SEEN: It's More Fun in the Philippines....in Kuwait.

In observance of the Philippine Independence Day, a popular hypermarket chain here in Kuwait decorates its store with the Philippine national colors and "It's More Fun in the Philippines" posters..they been doing that every year and not only for the Philippine, but also for other countries' National Days, like the US, UK, Thailand, India among others. I guess its a simple tribute to all its loyal customers and staff... they're the only ones doing that here in Kuwait, and I gave them props for that..

Food Trip: Jollibee in Kuwait

Finally, I took a bite of the Bee.

Three days after it opened, Jollibee Kuwait is still overflowing with enthusiastic Pinoys waiting in line for hours, wanting to have a taste of home away from home.

Last night, I became part of that mob.

As soon as I arrived home from work yesterday, I asked my wife if she wants to try our luck tonight, she said okay. My daughter must have overheard us and said "Daddy, teacher asked us if we've been to Jollibee already and everybody said Yes, I am the only one No." Okay, so it only means we have to go..lol.

As expected, when we reached the store there's still a queue outside. So we decided to go and do other matters then just come back later.

And come back we did. It was already past 9 by then, about an hour and a half since we first passed by. There were still people in line outside, but at least fewer than the previous days so I thought this should not take long.

I joined the line. When I was standing there, I felt a sort of embarrassment to myself... like I was telling how these people could stand hours of waiting just to have a burger and chicken...like I told before I would wait for the madness to settle down maybe in a months time before  I bring my family here...and yet, here I am, standing outside, waiting patiently for my burger and chicken..LOL!

Inch by inch the line moved until I found myself already inside the store..weee! I am just a few minutes away from the counter. But those minutes quickly turned to hour and yet I felt we are not moving any closer. Darn, this waiting is taking forever and the smell of freshly cooked chicken is killing me. I watched as one by one, customers make their order and as they happily collect their bags of goodness and turned away from the counter with a sigh of relief and desperation. I heard one said, " Sa wakas (At last), after 3 hours!"..I also watched in amazement how one lady ordered just one burger meal for take out..She was there from 7 pm and she ordered just that? Oh well..

Closing time is coming and I can sense an increased feeling of anxiety with my fellow customers. Add to this,  some items are already being sold out! Like what the..**!, you waited long enough only to be told "Sorry, Sir..Sorry Ma'am, sold out na po." 

Anyway, my turn came so I made my order.. and I made sure I have all I wanted..I mean, if you waited that long, better make it sure it's worth the wait..hah!

We drove back home, tired and hungry and cold.. By close to midnight, we had our dinner...on bed!..just so tired to have a meal on the dining table...I finished my burger within minutes and Mommy finished half of hers before we turned our attention to the chicken meal..my girls are also delighted with their spaghetti meal, and in fact, even alternately taking a bite from our burgers!..in less than 10 minutes, we're done...

So was it worth all that?.Definitely!...seeing the smiles..and the spaghetti sauce...on my girl's face..It's definitely yes.

Will I do it again? No..not that soon..I will come back there again after a month's time, after all these madness has settled down...

Or until I crave for another burger..

Jollibee opens in Kuwait

The bee is in Kuwait. Again.

There were some rumors already swirling around a few months ago that a store will open here soon. That rumor turned out to be a fact. And everyone- at least the Filipino community- becomes excited about it. 

Today, February 25, it becomes a reality.

Labor Attache David Des Dicang and franchise owner Yacqoub Al Hajery cuts the ribbon to formally open the store in Kuwait City, February 25.

Fr. Ben Barrameda officiates the blessing of the store with selected guests.

The large crowd that turns out for the event waits outside the store despite the rain and cold wind.

Philippine fast food giant, Jollibee, "re-opened" its doors to its loyal customers here in Kuwait. Yes, I wrote "re-opened" because there used to be one store here when I first arrived "few" years ago. They closed down for still unknown reasons but anyway, it's not my story.

What is important is it's here. The "langhap-sarap" goodness every Filipino-young or old- comes to love and made this brand one of the most recognizable name in the Philippines, is here. 

My kids are already too excited  about our first visit but that's not gonna happen anytime soon. We'll just have to wait until all these excitement dies down a bit. I'd prefer to have a good seat while enjoying a bite of the Champ with my wife :)

Argh. I can't wait.

The store is located in downtown Kuwait, behind the Main Post Office, the same building as Caesar's Restaurant and Kodak.

Credits:
Jollibee Kuwait Facebook page
Photos by Jobz Torres and Tin de los Santos.

Convoy of Ferraris in Kuwait

A large convoy of Ferraris head to Marina Crescent in Salmiya, Kuwait to take part in a parade marking the birthday of Enzo Ferrari, one of the side events of Concours d'Elegance 2012.



Video credits: q8engineer
Related post: 248am

Desert Adventure + Funshoot Weekend

Last Friday, the LightBenders Photography Group drove down South for 2 important events: first is our induction as official members of the group (yey!) and second, as birthday treat of our resident designer/HMUA, Kenneth.I brought my family with me to experience the outdoors and to meet the rest of the LB families.

First stop was this beautiful rock formations at the outskirts of Khiran, some 90 kms. south of Kuwait. There in the looming shadows of the rocks above,we conducted our oath-taking as the first batch accepted by the group in their young existence..

LB Batch 1 (L-R): Amie, Mel, Alvin, Me, Verge, Rey and Johnny.  Photo by Diomil dela Pena

Just to be in the same company as these talented and creative individuals is already a rewarding experience by itself and to be formally inducted as one of them is just the icing on the cake..

LightBenders Photography Group in Kuwait. Photo by Johnny Dao

Next stop is at this camel farm in Wafra where we spent the rest of the day. There, in the middle of the desert, we had our barbecue/lunch, the children played around, and we simply had a good time, taking photos of the camels and their caretakers, and later on, an impromptu photoshoot with our guests turned models.

It was a fun and exciting day, a great outdoor experience indeed....I can't wait for more fun and creative shoots with the whole LB team...soon!

Branded Perfumes for Sale

This is for all my Kuwait-based friends who are fond of perfumes and a good bargain. I just discovered a place where you can buy perfumes from such name brands as Armani, Versace, Calvin Klein and Chanel among others at, unimaginably, very low prices..

As referred by a friend, we went to check out this place located somewhere at the Ardiya Industrial Area.
My wife got a 100ml Versace Woman for KD 10 (about US$35) only and I got for myself a 100 ml CK Man for the same price. That's almost 50% off from their regular mall prices! We also bought some perfume sets like Guess, Versace and Britney Spears' Fantasy all at discounted prices.

I am not sure where the goods are from, maybe old stocks from malls or what but they are all in good conditions..And before I go, I want to add, the owner- a not so old Kuwaiti-is very easy to bargain with. While paying for your goods, you can still ask for further discounts and most certainly, he will give you with a smile.

Kuwait's 2nd Concours d'Elegance

I got three words to say tonight: Vintage. Classic. Elegant.

Those words can best describe what I've just seen tonight at the Kuwait's 2nd Concours d' Elegance happening at the grounds of Marina Crescent..I have seen a lot of vintage cars before but I have never seen a huge gathering of historical and vintage cars, all together in one place! The event is very prestigious and yet, very rich in history.

I mean, where else can one find cars owned by royalties like Prince Albert of Monaco, King Farouq (the last King of Egypt), the rulers of Oman, UAE and of course, Kuwait's very own Sabah Family. These cars are featured as a side attraction along with some muscle cars parked around the marina. The event also features the current generation of "prestigious" cars like the Aston Martins, Bentleys, Maserati and Ferrari from the event sponsors.

But still, the vintage and classic cars are the stars of the event. And not even the chilling winds can hamper my spirits after seeing these cars..Classic cars, as early as the 1920's and with some coming from outside Kuwait, all restored and maintained to flawless condition. It does not take a car enthusiast to admire such perfection and elegance.

The event will go until the 6th of February from 10 am to 10 pm. You can see more photos from the event here.

(Post updated Feb. 4, 2011, 8:30 pm)

INFOCONNECT

INFOCONNECT, the annual IT and Communication Exhibitions, is currently being held at Kuwait International Fair Grounds in Mishref. It opened last Sunday (30 January) and will run until the 5th of February.

I went there today to have a look at the latest technologies, offers and promotions of the participating companies. Kuwait's three telecommunication companies- Zain, Wataniya and Viva are there along with their partners and distributors offering various phone and internet packages. ..Of course, as expected, the latest gadgets- Blackberry, iPhones, iPads and Galaxy Tabs- dominate the scene..There are some quite tempting offers everywhere..If you are looking for good deals on phone lines, DSL and Broadband connections, this is the time of the year to get one...

Kuwait's 248am Blogger being sued by Benihana over a negative review

A person ate in a restaurant, didn't like the experience and wrote a blog about it, next thing he knows he's being sued by the company's rep...isn't that ridiculous?

Well, in what could be a first in Kuwait, Mark of 248am.com--one of the blogs I am following and possibly the most popular blog here in Kuwait--is being sued by Benihana, a recently-opened Japanese restaurant here.

Being widely read, Mark's blog represents a slice of Kuwait society...He writes about anything and everything, with his occasional reviews (read: his own view)-- from Ipod accessories to flashy cars..and yes, Restaurants...

Back in December, Mark blogged about his dining experience in Benihana. What followed next is a looong exchange of offense and defense between his followers and the restaurant's representative that ultimately leads to a law suit threat. Now the threat becomes real as the company is suing Mark over his negative reviews that "allegedly" hurt the company's reputation..

Judging by the outpouring of support for Mark, the online community is really affected by this..Online blogging may be fairly new here as compared to print and broadcast media but it is widely recognized as an important source of public information anywhere in world..So whatever the outcome of this case may be, it will likely set a precedence not only here in Kuwait and the GCC region but even worldwide.

I am publishing this blog as a support to Mark and the whole blogging community--to help spread the word, and to raise awareness on our social responsibility as bloggers..

What? I Am a Capricorn no more?!

Has your Horoscope changed?

By Claudine Zap

Fans of the Zodiac have been bombarded with the unsettling news that their astrological sign may not be what they thought.

The horror of switching from Gemini to Taurus had people rushing to the Web for answers, sending searches for "zodiac signs" into the stratosphere.

So has your sign changed? Probably not. But it all depends on what kind of astrology you follow. Let us explain.

It may come as a surprise that there are different branches of astrology. A main Eastern form, for example, called Sidereal astrology, looks to the background stars, those famous constellations, as its guide.

Western astrology -- which uses the zodiac -- has its signs fixed to the seasons. Most Westerners, and all those horoscope pages we eagerly check, go by the zodiac. These signs follow what early astrologers called star signs, whose reference points are the tropics that form a ring around the earth. The zodiac is based on our relationship to the sun, not the stars.

The back story: About 2,000 years ago, the astrological signs and the astronomical ones were the same. But not anymore. The locations of the signs are based on the sun's location on the first day of spring. That location in the sky has slowly drifted westward because of something called "precession" -- the earth continually wobbles (a scientific term for a slight motion) every 26,000 years. Since the constellations were first identified, they have shifted some 30 degrees. Translation: The signs have slipped about a month westward, relative to the stars.

What this means to you: If you follow astrology that is linked to the constellations, your sign would go from say, a Gemini to a Taurus. You could even have a 13th sign, Ophiuchus, which you may have read about.

"It's a huge point of confusion for the public," says Bing Quock, assistant director of Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences. For those who follow  Western astrology, "astrologers are not talking about the constellations at all. When an astrologer says the sun is in a certain sign, they're talking about the sign, the location relative to the equinox. They're not talking about the location of the constellations. "

In short, if you follow the Sidereal astrology, the Eastern branch, your sign may have shifted. (And most likely, no surprise to you at all: This news is hundreds of years old).

But for the rest of us, our horoscope, and our signs, are still the same.

Original Article: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/has-your-horoscope-changed-2439951/

Related Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/astrology-controversy-zodiac-sign-wrong/story?id=12609264

The Ultimate Mansion

Original Article
Courtesy of Shine by Yahoo!

Do you have an extra 50 Million bucks to spare? Then you might be interested in buying yourself a nice house in The Hamptons, NY...No, wait..that maybe is an understatement.

I should've said "Mega-Mansion" because this place has it all!

Forget about large halls, patios, formal dining rooms and elegant kitchens--those are already standards.

Let's talk about an entire pavilion dedicated to leisure and entertainment? It has its own movie theater, a two-lane bowling alley, a game room, virtual golf course, an indoor skateboard half-pipe room, a rock-climbing wall and listen to this, a full bar and DISCO?!

If more active sports is your thing, then there's a spacious court that also turns into a racket and squash court.

And of course, what's a mansion without a spa, jacuzzi, gym and a pool. Not to mention the fact that the property sits on 12 acres of glorious garden.

So take a look at the tour before you write down that check.....

In your dreams..

Kuwait's Numbers Game

Kuwait is changing numbers...

First they changed the Car Plate numbers.

from


to this:




now they're changing the phone numbers..actually they already did, effective last 17th October:

All COMMERCIAL/SERVICE NUMBERS ( beginning with 8 eg. 801801, 811811) will add "1" before the number., so that will be 1-801-801, 1-811-811 etc.

All landlines will add "2" before the number, eg. 2421234 will be 2-2421234.

All Wataniya ( mobile network) will add "6" to their existing numbers, thats 6-666-1234.

and

All MTC-Zain ( my mobile network) will add "9" before the number..so my number will now become 9-938xxxx...weeeeeeeee!..