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It’s been a year since I first tried 5G and so I wanted to post a quick update on how it’s been. Since my initial review last year, a lot more people have now gotten 5G and the prices have dropped considerably. When 5G first came out we got it at the office and our monthly fee was KD45. When I got mine last year, I was paying KD19 for 1TB. Earlier this year prices dropped even further and so Zain called me up and told me that they were changing my package from KD19 for 1TB to KD19 for 4TB. A cool gesture considering on two occasions I had exceeded my 1TB bandwidth before the end of the month.

But, because there are now a lot more people on the network, the speeds aren’t what they used to be. When I initially reviewed 5G I was getting speeds of 650-750Mbps on average with the occasional 1.0-1.2Gbps. For the past 6 months, the highest speed I’ve seen is 390Mbps which I was actually surprised to see this morning when I ran the speed test for this post. In full transparency, that was actually the fastest speed I achieved over a number of tests this morning with the lowest coming out to 290Mbps which is close to the speeds I’ve been getting recently. On CITRA, the highest speed I got was 366Mbps.

The fastest connection I could get where I live before 5G was 28Mbps with Zain Beam. So although I’m not getting the 600+ speeds I used to get, I’m still getting speeds 100x 10x faster than my previous connection. I think as long as it stays around 300Mbps I’m good, if it drops down to the 100s I’d still be ok I guess, just annoyed because I used to get 700Mbps. According to Open Signal real-world download speeds, the average 5G connection speed in Kuwait is 185Mbps (one of the telecoms must be killing the curve) so I’m above average. Kuwait actually has the 6th fastest 5G connection speeds in the world according to the same data.

So do I still recommend 5G? Yup, 100% especially with the current prices (10KD for 1TB). So if you’re still on 4G it’s definitely worth upgrading.

There’s a distinctive looking red and white boat that’s been parked off the Gulf Road in Salmiya for a few weeks now and I’m curious as to what it is. Does anyone know?

Update: Turns out its the new Failaka ferry called Obu Alkhair

There is an interesting conversation currently on Reddit regarding companies who either reduced salaries because of the pandemic, or who missed or aren’t paying the salaries. Not sure how many of my readers are going through this issue but if you are and want to file a complaint you can do so by contacting the Public Authority of Manpower:

Phone: +965 69009600
Email: [email protected]

Check out the discussion on Reddit here.

It’s getting harder to find shows to watch since I’ve basically watched everything on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon video but thankfully, there are still new shows coming out all the time. Here are some recent ones I’ve watched:

Cobra Kai
If you’re an 80s kid you’re going to love this. Cobra Kai is a TV series that is a sequel to the original movie starring both Ralph Macchio (karate kid) and William Zabka (the kid he fought). It’s a series that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is pretty funny at times especially how they keep making the karate kid look like a bully in the original film and Zabka the victim. This series recently became available on Netflix but has been out for two years (it was a YouTube Original) and so there are two seasons to watch.

Euphoria
I had been putting this series off for some time because I thought it was going to be very teenagery but wow, what an incredible series. I think this might be one of my favorite shows I’ve watched this year. The story, the art direction, the music, the cast, everything about it is just so amazing. Euphoria follows around a bunch of young high school girls who are all friends showing us their different stories. It’s dark, it’s shocking, it’s controversial and it’s really entertaining. If like me you’re a fan of Sex and the City and the series Girls, then you’re going to love this. Euphoria does to Girls what Girls did to Sex and the City. I highly recommend this show, I binge-watched it over a weekend and it’s definitely a must-watch. Euphoria is on HBO.

Raised by Wolves
I just finished watching this series last night and I have mixed feelings about it. The show started off great and interesting, but then past the halfway point, I started losing interest. I was then hoping things would turnaround towards the end of the season but it just didn’t do it for me. I know a lot of people loved it and it scored pretty high on IMDB so I don’t know, maybe its because one of the main characters played by Travis Fimmel (Ragnar from Vikings) started getting on my nerves the same way he started pissing me off in Vikings, or it could be because I wanted the show tp head one direction (more adventure) but it took another (more philosophical?). If you’ve run out of things to watch then I’d watch this, it’s also on HBO.

Firstly, I think the place should actually be called Cleopatra’s Records based on the Arabic but their Instagram account name is Cleopatra Recorders so we’re just gonna stick to that. Cleopatra is a music shop in Hawalli that’s been around since back in 1969. I only found out about it last week from a friend and was pretty disappointed in myself that I didn’t know the place.

The store isn’t even hidden in some back alley of Hawalli, it’s actually on the main road opposite Promenade Mall. The store doesn’t look like much from the outside, nor the inside frankly. It’s a long skinny store with shelves filled with cassettes as well as some CDs and 8-track tapes. According to the employee, the original store owner had passed away and the son had taken it over.

I ended up buying a bunch of cassettes of old Kuwaiti music at an average price of KD1.5 each. What’s great is you can listen to the music before you buy it so I was randomly picking up albums off the shelves based on haircuts and outfits, and then I’d listen to them and if I liked it I got it. If you’re looking for old Arabic cassettes this is your place. Their Instagram account is @cleopatra_recorders and here is their location on Google Maps.

Thanks Abdullah

There have been a lot of changes compared to the last time I posted the Arton Capital Passport Index 5 years ago. Kuwait has moved up quite a bit on the list from 54th place back in 2015, to 36th place this year. Kuwaitis can now visit 34 countries without requiring a visa and they can also get visa on arrival in 38 other countries. Here are some countries with their rankings:

1 – New Zealand
4 – United Kingdom / Canada
13 – UAE
21 – United States
34 – Qatar
36 – Kuwait
41 – Bahrain
44 – Saudi Arabia
45 – Oman
58 – India
60 – Egypt
68 – Lebanon
74 – Syria
75 – Iraq

Want to see how your passport compares? Check out the full list here.

My Alfa Romeos’s car registration expired a couple of days back and because of the pandemic, I’m not required to have the car physically checked when issuing a new car registration. Instead, there are now companies that can renew the insurance for you and get your car registration issued without you having to go or do anything.

There are a number of companies but I ended up using Beep because it was the only one me and my friends could remember. The cost is KD32 for the insurance and car registration issuance. You contact them over WhatsApp, send them a picture of your expired car registration and the back and front of your Civil ID, in return they send you a payment link, and then the next day drop off your new car registration for you. They also take the old one back so you need to make sure you have that with you.

KD32 sounded a bit steep but I usually pay KD16 for my insurance and then KD5 for the car registration stamp so they’re basically charging around KD10 to do all this for you which isn’t that bad. This service is only applicable for cars whose registration expired March 12, 2020 onwards. If your car expired before that date you still need to get the car registration done in person.

Here is the link to the Beep Instagram account @beep_kw

Melemele is Kuwait’s first Karaoke house that opened up recently at The Palms. Not sure how karaoke works when you’re sober since I’ve only ever done it when plastered, but it seems it’s doable based on the videos in their highlights.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Melemele Karaoke (@melemelekaraoke) on Aug 27, 2020 at 2:33am PDT

The whole place along with the karaoke rooms looks pretty cool and they have over 10,000 tracks to choose from. The price is 4KD per person on weekdays and 5KD per person on weekends but depending on the size of the room you want, there is a minimum number of people that have to sign up. Booking is done through their website in advance and they’ve got a bit more information there so make sure to check it out.

We don’t get a lot of new things to do in Kuwait so it’s good to see something fun like this pop up especially during the pandemic. They’re on Instagram @melemelekaraoke and their website is melemelekaraoke.com

via @teachsmartwithfay

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by حياكم بمعرض الخليج (@m3rath_alkaleg) on Oct 2, 2020 at 2:21pm PDT

I love random odd things and last night a friend of mine sent me a link to my new favorite Instagram account @m3rath_alkaleg. It’s an Instagram account that live auctions chickens and it’s oddly entertaining to watch. I actually stopped watching an episode of Euphoria midway and spent an hour watching some guy live auction of some fantastic looking chickens at like 11PM at night. Seems like a strange time to hold a chicken auction but the guy had a ring light and phone set up professionally and it was a busy evening with I think the most expensive chicken selling for KD300. He then kept reminding people that whoever wins an auction to pass by and pick up their chickens that evening. The whole thing was bizarre to watch but I couldn’t stop.

Not sure if the auctions take place every night but if I had a garden I’d for sure set up a chicken coop and get some fancy chickens for it. If you’re looking for some strange entertainment check the account out @m3rath_alkaleg.

Thanks Fahed

A couple of days ago I found out that Momo Zaa (review here), the cute hole in the wall Bhutanese restaurant in Salmiya had to close down due to the pandemic. But, they’re still offering delivery from a different location including frozen momos. So if you tried visiting them and were disappointed not to find them, check out their Instagram @momozaa.kwt for info on how to order.

I found the picture above on @molowey’s (AbuJack) account on Twitter and it reminded me of when the Fahaheel Expressway first opened up. I was a kid but I remember it being like a very cool and big thing and I think I fairly remember my dad taking the family onto the expressway after a Friday lunch to check it out. At one point in time, the top speed was 140KM/h before being brought down to the current 120KM/h. If you want to see more old photos of Kuwait, AbuJack has been posting old photos he’s taken practically on a daily basis. Link

A Starbucks opening up in a mall wouldn’t really be news except for the fact when 360 Mall first opened, one of the differentiating factors from other malls was they wouldn’t carry any of the Alshaya brands. They wanted to be different from other malls and so didn’t want the same shops you’d find everywhere else also open there. That’s not an easy decision to stick by especially when Alshaya owns so many brands. I think the first Alshaya brand that opened there was Asha’s, but now Starbucks is planning to open up by the end of the year.

Google Street View currently works in Kuwait but is fairly limited since from what I can tell its one guy who’s driving around Kuwait with a 360-degree camera mounted to the roof of his SUV snapping photos.

But surprisingly, PACI seems to have a street view of pretty much most of Kuwait on their website. The only issue is it’s not as easy to use as Google Street View. For example you can’t just search for a random place and find it on the map. The process of actually finding a place is pretty tedious. Here are the steps to use PACI’s street view:

• First head to http://gis.paci.gov.kw/Client/EN/Default.aspx
• Click “Quick Search”
• Manually find the street you want
• Click on the street and wait a few seconds
• Once the street view thumbnail pops up at the bottom, click on it

Someone at PACI should really coordinate with Google and see if there is a way to merge their databases together. I’m still impressed though that PACI actually have a street view option.

Thanks Timothy

Al Fintas “Marasi” is a project that includes more than 1.8KM of developed facilities that include shops, restaurants, cinemas, a hotel and a large marina.

The Fintas Marinas project aims to be the leading marine destination on the coast of the State of Kuwait

The Fintas Marinas project includes more than 1.8 km of developed facilities that will provide unprecedented entertainment and commercial experiences, as 800 floating moorings for boats and mega yachts will be provided, and 1,200 multi-role stands for small boats, fishing and picnic boats, attached to an integrated yachting club, 5-star hotel and conference center On an island located in the middle of the project.

An equivalent of 200,000 square meters of recreational and commercial spaces will be developed throughout the marina, which will attract residents and visitors to enjoy the lifestyle of the marina and at the same time enable them to take advantage of other commercial and entertainment activities such as shops, restaurants, cinemas, cultural events and the botanical garden. All project components will be implemented using the principle of “one climate under one roof”, to ensure a comfortable environment for visitors during all seasons. The Fintas Marinas project includes a nautical club as well as yacht repair and maintenance workshops dedicated to serving all yacht owners.

A smart transportation strategy has also been prepared to ensure a smooth transition within the project, which includes car parks in the basement with a capacity of 6000 cars, provision of service logistical spaces behind commercial areas, and the implementation of an upgraded railway to transport visitors between the components of the project in a flexible manner, and a VIP entrance has also been allocated. It has direct access to the waterfront.

Marassi Fintas is a unique destination in Kuwait that can be accessed from land or sea. The project will also provide many investment opportunities for owners of small and medium enterprises.

The concept looks really interesting but couldn’t find much information on it online other than this video presentation and a short Arabic description under the video which I posted above translated using Google.

Thanks lovelykuwait

A few days ago my friend asked me if I knew of a good pest control company, he had gotten one already but he still had a pest problem and wanted to see if I knew of a better company. That made me realize, I never posted about Boecker. Although it sounds German, Boecker is actually a Lebanese pest management and food safety company. I go way back with the brand since when I was in university I interned at the company that helped create the Boecker brand, so I’ve been a fan for a long time. Then a few years ago a friend of mine got the franchise to Kuwait and started offering their services to the business and residential sectors.

I used them last year to come spray my apartment for pests and they’re such a professional company from the communication over the phone, to their uniforms to all the little cards and informative material they leave around the house. Another reason I highly recommend them is because they’re a pet friendly company and I wouldn’t trust any other company to come over and spray for pests if I had a pet.

To get an idea of their prices I think I paid KD90 for my large 3 bedroom 2 storey apartment. My friend which I mentioned at the start of the post told me they were cheaper than the first company he hired so I don’t think they’re crazy expensive or anything. They also have a disinfection service for germs and viruses including COVID-19 if that’s something you’re looking for. If you’re interested in calling them, their number is 22210015 and their website is boecker.com