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The French sporting goods retailer Decathlon which currently has a large location in Marina Mall is opening another location in Avenues Phase I. I think they’re opening in the same place where Go Sport used to be but they’ve taken a few more stores around the old Go Sport location including a corner shop so it should be even bigger.
Last weekend I signed up and took part in the first open track event at the Kuwait Motor Town. It was probably the only sport left in Kuwait other than bowling that hadn’t restarted and I couldn’t understand why. It’s a sport where everyone is alone inside their cars driving around an outdoor circuit, so it’s pretty much perfect for social distancing. After taking part in the first event last weekend, I ended up leaving really impressed with the whole experience.
For this COVID era, KMT has introduced some new rules and changes to make things even safer than usual. Here are some of the important ones they’ve introduced:
Number of Participants
The number of participants at a race has been reduced to just 30. Previously it was anywhere from 60 to 90 participants per open track event. This means a lot less people everywhere and even spectators are no longer allowed at the events.
Registration
Previously on arriving to the track, you had to park your car, go into the reception area and wait in line till it’s your turn so you can sign in and collect your tags. You then have to go back to your car and drive up the scrutineering area where a group of guys run a number of safety checks on your car. The new process now is when you enter the parking lot you register at the gate while still in your car. While registering the scrutineering team will check your car and then when they’re done you enter the track. You don’t have to leave your car and really this process was so much more efficient than the previous way, they should permanantly have it this way.
Pitlane Garages
Pre-COVID, you’d enter the pitlane and park in any of the garages you wanted to. Now every garage is assigned to an individual and the separators between the garages are closed. So you basically park in a large garage by yourself and you don’t see anyone or interact with anyone. Every garage has it’s own bathroom and they’ve also provided gloves, masks and hand sanitizer for you.
Briefing
Before a race, every participant needs to attend a briefing session. Previously we’d all squeeze into a tightly packed overcrowded room. Now the number of participants has been reduced down to just 30 people and on top of that, the briefing session has been split into two groups. So there is plenty of social distancing during the briefing.
Other Points
Due to the number of participants only being 30, the track was pretty much empty the whole time with no traffic. KMT have installed new digital flags all around the track so we can now see the various warning flags when they’re shown. KMT now also has a fuel station and they accept Knet!
Really the only negative thing about KMT right now is the lack of proper night lights. They’re using regular street lights around the track which barely light up the track because they need to be positioned behind the safety barriers which are quite a distance from the track. There has been talk every year about getting proper flood lights but it hasn’t happened yet.
As I said at the start of the post I left the event impressed. If there was a local sport that is setting a good example of how to host an event safely during COVID, it’s KMT.
Edo the popular (or used to be popular) Japanese restaurant has reopened in a new location after closing down their Sahara one. The new Edo is now located in Al Khaled Complex in Salmiya where Gia is and in the same spot Vigonovo used to be. It’ not a big location at all with around 6 tables in total, but it did feel cozy and I honestly prefer it over their Sahara spot which I never got used to.
If you want to pass by, here is the new location on Google Maps and you can follow them on Instagram @edo_restaurant
If you skip to the 2-minute mark in the video above you’ll get to an old Showbiz ad, one I hadn’t seen before. It’s a pretty lame ad but it does have footage of the interior which will bring back memories if you ever went there as a kid. Showbiz opened up in the 80s on the Gulf Road and was a concept similar to Chuck E Cheese. It closed down and the building demolished in the 90s to make way for a new Showbiz but that project ended up getting abandoned.
If you keep watching after the Showbiz ad you’ll see an old Crush soda ad which I actually remember watching as a kid.
Thanks Janna
The Assima Mall is a new mall owned by Salhiya popping up in the city across the street from KIPCO Tower and last week I got to check it out. The mall is looking really great so far as you can see in the pictures with lots and lots of daylight coming in through the huge glass roof. The mall is made up of 8 levels and because of the large skylight, even the lower floors get access to natural light.
The most prominent places opening up in Assima are the upmarket French department store Galeries Lafayette, the French retail chain Monoprix, the National Geographic store, a UFC Gym and Cinescape.
Originally meant to be completed this year, the mall is now expected to be completed in April with an opening of Q3 or Q4 of 2021.
A cinema room under construction
Has anyone had to deal with a construction site that started work in the middle of the night? I kinda remember reading in a newspaper once that they are only allowed to work during certain hours like 6AM to 10PM or something like that, anyone know the exact timings? Also who do you complain to? I woke up at around 4AM because the construction site across the street was working and it was super annoying. Luckily I had some 3M earplugs I ended up using but I doubt my neighbors were as lucky.
This is this weekend’s to-do list, if you’ve been looking for a desert activity then the Car Boot & Dine event is the one to check out:
Thursday
Kuwait Motor Town Open Track
Friday
Car Boot & Dine [Location]
Ultimate Frisbee Pick Up Game
Saturday
Car Boot & Dine [Location]
Trashtag Messila Beach Cleanup
Trash Hero Subiya Cleanup
If I missed an event let me know.
Earlier this week I posted a list of car and bike brands that were acquired by BNK and one of the brands I listed was Vanderhall Motor Works. Vanderhall is an American vehicle manufacturer that produces three-wheeled roadsters and yesterday I took a spin in one around the block.
I’m really not a big fan of three-wheeled cars but was curious to try one, and having tried one now, I’m still not a fan. It’s not a motorbike or a car and there is no way to avoid potholes in a three-wheeler. The roadster is hot looking but would look ten times hotter if it had four wheels! Definitely a toy car.
If you’re interested, they’re going to sell for around 10-14K at the local dealer depending on the model and you can get more info by visiting their instagram account @vanderhallkw
The Kuwait Municipality recently launched the Baladia 139 mobile application to report issues. Currently, the issues you can report are waste removal related but hopefully, they’ll add more categories soon or at least an “Other” section. This is what they have to say about the app:
Baladia 139 application is developed by Kuwait Municipality offering mobile users one more way to report selected issues to Kuwait Municipality.
With Baladia 139, reporting an issue is as easy as snapping a photo with your smartphone, adding detailed information and hitting submit. The location of your request will be automatically detected and sent to Kuwait Municipality, so a team can go and handle your request at the earliest.
The app offers the following service request categories:
• Garbage Removal
• Abandon Cars Removal
• Building Waste Removal
• Furniture Waste RemovalFeel free to submit and track the progress of your requests via Baladia 139 application.
If you’re on iOS you can download it here.
If you’re an Android user you can download it here.
Thanks Fahad
Due to the pandemic, all racing at the Kuwait Motor Town track had been put on hold but they’re finally back! There will be two open track events to end the year, one this coming Thursday the 24th, and the next on the 31st. The dates were announced yesterday but tickets only went on sale this morning and sold out in a few minutes. I was literally refreshing the website all morning and so managed to quickly buy tickets for both days, but a lot of people I know either managed to just get a ticket for one day, or weren’t even fast enough to get any tickets at all.
Because of the pandemic, they’ve got new rules for this season:
I can’t wait, this is gonna be a great way to end this bizarre year.
Top photo captured by @hamed__ashkanani
Big Ramy who started training at Oxygen Gym back in 2010 has become the new Mr. Olympia 2020 Champion. It’s such an incredible feat, basically, the equivalent of winning Miss Universe or the UEFA Championship, but in the bodybuilding world. When Arnold Schwarzenegger was bodybuilding his goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, that meant becoming Mr. Olympia. He eventually won it 7 times.
A few years ago I posted about how Kuwait was the new bodybuilding mecca of the World and Big Ramy just proved this to be true.
I was just thinking a couple of days ago on different people who started in Kuwait and gained worldwide success, the two people that came into my mind were @pinot and @nouriflayhan since I know them, but Big Ramy is now another local success story.
Sheikh @nsaalsabah with his wife Sheikha Hussa Alsabah prepared to open Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah museum in 1983 pic.twitter.com/IuObpQJyT9
— نوح (@kwt80s) June 24, 2020
The behind the scenes video above is of Sheikh Nasser and his wife Sheikha Hussa during the preperations to open the Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah museum back in 1983.
Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al Sabah passed away yesterday aged 72.
Last year BNK become the dealer for Volvo cars and since then they’ve been busy acquiring the rights to more brands in Kuwait. So far from what I can tell these are the brands they’ve gotten so far:
Aprilia
Moto Guzzi
Polestar
Vanderhall
Vespa
Volvo
I haven’t seen the Vanderhall on the streets yet (pictured above), but I did see a Polestar a couple of times on the road last week. Vespa, on the other hand, existed in Kuwait before and I had one, but the previous dealer closed down and BNK instead has now taken it over. I loved my old yellow Vespa but sold it after I bought my first Datsun 240z.
At the start of the pandemic, I shut down the events section since everything obviously stopped. But, a few things are starting to pop up and I’m going to start posting about them here and once things really take off, only then reopen the events section again. For now here are a few things taking place this weekend:
Friday
Trashtag Kuwait x Solarity
Sound Healing
Straw Blown Acrylic Pour
Yin Yan Yoga
Kuwait Cricket Desert Championship Finals
Saturday
Saracen Race 2020
If I missed an event let me know.
This is super random which is why I find it fascinating. Someone from the roller coaster community (I guess a roller coaster geek?) posted on reddit asking for videos of a roller coaster that used to be in Shaab Park called the Spiral Coaster. Turns out it was an ultra rare roller coaster with only one ever made by Intamin Amusement Rides, a major player in the amusement park attractions industry and based out of Liechtenstein.
The Spiral Coaster was a pipeline coaster meaning the train rides between the tracks as opposed to a traditional roller coaster where the train rides above them. The Spiral Coaster concept was originally designed by the US company Arrow Dynamics and was featured in the National Geographics special on the company. You can actually see the prototype of the coaster in the video above (starts at 16:00). Arrow Dynamics couldn’t produce the roller coaster so Intamin took the concept from them and built it themselves.
Originally the roller coaster was called the Comet and was located inside a recreational complex in South Korea called Sky Plaza from 1996 to 1999. Sky Plaza eventually failed and the building demolished and Shaab Park acquired the roller coaster. Shaab Park renamed the roller coaster to Spiral Coaster and it was active in the park from 2000 to 2005.
Eventually, the ride was marked as SBNO from 2005 to 2017 which is amusement park lingo for standing but not operational. I actually found some pictures I had taken back in 2012 with the ride in the backdrop in poor condition. The area underneath the coaster was used as part of the MILSIM airsoft battleground.
If anyone here has any videos or photos of the ride, please let me know or share it. They’re rare and the roller coaster community would love it.
