Walk path around Scientific Center- Applebee's now Open

One of the best walk paths in Kuwait has to be the one that takes you around to The Scientific Center and ends at Marina Crescent. It has beautiful scenery as you walk along the sea, you will come across the resident cats and might get splashed by the guys on jet skis so always watch your back when a group of them are showing off.

Applebee's at the Scientific Center is open now as well. The weather is great now so go out and enjoy it while it lasts!

Hassan Ashkanani Museum

I finally got the chance to visit the family museum owned by Hassan Ashkanani in Bayan. It is a grand collection of old historical items from Kuwait as well as family archives and pictures. I love the fact that each piece has a story and a lot of them are linked to his grandfathers and other relatives who held on to their documents and are now on display.

 H. Ashkanani is an Assistant Professor of anthropology and archaeology at Kuwait University and has been collecting antiques since he was twelve years old. His is aim is to document the old life of Kuwait which includes the pre independence era when the Kuwaiti people limited their life inside the wall.

Inside the wall was a specific lifestyle associated with a specific economic activity. I believe literature doesn't cover the lifestyle details except for some major political, economic and such events. Through 'material culture' we will have a better insight into the old life of Kuwaiti people. How did they live? What materials did they use to survive? What materials did they use in their daily life?

It's a journey of understanding ourselves and how we helped build Kuwait.

You can find more information in Arabic on the website and his IG @has_ashkanani

Thank you Hassan for the visit and education, I really appreciated it and could've spent hours listening to your stories.

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.

The Scientific Center brings you Jean-Michel Cousteau's Secret Ocean

A new 3D short film premiering at The Scientific Center.

I always loved Jacques Cousteau.

Mubarakiya School Museum

On December 22, 1911 the School of Mubarakiya was opened. It all started when Sheikh AlQanai'e led the move to ask people to donate and make a collective effort to establish and construct the first formal school in Kuwait, leading to the opening of the School of Mubarakiya named after the ruler at the time Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah. The school was built for around 80,000 rupees collected from various donors and citizens. It was built in a short span of 10 months, the first batch of included 254 students.

Al Mubarakiya School ratified fees were based on the student's social and financila status. High Class students paid 2 rupees, middle class 1 rupee and poor students were free.

The museum is located off to the side of Mubarakiya down the narrow road that leads to main road. They are closed on Sunday and have morning/afternoon timings.

eMall Kuwait

After seeing so many pictures on IG from various bloggers I had to check out the mall for myself. Not much there, a few scattered coffee shops, a 'Social Club' which were located on the first floor. The second floor had almost every name brand imaginable which was great for those who hate having to go to different malls to get what they want. The whole place is anchored on Eureka and on the third floor there are some gyms. 

This must be the place where most of the pictures were taken at night which made the mall seem like a cool place to go. I wonder if this is where they have that melting chocolate ball dessert? Security detectors and red velvet ropes, where's the red carpet?

 This climbing wall was scary as hell, I took the picture from the first floor. It's a weird corner location and if you fall you will hit the bottom floor.

It was ok but didn't have the 'wow' factor, I guess it's posh for Hawally. It's located in front of the Sultan Center and I think there is basement parking although I parked in TSC parking lot.