According to this list Kuwait has a extremely low unemployment figure of 2.2% which is one of lowest unemployment rates in the world. The issue is the figure was last updated in 2004. UAE has an unemployment rate of 12.7% but I think that’s actually low. Thing is I don’t think these numbers for the GCC are accurate because if you don’t have a job here you can’t stay if I am not mistaken. Other interesting numbers, Zimbabwe has the highest unemployment rate which is 90%. Iraq has an unemployment rate of 18% but 83% of the woman in Iraq are unemployed. Thats probably related to the security situation there. Qatar has the third lowest unemployment rate with just 0.6% and in Andorra everyone is employed because they have a 0% unemployment rate. Here is the full list [Link]
According to a survey held by HSBC, Bahrain turned out to be the friendliest country in the world. Couldn’t find Kuwait on the list not even after I downloaded the full report from the HSBC website. That’s probably because there is no HSBC in Kuwait. Here is the top 10 friendliest countries:
1. Bahrain
2. Canada
3. Australia
4. Thailand
5. Malaysia
6. South Africa
7. Hong Kong
8. Singapore
9. Spain
10. United States
Jacqui has put up an Aramex vs DHL experiment. She ordered the two exact items and shipped one to her Aramex mailbox and one to her DHL. She then posted in detail her experience. The conclusion? Find out [Here]
Since EasyShop uses DHL I just realized I can track the status of my packages with an iPhone application. There are a ton of applications to use but I am using one called “Delivery Status“. Since the DHL tracking is EXTREMELY detailed the application is very useful. Another reason so choose EasyShop over Aramex.
Note: One more thing, you can create an account with Delivery Status on their website and that way you can copy and paste all your tracking numbers there and it will sync it with your iPhone app. That means you don’t have to type them one by one on your iPhone, very practical.
Note2: The application can also track your Aramex packages but it will only start tracking once the package ships from the US and since their tracking isn’t very detailed it’s not useful.
Update: Turns out the application can sync with your Amazon account and provide even more details. Just added my Amazon order number from yesterday and it collected all the information from my account.
I met this cool BBC director a couple of days back who’s in Kuwait to film a documentary about people who are pursuing a healthy lifestyle. She’s looking for young Kuwaitis who would be interested in appearing on the show and I told her I would help out by posting their request on my blog. Here is what she sent me to publish:
BBC– 4x Part Educational & Health Series/Travelogue
BBC3 is working on a series of one-hour long observational documentaries looking at young people who are trying to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
In each episode two young people from the UK who are struggling with their weight will travel to a different country.
As well as an hour on Kuwait, the series will also be filming in the USA, Argentina and Greece.
The programme will be used as an educational tool to discourage young people from leading an unhealthy lifestyle as well as giving viewers a unique window to the country we visit.
In Kuwait we want to show Kuwaiti traditions, lifestyle and culture – including weddings, malls, restaurants, diwaniyas, a trip to the desert, etc.
At the moment we are looking for young Kuwaiti’s who might be interested in appearing in the show, and we would love any help and guidance that you can give us in this matter
Desert Girl sent me the most amazing thing today, a PDF of scanned pages from a National Geographic issue from 1952 which talks about Kuwait. The article is 20 pages long and contains 25 pictures of which 11 are in color. It’s incredible I love it. The caption under the picture above says:
A Mobile Medical Clinic, Bought with Oil Wealth, Tours Kuwait Villages
For ailing Arabs who cannot travel to the capital, the Sheikdom provides an American-built trailer unit staffed by a physician, nurse, and technician. Here the doctor examines an elderly man at an outlying village; other patients wait their turn. Treatment costs them nothing. New hospitals, including one for animals, are part of Kuwait’s heavy investment in its own well-being.
Here is the PDF for you to down. It’s around 4MB in size. [PDF Link]
MyUS is a US forwarding mailbox that has been around for a long time now, before Aramex even but their prices were always more expensive.. or I thought. I always calculated small packages like 1KG and Aramex would come out cheaper but a reader made me realize that MyUS is actually cheaper when it comes to heavier packages. They also offer a few features that Aramex doesn’t offer like you can have them ship your magazines once a month while your regular packages twice a week. If you get a lot of junk mail you can choose not to receive any. You could even ship stuff when you want instead of a regular interval. So for example you ordered a few items from Amazon, instead of having them ship to Kuwait as soon as they arrive to your mailbox you could wait until they’re all in your mailbox and then ship them all together in one box.
If you decide to sign up use this link: http://www.myus.com/AWL
It will cancel the annual membership fee. Just make sure you should choose annual while you’re checking out and it should reduce the amount to just the setup fee. I’m also in contact with someone at MyUS and they’re going to try and reduce the amount of the lighter items to compete with Aramex. So here’s another option for everyone, enjoy.
A reader sent in pictures of the Chairman’s Club which is located on the last floor of the Burgan Bank building. The Chairman’s Club is an invite only club where they supposedly have a KD35 burger. Check out the pictures below.
Today I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of Infunity which will be one of the largest indoor amusement parks in Kuwait once completed. Three things that grabbed my attention there, the first is they will have a pretty cool indoor roller coaster that’s designed by the same people who build ones for Six Flags. Secondly they will have Go-Kart Drifting which I didn’t know existed but sounds pretty cool. Finally my favorite thing, they will have a huge proper climbing wall! The place will launch early next year and they will be located on the top floor of 360 Mall near the bowling and arcades.
Abdulaziz from Jukebox Society emailed me to tell me that the short film SHARQ is now available to watch online via Vimeo. I never got the chance to watch it so it’s pretty cool I can see it online now.
If you have anything you think would be interesting to share on this blog [email me]
Who posts here?
Mark and Nat, a married couple who are living in Kuwait. Both are designers, Mark works in advertising while Nat works in television. This blog is based in Kuwait.
