Mister Ian's Weblog

Category: Kuwait

  • Car on it’s side

    Another Car Crash in Kuwait

    You can click here to see on Google Maps where it occurred.

    Driving here just wears you down. There are so many selfish, aggressive, non-attentive, distracted, dangerous drivers. You cannot make even the shortest journey without having to avoid at least one idiot hauling up to your rear bumper and flashing lights to pass or swerving or pulling out from a side street without looking or changing lanes without looking. And there is such a speed differential on the roads here with the speed limit of 120 and people going at least that in the left lane, slow trucks and buses going 50 on the right and even cars in the middle lane going 50. Add that to people swerving across to make exits and other cars merging on and you see what I mean.

    It must have been tricky leaving this car on it’s side though.

  • Fintas Take Away Chicken Restaurant

    Our Local Cooked Chicken To Go Restaurant

    The chicken is quite tasty. It tastes better than the chicken from the Sultan Centre but the Sultan Centre chicken is a bit cheaper at 1 KD.

    Our Local Cooked Chicken To Go Restaurant

    And the staff is very friendly. If you want to see where the place is on a Google Map click here.

  • Indian Bananas in Kuwait

    Indian Banana

    These bananas are available in the Sultan Centre and are not too ripe. They must be in season now in India. I’ve had these in south India and they are delicious. You don’t know what a banana should taste like if you haven’t had these. In fact, the regular commercial bananas have been the Cavendish variety least flavourful variety chosen since the 1950’s for their resistance a soil fungus called Panama Disease. There is a podcast with full transcript here at Scientific American about it.

    Now there is concern that diseases will seriously affect the current crops particularly in Africa.

  • Hardware Stores of Kuwait

    True Value Hardware Store

    Everybody needs to know where to get various hardware things. Well the new True Value is open near Avenues mall. They have some hardware things like bulk screws and bolts but I couldn’t find any plumbing materials like a pipe clamp.

    True Value Hardware Store

    They do have a lot of garden and patio related stuff though. The people at this other blog weren’t impressed totally but the choices are limited. There are no Home Depot’s here (yet?). But an Office Depot just opened in Avenues Mall.

    True Value Hardware Store

    And they even have some books and you can get pizza if you are hungry. Not during Ramadan though when we were there.

    The other hardware store, Ace is also nearby so between the two of them you should be able to find things.

    I prefer Ace as they have a much larger selection of hardware supplies and tools including plumbing. And it is reasonably easy to find stuff. The basement of Home Hardware is a maze.

    Update April 2010
    Home Hardware has better stock now. They have quite a bit tools and assorted hardware. Still you need to go to both to compare prices and find things as the stock at each store varies.

  • Jet Engine Used to Extinguish Kuwait Oil Fires

    I’ve seen photos and there is a brief clip of it in the Imax movie here about the oil fires.

    The Hungarians replaced the turret from an old Russian tank with 2 turbines from a Mig 21. Water is injected in the exhaust, they throttle up and distinguish the fire.

    For more interesting uses of jet engines and where I found this video see this post.

  • Shopping at the Mangaf Sultan Center

    They even have beans from Kanada!

    Lentils from Kanada

    And after shopping they help you load the groceries. Note the sun in the photo. A regular hot dusty day.

    Loading Groceries