2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
A couple of days back I posted a letter from a British teacher who was deported for driving without a Kuwaiti license. The post ended up gaining a lot of attention (nearly doubling my blogs traffic) as well as creating a heated discussion in the comments section of the post.
I managed to stay out of the conversation but I just wanted to clarify a few points. Firstly the teacher never said he was an English teacher, people assumed he was an English teacher or that he even taught in English just because he mentioned he was British. Originally when the teacher first contacted me, he shared a photo of a letter he wrote when in the prison cell. The letter was in Arabic which I couldn’t read so I told him to resend it in English which is what I ended up posting on the blog.
If you’d like to read his original letter in Arabic click [Here]
Based on the amount of attention the letter garnered it’s clear that deportation is a sensitive issue. Having your life taken away from you for a minor wrongdoing is just too extreme and it puts everyone on the edge. I’ve personally highlighted these overkill punishments a number of times on the blog and I’ll say it again, I find them ridiculous. How does barbecuing get your deported? Unless you’re barbecuing a wild boar outside the gates of Bayan Palace while cracking open a 6-pack of beer with some friends, barbecuing shouldn’t get you deported. It certainly doesn’t deserve a stiffer and harsher punishment than a person caught running a red light.
One final thing I’d also like to say, just because expats complain doesn’t mean they hate Kuwait. “If you don’t like it leave” is a bullshit statement. If people accepted everything that was given to them then there wouldn’t be any progress or improvement. If you’re out dining and you find a bug in your dish do you not complain? It doesn’t mean you hate the restaurant if you do, and the manager definitely wouldn’t tell you to leave and never come back if you don’t like it (insert Benihana joke here). Expats are as much part of Kuwait as Kuwaitis are and we all want to see it get better. We’re all on team Kuwait.
The weekend is finally here and there are lots of interesting things to do. Three musical events are taking place this weekend, you have Outlandish and A Night of Dreams taking place Friday and the Zade Dirani concert taking place on Saturday. There is a Fitness Retreat that is being held on Thursday and Friday which looks like fun. Finally if you know how to knit then pass by the Secret Garden on Saturday for some Yarn Bombing. Check out the full list of this weekends events below:
Thursday
Exhibition: Geometry of Colour
Urban Culture Week
Exhibition: Abolish 153
Fitness Retreat
Rooftop Movie: Ida
Friday
Exhibition: Geometry of Colour
Urban Culture Week
Fitness Retreat
Culinary Event: Perfecting Gnocchi
Inter Gavel Clubs Contest 2015
Outlandish Live
Red Bull BC One
A Night of Dreams
Saturday
Exhibition: Geometry of Colour
Yarn Bombing at The Secret Garden
Workshop: Mommy & I Play Together
Paleo Taste Night
Rooftop Movie: Calvary
Zade Dirani Concert
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events for the month click [Here]
This weekend there are a lot of cool things going on so here are my personal picks. Tonight there is the music event For the Love of Music featuring some great international and local artists. On Friday the 3rd Annual International Museum Day is taking place at the Amricani Cultural Centre and includes a lot of different activities like live music, plays, food and more. Finally, Saturday is the first day of Urban Culture Week, a six day event loaded with creative workshops. Check out the full list of weekend events below:
Thursday
Sky Mosque & Plaza Exhibition
NEST Simulation
Exhibition: Geometry of Colour
“Africa” Pop Up by Ecru
For the Love of Music – Imagination Express
Rooftop Movie: Goodbye to Language
Sirdab Movie Night: Seven Pounds
Friday
Sky Mosque & Plaza Exhibition
NEST Simulation
Exhibition: Geometry of Colour
3rd Annual International Museum Day
Culinary Event: Mastering Sauce
Saturday
Sky Mosque & Plaza Exhibition
NEST Simulation
Mindfulness Session at the Park
Exhibition: Geometry of Colour
Urban Culture Week
Behance Portfolio Reviews – Kuwait
Movie Night: Got the Facts on Milk?
Rooftop Movie: Citizenfour
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events for the month click [Here]
A friend of mine who owns a sporting goods shop is importing a new brand of sneakers to Kuwait. So I was over at his place a couple of days back and asked him if the sneakers had arrived yet since I was looking to pick up a pair for myself. My friend told me that they had arrived to Kuwait but they’ve been held in customs for a month now. I was like why? He told me you’re going to laugh at this but basically the sneakers are made in China, and the certificate of origin says they’re made in China. But, the customs officer is refusing to clear the shipment because inside the sneaker tongue it says Made in China but it also says US, UK and EUR. He says it’s misleading and so is holding the shipment at the port.
At first I thought he was kidding but he was actually serious. Obviously the customs officer is looking for a bribe to release the shipments but he could have at least come up with a better excuse for not releasing them.
This weekend is an interesting one not because of the amount of the events but because of the wide variety of events that are taking place. The biggest thing happening this weekend is GAME Expo 2015. If you’re into video games or cosplay then pass by this event since it’s the largest of its kind that takes place in Kuwait. On Friday my neighborhood gym Desert Fitness are holding their first Olympic Weightlifting meet so I’ll probably be passing by there. Finally if you’re into pilates theres a session taking place this Saturday morning at Al Shaheed Park. Check out the full list of events below:
Thursday
Exhibition: New Species by Hunt Slonem
GAME Expo 2015
Japanese Speech Contest
Workshop: Introduction to Calligraphy
Rooftop Movie: Force Majeure
Friday
GAME Expo 2015
Poptastic the Musical
Olympic Weightlifting Meet
Culinary Event: Searing, Sautéing, and Deglazing
Let’s Go Forward Desert Run
Saturday
GAME Expo 2015
Poptastic the Musical
Pilates at the Park
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Rooftop Movie: Locke
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events for the month click [Here]
According to the 40 minute film below, the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Center that is currently under construction will be the largest museum in the world once completed. The museum will be located next to Shaab Park on the Gulf Road and include:
– A Natural History Museum
– A Science Museum
– A Museum of Islamic History
– A Space Museum
– A Fine Arts Center
– A 350 seat Theatre
[YouTube]
I knew the project was huge but I didn’t think it would end up being the largest museum in the world. I still find that hard to believe. Check out the film above and for more information on the project including 3D renderings click [Here]
Thanks Arad
“Kuwait – Small Country, Big Heart” is a short 10 minute documentary on Kuwait that was requested by Kuwait Airways (most likely to use onboard its flights). It’s made by the same guys who did the Kuwait documentary for British Airways so it’s full of beautiful shots of Kuwait. Only the Arabic version is online and you can watch it above. [YouTube]
I was at LuLu in Salmiya earlier tonight and noticed they were selling the Apple Watch. They only had the 38mm Sport version in white and priced at KD229. To compare, the same model in the US costs KD165 KD105 before tax and shipping. Like the iPhone, as the Apple Watch becomes more readily available the price should drop.
I didn’t know what “Create Your Taste” was until last week when someone in Australia built a colossal burger and the video below went viral. Now it turns out the same concept is launching in Kuwait by the end of the week.
[YouTube]
The way it works is pretty simple, you go up to the “Create Your Taste” kiosk at a McDonald’s and you create your own burger using a touch display. You choose the kind of bun you want, the amount of patties, the different types of cheeses, how many cheeses, the sauces etc.. etc.. and you then head to the cashier and pick up your creation. The guy in Australia basically tried to build the largest burger the kiosk would let him and ended up with the burger below.
Right now it looks like they’re launching the concept at the Gulf Road location since I spotted the kiosks set up there. Should be interesting to see what some kids are going to end up building.
The weather last weekend was horrible so hopefully we’ll get clear skies this week. If the weather is good then I would recommend hitting one of the outdoor movies on Thursday evening and then on Friday head out to Khiran for the Wakeboarding Competition. Since I’m half Armenian I would also recommend the Armenian Cultural event for Friday night. On Saturday there isn’t much going on except for the Madeenah night at the Secret Garden which should include great food and music. Here are all the events for this weekend:
Thursday
Kuwait Dino Park
Exhibition: New Species by Hunt Slonem
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
Sirdab Lab Movie Night: Lord of War
Rooftop Movie: La Promesse
Friday
Kuwait Dino Park
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
18th Asian Individual Squash Championships
Wakeboarding Competition
Toastmasters Conference 2015
Book Club Meeting
Armenian Cultural Evening
David Hanners Live at The Southern
Saturday
Kuwait Dino Park
Palestinian Culture Exhibition
18th Asian Individual Squash Championships
ManateqMe – Somu Square Clean-up
Madeenah: End of Season Mixer
Rooftop Movie: Before Midnight
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
Update: Added the Squash Championships and the Somu Square clean-up to the list.
Update2: Added the live music event at The Southern
Update3: Added the Cinemagics rooftop movie on Saturday
New Kuwait have uploaded a video of a tour of the Al Salam Palace construction site. Al Salam Palace if you aren’t aware is currently being refurbished so that it can be turned into a museum. The video tour is in Arabic and you can watch it above or on [YouTube]
On a side note what is New Kuwait and are they connected to the government? Their website is newkuwaitgov.com and their logo is in English only as “New Kuwait” but their website and all their content is only in Arabic. Why give something an English name and then create just an English logo when all your content is going to be in just Arabic?
Thanks Khaled
A friend of mine recently started managing the social media account of a fitness studio in Kuwait called 20Seven. Unlike regular gyms they were using something called Electro Muscular Training (EMT) for their exercises which I thought sounded like total BS. I kept poking fun at her comparing it to the As Seen on TV gizmo where the commercial shows people wearing a patch on their abs that stimulates the muscles electronically while they’re tanning pool side. It just didn’t make any sense to me but the more I researched it the more legit EMT seemed, or at least the concept. My friend invited me to pass by and try it and since I knew the owner as well I figured I’d be polite and give it a shot.
So last Thursday I headed to their studio to try out EMT. Thursdays and Fridays are the only days I don’t have gym, they’re my rest days and since I didn’t think I would be getting much of a workout from EMT, I figured I’d pass by try it out and then continue with my day. Clearly I arrived there extremely skeptical about the whole thing but I kept an open mind as I always do. Once I was there I was introduced to the EMS trainer who proceeded to explain to me how everything worked and what we would be doing in the session. The sessions are only 20 minutes long and we were going to divide it into 15 minute of strength training, 5 minutes of cardio and once it’s over an extra 5 minutes of recovery. EMS basically sends impulse currents to specific parts of your body. In the 60s Soviet sport scientists applied EMS in the training of elite athletes and claimed 40% force gains. Today EMS is widely used in physiotherapy.
Before starting the workout I had to wear a special outfit, kinda like a wetsuit that had all these wires sticking out which then connects to their EMS machine. Then one by one the trainer applied electric current to various parts of my suit and told me to inform her when the level of discomfort became unbearable so she could set the level and move on to another part of my body. It felt like I was getting electrocuted by a low current, it wasn’t painful but it felt strange. Once we were ready she told me no matter how fit I was or how much of an athlete I was, everyone starts off here as a beginner. In my head I was thinking whatever just hit me with everything you’ve got. She told me to follow her moves and that the currents would come every few seconds. So I would have a few seconds rest and then the current would hit, a few seconds rest and then the current would hit again. Before the current hits I would have to be in a certain position matching hers and hold it like that throughout the electro stimulation. So for example she would go into a squat position and I would do the same and then hold that position while the current hit me.
It was a killer. I wasn’t expecting it to be difficult but damn my legs especially were starting to give up on me. When the current hits your muscles tense up and it becomes really difficult to hold whatever position you’re in. 15 minutes later I was ready to end my session but we still had 5 more minutes of cardio left and I was already exhausted. I was actually getting a real workout, I was sweating and I was also getting muscle fatigue… I was not expecting that.
Once we were done with the session I was honest and told them I came in really skeptical but I now understood what all the fuss was about. I don’t think anyone can get muscular from EMT but I don’t think thats why athletes use it. The entire Bayern Munich football club, Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal are just some athletes who use EMT and they all use it as an addition on top of their regular workout regime. EMT helps increase muscle strength and performance but regular people also use EMT as a quick work out. Its an alternative to gyming for couch potatoes.
I ended up getting muscle soreness in my bum a couple of days later which is a sign of a good workout. But, I was surprised I got any sort of muscle soreness since I heavily workout all my body and that specific week I had done quite a bit of leg workouts. Yet the EMT training was able to reach muscles I wasn’t able to during my regular workouts and thats why I’m probably going to start doing one EMT session a week on top of my current busy gym schedule. You’re only recommended to do EMT twice a week by the way since you need rest days between each workout. Price wise it’s not that bad. 1 session of EMT is KD25 but depending on the package you take it can go down to as low as KD15. Keep in mind there is no gym membership here and it’s a 20 minute private session with a personal trainer. If you’re interested to find out more, check out 20Seven’s instagram page [Here]
The third World Happiness Report was recently released by the United Nations and Kuwait dropped down the list instead of moving up. Originally when the list came out in 2012, Kuwait was ranked 31 under the list of happy nations. In 2013, Kuwait dropped one place to 32 and now in the third release Kuwait dropped further down to 39.
Not sure what caused the drop, I mean since the 2013 report we’ve had a ton of new burger joints open and Abercrombie & Fitch as well. Everyone should be super happy by now.
Download the full report from the World Happiness website [Here]
