Pet shop in Discovery Mall

I met up with a friend at the Discovery Mall which was the first time I had gone inside and had coffee. It is nice and a great place for the kids to run around and play games. This little pet store is on the basement level, it's a cute clean place to find some fish, cats, bunnies and lizards. 

It was a great get away from the Animal Market.

 

Website: http://www.rivers-world.com/

Chinese hooker screaming for help in my Building

I swear I cannot make this stuff up! This is my first week of staying up later than 8 pm since I quit contracting and of course something out of the ordinary has to happen! Around 9 pm I was watching Chopped and all of a sudden I hear and feel the door opposite to mine slam hard and then a female starts screaming at the top of her lungs. WTH? I've never had any problems on my floor besides the crying babies and the neighbor guy who coughs so loud it's like he's in my apartment so to hear screaming was surprising.

I didn't open my door at first but then the slamming continued, I thought the Saudi neighbor was beating his wife or maid or something so I opened my door and the female was screaming bloody murder and then silence so I figured he might have killed her so I called my hubby to tell the haris to come up and check it out. As I was waiting for the haris the door of the apartment opens and out runs a Chinese hooker WTH? For those who think she might be there delivering Chinese food, well she wasn't!

I followed her and we took the elevator down and as the door opened the haris was there so I handed her over to him so he could call the police. The police took their sweet ass time to arrive and of course they don't speak English and act like they are bothered that they had to do their job. It must be the area because the city police act a little more professional than the ones here. They took her and she admitted she was there to give the guy a massage. It seems the guy's family moved out and only visit on the weekend so he had the nerve to bring a hooker to a family building.

One more to add to the deportation numbers. Someone should look into the person sponsoring these females, I know they come on work visas for trade fairs but end up staying and becoming hookers. Yuck!

It's definitely time to move out of this area.

No love for spoiled GCC citizens in the UK!

Police seized a 'glow-in-the-dark' supercar from a London street after its wealthy Qatari owner was stopped for not having a licence or the correct insurance.

The £350,000 Lamborghini Aventador - with a paint job that made it look like something out of the sci-fi film Tron - was impounded near Harrod's in Knightsbridge yesterday.

It is understood its owner is 24-year-old Nasser Al-Thani, a member of Qatar's ruling family.(link)

No love for Arabs in the UK!

(I wonder if this post will end up on Mark's blog as it seems like some people read my posts and then the same one ends up on the other blog. At least give me some credit!)

Update: It seems like my sarcasm has upset some people, oh well, life's a b and then you die, get over it.

Kuwaiti-Americans, Uncle Sam is coming for you!

New rules to bring Kuwaitis with US passport in tax net

 

Violating US citizens worldwide face legal measures

KUWAIT CITY, June 26: As per United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which takes effect early next year, all foreign financial institutes will be required to report directly to the concerned American authorities information about accounts held by US taxpayers or foreign entities in which US tax payers hold a substantial ownership interest, reports Al-Shahed daily.

As a result, US authorities will be given access to the accounts of Kuwaiti citizens who hold American passports to determine their level of income and tax payment. This is an important development in its efforts to improve tax compliance involving foreign financial assets and offshore accounts.

The daily quoting reliable sources revealed that over 20,000 Kuwaiti citizens hold the American passport and they are subjected to observe the new law and pay taxes based on their income, property and salaries they receive here in Kuwait.

Even though the Kuwaiti citizenship law bans citizens from holding the citizenship of other countries, nearly 2 percent of Kuwaitis hold the American passport besides the nationalities of other European countries, sources noted.

Embarrass
They explained that this issue will embarrass the Kuwaiti government and the citizens in question in front of the major countries that require all their citizens to pay taxes, even if they live in Kuwait.

The United States is ready to take legal measures against its citizens who fail to comply with the law and settle payable taxes all over the world, sources added, indicating the banks and exchange companies in Kuwait are uneasy with the declaration of FATCA, as it violates the code of banking and confidentiality- given that the banking institutes are obliged to give the concerned American authorities access to their American clients’ accounts.

They also fear the banks and exchange companies could be hacked when the concerned American authorities get access to the accounts of their citizens, as the system is not covered legally, stressing implementation of the law necessitates the application of series of high quality protective systems, which unfortunately, are unavailable in the majority of Kuwaiti financial establishments.

They noted that the US will impose penalties against establishments that do not comply with the requirement, and 30 percent of their deposits will be deducted.

Sources reiterated the Central Bank of Kuwait and the concerned authorities have been asked to make things easier for the banks that are currently in a vulnerable position of losing their clients or a percentage of their deposits.
 

United States is trying to collect money from Americans everywhere now! Desperate times call for desperate measures, the US needs all the money it can get to survive.

Kuwaiti princess leaves Kuwait for KSA

A Kuwaiti princess has dumped her wealth and left her country to live permanently in Saudi Arabia to be close to the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), saying it has been her dream for years, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Princess Aisha Mubarak Al Sabah, a member of the ruling family in the oil-rich Gulf country, said she was bidding a farewell to the people of Kuwait in a brief statement published in most local newspapers.

She said she was departing Kuwait permanently and settling in the western Saudi town of Medina, where the Prophet’s grave is based.

“After relying on God the Almighty, I decided to leave my country and live in Medina so I will be close to our dear Prophet peace be upon him and to fulfill a dream that has tantalized my head for many years,” she said.

The Princess said she had already sought permission to leave from Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah.

“I express my gratitude to the Emir for his support and sympathy and pray to God the Almighty to make Medina my residence to be used for obedience and later my tomb…”

Fire in Abu Halaifa

Last week on my way home from work I was passed up by fire trucks and red SUV from the fire department. They got off at my exit, one of them right behind me like they were following me to my apartment. I started to get nervous considering there was a fire in my building when I came back to Kuwait in 2011 in which I ended up in a cast after missing the last step. The fire was on my street but not my apartment thank God.

 

It was the bakala that had some stuff piled up and it caught on fire, no one was hurt.

Always an adventure in Kuwait.

Stolen items from Ministry of Health sold at Friday Market

I've heard the stories about stolen gloves from the MOH being sold at the Friday Market so I went to check it out. I found one area selling items labeled MOH being sold by an Indian guy, he was selling the items for 1.500 KD. Hey Beladiya, have you checked out Friday Market lately?

 Have you ever wondered where those items you returned end up? Well they rest in Friday Market.

 Used gym equipment

 Sadu style

It was too hot to continue any longer, make sure you wear your comfy shoes when you go!

Linda from 99.7 has left Kuwait for Good?

I've been reading some stories about Linda from 99.7 leaving Kuwait for good? Anyone know the true story?

AWARE Center Tour- Taraq Rajab Museum

Tareq Rajab Museum Tour- June 24 @ 5 pm

This well hidden treasure houses a collection of over thirty thousand items collected over the last fifty years, of which approximately ten thousand are on permanent display.The Museum opened to the public in 1980 and has a spectacular display of ceramics, metalwork, glass, jade, costumes, textiles, jewelry, wood and stone-carvings and musical instruments. Join AWARE for a guided tour and a most memorable experience! Cameras are allowed. Fee: KD 4. Limited Seats. Prior registration required at joumana@aware.com.kw

Good to see they are letting cameras now, I had to sneak some pics, you can check out my post for more info.

Smash Burger Salmiya Pics

The new Smashburger location in Salmiya opened up a couple of days ago and the updated place is great. It's located behind Olympia Mall on the same street as AUK. The only problem of course is parking but that's the biggest problem in Kuwait anyways. 

 I totally dig the astro turf, makes me want to have a picnic there.

 This time I tried the chicken Caesar salad, loved it!

 I'm addicted to their sweet potato fries.

 This is their version of the low-carb chicken sandwich.

Thanks J!

Old house in Mangaf

I spotted this old house as I was driving through Mangaf and had to stop to take pictures before it gets torn down. I wish they would make every one of these old houses a little musuem where it stands. They could just refurbish is so it is steady and build a gate around it, kind of like the old doors that were once part of the wall built around Kuwait.

Time is running out and modernization is taking over, erasing history.

Smashburger now open in Salmiya

It's located on the other side of Olympia Mall where Organica Fish and whatever you call it used to be located.

Private school Fees in Kuwait- way too much????

I've been looking into private school fees and I wonder how much these schools charged when they first open. I can understand the exorbitant fees if the kids were receiving a Harvard education but we all know they aren't really what they seem. I really like how some label themselves as "non-profit" but still charge an arm and a leg.

 

Here is some information on school fees:

 



 The American Baccalaureate School

 American Creativity Academy

 American School of Kuwait

 American United School of Kuwait (previously American University School of Kuwait)

 New English School- Kuwait

The Universal American School

The newest school is American University School of Kuwait, if grade 4-5 is 5500 KD how much would high school be, 10,000KD?