Category: Information

Happy Ramadan everyone. Here are the Ramadan timings you’ll probably need, if I missed any other important ones, let me know in the comments.

Banks: 10AM to 1:30PM (not including airport and malls)
Government: 8:30AM ~ 10:30AM to 1PM ~ 3PM
Car Registration Renewal: 10AM to 3PM

360 Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 8:30PM to 1:30AM
Al Khiran Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 8:30PM to 1AM
Al Kout Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 8:30PM to 1:30AM
Assima Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 8PM to 1AM
Avenues Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 7:30PM to 1:30AM
Boulevard: 10AM to 3PM and 6PM to 1AM
Marina Mall: 10AM to 4PM and 7:30PM to 1:30AM
Salhia Complex: 10AM to 3PM and 8:30PM to 1AM
The Warehouse: 10AM to 4PM and 8:30PM to 1:30AM

Cinescape: From 8:30PM
GrandCinemas: From 8PM
Sky Cinemas: From 8PM
VOX: From 7PM

Al Shaheed Park: 5AM to 2AM
Abdullah AlSalem Cultural Centre: 8PM to 12:30AM (ex. Sundays)

Co-ops: Most open 24 hours
Lulu Hypermarket: 8AM to 3AM
Sultan Center: Standalone stores open 24 hours

Ace Hardware: 10:00AM to 11:30PM
IKEA: 10AM to 4PM and 8PM to 2AM
True Value: Open 24 hours in Salmiya, 10AM to 1AM in Al Rai
Xcite: Open 24 hours in Al Rai, Fahaheel, Hawally, Salmiya

Illustration by @windowsofuae

The Kuwait Towers Garden, located right underneath the towers, is opening to the public for the first time. Previously, you needed a restaurant reservation or had to pay for access to the viewing deck to get into that area, but now the garden will be open to everyone.

Starting Ramadan and until May 14, access to the garden will be free. According to the organizers Hekaya World, the space will feature art, culture, and coffee. I passed by earlier today for a quick sneak peek and they were busy putting the final touches in place for tomorrow.

The acai spot Say Suco will also have a pop up under the tower with its own seating area.

The Kuwait Towers Garden has an instagram account if you want to check out, it’s @kuwaittowersgarden

I recently found out that the UAE cinema brand Star Cinemas is planning to open in Kuwait. They currently operate in two markets, the UAE and Oman, with over 150 screens across both. They’ve been around since 1964, although this is the first time I’ve come across them, which probably has more to do with me not living in the UAE than them not being very popular.

For their first location, they’re planning to take over the old Cinescape space at Al Fanar Mall in Salmiya (pictured in this post).

From what I’ve been able to put together, they won’t be competing directly with the likes of Cinescape or VOX. Instead, they’re likely to go up against smaller cinema brands such as Sky Cinemas and Ozone Cinemas.

I wasn’t able to get a launch date from Star Cinemas, but I do know they’re currently looking for F&B partners for their concession stand, so I’m assuming it’s happening soon.

Cinescape at Al Fanar opened back in 1997 and was the first cinema in Kuwait to be located inside a mall. The location was extremely popular in the late 90s and early 2000s, before eventually closing last October.

Last night, the winners of this year’s Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants were announced in Abu Dhabi, and two restaurants from Kuwait made the list.

Cantina and Matbakhi both earned spots on the 50 Best Restaurants list, with Cantina ranking 18th and Matbakhi coming in 50th. Cantina’s ranking is pretty incredible and the highest ever achieved by a Kuwait based restaurant on the 50 Best list.

Previous Kuwaiti restaurants that made the list include White Robata in 2022 and 2023, and Bonjiri in 2023.

The Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list was launched in 2022 and is published every year. Restaurants are voted for by 250 respected food and restaurant industry experts from across the region, all chosen for their knowledge and experience of the local dining scene.

For the full list of 2026 winners, click here.

The Kuwait-based advisory firm Ali Bahbahani and Partners recently released its annual Kuwait Automotive Market Report for 2025.

According to the report, 2025 was Kuwait’s biggest year on record for car sales, with 151,489 vehicles sold. The data is based on official vehicle registration figures from Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, which go back to 2013. Last December was also the strongest single month on record, with 16,223 cars sold.

Other interesting facts:
– SUVs now make up 57% of the market, while sedans have fallen to 36%. The remaining 7% includes pickups, vans, and commercial vehicles.

• Toyota is still the #1 brand in Kuwait

• In 2017, Chinese brands sold just 681 vehicles in Kuwait. Last year, they sold 42,901, a 63x increase in only eight years.

• Japanese brands held 55% of Kuwait’s car market in 2013. Today, they hold 40%. Over the same period, Chinese brands grew from 0.5% to 28%.

• The top seven sellers in the budget-conscious segment are all Chinese brands: Jetour T2, GWM H9, Chery Arrizo 5, Changan Alsvin, MG 3, Omoda C5, and MG 5.

• Ten brands sold fewer vehicles in 2025 than in 2024, even as the overall market grew 16%. These include Geely, Lexus, Jeep, Ford, and Honda.

• Some brands rely heavily on a single model. For GMC, 72% of its sales come from the Yukon, while 70% of Jetour’s sales come from the T2.

• The Jetour T2 outsold the Nissan Patrol last year, a model with decades of heritage in Kuwait.

Finally, the top 10 selling cars for 2025. Seven of the 10 models are SUVs. Only one of the top 10 is Chinese, while the majority of the best sellers are Japanese. Here are is the list:

1.  Toyota Prado (7,650)
2.  Toyota Land Cruiser (6,379)
3.  Jetour T2 (4,309)
4.  Nissan Patrol (4,181)
5.  Nissan Sunny (3,880)
6.  Ford Territory (3,539)
7.  Toyota Corolla (2,951)
8.  Chevrolet Captiva (2,269)
9.  GMC Yukon (2,266)
10. Kia Sportage (2,177)

For more interesting stats, click here.

This is a pretty big moment for Kuwait’s music scene, and a huge moment for the band. LUMINA, the local alternative metal band, will be opening for the legendary Linkin Park this coming Sunday in Bahrain.

Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre, the Bahrain venue that recently hosted iconic bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, and Guns N’ Roses, has been actively pushing for local and regional acts to open major shows. LUMINA, being a female fronted band, felt like a natural fit for Linkin Park, who are now also female led.

I’m a bit jealous that they’re going to be backstage with Linkin Park so I can only imagine how surreal it must be for them to be opening up for them. The band members performing this Sunday are:

Latti – Lead vocalist, writer, and co-founder
Mando – Guitarist, composer, and co-founder
Aziz – Synthesist
Aziz Baqer – Drummer
Salem – Bassist and producer
Adel Qattan – Guitarist for the Bahrain show

Areej Saleh of artscene.me is their booking agent.

If you want to hear LUMINA’s music or find out more about the band, check out their Instagram @thebandlumina

La Petite Maison Abu Dhabi is hosting a 50 Best Signature Session in collaboration with MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants, and they’ve invited a Kuwaiti chef to take part in the event.

Chef Basmah Marouf, best known for her concept Cantina, will be collaborating with an international chef on a one night only dinner on February 5. The evening will feature an exclusive four course set menu created especially for the event.

Being invited to take part in a 50 Best Signature Session is a pretty big deal, and since the event is being promoted by 50 Best, it does make me wonder if Cantina might have made it onto their Top 50 Best Restaurants list. We’ll find out for sure when the winners are announced on February 3.

For more info on the dinner, head to @lpmabudhabi. To find out next month if Cantina made it onto MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants, keep an eye on @menas50best.

Last June, I posted that Alghanim Industries had launched the brand Sama X and had become the official distributors of Starlink’s satellite internet in Kuwait. The service was meant to launch last year, but when I reached out to them in September, they said licensing and regulatory approvals were taking longer than expected. They were hoping to finalize everything by the end of last year, but according to a contact of mine at CITRA, those issues still haven’t been fully resolved.

Starlink internet works through satellites, making it perfect for places where regular internet can be spotty or completely unavailable. I spent Christmas in Lebanon where the internet was incredibly slow and unreliable, and I told myself that next time I go back, I’d bring my own Starlink with me. Starlink has a small portable unit with roaming packages, which would be perfect for a trip like that. But since there’s still no confirmed timeline for when Starlink will go live in Kuwait, I’ll either have to wait a bit longer or buy an imported unit and pay a premium.

If you want to stay posted on the launch, their website is Sama X

Yesterday I posted that Kuwait Airways will start flying to Mykonos but according to my contact at Kuwait Airways, they’ll soon be launching new direct flights to more interesting destinations, including:

• Beijing
• Maldives
• Moscow
• Phuket

Maldives and Beijing are the two destinations I’m most interested in. Maldives because I’ve been wanting to experience it for a long time, and Beijing because I want to explore parts of China and it would be a great starting point. I do wish they brought back Athens instead of Mykonos though, especially since after deciding it would be my go-to summer spot, they suddenly stopped flying to it.

Kuwait Airways will start flying to Moscow three times a week and Mykonos twice a week, both starting in June. I’m still waiting to hear back on the other destinations, but you can keep an eye on their account for an official announcement @kuwaitairways

There were recently articles in the newspaper about Royal Pharmacy having their license revoked. The article didn’t make much sense to me since it didn’t really explain why their license was revoked. I read a few comments online about people thinking it was because they had too many branches open in the same area, and a lot of people sounded like they were happy their license was being revoked, like they wanted Royal Pharmacy to be punished for their success.

I have a Royal Pharmacy near my house (actually 3) but there is one I pass by the most. So I asked my pharmacist what the issue is and if they were in fact closing down because all three pharmacies near me were still open.

According to my pharmacist the issue is that basically the Kuwaiti owner of Royal Pharmacy had his citizenship revoked. So all the Royal Pharmacy stores no longer had a Kuwaiti partner.

I think the way pharmacies work in Kuwait is that an individual pharmacist needs to be the owner. So for example Royal Pharmacy or Boots are brands names, but each pharmacy is owned by an individual pharmacist. That’s why sometimes you’ll find a pharmacist name on the sign or a window sticker written in a small font.

According to my pharmacist who is an expat, because the Royal Pharmacy owner is no longer Kuwaiti, all the pharmacists need to find a new Kuwaiti partner. So the pharmacies won’t be closing (or most won’t at least), but they will be renamed or rebranded. One of the three Royal pharmacies next to me already had the word Royal removed from the signage. I’d imagine some other big brand might now want to take over the Royal Pharmacy brand.

Anyway, the above is just based on what my pharmacist told me so it might not necessarily be accurate, but it makes sense to me.

Recently, I noticed the Thunayan Al Ghanim Building at the Sheraton roundabout had been vacated and looked like it might be getting demolished. That worried me because of its historical importance, so I reached out to the family, and it turns out the building is actually going to be restored.

When the building was constructed in the 1950s, it was considered one of the most advanced in Kuwait. In the photo above the building is under construction while surrounded by traditional Kuwaiti houses, a very noticeable contrast at the time.

The Thunayan Al Ghanim Building was also the first building in Kuwait to have an elevator. There are stories of Bedouins coming in from the desert just to watch what they called “the flying horse” that can go up and down. Over the years, the building housed the original Kuwait Oil Company offices, the British Consulate, Kuwait’s first English bookshop (later opened in the basement of Al Muthana Complex), and the original Sultan Gallery.

Because of its historical value, the family plans to preserve the building.

I haven’t been posting for a few days since I wanted to take a bit of time off to enjoy the holidays. But I’m back now because a lot of people have been asking if there will be fireworks tonight, and the answer is yes and no.

If you’re asking whether there will be a huge fireworks show like the ones previously held at Kuwait Towers or earlier this year at Al Shaheed Park, then the answer is no.

However, similar to last year, there will be several fireworks displays taking place around Kuwait.

The biggest one was expected to happen at KLAND, but they announced late last night that the fireworks show has been canceled.

That means the largest displays are now likely to be at Messilah Beach, Al Kout Mall, and Al Khiran Mall. If you don’t want to drive that far, or you’re looking for something near Kuwait Towers, JON will be holding a short fireworks show that will last a few minutes.

Wherever you end up watching the fireworks from, have a great night and happy new year.

Update: Messilah Beach just announced that their fireworks show is also canceled due to “directives of the relevant security authorities.” I wonder what’s going on🤔

Update2: JON also canceled their fireworks

Update3: Al Kout Mall and Al Khiran also announced the cancelations of their shows

West Elm is closing down next week, so they’ve been running clearance sales to get rid of their stock. I passed by over the weekend and went back again today, only to find out they just started their big sale. Everything is now at least 70% off. Some of the accessories are even discounted by more than 90% because they have buy one get one free deals on top of the discounts.

I’m pretty sad that West Elm is closing down. It was my favorite furniture store, and we really don’t have many other places that offer a similar style.

They’re closing down on December 25, but I’d head there sooner. The store was super busy when I was there, and I’m sure a lot of the good stuff is going to get sold. Pottery Barn is also having a massive sale since they’re also closing on the 25th.

The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) recently opened the first phase of its Eco Park project, a government initiative aimed at supporting urban greening and promoting sustainability in Kuwait. The Eco Park focuses on improving green spaces in urban areas while also supporting research related to desert development and urban planning.

The park officially opened earlier in the month but I kept postponing my visit because of the weather. But, on Friday when I saw the sun was out I decided to pass by and check the park out and take some photos.

It’s fairly big, depending on what you’re comparing it to. It’s much smaller than Shaheed Park and Shuwaikh Park, but bigger and more interesting than most neighborhood parks.

When you first walk in, you’re greeted with a list of rules, including a no pets allowed notice. I’m actually fine with that. I walk my dog in that area and although I always pick up after him, I know a lot of people don’t. I’d rather have a dog free park than constantly worrying about stepping in poop. Inside the park there are plants and flowers everywhere (but no grass), and two artificial lakes, one large open air lake and a smaller shaded one. On the other end of the park is a large open space that looks like it could be used to host events or activities like yoga sessions or outdoor workouts. There’s also a pathway marked with no entry signs that leads toward the second phase of the park.

I couldn’t find the park’s opening hours listed anywhere, and I didn’t see any security or staff on site to ask about the timings. I reached out to KISR on Thursday to check, but I haven’t heard back yet. That said, I drive by the park daily and haven’t seen the gate closed so far.

If you want to pass by, the park is in Salmiya, facing the Gulf Road, in front of the Cliffs Tower and just before Dar Hamad. Here is the location on Google Maps.

Update: KISR replied, the opening hours are Sat to Wed 6am–6pm and Thu to Sat 6am–9pm

I’m sure you’ve heard of UPayments by now. If you’re starting a business or already running one, their name has probably come up more than once.

What makes UPayments interesting is how much they’ve transformed over the years. They started off as a simple payment solution, but today they’ve become a full ecosystem that a lot of businesses rely on. And now, as a subsidiary of NBK, they’ve grown into one of the most trusted and regulated payment providers in Kuwait. That alone gives a lot of confidence to anyone trying to build a serious business.

When you’re choosing a payments partner, there are plenty of options out there. But reliability, security, and long-term stability are things you can’t compromise on. That’s where UPayments really stands out. They’ve gone from being “another payment solution” to becoming a solid growth partner for businesses of all sizes.

Only after that transformation does it make sense to look at what they actually offer today. Their services cover pretty much everything a business might need:

• Online invoicing and payment links for instant collection

• A full e-commerce platform to help you launch and run an online store

• Payment gateway APIs and plugins for easy website and app integration

• Smart point-of-sale devices for in-store payments

• A property management and rent collection system for landlords

If you’re running a small business or planning to start one soon, UPayments is definitely worth checking out. You can find more information on their website upayments.com