Ikarus Marine- Ocean Activities

I met the Mustafa, the manager of Ikarus company one night at Marina Crescent while looking over his neon fitted boats. Ikarus Marine is a new company in Kuwait trying to bring the feel of Dubai to the people here. He has boats with neon lights that take people out on the ocean for hour tours, at this time it doesn't include a buffet but food is available for purchase. 

There are characters that come out and entertain the kids as well as music. As I was taking pictures I also noticed his company rents out jet skis and water crafts. The location is Marina Waves if I am correct, I've only seen jet skis being rented but the water crafts are there as well.

They have a website but it is under construction, you can find more information and pictures on their IG @ikarusmarine and snapchat ikarusmarine or call them on 98920706/98921171/61. I really wish their were dhow rides like in Dubai where you go cruising which includes entertainment (guy with albino python and a bird), food and a lady who does henna. That was the best time I had in Dubai which also included wadi bashing.

Promenade Mall Hawally

My friend and I stopped by the Promenade Mall to check out the @trampokuwait trampoline area and the Promenade ice skating rink. There are only a few shops open with Sultan Center opening in the past few days, most of the foot traffic is for the entertainment areas. 

I learned of the history of the mall, it is actually Kuwait's first 'charity mall' and the biggest one in the Arabic and Islamic world. It is owned by the Al Othman Charity Fund, a private fund that actively supports various humanitarian projects throughout the Arab world and internationally. The fund is managed by Engineer Adnan Abdullah Al-Othman, son (I assume) of the "Great Philanthropist"  Abdulla Abdullatif Al-Othman of the museum Bait Al Othman (my favorite museum in Kuwait).link

 "Every dinar the customer spends in this mall will go to charity' The Al Othman Charity Fund is paying for various charity projects inside and outside of Kuwait.

 The ice skating rink is 1,200 square meters and focuses on training children, it's around 6KD per hour which includes skates and helmets, the plastic push toy is an additional 2KD rental which can be used to push small children around in as well as used for balancing.

 Trampo and Clip n' Climb is another entertainment area which includes huge trampolines for visitors to use. You can call 60694352 for more information on prices.

It's a really huge mall that will include GEOX, On Time, DKNY, Make Up Forever, Life with Cacao, Choowy Goowy, Tim Hortons (already open),Cafe Bazza (already open) and Chili's as well as Kuwait's largest MANGO store. It will also have the 'Promenade Cultural Centre' (PCC) which will host a variety of events dedicated to art, theater, live music and performances. The mall lies on an area of 18,000 sqm which also includes the Al Othman Tower with 13 floors of offices, three floors in the basement for parking.

The grand opening is set for some time in September.

Italian Circus

There's an "Italian" circus in the parking lot behind the Fashion Outlet building. It looks way ghetto but when there isn't anything else you can always go see the Italians I guess?

Has anyone been to it?

Entertainment City

After having so much fun during our desert outing I decided we should head for Entertainment City in Doha for some more fun. We haven't visited this place in years, it was pretty much the same but some of the good rides like the space needle, dhow boat ride, smaller roller coaster and log ride were closed for "maintenance" so I wonder if they were broke and no one cared to fix them or what.

 Bull ride

 This ride killed us, it lasted a long time and turned us upside down more than we wanted.

 Cute, but does anyone really care?

I had my eyes closed the whole time on this one.

 You have to pay 2 KD for this ride, it's short but worth it

 The ghetto fabulous safari ride

 The track for a short car ride

 Always a good ride for chilling

 This reminds me of Knott's Berry Farm

Old West theme

It's 3.500 KD entrance fee, some rides you have to pay extra. It's open now for Winter hours which are 4-10 weekdays, 10-10 weekends and Monday is for ladies only. It's too bad Touristice Enterprises does not promote the various places of entertainment, the park could use some trimming and paint. I don't think people venture out there anymore since Avenues has opened which is good for those who want to ride and not wait forever.

The Kuwait Underground Event @ Camp Arifjan

I was shopping in the PX when I saw some Kuwaiti airing on the displays of tvs. They were talking about their event on March 3 on Camp Arifjan. There were also three Americans thrown in there as well. One DJ and a female and male rapper (probably ex-contractors who don't want to go back home). As I stood there watching it I could hear the laughs and jokes about the performers already. All I can say is Americans are a tough crowd to please so good luck. One guy standing next to me was watching it and was like "I'll skip it".

THRIFT SHOP (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

WARNING: Bad Words

Hala February Events 2013

In my 9 years of living here I have never attended any events for Hala February mostly due to the fact there is almost 0 information out there. I tend to find out about events I missed when I see pictures in the newspapers which sucks. I'm mostly interested in traditional/cultural events rather than circus acts. I've seen some pictures of the races in Jahra but that's not the type of area I would want to go to see them. An ideal scenario would have been having all of the cultural/traditional events held at "Heritage Village" but alas that project has come to a screeching halt and no one seems to know why(I'd say it has something to do with Wasta).

I know Kuwait has some Kuwaiti singers and traditional dancers but where are they? Aren't there any "family" shows with falcons and tents for people to visit? Where are the traditional Sadu weavers? Here's my idea, rennovate the old Al-Shaya Kuwaiti house and turn it into a heritage museum where they hold traditional venues for tourists. I know it's right beside the Emir's palace but it can be gated, right? It's a huge piece of land and the house itself is huge as well. It seems every country has it's own heritage village, why not Kuwait?

After searching for hours I came up with a few things to do at Green Island. I have no idea when or where there may be more parades or shows which is ok because I can't see myself fighting the crowds and places for parking.

Green Island:

Graffiti Art Contest: February 16/23
Magic Show: February 17-22
Kid's Circus: February 17-26
Daily Contest Show: February 17-26-- 6-7 pm
French Parade: February 17, 21 and 26
Hanging Musician: February 17/18 and 22-26
Crazy Dunkers: February 17-23
Sponge Bob Meet and Greet: February 17, 21 and23
Dora Meet and Greet: February18-20 and 24-26
Loud Arabia: February 21-23
Sand Castle Contest: February 22
Poetry Event: February 28

You can also contact Al Watan 1822255 or Touristic Enterprises 1806806 they may have more events coming.

The English Tea Lounge- Sheraton

The founder of Operation Hope held our annual meeting at The English Tea Lounge located in the Sheraton in Kuwait City. This was the first time I had been there but Sheryl is a regular there and now I can see why. It was so cozy and there was a lady playing the harp while we sipped tea. I think I had about 15 cups as the waitress kept those cups full.

 

It is a very nice relaxing place and there are windows all around with views of the inside of the Sheraton. The manager had a special set up for us so we were all anxious to see what he had in store for us. We started off with drinks and then we had sample towers brought out and they were wonderful. There were so many different types of finger foods and they were all so good. The service was outstanding with the waitresses taking our dishes and replacing them with clean ones and always making sure we were taken care of.

 



There was a huge chocolate fondue and I just wanted to stick my face in it, good thing it was under lock and key behind plexiglass. I think the manager read my mind as he brought out little chocolate fondues for us and I was happy to see them. One was milk chocolate and the other was dark chocolate with fruit, brownies and marshmallows. Yum! If you are looking for a quiet place with good food this is definitely the place.

Dralion- Cirque du Soleil- Dubai

Dralion of the Cirque du Soleil family of shows is coming to Dubai the first week of February!

 

Fusing the 3000 year-old tradition of Chinese acrobatic arts with the multidisciplinary approach of Cirque du Soleil, Dralion draws its inspiration from Eastern philosophy and its never-ending quest for harmony between humans and nature.

Dubai World Trade Center
February 6-9, 2013