Search: “sti”

I’ve got a friend who signed up both his parents for the vaccine at the same time, his mum is Kuwaiti while his dad is older and an expat. His mum got vaccinated while his dad still hasn’t gotten an appointment. So now I’m wondering if they’ve started vaccinating expats or if they’re prioritizing Kuwaitis first.

Does anyone know if they’ve started vaccinating expats who aren’t health care workers?

Update: The comments have been locked

February marks two blogging anniversaries for me. February 6th, 2003 is the date I published my first blog post on my first blog Qhate.com, and February 19th, 2005 is the day I published my first blog post on this blog.

Last year should have been the most challenging year of the blog since being stuck at home and not going out as much should have hampered my ability to post about stuff. But, looking at the data, last year I published 415 posts compared to 442 the previous year so it wasn’t that bad and that’s probably due to the fact there were a lot of Covid related posts. I got nearly 4,000,000 page views last year with the busiest month being May. May is when we had the full 24-hour lockdown with the 2 hours to go out and mingle, that’s also when private supermarkets became available on moci.shop.

I still wake up every morning at 7AM to publish my posts before heading to work. It’s a good routine that has been working really for me. I also just realized I’ve been blogging for nearly half my life, such a bizarre feeling.

Anyway, thank you to all my readers, hopefully, this year is going to be a lot better for everyone.

There are a few beautiful strips of beach I ride my bike next to on the Gulf Road that are filled with trees that provide nice visual greenery as well as shade in the summer for beachgoers. Whenever I ride my bike past those areas I think about how pretty it is and how it doesn’t look like Kuwait which is one of the best compliments you can give something here FYI.

Yesterday I found out that they’ve started removing the trees on the beaches! Sorry, I shouldn’t say removed since you might think they were relocated somewhere else, instead the proper word I should be using is bulldozed. They bulldozed the strips of the beach with the trees and killed everything.

The video above shows how those beaches looked like before they were demolished just to give you an idea of how pretty they were. Why does Kuwait hate trees so much? It’s really upsetting, I’m trying to care less and less about Kuwait but it’s not easy to do especially when I’ve spent the past 40 years caring about this place.

Found this video and some photos on the @t2.engineers Instagram account showing the current status of the new T2 terminal that’s under construction. I had heard that work on the airport never stopped throughout the pandemic which is how I guess they’ve managed to get so much done.

There is another video I found below taken from @arabaviation that shows how the interior is coming along as well.

This is related to my dirt bike adventure yesterday but decided it deserved a separate post.

Subiya is one big garbage dump right now.

The causeway bridge is the worst thing to happen to Subiya because as soon as you cross over to the other side it’s now littered with garbage. Like EVERYWHERE! There wasn’t a single off-road area yesterday where we didn’t come across garbage. It’s so sad and upsetting and especially since I used to visit the area before the bridge was opened up and I remember how clean it used to be. There were barely ever any people there, no campsites at all, and just camels with herders. Now it’s just a big ass garbage dump.

People camp and litter and it’s disgusting. Instead of banning electric scooters on roads or importing car exhausts, how about banning camping in the desert instead? How about turning the whole desert area into a natural reserve and have people request permission to camp in designated camping grounds like they do in national parks in the States?

It’s so sad.

I’ve been wanting to experience dirt biking ever since I got my motorbike license back in 2006. I had ridden sports bikes, naked bikes, cruisers and scooters but always felt dirt bikes might be more fun. The only reason I never got one is because I couldn’t figure out how to make it financially viable. If I did buy a dirt bike I’d have to take it out a few times a month which sounds doable, but I’d also need a trailer to transport it and that seemed like too much of a hassle for me to end up wanting to do it more than once or twice a month.

Then a few weeks ago, I got a notification on Instagram that one of my Facebook friends is now on instagram as @xkuwaitofficial. A guy I met nearly a decade ago through my blog called Faris Al-Obaid had set up a business called X Kuwait offering extreme experiences one of which was dirt biking based off the photos he was posting on the account. He always was into extreme sports so I thought it was cool that he had set this up. I decided to check out his website see how much one of these dirt bike adventures cost so I could mentally restart the process of considering buying a dirt bike, I figured maybe I could store the bike with them and they could take it out for me whenever I join on one of these trips. While checking their website I noticed that under one of the dirt bike adventures they mention that they provide the bike and gear. Right away I got in touch with Faris to confirm that they provided the actual dirt bikes and he confirmed that was the case. I wanted to book instantly but my back was super messed up that weekend so I waited a couple of weeks before finally booking a 4-hour adventure which I went on yesterday.

It was one of the scariest yet most fun experiences I’ve had in ages.

We met up at an empty lot on the other side of the Sheikh Jaber causeway bridge at around 10am. I got there and the two bikes were already set up and Faris was there getting some stuff ready. They provide the gear so the first thing I had to do was change and put on a bunch of safety gear then the outfit and then the boots, helmet, and gloves. I got a brief of the route we were going to take and then got a tour of the bike. Since I already knew how to ride a motorbike I was familiar with how bike works but just to quickly give you readers an overview, the gear clutch is controlled with a left-hand leaver, the front brakes with a right-hand leaver, then your left foot controls the gearbox (you tap a leaver with your foot up and down) and your right foot controls the rear brakes. But, because dirt bike boots were made of hard plastic and so weren’t flexible (similar to ski boots), I had no idea how I was going to change gears or even feel my feet changing gears. He made me ride around the empty lot for a bit to get myself familiar and I realized changing gears was going to be something I’d just have to get used to.

We then left the parking lot on the bikes and headed off-road. Faris knows the area really well, calls it his backyard so the route he had planned for us would start off easy and get more and more difficult the further we went into the 4-hour adventure. The first part of the trail was mostly flat hard sand with some soft sand spots so I could get a feel for the bike and when he saw I was doing ok he’d take me on a path that was slightly more challenging. We took our first break 15 minutes into the ride so he could check up on me and see if I had any questions. After that, we headed out again and did multiple stops throughout the whole trip at different interesting sights.

I think my favorite part of the trip was a long strip of a closed off highway that was covered in sand. It felt like we were in a post-apocalyptic world where nature had taken over. At that point it was also the most difficult part of the trip since riding on soft sand is super dodgy. You can’t stop, you can’t slow down and you constantly have to be on guard because the rear wheel has a habit of slipping and going sideways.

The hardest bit of the journey was actually right at the end of the trip, a rough rocky terrain that required slow speed and lots of standing up on the bike which I thankfully had gotten used to by that point of the trip. I was exhausted both mentally and physically but the idea that I hadn’t fallen off the bike yet that day kept me going and gave me more confidence. We finally got back to our cars and it felt great getting back into my soft sneakers and comfy car seat.

The cost of this 4-hour experience was KD169 which for me at least was a great deal. It’s much cheaper than buying a bike and I had so much fun. You definitely need to know how to ride a bike to experience this and he does offer lessons although I’m not sure how much they cost. It was much harder than I was expecting it to be and really tough mentally and physically but I’m glad I did the 4-hour adventure and not the 2-hour one since it gave me twice as much time to get familiar with dirt bikes. Currently, Faris can take up to two people per adventure but he might be selling one of the bikes and then he’d only be able to take one person out. If you want to get more info on X Official, their Instagram is @xkuwaitofficial and their website is xkuwaitshop.com

Today is going to be a day of complaining on the blog. I don’t think I’ve ever been so pessimistic about the future of Kuwait as I have been recently. From roads that are a total mess to laws that don’t make any sense. And then when you have serious issues, nothing gets done about it.

Last week the popular local instagrammer Ascia got harassed while leaving her office on the way to her car. She was clearly shaken up and posted an emotional story on her Instagram about what had happened. Women getting harrassed by men is such a common occurrence in Kuwait it’s become the norm. There isn’t a single girl I know who hasn’t been harassed and it happens all the time.

Women get harassed at malls, universities, in parking lots, at work, everywhere basically, and nothing ever gets done about it. But now a bunch of popular instagrammers are going vocal about the issue and hopefully, people will finally listen to them.

Other than Ascia, the popular luxury footwear designer Najeeba Hayat (@liudmilahq) has been very vocal about harassment sharing stories by other women on her account. Local illustrators like @wadaniart and @coffeeandcastoffs have also posted about the problem and the movement seems to be gaining traction. An instagram account was set up called Lan Asket (@lan.asket) which translates into “I won’t stay quiet” which has been posting stories of harrasment in both English and Arabic.

Men can help too. Anytime you see a form of harassment taking place get involved. I witness a lot of cases of harassment on the Gulf Road and anytime I see it happening, I usually pull up behind the guy and start flashing my high beams and honking the horn until he drives off.

Knowing how things are in Kuwait I’m not very optimistic something will be done about this. Like I mentioned in my previous post, they usually implement new rules or laws, enforce them heavily for two weeks and then forget about them. It’s sad really, but hopefully, I’m wrong.

What do you think needs to be done? What would help this issue? What can men do to support this cause? I’m interested in what people think about this subject. Have you been harassed before? Share your story.

[poll id=”15″]

Over the weekend the ‏Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced that the importing of car exhaust systems would be banned. Like every normal person, I also hate it when I’m sitting somewhere quiet only to have some asshole in a Silvarado pickup truck with a modified exhaust system rev his engine loud as if he’s about to take part in a drag race. But, banning the import of exhausts doesn’t solve this issue!

Why is it that every time there is any sort of problem the first solution is to apply an outright ban? People are riding electric scooters on the street? Let’s ban that. Some expats are using their private pickups for commercial work? Let’s ban them from owning pickup trucks. People might have sex in the back seat of their cars if we allow dark window tinting? Ban that! Instead of taking a bit of time to think of a proper solution, things just get banned and that sucks.

Firstly lets be clear about something, banning the import of car exhausts doesn’t solve the issue of people being loud with their cars. There are a lot of ways to make your current exhaust existing system loud and it’s easy and cheap to do. You can for example remove your car’s catalytic converter or your muffler and that would make your car really loud. You can cut holes in your muffler and that will also make your exhaust loud. You can even go to a local exhaust shop and have him fabricate you a cheap exhaust with the purpose of being loud if you want. There are lots of options without having to import an exhaust system from abroad.

I’ve personally imported two exhaust systems and both times it had nothing to do with making my car louder. The first exhaust I ordered was for my first Lotus, I didn’t like the way the stock exhaust looked like so I ordered a new one with carbon fiber tips (pictured on top). It didn’t make my car any louder and it came with a valve similar to the factory system that would stay closed for normal use and keep the car quiet. I simply ordered the exhaust for looks. The second time I ordered an exhaust system was for my 1972 Datsun 240Z which is currently in the final stages of restoration. The exhaust that came on the car was a poor quality aftermarket exhaust that was in terrible condition, so I ordered a new high-quality hand made exhaust all the way from Japan (cost me around 600KD and pictured below) to try and keep my restoration authentic. I know people who order exhausts for performance reasons as well, some exhaust systems add horsepower to the car and some are lighter and reduce the overall weight of the car.

More importantly though, what is considered loud in the first place? In Europe and other parts of the world, cars have noise limits that are measured in decibels. It’s not based on some cop’s opinion of what he thinks is loud, it’s actually a specific db number that if your car exceeds is then considered illegal. When they started cracking down on cars with loud exhausts last week nobody mentioned any db limit, just that people with “loud” exhaust would be fined and possibly have their cars impounded. But loud could mean one thing to one person and another thing to another.

Anyway, like every new law that gets announced in Kuwait, this will probably last a couple of weeks before it’s forgotten about and everything goes back to normal, so maybe I shouldn’t be so frustrated with this.

Gatwa W Gahwa, the first Cat Cafe in Kuwait that was located in Galleria 2000 closed down a couple of years back. They were moving to a new location in Boulevard and they even changed their name to Cats Boulevard, but then Corona hit and I guess the project was put on hold. There is now another place in Salmiya called Perfect Paws where you can go and play with cats. It’s not a cafe though, it’s what the owner calls a playground. I dropped by yesterday to check it out and it’s definitely not as nice a place as Gatwa W Gahwa, but if you want to play with some cats, you’re pretty limited with options.

Perfect Paws is located on the top floor of Fashion Way across the street from Al Fanar Complex. It costs KD3 per hour to play with their cats and there are A LOT of cats to play with. It’s only by appointment so no walk-ins allowed. But, even by appointment, I’d probably hold off on passing by during the pandemic since yesterday there were 10 people in the small place playing with the cats when I walked by. If you want to visit the playground or book an hour, then head over to their Instagram account @perfect.pawsq8

AlMuthanna Complex used to be one of the very few malls in Kuwait when I was growing up and it had some of my favorite places including The Kuwait Bookshop and Hungry Bunny. But for over a decade now it’s been a ghost town of a sort. I heard it had something to do with the fact that the land lease had expired and there was a transition period but that was over 10 years ago. I also heard rumors they were planning to demolish the building as well.

There are just a handful of stores still open in the mall so it’s pretty sad. The complex is located in a great location in the city, it has tons of parking and even the residential apartments are nicely laid out and constructed. If anyone knows what’s going on with the building let me know.

There are still a few places that develop 35mm film in Kuwait (example) but film options available are really limited. CRATE (@bycrate) is a local online store that sells 35mm and 120mm film as well as some cameras (disposable and reusable).

Prices are expensive or reasonable depending on how you look at them. They sell the Lomography “Simple Use Film Camera 400” for KD10 which is more expensive than the Lomo website but cheaper than if you ordered it yourself. But then you have the 800T Cinetstill film for example which they’re selling for KD8 but costs KD4 online so slightly cheaper if you ordered it yourself. Want it now and don’t want to bother ordering the stuff online? Then you’re going to have to pay a bit of a “premium”.

If you’re interested in film, check out their website bycrate.com

Teacher’s Cellar whom I posted about back in 2010 is closing down their location in Al Muthana Complex. The whole mall has turned into a ghost town and it’s pretty sad since I have a lot of great memories there as a kid. I really hope they don’t demolish it. Anyway, due to the fact they’re closing down the store, Teacher’s Cellar currently have a 75% discount on everything until January 21st.

So if you’ve got kids and are looking to get random things from books, to fun activities, science experiments, or even simple things like scratch & sniff stickers or magnetic alphabets, pass by them before they close down. @teacherscellarq8

Al Diwan Al Amiri released a preview video of the new Entertainment City and although I hate the fact they demolished the old one, I think I kinda like this one. I like it because they’ve combined a lot of different things into the place which might actually make it successful. Previously it was just an amusement park but the new version merges a mall, hotel, and sports stadium with the park as well as an aquarium and museum. The new Entertainment City is going to be now called “The City” and contain the following:

Outdoor Theme Park (6 theme zones)
Indoor Theme Park (Envisioned by Ubisoft)
Indoor Snow Park
Waterpark
Aquarium
Dolphinarium
Museum & Planetarium
High Street Retail
A Retail Mall
Luxury District (900+ rooms and apartments)
Icon Hotel (480+ luxury rooms)
Sports and Festival Arena (25,000+ spectators)

The only thing I really don’t like and should be changed is the dolphinarium. It’s 2021, we’re all much more aware and informed on how inhumane dolphinariums are. Even The Scientific Center canceled plans for their dolphinarium so not sure why we’re still trying to build one in Kuwait.

Other than that one issue I’m excited about this project. No completion date was shared in the presentation but going by their previous schedules, I wouldn’t be surprised if the first stage isn’t completed in around 2 years’ time.

Thanks @_M87

The Kuwait coastguard removed a dead whale this past weekend which was found near the Jaber Causeway bridge. This isn’t the first time that this has happened but it has to be right up there with some of the biggest ones so far.

I’ve never really been interested in astrophotography myself since it’s a pretty time-consuming process that requires a lot of patience, but I do find the process interesting. I also assumed we wouldn’t be able to get good photos in Kuwait due to the light pollution but a local photographer is proving that assumption to be false.

Abdulmohsen Alreesh is a local photographer who has been capturing some great photos of our solar system and posting them on his Instagram account @mi7sen89. Not only that but he’s also listing the equipment he’s using as well as the capture details. For example, below is the info he shared related to the photo above:

Rosette Nebula NGC 2244

Description: The beautiful rosette nebula! Named because of the nebulosity that resembles rose petals. I actually see a skull but still a very cool target. The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of 5,000 light-years from Earth and measure roughly 130 light-years in diameter. The radiation from the young stars excites the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see.

Equipment:
° Mount: Ioptron Cem40 with iPolar
° Main Imaging: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
° Filter: Optolong L-extreme 1.25″
° OTA: Skywatcher Esprit 100ED
° SW field flattener
° Guide Scope: ZWO mini guide scope 120mm
° Guide Camera: ZWO ASI-120MM-mini
° Stellarmate – Wireless Astrophotography Controller

Integration:
Lights: 30 x 300 seconds – gain 120
Darks: none
Flats: none
Bias: none

Total acquisition: 2 hours 30 minutes

Software:
Deep Sky Stacker
Siril
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Lightroom

It’s super interesting and he’s got other examples similar to this on his account as well. If you want to get into astrophotography or want to see more photos captured by Abdulmohsen, then make sure you check out his Instagram account @mi7sen89