It was raining in the city so we decided not to go riding, I worked on a few things before heading out to Wafra for lunch. The weather was perfect, a nice cold chill, a few layers of clothing, a hoody and I am good to go. These long drives have given me a good reason to clean up and work on my playlists, they do need some sorting and adjusting, I keep finding songs that I have completely forgotten about over the past few decades but now I’m getting them back into rotation. Getting the playlists right makes some of them perfect for all kinds of drives and listening to the perfect song when I’m driving, find some good oldies.
This time Bu Jasim was taking care of lunch so I was looking forward to what was on the menu. As usual I was enjoying the drive, and since it has recently rain the ground was solid except for a few soft spots to avoid. I was enjoy the bouncy ride, its like riding on clouds, and as soon as I got in there were more people this time then last time. What surprised me were the dogs, small & big (people) brought their dogs, caramel was the small one, I forgot the labrador name but it was a lot of fun too. The funny part is that labrador only understood Arabic commands, which was amazing, and caramel was a friendly small dog that just walked around and found comfort where he could. Lots of people, perfect weather with a cool breeze, the best part was the tea after the meal and relaxing outside. I can never get enough of this perfect weather and desert, a dose of this every once in a while is perfect.
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I paid my bill on the 2nd of December, and now it is the Friday 18th of December, I get a text message warning form Zain. It was zeroed on the 2nd of December, and we aren’t even close to the end of the month, and I get the warning of disconnection from Zain. They show no appreciation for customer loyalty, they don’t watch for customer consistency, and at least this time I got a warning that I will get disconnected in the next 7 days, even though it is a Friday I can pay some time during the week. The bill is around 182 KD which isn’t out of the ordinary in my case when I have times that I travel a lot, there have been times where it has been a lot more, I have called and complained that they disconnect without consistency, and they say it’s the system and I know that this system only applies to certain people but what about others, I know that it isn’t applying to them. They don’t show any appreciation for customers that consistently pay on a timely basis, and they randomly disconnect, I have never been able to understand their pattern.
At this point I am only stuck with my number that I have had for a very long time, changing it is a huge hassle for me so I’m stuck with Zain. The moment you can switch operators and keep your number I think Zain will be the biggest loser, they have recommended for people to keep my card on the bill but I have known that Zain does sometimes overcharge its customers and drastic amounts, times when mistakes were made, and it takes a long time to get your money back from Zain then to clear it up right then and there, so giving them my card details it out of the question. So with Zain a person’s track record means nothing to them, you would think with so much information that they have on their customers that they would do a better job of maintaining their customers, they have no idea that people only stay with Zain because the annoyance of changing numbers.
Recently I have been seeing more Wataniya Ads then the other providers, more ads on the street and newspapers. There are certain things that I think should be red, and I do like Wataniya’s branding its just they have been a bit on the quiet side while the other two squabble a lot. A friend of mine has both a Wataniya & Zain number, he uses both consistently, and he has experiment with the two and for some reason Zain is consistently more expensive, he always gets a higher bill. I have come to the conclusion that having a Mobily Saudi line in Kuwait is cheaper then having a Zain line but I have take a closer look at later. Going back to the main subject, I was searching Wataniya earlier and stumbled upon their Youtube Channel, its nice seeing big companies using tools that we use, I really liked the 10th Anniversary Ad. I honestly prefer the original red flag of Kuwait then the current one, it feels original and full of pride, click play below to see the ad.
Link: Wataniya
Link: WataniyaYoutubeChannel
Got a call from Wehbi about the Car Show next to 360 Mall, and some interesting combination of cars in the show. I wasn’t aware of location, but he gave me spot on directions to the car show, so I thought I would head there directly after lunch. Took me 5 minutes down the 6th Ring Road and I got there, luckily there was a lot of parking and it was held in a very nice grassy area. I’m a bit disappointed with the venues in Kuwait, Mishref grounds used to be state of the art 20 years ago but now it feels like its just falling apart and there is no major improvement which does need to happen. I was just happy there was this type of car show taking place in Kuwait, they should take place more often.
There are cars inside and outside, I like the trucks and a few sports cars outside, I was curious what would be inside. There were a bunch of GTOs, some Corvettes, a few Aston Martins, and a lot of cars. The event seems very nicely organized, it takes 10 minutes to enjoy and walk around the whole thing, lots of nice cars, well taken care of and maintained. I saw a couple of cars that I liked but the one I liked the most was the SS & the Dodge Power Wagon outside, I really liked the trucks. Its great seeing people enjoying their cars and taking care of them, more should be done to promote events such as these.
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My friend was driving home in VW R32 and just as he was about to get onto the highway he hears a loud boom, and a hard slap, he pulls over and the tire was basically ripped off the rim. It’s around 1am on Thursday night close to Fahaheel Expressway as he was heading home, he was trying to think of what to do but didn’t bother calling us to help him. He remembered that he had a VW Behbehani VIP service, so he called them to check what they could do for him, they ask if he was ok, and said the tow guy will be with him in 10 minutes. He looked at the jack kit for the VW R32, and its a complicated contraption to put together in the rain so decided to wait the 10 minutes. The tow guy got there in 10 minutes, which is a miracle in Kuwait, his phone rang again and the call center was asking about the tow guy.
He got there and within 10 minutes put on the spare tire, and he told him he will take his rim back to Behbehani, replace the tire for free, and check the rim for any structural damage from the savage burst. He drove home and the call center called him again to make sure he got home, this whole event took place in less then a 30 minute period. Next morning the same tow guy called on Friday, brought the rim back with the new tire and installed it on his car. Now that is fantastic service, my friend hasn’t had his car a year yet and this is a service that he pays only 6 KD per year for, and they offer only for the higher end VWs. So its the R32, R36, Phaeton, and probably a few other high end VWs but I’m not sure which ones are included in the service, but if you a Jetta or a normal fleet car then you aren’t eligible for the service. My first question was whether I could subscribe to the service even if I don’t have a VW, I would pay 60KD a year for service like this. I don’t even know if they offer it for Porsche, but its great that Behbehani has service such as this available to its customers. They have a fleet of 40 tow cars all over Kuwait from Doha all the way to Nuwaiseeb, stationed in all corners of the country so the tow trucks can get to you quickly. It would be nice if Luxury vehicle dealers would learn from them and provide a similar service such as this, I hope they keep up the great work.
Foiling is a new phenomeno that has been taking place in the Kuwait and the Middle East, its the simple practice of changing color or design of a car using a special type of sticker on top of the car’s original color. Its a quick way to change colors, styles, and protecting your vehicle’s body. Its legal in the US and Europe, now for the Middle East its a different story.
I was reminded of this topic because of Brake Banzeen’s article linked below, Creative FX did a fantastic job on the F430, making it look easy. In Kuwait you can do it in a few legit places or in Shuweikh, in Al Zeena Street, but I wouldn’t recommend either. I was thinking of getting a strip or something done with the material but it looks like the police are out with vengeance.
Sticker guys who were caught in Shuweikh applying the stickers across whole cars like that were apprehended and deported for applying the stickers. I asked in a two day period 15 Indian and Bangladashi workers were apprehended, and this is when they are trying to do an honest job. I don’t know how they want to hold them responsible when they should just fine the owners of the cars, but it seems there is something else is going on. Word from the top is simple, if your car has the whole sticker applied it is towed and impounded for no less three days, and thats if you can get it out. They are out for blood and I honestly can’t imagine why. They make things really difficult for anyone that wants to do any customizing to a car, and everything is always illegal because its easier for them to take that route to figure a simple system of regulating it. Really not worth all that trouble.
Link: Brake Banzeen
That day they the test on Tuesday I had one meeting in the city, then a stop in Qurtoba for another quick meeting, then the office. The plan was simple, but I didn’t think there would be that much traffic from all the blocked roads. After my meeting was done, I was pretty much stuck in traffic for three hours in total, 1 hour and 20 minute for a 10 minute drive and 1 hour and 40 minutes for the drive back to the office.
Fahaheel Expressway (30) wasn’t moving, neither was Malik Fahad Expressway (40), I tried being smart and taking the inside roads to try to circumvent the traffic, but it seems everyone had that idea too. I couldn’t get go any where fast, it was at snails pace, at one point I got out of the car to stretch my legs. So basically from 12pm until about 3 pm the traffic was completely messed up, which is ridiculous, and if this is the test run then I can’t imagine how bad traffic is going to on this coming Monday and Tuesday. I recommend to stay in the office or call in sick for those days, it will be horrible to be on the road.
(Our Office Cats fear no one, I was less then a meter a way and they couldn’t give a damn, these boys have been around the block and knock a few people around, they are not to be messed with, especially that big one in the middle of the hood. Cats are Evil!)
The more I see these videos the more hyped up I get about GulfRun 5, I want to get on the track right away. I remember those pits, the garages, those turns, I can’t wait to get on the track. GulfRun 5 seems to have changed a bit to a 3 day event in Bahrain not including the Car Show taking place in 360 Mall on the 15th & 16th of January. The Car Wash is taking place on the 14th of January @ Al Falah Car Wash.
There are still details we aren’t aware of for the track and the car show, things are still quiet and now we know the sponsors for GulfRun 5. Its great that companies such as these support GulfRun, some are new and some keep supporting them year after year. I think I’m getting too excited even thought its a month away, I’m still waiting for the spare parts to arrive.
TitleSponsors
- Wataniya Telecom
Platinum Sponsors
- Agility
- Consolidated Construction Co.
- Dent Xpress
- Wataniya Airways
Gold Sponsors
- Al Sawan Travel
- Slider Station
I was always curious about how exactly do the speed cameras decide which car is speeding when they are side by side and one is going a lot faster, so it seems I will be getting my answer soon. One woman driving Chevy Tahoe on Fahaheel Expressway (30), she was driving really aggressively when there were a lot of cars on the road, she would flash and honk, and what surprised me is that she is muhajabah, and she had kids in the car, I would think she would be more composed instead of driving like a maniac. I was on my way to Wafra for lunch, going at about 120 kmh since there were cars in front of me and around, enjoying some new playlists that I put together and a few oldies as well. After a while there was a stretch of open road on my right, and that lady tried several times to nagivate from the other lanes to get ahead but failed, so when she saw the open lanes she hit the gas and took off, I could see her coming up quick in the middle lane and no cars in front of her. I saw the speed camera up front and slow down a bit to signal her but she was a woman on a mission. The moment she passed me was the moment we were both passed the speeding camera and it flashed, and she continued to fly as if nothing happened. Now I will find out how accurate these cameras are if I get the ticket, then I am pretty much screwed because you can’t do anything about it in Kuwait and I think I have some points racked up meaning that I would lose my license for a while which is a strange thing in Kuwait, but time will tell. Knowing the MOI it will take at least 4 to 6 months before it shows in the system and if it doesn’t then I’m in the clear and those cameras work right, and if I do get a ticket then I’m taking a shot gun to those cameras and giving them a few more holes to see better.
Now this was an interesting dinner, it was the second day that Meat Company was open or what some of my friends have started calling it “Laham Co.” I was looking forward to trying their Beef Ribs apperitzers and some good Rib Eye Steak. Luckily more and more places are opening up in 360 Mall and I do enjoy walking around, so I remembered where the location of Meat Company is located.
We really didn’t need to reserve, there were six of us and we had a choice of any table but we had a few smokers that wanted to smoke which was a bit annoying but no one was on our side. There were 6 of us and they sat us down on a table for 8 people, we looked at the menus and everything seemed the same but a few tiems were different then Dubai, the Wagyu Rib-eye was missing but it was 90% similar.
The beef ribs came in 10 minutes, and we ordered the main courses. Each person chose his own and all of them were very different. Out of 6 orders they only messed up 2 orders, and my friend took the oppurtunity to milk the situation for all that he could. His steak was well done when he ordered medium rare, so when they brought back another steak it looked uncooked basically warmed and on the plate. But my steak and a few of the others was really good, I really enjoyed the good tasting food. They need some time to get the cooking and ordering right, the staff need some more experience but I think that it will be good. I know I’m going back for some steak again in the near future.
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