits holding a variety of animals including giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, and even weirdly, a Pomeranians exhibit. I haven’t passed by the place but I had a couple of friends visit during Eid and one complained about the terrible organization while the other told me it’s no better than our main zoo but can still be fun for really young children.

Photo by Khaled Aljeeran

The weather has gotten pretty warm but they are opening in the evenings from 4PM to 9PM so it still is doable. Entrance is 2.5KD per person and they have a bunch of videos and highlights on their Instagram account that showcases the zoo @littlejunglekw. If you want to visit the place, here is their location on Google Maps

If you’ve been there let us know about your experience in the comments.

Not sure what feels weirder, the fact that Slider Station has been open for 15 years, or the fact that I’ve been blogging for so long that I have a review of Slider Station when it first opened. Time does fly!

Back in 2007 the food scene was a lot different in Kuwait, there were definitely not as many burger places or cool restaurants as there are now. It’s not easy for a restaurant to stay consistently good or relevant for so long, and the fact that Slider Station has managed to accomplish that is incredible.

The same company that owns Slider Station just opened up a new restaurant last week in Avenues called Midar that serves authentic Kuwaiti seafood. I booked a table for this weekend and can’t wait to try the place out.

The short answer is no, it’s not getting banned. Well, not yet at least. Yesterday an MP tweeted that a padel tournament was shut down because of inappropriate clothing and the mixing of opposite sexes which led to people thinking that new stricter measures were coming to the sport. But, according to @kuwaitnews, this isn’t true. The padel tournament didn’t get shut down and is still on.

So padel isn’t on the chopping block for now.

The first Johnny Rockets in Kuwait that’s located in Salmiya has closed down. According to Johnny Rockets, they are renovating the store which makes sense since it really hadn’t changed at all since they first opened in the mid-90s. I’d know because I was in high school back then and the Johnny Rockets opening was a big thing (nothing else really existed other than Fuddruckers).

I like that it hadn’t been renovated because it still held all my high school memories like the table where I sat on my very first date or the table where me and my friends used to chill at. On the bright side at least they’re reopening again.

Since I just got back last week from my vacation I’m not leaving again but I’m curious to where people are thinking of traveling to. Lebanon used to be a popular destination but with the recent issues, a lot of people are steering away from it so I’m guessing Dubai is most likely the most popular spot.

[poll id=”19″]

There is a guy in Kuwait who imports motorbikes from Japan and he has a bunch of Honda Ruckus bikes for sale. I always found the Ruckus to be a very cool and funky-looking bike but they don’t bring them to Kuwait. He’s selling them for 450KD each which is way below retail so they’re probably not brand new. He also has some Honda Monkey’s although I’m not sure how much he’s selling those for since I didn’t ask but they’re also fun-looking little bikes.

The Ruckus is not an electric bike by the way, it’s a proper 50cc scooter and at 450KD it seems like a pretty good deal. If you want one, check out his Instagram @q8_motorcycle. He also has some other interesting bikes for sale.

Update: A reader sent me a picture of his two Honda Monkeys (above) which he bought from a Honda dealer in Thailand. It cost him around 900KD per bike and an additional 391KD per bike to ship them to Kuwait and get all the paperwork done. They’re such great old school looking bikes!

A few days ago Saudi Arabia banned the movie “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” for including an LGBTQ character called America Chavez. Some news sites published that Kuwait had also banned the movie but according to Cinescape, that still hasn’t happened. When I asked them for confirmation on the ban for my post they responded with the following message:

We have no knowledge of the mentioned

Kuwait’s Ministry of Information censors all movies / set age ratings / cut scenes / ban movies

Not Cinescape, we’re waiting for the ministry’s official decision regarding the movie during their working hours, from Sunday to Thursday

Thank you for contacting us

So although Kuwait will most likely follow the footsteps of Saudi and ban the movie, as of right now it isn’t official yet and the movie is still listed on the Cinescape coming soon page.

Zahra Marwan is an extremely talented visual artist who was born in Kuwait. When the British rule ended in 1961, her father failed to register his citizenship and so was considered stateless (Bedoun). Although her mother was Kuwaiti, Kuwaiti law stipulates that the citizenship of the children is passed on from their father so Zahra was born stateless. As more and more rights of Bedouns were removed, Zahra and her family left Kuwait and immigrated to the United States.

Zahra’s Instagram account is filled with beautifully painted memories and dreams, many of which are related to her time growing up in Kuwait. I’ve got one of her illustrations hanging on my wall and I love it along with the story behind it. I actually met Zahra a few months ago when she was visiting Kuwait and she’s as bubbly and imaginative in real life as her illustrations depict her to be. She’s a great storyteller, not only with her illustrations but also with her captions which is why when she recently published a children’s book, I ordered a copy right away.

“Where Butterflies Fill the Sky” is a book based on the true story of her and her family’s immigration from Kuwait. Her story and memories are beautifully illustrated and written making it as fun to go through for adults as it is for children. Sadly, I just checked all the online English bookshops in Kuwait and none of them seem to carry the book. I ordered mine from Amazon so I guess you’d also have to get it from there. She has a Kindle version available if you don’t want to wait, but I’d definitely recommend the hardcover edition. Here is the link to the book on Amazon.

Also make sure you check out Zahra’s Instagram account @zahra_marwan

I think the biggest surprise here is that KTV2 is still operating.

While in London I spotted an Amazon Fresh grocery store next to my hotel using their grab-and-go concept. Basically it’s the next step after self-checkout, there is no checkout. You basically walk into the store, open your Amazon app and pull up a QR code which you need to scan at the entrance before going in. After that, you just take whatever you want from the shelves and then walk out without having to go through the checkout process. The store’s AI matches you to your Amazon account and using various cameras knows what you take and just charges your credit card.

The process felt pretty weird cuz on the way out you don’t have to scan or do anything, you just walk out. So it feels like you forgot to do something or that you’ve stolen an item. But it’s pretty great and after my first purchase, I got £10 credit put into my account to use during the day at the store, and then the second time I picked up something, I got another £10 credit put into my account to use during the evenings at the store. So basically was shopping for free.

I still don’t understand why our supermarket chains here don’t install self check out machines. Dear Sultan Center, please install self-checkout machines it’s 2022!

The Subway brand changed ownership in Kuwait recently. Kout Food Group who have Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell and Applebee’s have now taken over the Subway brand. According to their Instagram account, they became the new owners starting March 25th.

A couple of days back ago I got back from a 10-day trip to London. Other than a day stopover in 2018 on my way from LA, it was my first time back in London since 2015. I flew Kuwait Airways which btw, is so much better than flying British Airways. Firstly the timings of the flights make a lot more sense (no late night flight so no need to sleep on the plane) but also the overall experience is better because of the Kuwait Airways airport and the less busy flight. Because I was staying for 10 days I needed a reasonably priced hotel that wasn’t a shoebox, was somewhat trendy looking and located in a great area. After doing a ton of research I decided to stay at the Kingsland Locke in Dalston.

I hadn’t heard of Dalston nor had I been to it up until this trip. It’s an area in East London, part of the Hackney borough. If you’ve been to Shoreditch before then it’s around a 30-minute walk up from there. Dalston turned out to be the best place I could imagine staying. I had the award-winning bakery The Dusty Knuckle like a 5-minute walk from my hotel so that sorted out my breakfast and coffee routine every morning. Instead of losing weight on this trip because of all the walking, I think I put on weight because of all the pastries I was having every morning. I was also within walking distance from the bar 🔶🟥🔵 which became my go-to spot for a nightcap and to chill at the end of the day.

I was also surrounded by loads of grocery stores including M&S and Amazon Fresh (post on that coming soon). There was also a Pret-A-Manger, a community garden and an amazing Indian restaurant called Attawa all a few minute’s walk.

The area is connected to the rest of London via Overground and there were two different stations next to the hotel, one that was a 2-minute walk and another a 5-minute walk. Both stations were on different lines so it made getting anywhere rather simple and quick. Shoreditch and Peckham were both reachable without swapping any trains while areas like Oxford Circus or Notting Hill would require swapping to the Underground line which was just 2-stops away.

The hotel itself was pretty cool. It gave off a slight hipster vibe but it was subtle. The interior was nicely designed, and the staff were friendly. The hotel works like a short stay apartment which it what helps keep the costs down. It’s like a tiny studio apartment so you get a fully functioning kitchen in the room and a laundry area in the basement if you need it. There isn’t a daily cleaning service, depending on how long you’re staying you might get a complimentary clean included or you can request it for an extra cost. If you want new towels, shampoos, toilet paper etc, you can just request those at the front desk.

I stayed in their City Studio room which was fairly small but larger than the room I stayed in last year at The Hoxton in Paris (which also cost twice as much). The bed and pillows were super comfy, and the whole room gave a very cozy vibe. Even though this hotel was one of the affordable ones I found, it still cost KD60 a night, so it’s attainable but wouldn’t call it cheap. You can obviously find cheaper rooms but don’t think you can find one that has as cool a personality and vibe that was located in a good area. I’d totally stay there again if I go back.

If you’re traveling to London this Eid and haven’t booked a place to stay in yet then check this place out. Here is a link to the hotel website Link

I found out about Smiths Boutique by mistake recently. Before I traveled on vacation I was in Dasman Complex picking up a burger from Top Bun when I noticed something going on in one of the shops nearby. Turns out it was a small event for a local watch boutique called Smiths. I’m a big fan of watches and so decided to check the event out. The owner was there, a watch guy himself (obviously) so he proceeded to explain to me and my friends his concept, the watch brands he had on display, and why he chose to bring those specific ones to Kuwait.

Smiths carries brands you might never have heard of like Laco, Roue, RZE and HVD but they all have interesting stories. Laco for example is a German watch brand that has been around since 1925 while Roue is a brand inspired by watches in the 60s and 70s. Smiths also carries modified and homage watches, a category that has exploded in popularity recently due to watches like the CasiOak, a mashup where people took an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak replica case and combined it with a Casio. Smiths carries some modified Seiko watches which are interesting, fun, and attainable, but that also pretty much describes all the watches Smiths carry.

If you like watches you’ll appreciate what Smiths is trying to do. With most of the watch stores sticking to popular and generic big names, it’s refreshing to see one thats trying to be a bit more unique and offer something more curated. The Smiths Instagram is pretty active and informative so make sure you check that out @smiths.oclock but their website is also mobile phone friendly with all their watches displayed along with their prices, you can check that out at smiths.boutique

For 2022, I decided to put together a Ramadan Desserts list with the aim to highlight the interesting desserts for the season. There are a lot of delicious-looking ones this year which is why I also included all the photos. In addition to listing them here on the blog, I also compiled them into a PDF which you can download [Here]

Check out the full list below.

In May 1960, an international competition was held for the architectural project for the Kuwait National Museum which would be located in the cultural district of the 1952 Master Plan of Kuwait. The competition was won by French architect Michel Écochard and the museum was finally opened in 1983 where it stayed open up until the 1990 invasion. The museum was badly damaged during the war and most of the buildings remained closed (some photos of the destruction here). There were talks at one point of demolishing the museum and building a new one but thankfully in 2014, it was decided to save the existing museum by restoring it.

The restoration project is now complete and the museum is currently in the process of getting ready to reopen. I got invited to a sneak peek of the museum, something that I’ve been wanting for years. I was lucky enough to visit the museum back in the 80s, and although I don’t remember much of it, I do appreciate the fact that they decided to restore the landmark building instead of demolishing it as is the case most of the time.

The Kuwait National Museum is part of the Qibla Cultural District (Google Maps) which includes the Sadu House, the National Library, and Al-Qibla School for Girls Education. The main museum complex comprises of four buildings each housing a different part of Kuwait’s history:

Building 1 – Archeology of Kuwait
Building 2 – Ethnographic History of Kuwait
Building 3 – Ancient East
Building 4 – Ancient East

Buildings 1 and 2 are already open while buildings 3 and 4 are the ones heavily damaged during the war and the ones I got to tour. Buildings 3 and 4 are the largest buildings and will cover art in the Ancient East starting in the 3rd millennium BC going through Arabia before Islam, then the beginning of Islam, followed by the full chronology of Islamic Art.

All four buildings are connected by closed bridges. This means once you enter a building you can navigate the whole museum without stepping outside making it very convenient during the hot summer months.

Minor changes were made to the structure of the buildings, large semi-opaque windows were installed to bring in more daylight, and some minor new stairs and walkways were added due to updated fire safety requirements. All the work looked very tasteful and well-executed although I do wish they had kept the original pink brick facade.

There is also a planetarium outside the museum which you’ve most likely seen driving by on the Gulf Road since it’s the building closest to the road and its round spherical shape is hard to miss.

The planetarium is also in the final stages of renovation and will be reopening soon.

As I mentioned early on in the post, buildings3 and 4 of the museum are currently in the process of getting ready to reopen. They’re expecting that would happen in two years’ time, around 2024. In the meantime, buildings 1 and 2 are open and you can visit those now, here is my previous post about them. Link