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Yesterday I was contacted by the Qadsia Fencing Academy letting me know they are now offering fencing lessons to adults. Previously when I had contacted them, the program was only available for children and teenagers so I’m pretty excited the program is now open to adults as well. So excited in fact that I’m heading there tomorrow to start.

Their prices are extremely reasonable, it’s KD40 a month (for 12 sessions) and KD8 for half and hour of personal training. So if you’re interested in trying out something new and different, check out their website for more information [Link]

Update: Check out the latest post for more current information. Link

Looks like the Kuwait Bowling Sports Club is nearly done and will be ready way ahead of the 2017 World Bowling Championship which will take place in Kuwait next year. I walked by yesterday and they had the lights on and damn the place is huge. In total they have 58 bowling lanes, 350 seats and nearly 1000 parking spots.

The World Bowling Championship takes place once every four years and the last time it took place was in 2013 in Nevada, USA. The next championship event will take place here in Kuwait from December 4th to the 18th, 2017. To see a large version of the picture above, click [Here]

I used to post a gift guide on the blog back in the olden days (jeez wtf) so I decided to bring the list back this year again. If you still haven’t purchased a Christmas gift then the list below might help you with some ideas. Everything listed below is available in Kuwait, the links will take you to the place that sells the item. I might add more to the list as I think of stuff but for now these are my recommendations:

Over KD75
B&O BeoPlay A2 Speaker KD120
B&O BeoPlay H5 Earphones KD85
Micro 3D Printer KD169
Pure Fix Brewster Bicycle KD100
Typographic Light Box KD140

Under KD75
B&O BeoPlay H3 Earphones KD50
Crafted Gift Box KD60
Nintendo Classic Mini KD60

Under KD50
AeroPress Coffee Maker KD17
Alive Yoga (1 Month Membership) KD39
Apple TV (4th Gen) KD47
Breville Smart Kettle KD25
Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker KD32.350
Fujifilm Instax Mini8 Instant Film Camera KD25
Nespresso Inissia Espresso Machine KD45

Under KD15
Black Classic Logbook KD8
Brother Personal Label Machine KD9.900
Casio – Retro Gold Watch KD13
Casio – Retro Steel Watch KD8
Eneloop Charger with 4xAA Batteries KD12.950
Klean Kanteen Stainless Bottle KD10
Mossery Dye Notebook KD3
Striped Shopping Bag KD9.750

Yesterday Grant from %ARABICA sent me some renderings of their new branch that will be opening up in Shuwaikh. It’s going to be much larger than their current location and have a bunch of cool things. The new location will be their central roastery and house a rare vintage Probat UG22 roaster from the 60s. It will be separated from the main seating area by a glass wall so people can watch the roasting process if they want while having their coffee.

The best part about the new roastery I think is that it will have an education center. Customers will be able to schedule training on any number of brewing methods, even how to make coffee using their Slayer machines which is what I’d be interested in (not that I’ll be getting a Slayer machine anytime soon). The main idea with this center is to teach customers how to make the best coffee at home. The new location is expected to soft launch next month with the official opening sometime in February.

Here is the location on [Google Maps]

I passed by Elevation and Richards Coffee at the Seef strip the other day for lunch and coffee when I noticed a bunch of bicycles parked outside. After seeing some kids take them for a ride I asked an employee about the bikes and found out they were there for their customers to borrow and for free. All you need to do is let an employee know you want to take out a bicycle (or skateboard) and they’ll take your name down and you’re free to borrow the bikes for as long as you want (I’m assuming for the day and not for days). So if you feel like riding a bicycle and don’t want to buy one, pass by Elevation at Seef, here is their location on [Google Maps]

NUKEMAP is a pretty cool website where you select a city and strength of a nuclear bomb and the website will show you the effects of it hitting that city. I selected a 15kiloton bomb to hit Kuwait City similar to the one that was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II and I’m glad to report that my home in Salmiya would be safe. Over 7,000 people in the city would die and nearly 15,000 would be injured, but I’ll be safe! Try it out yourself [Here]

Last week Amazon announced that Amazon Prime Video was officially available in more than 200 countries… including Kuwait. I had previously assumed that there was no country restrictions since I was using Amazon Prime Video anyway, but I guess there was. Amazon Prime Video if you haven’t heard of it before is similar to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. They have a ton of popular shows and movies available on the network (like all 8 seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm), but they also have a bunch of great exclusive content like The Grand Tour and my favorite, The Man in the High Castle. If you already have an Amazon Prime account then you already have access to Amazon Prime Video (and Music), but if you don’t then the monthly subscription to Amazon Prime Video is just $2.99.

I use Amazon’s FireStick to stream Prime Video onto my TV but there are multiple ways of watching including using your browser. For more details, check out this [Link]

Update: If you use the Kuwait version of Amazon Prime Video a lot of the content will be restricted similar to how Netflix restricts content based on geographic locations. To get around this you need a DNS proxy and I personally use smartdnsproxy.com

They just opened up this morning. Their working hours are from 11AM to 1AM and here is their location on [Google Maps]

Below is the list of events taking place this weekend:

Thursday
A Fifteen-Year Journey: The Art of Amira Behbehani
Still Departures by George Awde
Japanese Movie Night: Pecoross – Mother and Her Days

Friday
Tai Chi in the Park
AlSouq Market
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering
Van Boom “BLVCK” Debut
Music Jam Cafe Fridays
Salwa Walk and Socialize Meetup
Gulf Run 24 Hours Karting Race

Saturday
Yoga with the 3
Car Boot Sale
Jumo Coffee Farmer’s Brunch
Elevation Brunch
Shakshooka Market
Architectural Photowalk: Salem Al Mubarak St.
Winter Wonderland
Gulf Run 24 Hours Karting Race

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

Last night I noticed cops removing plates off of a new Bentley SUV that was parked illegally on the street near Little Ruby’s in Kuwait City. Two things impressed me, the first is that they don’t really care what kind of car you have, no matter who you are, if you park illegally you’re losing your plates. The second thing that impressed me was that the cops aren’t just removing plates during the day, they’re doing it at night as well. I love that they’re still very active with this.

Just a heads up, Rogue One is out in Kuwait already. I just got my tickets for tonight and there were still spots available, so if you want to watch it tonight you need to get your tickets now.

Kuwait National Women’s Cricket Team is going to participate in the first ever nine-day UAE International Women’s T20 tournament from 14th. Dec. In Sharjah [source]

Kuwait also has a men’s team.

Mada has decided to stop providing internet directly to consumers and instead focus all their effort on the corporate sector. All their retail customers will be shifted to Zain who acquired them back in 2011.

When I reviewed Mada five years ago they were great, like the best thing ever because until they came along, I was on a slow 2Mbps connection. But for just KD20 a month, they were giving me a 10Mbps connect and it was a legit 10Mbps connection at that time. But, in my original review I highlighted a potential issue with Mada becoming popular and the connection slowing down. That prediction turned out accurate since Mada grew too quickly and their connection speed became slower and less reliable. Things got so bad that I ended up moving back to DSL until WiMD came a long.

Similar to Kuwait, speciality coffee places are starting to pick up in Beirut as well. On my latest trip I passed by two which I’d recommend checking out if you’re planning to visit Lebanon over the holidays. Check them out below:

The Backburner
This speciality coffee place opened up a couple of months ago in Saifi Village. It’s located on a quiet street next to the Trunk concept store and around the corner from Meat the Fish. It’s a small place with mostly indoor seating and a small bench right outside. They’re walking distance from downtown so they’re pretty convenient, here is their location on [Google Maps] and their instagram account is @thebackburner

Kalei Coffee Co.
Kalei has also just been open for a couple of months now and is currently my new favorite spot in Beirut. They’re located in the popular Mar Mikhael area, walking distance from all the popular pubs, but they’re also tucked away in a quiet hidden alleyway, isolated from all the hustle and bustle. They’ve got an extremely cozy outdoor area and a spacious beautiful interior. Their desserts are pretty good with the carrot cake and flourless chocolate cake being the two I’d highly recommend. Here is their location on [Google Maps] and their instagram account is @kaleicoffee.co

The new Kuwait Airways 777-300ER plane arrived to Kuwait over the weekend and will start operating on the Kuwait – London route soon.

You can get a peek at the interior of the new plane by watching the video above which was taken by Kuwait Airwyas pilot @capt_feras. According to information I found online the new plane has four classes, First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class. Below is more detailed information on all the classes along with photos taken by @eng_burezq:

Economy Class Cabin
236 seats
3-3-3 seat layout
32 inch seat pitch
18.5 inch seat width
In-flight Wi-Fi
Audio Video on demand Touchscreen monitor
USB port & laptop power

Premium Economy Cabin
54 seats
3-3-3 seat layout
35 inch seat pitch
18.5 inch seat width
In-flight Wi-Fi
Audio Video on demand Touchscreen monitor
USB port & laptop power

Business Class Cabin
36 seats
2-2-2 seat layout
62 inch seat pitch
21 inch seat width
In-flight Wi-Fi
180° Full Flat Bed
Audio Video on demand Touchscreen monitor
USB port & laptop power

First Class Cabin
8 seats
1-2-1 seat layout
84 inch seat pitch
22 inch seat width
In-flight Wi-Fi
180° Full Flat Bed
Audio Video on demand Touchscreen monitor
USB port & laptop power

Update: Below is another video the shows the interior pretty well