Categories
Events Music

Zahed Sultan LIVE in 3D X 248AM

zahedposter

It has been three years since Zahed Sultan released his debut album and after playing live in various countries around the world, Zahed is finally going to perform in Kuwait for one night only. On April 30th 2014, Zahed will be debuting a one of a kind audio-visual performance in 3D to coincide with the release of his second full-length album ‘Eye Am Sound.’ Zahed’s audio-visual performance will include a roster of international and local artists who will be announced in the days to come. You can learn more about Zahed’s upcoming performance on my Events page [Here]

zahedsultangiveaway

248AM has teamed up with Zahed to giveaway the following for one lucky winner:
– 2 tickets for Zahed Sultan’s debut performance in Kuwait on April 30th
– 1 limited edition ‘Eye Am Sound’ t-shirt
– 1 copy of the limited edition ‘Eye Am Sound’ coffee table book that also includes a digital download card for the new album

To participate, all you need to do is answer the following question as a comment below this post:

‘What was the name of Zahed Sultan’s first album?’

I will stop accepting entries in the comments section by Wednesday at midnight and then randomly choose one winner and notify you via email.

Rules: Only one entry per person and please make sure you use a working email since the winner will be contacted by email. If winner doesn’t respond, another winner will be randomly chosen.

Update: According to random.org the winner is #63, Jhonybravo.

random




Categories
Food & Drinks

How to get free coffee

coffee

Costa just emailed me about this thing they have going on for Earth Day:

In an hour, we’ll be posting a picture of one of our locations on Instagram (@CostaKuwait) as part of our ‘Follow the Frog KW’ campaign. If you go to that branch today and say “I follow the frog” you’ll get a free coffee! It’s Earth Day and our Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee is kind to the forest and supports farmers and farm workers worldwide who are working to improve their livelihoods and those of their families.

So, in honour of Earth Day, enjoy a coffee on us! We’ll have free coffee at another branch tomorrow, and at a third branch on Thursday. The locations will be revealed on the day, so stay tuned!

So if you want to get free coffee, just find out where the frog is.




Categories
Travel

Emirates A380 to start flying to Kuwait

a380

Starting from July 16, Emirates will be sending the double decker A380 to Kuwait everyday as part of their scheduled flights. The Kuwait Airport has been A380 ready since 2010 but the only time an A380 has come to Kuwait was back in 2011 when Emirates flew in an A380 on February 26th in honor of Kuwait’s National Day. The Emirates A380 on the Kuwait route will offer 14 First Class Private Suites, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 399 seats in Economy Class. [Source]




Categories
News

Dedicated gates for Jazeera Airways at Kuwait Airport

jazeeraterminal

Jazeera Airways said on Monday it is in the final stages of launching a dedicated gates facility at Kuwait International Airport.

The airline said in a statement that its investment in Kuwait Airport will lift the airport’s gates capacity by 30 percent and will offer a “better, easier, and more streamlined boarding experience for customers”. [Source]

Originally I remember reading that they were going to have their own dedicated terminal but I guess that didn’t work out and they’re now going to have dedicated gates instead.




Categories
Fitness Guest Bloggers Healthier Lifestyle

Toxicity and Results: Why dieting and exercising in Kuwait just isn’t cutting it

plasticbottle

This is something that myself, my clients and I’m sure most people reading this will relate to. You eat well, you exercise at least 3 times per week, sometimes you may even use a trainer, but no matter how hard you train and how clean your diet is, getting those desired results you are working so hard for is so damn hard.

Well for the last 2.5 years I have been in Kuwait, I have noticed something that, at first, baffled me. The first 6 months I was in Kuwait I gained 6kg. I was exercising more than I ever did back in New Zealand and very cautious with my eating habits but no matter what I did I couldn’t shift this weight (and I’m a midget at 5ft3.5 so 6kg is very noticeable)

Then something strange happened. I went on vacation and came back lighter and leaner. Now, I can assure you right now; I wasn’t on vacation eating celery sticks and lettuce leaves that’s for sure. So what happened?

After becoming Bio Signature Practitioner almost 2 years ago, all these questions started to get answered.

After asking my coach on Bio Signature (who has trained Olympic Athletes and has over 20 years experience). He said to me ‘Where do you live?’ I said ‘Kuwait’. He said ‘KUWAIT! Hmmm, I’ve been asked to go do courses in the Middle East and turned them down because of how toxic it is, that’s your culprit right there’.

He then went on to explain to me that with so much toxicity entering the body, the pathways for nutrients and hormones get blocked by toxicity bonds that attach to fat cells which causes stubborn fat, like cellulite, that is hard to break down.

This also result’s in low Testosterone levels and a healthy amount of Testosterone is important for reducing body fat in both female and male and is absolutely imperative for male health and wellbeing.

After hearing this I started to notice things in Kuwait that backed up his claims:

1- I started to notice how many males in Kuwait have female body types. Such as, bigger hips and legs and smaller upper-bodies. Low Testosterone right there.

2- Low Testosterone in men causes a lower sperm count. Men with a lower sperm count are more likely to father girls. There are a significantly larger proportion of Females in Kuwait than Males. Last I was told the ratio of females to males here is 4:1.

3- Most people drink out of plastic bottles, which have Pseudo Estrogens, which act as female hormones when they enter our body.

4- Almost every Bio Signature I have done on men and woman in Kuwait has shown their first priority (highest reading) as their Hamstring (at the top of the back of the leg). The Estrogen Sight of the body.

healtylifestyle

So how can you rectify this?

1- Include weight training in your gym routine, everyone and anyone needs a healthy amount of Testosterone, even the ladies. Low Testosterone=High Body Fat.

2- Drink your water from glass bottles and drink at least 2L per day. Say ‘NO’ to plastic.

3- Eat your greens. Veges have antioxidant’s that help break the bonds of the toxins so you can break down the fat.

4- Take supplements that help your body detoxify. Below is what I suggest and I’ve also included the link from where you can purchase them if you choose.

The Poliquin Supplements in my opinion are the best in the world hands down, I love them, my clients love them and for me that’s a home run. (No I’m not affiliated with them I just love their products)

1- Zinc PX: Zinc is an essential mineral that helps with all functions of the body. It has been said if you are deficient in Zinc you are deficient in everything. Fatloss, healthy immune system, healthy Testosterone levels and detoxification are all assisted by Zinc.

2- Multi Intense (with Iron for woman): essential for us here in Kuwait as our fresh produce is rarely local so lacks nutrients making it impossible for us to get our daily-required vitamins and minerals. More Antioxidants= less Toxins
Multi Intense (without Iron for men)- Same as the above minus the Iron as men usually cover this in their diet and can cause liver damage with too much.

3- Uber Mag Px: Magnesium is similar to Zinc, as it assists with many functions of the human body including detoxification, better quality sleep, stable mood, muscle recovery and growth, healthy Testosterone levels, cardiovascular health and brain function.

4- Fish Oil EPA-DHA 720: Assists in detoxification, the increase in healthy fats helps with counteracting bad fats from fast food (they cause toxicity), helps with brain function and fat loss.

This is a topic that I’m really passionate about because whether or not you have fitness goals, this will impact you in some way and even if you don’t implement all the changes I have mentioned, even implementing 1 or 2 things means you are one step closer to a more healthy, less toxic body.

Post by Amy Freeman, a Strength and Conditioning Coach from New Zealand and currently a Personal Trainer at Inspire Pure Fitness in Kuwait.




Categories
Events

Things to do in Kuwait this Weekend

Thursday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
CREATE #REUSEQ8 ART.LIVE
Cinemagics: Surprise Movie of the Month

Friday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
CREATE #REUSEQ8 ART.LIVE
Life Line: 10K and 3K Fun Race
6th Poetry Slam Contest

Saturday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
CREATE #REUSEQ8 ART.LIVE
Tour: Aladdin House
Bungee Jumping
5th National Blood Donation Campaign
Cinemagics: Eastern Promises




Categories
Sneak Peek Travel

Sneak Peek: Kuwait Airways new First and Business Class

firstclass

A few hours ago Kuwait Airways posted photos on their instagram account of how their new business and first class cabins will look like and frankly, it’s a bit disappointing. Although it’s a MAJOR improvement over their current planes, the first class seats (pictured above) look more like business class seats on other airlines, while their business class (pictured below) is more like premium economy.

businessclass

They haven’t posted any photos of the economy class seats but anything really is better than what they have now. The first new plane arrives this coming December. Here is a link to their [Instagram]




Categories
Apple

Repairing an iPhone screen for cheap

Untitled-1

After dropping my iPhone a million times I finally managed to shatter the screen a few days ago. Originally I was going to have FixAid repair the screen since they quoted me KD25 which I thought was reasonable but I was in Hawalli this morning and the first repair shop I found quoted me KD16. When did it become so cheap to replace an iPhone 5 screen? Yesterday I was considering getting an iPhone cover but now I’m like it’s just cheaper to swap the screen if it breaks again.

The shop I went to is called I Pro Company and they’re located in the building right after Blink (keep Blink on your left). Their phone number is 22648118 if you need to get an estimate and here they are on [Google Maps]




Categories
50s to 90s Interesting

Escape from Kuwait

escapefromkuwait

Escape from Kuwait is an interesting short story about a guy who managed to escape Kuwait through the desert during the 1990 Iraq invasion. Below is an excerpt from the story:

As time wore on it was becoming obvious the Iraqis wouldn’t leave. And, one by one, the families I was providing with sustenance were “discovered” (informants were rampant) and arrested. I also ran out of Dinars. I did what everyone was doing to stay alive: I used to drive up to Basrah (the Iraqi city neighbouring Kuwait) to sell my electronics one by one; first the VCR, then another, then my Boom Box, my mini Hi-Fi, then the big stereo, the small TV etc… The only thing nobody wanted was my Amiga 1000. When these had gone I started disposing of the white goods: the dishwasher, the dryer, the fridge (we had practically doubles of everything). Iraqis were eager to buy since such goods were not widely available in their land, but the money they paid was peanuts. Still, no choice. The situation gradually became desperate, and I realised that I had to leave. I gave to our Philippina maid 3 months’ salaries and told her that she should go to her embassy (Asian and African officials were organising mass evacuations). The poor thing was crying so hard. I exchanged my wife’s car, a Chevrolet Caprice Classic, to a Daihatsu Rocky a Palestinian colleague had. This would normally be a dumb deal, as the Chevy was worth 4 times the Daihatsu. But I needed a 4X4 vehicle to escape through the desert. With most of my last Dinars I bought essential spare parts, two cans of motor oil and a tank of gasoline at the black market. I bid farewell and good luck to the families that remained hidden, and one early dawn in early October I headed a convoy of 6 trucks south to Saudi Arabia. I had gotten a makeshift “map” from a Swedish photographer who used to race in desert rallies a few years back and now pieced together escape convoys (an aside: why wouldn’t he himself leave?… He was in love with an Indian girl who had not left the country yet… ah, the power of love).

The story is not too long (around 3 pages) and interesting all the way through.
Check it out [Here]

Photo above from Kuwait Invasion: The Evidence.




Categories
50s to 90s Photography

Old photos of Radisson Blu (SAS)

sasopening

I have a friend who recently started working at the Radisson Blu Hotel and he found a bunch of old photo albums so he asked me if I would be interested in flipping through them since he knows I like old photos related to Kuwait. There were maybe 20 large albums with a lot of random stuff but I picked out photos that I thought were the most interesting or at least ones that I could relate to.

The photo on top is of the hotel on opening day. I had chosen other photos from that day for them to scan but I didn’t get them for some reason.

Second group of photos I found interesting is the installation of the Kugel. The Kugel is a large 4 ton marble sphere that floats on water and before the hotels recent refurbishment used to located in the lobby. Originally I thought the Kugel had been there ever since the hotel opened but turns out it was installed after the 1990 invasion. The Kugel now is no longer located in the lobby but instead outside near the Viking Club entrance.

The second batch of photos that caught my eye was the damage done to The Peacock Chinese restaurant during the 1990 invasion. I had seen photos of the hotel after the invasion but hadn’t seen photos of Peacock before. If you’ve never been to Peacock, here’s my review.

clock

Finally does anyone remember Clock? I couldn’t find a photo in their archives of the restaurant when it was open just the one above taken after the invasion. I was young when it first opened in the 80s but I think it was the first restaurant to offer drive through in Kuwait. I used to see the Clock sign when going down the Gulf Road near Bid’aa and as a kid I found the concept of drive through fascinating.




Categories
Complaints Information Personal

Getting paperwork done in Kuwait

passport

Getting government related paperwork done can be such an emotional roller coaster. I got a new passport yesterday and all I had to do was move my residency from the old passport to the new one and the processes was just so exhausting. I originally went to the Hawalli Immigration office who then told me to go the Kuwait City office who then told me to go back to the Hawalli office. I was like no way, I just came from there and they said I needed to get the transfer done here. I was then sent from one person to another, to another, to another and had to do lots of pointless waiting around before I finally ended up in a room by myself with all hope lost of getting my stuff done before I travel in a few days. Then suddenly out of the blue, a guy randomly walked in, looked at my papers, signed them, called someone in another department and then sent me to him to get the papers processed. Just like that by mere coincidence I was done.

It’s insane, you literally have to walk on egg shells every time you get sent to someone to get a signature or a stamp. You have to hope they’re in a good mood, you need to make sure you don’t do anything that might aggravate them like stand too close to the desk or interrupt them while they’re whatsapping. It feels like you need a favor from every person you need a signature or stamp from. I hate it.

egov

On the bright side, not sure if many of you know about this but there is a half decent government website with information and forms you need to get various jobs done. It’s the Kuwait Government Online website and the section I’m talking about is called Citizens & Residents. Check it out [Here]




Categories
News

Six Flags opening in Dubai

sixflags

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the world’s largest regional theme park company, and Meraas Leisure and Entertainment, have announced plans to bring a theme park to Dubai.

In a joint statement, the companies said a new strategic partnership will bring a Six Flags-branded theme park to the emirate. The project is planned to open in late 2017 and will be located within the multi-themed park project in Jebel Ali launched by Meraas.

I’m jealous. [Link]




Categories
50s to 90s Videos

Kuwait in 1975

A friend of mine gave me a video his parents shot back when they first arrived to Kuwait in the mid 70s. The video was shot with Super 8 film which was converted years later to VHS format and then recently digitized. The video contains a lot of different footage of Kuwait but edited down to 13 minutes so it’s not very long. Here is a breakdown of what you’ll see in the video, please note there is no sound:

0:00 Kuwait Towers still under construction. There were rumors circulating that the tower spheres were going to be in gold and when they first started adding the blue tiles people were generally disappointed it wasn’t in gold.
2:25 A drive down Fahad al Salem street
3:16 Naif palace, you can see the execution gallows through the open gate at 3:24
3:28 The old National Assembly
3:30 The Arab Planning Institute, currently where the Liberation Tower stands
3:39 Heading towards the Gulf Road
4:15 American Mission Hospital
5:05 The ice cream guy, probably the only thing that hasn’t changed in Kuwait
5:09 Seef Palace
5:14 The Gulf Road near the Dixons House. Nearly all of those old Kuwaiti houses have now been demolished.
5:48 A gas station on the Gulf Road on the beach side. This was demolished after the failed assassination attempt of Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah, who was the emir of Kuwait at the time. The car explosion had taken place near the station.
5:53 The British Embassy, the main entrance was on the Gulf Road.
6:45 The Behbahani Compound where Casper & Gambini, Starbucks and Dar al Funoon are currently located.
6:56 Almagsab Gate
7:05 Old secondary school now part of the Kuwait University campus.
7:14 Shanty towns. This is where non-Kuwaitis were staying while their paperwork to become Kuwaitis were being processed. This specific town was located in the north near where Entertainment City is currently.
8:13 Dhow building yard near the Port of Doha
10:00 A drive through Shamiya
10:34 Back to Fahad al Salem Srteet
10:50 The old KNPC building
11:23 Souk Al-Mubarakiya
12:54 The gold souk

The video above was shot by Jo and Jeff de Lange. They were also nice enough to take me through the video frame by frame and explain what I was seeing so I could share it with you. [YouTube]




Categories
Fashion

Fashion Weekly Roundup

Weekly roundup from 248AM Fashion:

Nike X Roundel by London Underground
Rad Hourani Unisex Couture Collection #11
The Fashion Dose
When I Wore Sacoor Brothers
White Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver
All that is Balenciaga
Ann Demeulemeester In Book Deal With Rizzoli

For more fashion related news check out 248AM Fashion




Categories
Events Things to do

Things to do this weekend in Kuwait

Thursday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Friday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
7Market – Rooftop Garden Event
2014 KMX Motorcross Championship

Saturday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
All Day Outing: Failaka Island Tour
Artists for K’S PATH 2014
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Playtime
7Market – Rooftop Garden Event
2014 KMX Motorcross Championship