Search: “ur”

The Aramex Ardiya branch has new working hours. Starting today, the Ardiya branch is now open from 8:30AM to 9PM from Saturday to Thursday and Friday from 12PM to 6PM. I am guessing this is in reponse to DHL EasyShop who’s Ardiya branch is open daily till midnight except for Friday when they close at 9PM. I hope this is a sign that Aramex is going to try and improve so that they can compete with other mail forwarding services. I just hope packages go back to taking a few days to arrive to Kuwait and into my hands instead of the 10 days its taking now.

Since EasyShop uses DHL I just realized I can track the status of my packages with an iPhone application. There are a ton of applications to use but I am using one called “Delivery Status“. Since the DHL tracking is EXTREMELY detailed the application is very useful. Another reason so choose EasyShop over Aramex.

Note: One more thing, you can create an account with Delivery Status on their website and that way you can copy and paste all your tracking numbers there and it will sync it with your iPhone app. That means you don’t have to type them one by one on your iPhone, very practical.

Note2: The application can also track your Aramex packages but it will only start tracking once the package ships from the US and since their tracking isn’t very detailed it’s not useful.

Update: Turns out the application can sync with your Amazon account and provide even more details. Just added my Amazon order number from yesterday and it collected all the information from my account.

This site lists 7 of the world’s most luxurious airlines. My favorite based on the pictures has to be Cathay Pacific which is pictured above. [Link]

Why does Sultan Center in Lebanon carry Cadbury Chocolate Milk and the one in Kuwait doesn’t? It used to be my favorite chocolate milk back when they did carry it. I bought one at first and drank it while still in the supermarket parking lot and then I went back inside and got two more which I also drank on the spot. Still tastes as good I remember it.

I met this cool BBC director a couple of days back who’s in Kuwait to film a documentary about people who are pursuing a healthy lifestyle. She’s looking for young Kuwaitis who would be interested in appearing on the show and I told her I would help out by posting their request on my blog. Here is what she sent me to publish:

BBC– 4x Part Educational & Health Series/Travelogue

BBC3 is working on a series of one-hour long observational documentaries looking at young people who are trying to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

In each episode two young people from the UK who are struggling with their weight will travel to a different country.

As well as an hour on Kuwait, the series will also be filming in the USA, Argentina and Greece.

The programme will be used as an educational tool to discourage young people from leading an unhealthy lifestyle as well as giving viewers a unique window to the country we visit.

In Kuwait we want to show Kuwaiti traditions, lifestyle and culture – including weddings, malls, restaurants, diwaniyas, a trip to the desert, etc.

At the moment we are looking for young Kuwaiti’s who might be interested in appearing in the show, and we would love any help and guidance that you can give us in this matter

Yemisi Brookes
Location Director

BBC Factual

London 
Mobile: +44 (0)7977 420 192
Kuwait Mobile: 94950982
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]


9h is a new high end capsule hotel in Kyoto, Japan. The name comes from the idea that you need 1 hour to shower, 7 hours to sleep and 1 hour break which is a total of 9 hours. It looks a lot better than the usual capsule hotel’s I’ve seen and at only KD12 per night (9 hours) its pretty affordable albeit claustrophobic. [Link]

<img src=’https://248am.com/images/museumkuwait.jpg’ alt=” />

A reader scanned and sent me the old pictures below of Kuwait. A lot of them are aerial shots most probably taken from a helicopter. On the back of the photos there is a stamp that reads “With the compliments of the Ministry of Information”. Is the building in the picture above still around? The file name says it was museum.

Thanks Khalid!

Update: I’ve reuploaded all the photos above in high res and you can view them here.

So you already have packages on their way to Kuwait via Aramex and yesterday like everyone else you found out you will have to pay at least KD20 to clear each package, what will you do?

Personally I have two packages on their way. One is valued at $20 and another at $30. There is no way I am going to pay KD20 for a package that’s worth just $20 or $30.

What are our options?
Did anyone receive any packages yesterday?
Did you have to pay the new clearance fees?
Can we refuse delivery of our packages?

I just got an email from a friend at NBK about this new service they will be trying out in Kuwait which is payment via NFC (near field communication). Instead of paying by cash or plastic cards you could pay by just waving your phone. The service is going to be called Bouky and they’re launching a 6 month pilot which you can sign up to if you’re interested (link at the end of the post).

This service is already used in places like Japan and the Far East but it will be the first time here in the Middle East. Another cool feature will be that you could wave the phone in front of “smart” posters and redeem offers or download free pre-paid visa cards. My friend signed me up for the 6 month trial so I will get to try it out. During the trial period I will be able to pay by waving my phone at some 100 outlets in The Avenues. If you’re interested in trying Bouky out they will be choosing only 500 customers for the trial period. To sign up follow this [Link]

Note: You need to be a Zain mobile user to beta test this service

I love Kuwait with all its flaws except for one, the tree cutting for no reason habit. I can never understand why beautiful green trees get cut down in Kuwait. I am also not the only one who hates this because their is a group on Facebook called “Keep Kuwait Green! Stop the Izala from cutting our trees!” which is fighting to stop this. Here is information about the group:

After the government came and removed our 35 year old Rubber trees without any warning, it made me realize that there are many other houses being effected.

People started calling about the same thing happening to them, and told me stories of horrible murder like incidents of the trees they once planted.

The mission of this group is to report and post pictures of all wrong doing by our government and the removal of trees. Please post the address of the places that you see them removing trees that were not used as a personal garden. If possible post your pictures also.

We will be posting and sending the pictures to all newspapers and blogs and anyone willing to listen to us. Some of the trees in Kuwait are a part of our history.

They have been here long before we have.
Let’s unite and try to keep Kuwait greener!

I would like to add one more thing which is the trimming of the trees and bushes. The Gulf Road area near Burj Hamam was looking pretty green and natural for awhile now and then suddenly yesterday they started trimming all the trees and bushes into cubes. Can someone tell whoever is responsible for that to stop. Trees that look like cubes might look pretty at Disney Land but not on the Gulf Road and they definitely don’t give any shade or protection.

So if you think the government should stop cutting trees down then please join the facebook group and voice your support. Here is the [Link]

Don’t know the difference between mini burger and a slider or a steakhouse burger from a pub burger? Serious Eats has put together a guide to help you out. I think I am going to BBQ some burgers tomorrow. [Link]

I know a lot of bloggers have been posting their views on Apple’s Snow Leopard and here is my addition. While getting my shots for my next post I noticed the image capture software has been updated and improved. Pretty cool.

Qualitynet are having problems again! I can’t even talk to support because their lines are so loaded. The automated answering system won’t even put me on hold because there are no waiting slots available, they’re all taken by other customers waiting. Sucks!

Update: Qualitynet were just over. According to the support guy my DSL modem was very old and was causing me the problems. They’ve swapped my black wireless Speedtouch modem with a white wireless Netgear. Hopefully I won’t have anymore problems after this!

I don’t like tennis but this was cool. [YouTube]

The website Yearbook Yourself has relaunched after being down for some time. There are some new additions to the site but most importantly there are new pictures to be super imposed onto. Yearbook Yourself is a website where you upload your picture to it and it will then super impose your face onto different yearbook pictures from the 1950 up to the year 2000. You get to see how you would have looked like if you had lived back in that era. It can be a lot of fun. [Link]