Planet Venus on early morning Kuwait Sky

It is not always I get up at 4.30 am in Kuwait.  My normal get out of bed time is 5.30 am. 

And even when I get up early, to get some office work completed at home, undisturbed, I do not venture out to the Balcony to take a glimpse of the early morning sky.

14 September 2015 was different. 

I got up around 4.15 am.  I had no office work to do.  I just ventured out to the Balcony and looked up.  And I was lucky to get a super glimpse of Planet Venus on the early morning eastern sky in Kuwait.

Mega Chandelier

Chandeliers are used as decoration items for centuries.

Expensive chandeliers with ornamental works have adorned the Royal Courts all over the world.

Now, we do not have many Royals around the world, but Chandeliers are still in use. They come in different sizes and prices.

Here is a Chandelier at JW Marriott Hotel, Kuwait at Jahra Ball Room.  The full magnificence of this Chandelier can only be seen in person.

Building them with bigger blocks

Many tall buildings are getting constructed in Kuwait, especially in the Kuwait City area.  It just amazes me how quickly these buildings come up after what seems to be a lengthy phase when basement is laid.  Seen in the picture is one large pre-fabricated building block that has arrived by a truck waiting to become part of the upcoming Wataniya Telecom Towers.

Lifting weight up!

The notice inside any lift indicates the maximum load limit in terms of weight and passsengers.  Per passenger, this particular lift allows for 78 kg. 

Every time I enter a lift I do think why do they not put a small indicator to show the current load inside.  Should not require any hi-funda technology to do this, I guess. If it was there, it would make things so much easier when you travel abroad.  Just put your baggages inside the lift to know if you have excess baggage.  Good suggestion?

At first look, with the red colored heading, it appears like a warning sign.  However, it is a welcome sign with information to the visitors that they are entering the Kuwait Free Trade Zone (KFTZ) area.

Keeping count of country's assets

Seen in the picture is a pedestrian bridge over Road No.50, with serial number 01/500.  It is not the first bridge out of the total 5, however.   It is the first bridge on Road No.50 and for some reason Road No.50 is marked 500 on this board. 

I keenly watched another such bridge over Road No.40 and it was marked 1/400!  Can we say that the usefulness of these pedestrian bridges make it count?

Any whichever way, it is interesting to see Kuwait Government keeping a tab on its "fixed" assets!

Wash Smart

Most people like to dress smart.  How to wash the smart way? Simple! Use a launderer instead of taking the pain!

Is there really recession and economic slowdown?

Crowd at Avenues Mall, Kuwait

This is the crowd one sees at a shopping mall during what is considered to be times of economic slowdown.  This scene may be common to any place in the world.  Retail outlets do great business, cinema halls are full, amusement parks continue to attract crowd, people keep undertaking vacation travels to exotic locations and buying trendy clothes and state of the art electronics never seems to stop.

If this is slowdown, then what will happen when the economy recovers?  (Thanks to my friend T P Anand, Dubai for this interesting thought)

Go International with just KD 55

No, you cannot travel international destinations with KD 55 physically.  But you can do it with your mobile, entering the Information Superhighway!  An advertisement from VIVA mobile symbolically depicting international with various country flags. On a random check, I think each country is represented thrice in this banner.  Captured at Avenues Mall, Kuwait.

Shopping profitably

At the airport, duty free shopping is supposed to save you some money.  If the added attraction of chance to win a glittering Harley Davidson is thrown in, the Duty Free shopping can become profitable.  Photo taken at Kuwait Airport Duty Free shopping area.

Kuwait Aqua Park

Kuwait Aqua Park, aerial shot from Kuwait Water Towers

Located near the Kuwait Water Towers, Kuwait Aqua park is a popular destination for the kids, and of course adults escorting the kids to the park.  Inaugurated in 1995, it is said to be the first and biggest in the gulf region spread over a surface area of 60000 square meters. Click here to visit their website

In search of a name?

The owner has obviously decided to open a pharmacy and even more obviously has still not decided on the name!  May be one idea to keep the people guessing of which brand is coming up?

They would have really travelled extensively

Containers lying near the Kuwait Port under the scorching sun.

Experiencing the heat, even as I was taking the picture, I started wondering about the radiation level inside these containers.

Serving many people around the world, these containers would have travelled across the globe many times over!

Door to Door cargo

High expat population in Kuwait means good business for door to door cargo service providers.  There many companies that specializes in sending household items, furniture and largely electronic items such as LCD televisions to the home country of expats, mainly India, Srilanka and Phillipines. 

The rates range from 500 fils to KD 1.50 depending upon whether the cargo is airborne or sea!

These services come especially handy when someone is leaving Kuwait for good.

Seen in the picture is a Cargo service catering to Indians and owned by Tamils as is evident from the name Tamilnadu Best Service written in Tamil over pink background.

Good news in the wash room?

Unless you carry your mobile or iPad or someone starts chatting up with you from outside, it is impossible to get "Good News" delivered to you inside the Toilet, one may think. 

But this Toilet Seat Cover company thinks, having a toilet seat cover can also be Good News! :)

Don't ask me why carried the camera into the washroom!

Translating words into income

Translation is big business in Kuwait.  There are number of expats living here.  When they have to get a service done at the Ministry, it is essential to get the documents made in English or home country language translated into Arabic.


These Translation Services also earn their income by helping expats fill out Arabic application forms for Visa and resident permit purposes.

Non-Arabic expat executives also seek translation services for English versions of laws, rules, regulations, circulars and notifications issued in Arabic.

Funnels?

The Funnel like structures are water tanks.  There are present in few select areas, said to be unique to Kuwait.  That is probably the reason why we have miniature of these in front of some Kuwaiti villas.

There are totally twenty four such funnel type tanks located in three places in Kuwait .  One of three locations is Bayan (in the picture) near the Bayan Palace (nine tanks), second one is South Sura (six) and the last one is in Al-Ardiya (nine).

Speed can slow you down

Kuwait has expressways where the permitted speed limit is 120 KMPH.  However, there are drivers who find even this speed too slow!

Despite the hawk-eyed traffic police efforts and speed cameras, drivers like their tyres smoke.

As they press the accelarator in their auto-transmission vehicles and weave in and out of lanes, the inevitable happens.  When accident happens, the traffic gets congested as that lane cannot be used until a police report is made for insurance purposes and the ambulence arrives to help out the injured.

One such accident on 5th Ring Road.

A sweet home-made brand

Chocolateness is the new Kuwaiti brand to hit the market, simply put a home-made brand that specializes in home-made chocolates and molten cakes.  If their chocolates and cakes are mouthwatering stuff, they have have also ensured to have their cars of the eye-catching stuff with this unique design painted on them.

If you want to follow what Chocolateness is doing, there is a Facebook page 

Impressions with the help of nature

Sand storms are very common in Kuwait.  It appears desert sand likes a tour of Kuwait every alternate day.

Seen in the picture are my foot prints on the sand left behind by one of the recent sand storms on our apartment balcony.   These sand storms make balcony unusable, except during early part of winter when the cold is mild and you can enjoy a nice cuppa!