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With the new iPhones just released and pre-orders starting tomorrow, a lot of people will be trying to get one. If you’re planning on getting a new iPhone, pre-ordering from Gait makes a lot of sense since they’ve got a few perks you might like.

First, if you like upgrading every year, Gait gives you up to 60% guaranteed buyback when you switch to your next iPhone. That way you don’t need to wait around trying to sell your old one and you always stay up to date.

They also have GaitCare, which comes with a free screen protector and accidental damage repairs. Basically, it’s an extra safety net for your phone and your wallet.

On top of that, you can save 30% on their Gilga essential kit. It includes a clear case, a screen protector, and a lens protector, so your iPhone is fully covered without hiding the design.

And if you’d rather not pay the whole amount upfront, they offer 0% installment payments over 12 months. You can also trade in your old device to lower the price even more.

So if you were already planning to get the new iPhone, pre-ordering with Gait is a good deal. Pre-orders open tomorrow, Friday September 12 at 3PM. Check them out gait.com.kw

Sealed is a Kuwaiti dessert brand that specializes in molten cakes. They’ve been operational for only seven months, but they’ve been doing extremely well, to the point of having sold over one million molten cakes since launch. That’s pretty crazy.

They have two kinds of molten cakes, the Chocolate Molten and the Cookie Molten. Both are really good, but the Chocolate Molten is my personal favorite. Last month they also launched a new item, the Molten Ice Cream. They had the launch event in Spain, popping up inside the trendy lifestyle store Homiés Marbella. They are now working on another pop-up project, but they wouldn’t tell me which country it’s in. If someone knows, mention it in the comments.

The coolest thing about Sealed, besides their desserts, is their packaging. I think they have some of the best looking delivery packaging in the market right now. The desserts all arrive inside silver metallic boxes that are enclosed in silver pouches that look like shipping parcels. The whole look fits perfectly with my apartment, which has concrete floors and silver aluminum furniture. It’s a very futuristic vibe.

If you want to try their molten cakes, Sealed is available on all the major delivery platforms and they’re open 24/7. Check them out @sealed.kwt or head over to their website and order directly sealedkwt.com

Last night Apple announced the new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and according to a contact of mine, Kuwait already has a launch date.

Starting this Friday, September 12th, pre-orders will open up in Kuwait, while the phones themselves will be available a week later on September 19th. This is the exact same pre-order and launch date as the US.

Out of the four new devices, I think the iPhone Air is the most interesting. I don’t really need a thinner phone, but it does look pretty cool. The one I’ll most likely get is the iPhone 17 Pro. I currently have the 15 Pro, and since I take a lot of photos for the blog using the phone, the updated camera system will be very useful. The cameras are usually the main reason I keep upgrading my phone, otherwise I don’t think I would bother.

Tonight Kuwait will get to witness a lunar eclipse, that’s when the moon passes into the earth’s shadow. During the deepest part of the eclipse the moon turns a reddish color, and that’s exactly what we’ll be able to catch tonight.

You can catch the lunar eclipse from anywhere in Kuwait, but if you’d rather watch it with a crowd, there are a couple of viewing events happening tonight that I know of.

Kuwait University
The Kuwait University Faculty of Sciences Physics Club is hosting a viewing on campus (North Park). They’ll have activities lined up and 45 telescopes for the public to use. If you’ve got your own telescope, there’s also a private observation area where you can set up. @physcku @ikarustechnolog

Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre
If you don’t feel like heading to Kuwait University, ASCC is also hosting a viewing tonight. They’ll have an outdoor setup by the Space Museum with telescopes also available for everyone to use. @ascckw

The Kuwait University event is free, while the ASCC one needs a museum entry ticket. The eclipse will take place from 6:28PM until 11:55PM tonight.

I am sooo pissed off right now, I don’t know if I can write this post up without swearing too much. After YEARS of searching, like YEARS, I finally found a boxed Philips Moving Sound portable cassette player. I had one in the 80s and they’re very very difficult to find, and they’re IMPOSSIBLE to find boxed, like I’ve been on the lookout of for these for like 10 years now maybe? In the past 10 years 3 Walkmans have popped up on eBay, and I bought all three. Finally, last month a boxed one in excellent condition popped up and I bid on it and I won it. I had it shipped to my Shop & Ship mailbox and it just arrived now. When I opened the box I was fucking shocked.

For some reason, Aramex decided to wrap the walkman box with their Aramex tape. Just like that, they destroyed what might be one of the very last boxes that are remaining still in tact.

I don’t understand, like I’m trying not to use any expletives but it’s hard. The walkman box was inside another box, why the fuck would you tape the walkman box up with your tape??? wtf Aramex?? I can’t believe you did this, I’m so upset and it’s not even about the money, it’s an unobtainium, even if they paid me back all the money I paid for this there wouldn’t be a way I could buy one again.

Just last week my friend told me about how he got screwed over by them. They sent him a bill for KD57 for a package that weighs 0.85KG. The value of the 4 items inside was KD150 in total. When he confronted them, turned out they made a mistake and valued each item inside the box as 150KD instead of all the items being 150. So 150×4=600KD value for the shipment. They charged him 28KD insurance for the item being high value and then customs on the value of 600KD.

Even though they made a mistake, they had submitted the paperwork to customs like that and so couldn’t change it anymore and wanted my friend to pay for the wrong shipment value even though they messed up. And now this happened to me. I’m so pissed off.

Update: I just realized they also ripped the box, the photo on the right is what I bought, the photo on the left is how I got it.

Internations released their list for “The Best and Worst Countries for Expats in 2025” and Kuwait once again is at the bottom of it. They have a section dedicated to why that is and it’s for all the reasons you expect, weather, pollution, lack of a nightlife, and lack of good public transportation:

An Insular Society in Kuwait (46th)

No stranger to last place is Kuwait in 46th. Not only are the Quality of Life and Ease of Settling In Indices also in last place, but so is expats’ overall happiness with their life in Kuwait (46th). And at 10 percentage points higher than the global average, 17% of expats plan to leave the country within a year.

The majority of respondents (70%) moved to Kuwait for job-related reasons (vs. 36% globally); in fact, 93% are working full time (vs. 56% globally). Yet the Working Abroad Index is in the bottom 10 (38th). Although the state of the economy is strong (8th), expats aren’t satisfied with their job security (45th) or work–life balance (44th) and don’t agree that they’re paid fairly for their work (44th).

Indeed, 38% of expats in Kuwait don’t feel their disposable household income is enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 31% globally). And around the same share as the global average is satisfied with their financial situation (56% vs. 54%). So although Personal Finance is Kuwait’s best-performing index, it’s in a below-average 29th place.

Expats’ biggest concern before moving was the climate & weather (43% vs. 16% globally). Once there, about half (49%) give this factor a negative rating. And there’s no pleasant natural environment (46th), urban environment (42nd), or good air quality (44th) to distract from the desert heat. Other subcategories of the Quality of Life similarly disappoint with the lack of culture & nightlife (46th), public transportation (39th), and opportunity to travel (42nd). The availability of healthcare (26th) and the dining options (24th) are at least less dire.

For the full article, click here.

The team behind the popular fried chicken brand BEAK just opened their second concept, a sliders brand called Anji.

Like with BEAK, they’ve kept the focus on sourcing the best ingredients. But, what also makes them stand out is that they’ve perfected the beef-to-bun ratio, so you get the experience of a full-size burger in slider form. And if you like your burgers meaty, you can stack up to four patties in your slider.

Anji’s branding looks pretty cool and so does the store which has indoor seating. Their first location is in Kaifan, right outside the Kuwait Sporting Club. They’re not on any delivery platform yet, just pick-up and dine-in. Check them out @anjisliders.

Baseball has been played in Kuwait since the late 70s, and the club has been around since the early 80s. I’ve always thought of it as one of Kuwait’s best-kept secrets. On Fridays when the weather was nice, I’d go with friends to watch a game with corndogs, lemonade, and the occasional small market. It was always fun, and looked even more fun for the people playing.

Since the weather is going to start improving soon (I hope), registration for the 2025/26 season is starting next week. If you’re looking for an activity for your kid, or maybe you’re an adult looking to play baseball for fun and meeting people, check out the baseball club’s instagram account for more details. @q8baseball

I’m currently still on vacation in LA but trying to get back into the habit of posting so figured I’d write about my experience using Waymo. Waymo for those of you who don’t know is exactly like Uber, except the cars are driverless. It’s really cool in theory and in reality it’s even cooler.

It’s not available yet in all of Los Angeles, but it was available in the downtown area which is where I decided to try it out. I had my rental parked in one area of downtown but needed to go to another part but didn’t want to take my car. So I called a Waymo and it came and picked me up.

When the car first arrives you need to unlock the doors through the app, that’s how the car knows it’s you or you know you got the right Waymo. Once you get in you are required to put your seatbelts on, generally I wouldn’t want to but in this case because its a driverless car and this whole thing is still in testing it makes sense to do so. The car obviously knew where I was going and once I clicked on start driving on the rear screen the car took off. I had my Spotify connected in the Waymo app so once we started moving it started playing my music. I could control the music from the rear screen which also had other commands like if I wanted the car to pull over to drop me off early.

The ride was actually pretty smooth, and the car smelled fresh and was comfortable. They use modified Jaguar electric cars and because there isn’t a driver, both front seats are pushed forward so the rear passengers get a lot of legroom. It’s a very weird and futuristic feeling being in a car without a driver. Like it’s hard to believe we are in that point of time where such a thing is possible.

The only negative thing was the fact I had to wait 20 minutes to get a Waymo. They don’t have a lot of cars yet so it’s understandable. It’s actually because of this 20 minute wait I ended up finding out that Paddy’s Pub from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was near where I was and got to pass by it before the cab came.

The ride fare was cheaper than Uber and the overall experience much better. Not sure if the Waymo car can leave me a rating but if I could rate it I would have given it a 5 star.

LA as a whole I generally find behind in tech compared to Europe, but this trip feels the other way around, I think mostly because of the driverless cars, the fact everyone seems to have a Cyber Truck here and also because of robots that go around delivering food to people (which are super cute btw).

I’m away on vacation and wasn’t planning on posting, but this was too big not to share. Marwan Abdelhamid, AKA Saint Levant, is coming to Kuwait this December to perform live.

Marwan has Palestinian roots and is known for mixing Arabic, English, and French lyrics with hip-hop, R&B, and Arabic influences. He recently had a cool collab with Huda Beauty on a lip oil called “Kalamantina,” with proceeds supporting Palestinian agriculture and cultural preservation projects.

I don’t have more information on the concert at the moment, but everything should be clearer once it’s officially announced, including the exact dates and venue. I’m assuming he’ll be in Kuwait the first week of December since that’s right after his UK tour and before his US tour starts. For now, this is all I have.

A couple of weeks ago I posted Spinneys might be opening in Kuwait, and it’s now official. Spinneys just announced they’re entering Kuwait through a joint venture with Alshaya Group.

Kuwait will be their fourth GCC market, with ten stores planned and the first expected to open in 2026.

They don’t mention where the first store will be, but I’d previously heard Alshaya was looking to replace Carrefour in The Avenues with their own supermarket brand, so that might still be the case. Link

I just came across some interesting but bizarre news. According to a number of articles that popped up over the past few hours, 24-year-old Kuwaiti investor Saad Kassis-Mohamed is planning to resurrect the defunct Caterham Formula 1 team for the 2027 season.

The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned Formula One team based in the United Kingdom. The team raced for three years between 2012 and 2014.

The reason I found the news bizarre is because, until these articles, I had no idea who Saad was. More than one publication called him a Kuwaiti investor or entrepreneur, but from what I can tell he isn’t Kuwaiti. He might be an investor in the Kuwaiti market, but I haven’t found much on that either. There is a Wikipedia entry that says he was born in Kuwait and is a Kuwaiti entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, so I am guessing that is where they are pulling the info from.

According to a couple of the articles, Saad was named last year on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in the Social Influence category. But aside from a few press releases on dodgy looking news sites, I haven’t found anything about him on Forbes itself.

Saad’s investment firm, SKM Capital, which is supposedly behind the F1 bid, also doesn’t seem to exist outside of these articles.

The whole story doesn’t add up, yet it is being published on sites like Newsweek, Motorsport Week, and Autosport. Very weird.

Here are my favorite things happening this weekend. As always, double check the event details with the organizers.

Thursday, August 21
Foodhall Carnival

Friday, August 22
Foodhall Carnival
Sunrise Paddle Boarding

Saturday, August 23
Foodhall Carnival
Her Wellness Journey with Lululemon
Unwind Through
Second Chance Book Sale
Color Me Brunch
DAI StoryTime Zoo
Paint & Sip Chill Edit
Escape to Qaruh Island
Korean Game Day
Girls Only Game Day

I just read that Kuwait Airways now has self check-in that includes boarding pass issuance AND baggage weighing. Previously you could on self check-in if you didn’t have any luggage just carryon but now it seems you can also drop off your bag yourself. source

If you’ve come across a photo booth in Kuwait, maybe at an event or mall, it was probably a Calling Marilyn booth. Calling Marilyn was born when popular studio photographer Salma Alessa brought her studio’s signature high-end aesthetic and attention to detail to a wider audience. A luxe photo booth where people can have fun and capture moments with friends turned out to be the perfect way to share her photography style beyond the studio.

Not only do the photos look great, but the booths themselves are just as impressive. Each one has a unique design inspired by its environment and is created locally. No two are alike, and all are built in collaboration with local artisans and creatives. They also like thinking outside the box, literally. Last year they turned a vintage Cadillac convertible into a booth just for fun, and people had a blast with it.

Another cool aspect is that the photo booths don’t store or save digital copies. It brings back the old school magic of physical copies, while also being a privacy feature. The photos you print will be the only copies that exist.

If you want to check out one of their public booths, you can find them in various spots around Kuwait, including 360 Mall, Assima, Al Andalus, Al Thuraya, Khiran Mall, Marina Mall, and more.

Check them out @callingmarilyn