Ahmadi drive-in Theater

I always wondered what the old drive-in looked like from the inside and the gate happened to be open so I went inside to look around. I can only imagine how cool it was back then to roll up to that big fat speaker, hang it on the window and watch the movie from inside the car. I'm lucky enough to have experienced it as a kid and boy was it awesome.

Remember the break time when everyone got out of their cars and headed for the snack food stands coming back with loads of food. People had their lawn chairs sitting beside the car or some would sit in the back of their trucks with blankets.

Birds killed in Friday Market

It was eerily quiet in Friday Market after they killed off over 2,000 different kinds of birds because of 'bird flu' scare.

No human infection detected as birds found hit by ‘virus’ in market

Over 2,000 birds ‘destroyed’ by authorities

The bird market was sealed after destroying all kinds of birds put up for sale in the market. The place was decontaminated after getting rid of all the birds.
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 6, (KUNA): The Ministry of Health reported no cases of human infection with the virus that led to the death of bird pets at the bird market in Al-Rai area in the recent days, a senior official said Tuesday.

“There is no evidence that the mysterious bird-killing virus could communicate to humans,” Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry Dr Majedah Al-Qattan told KUNA shortly after an interagency campaign to annihilate the birds at the market.

“As a precaution, the Ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Interior, the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources, and Kuwait Municipality to get rid of the birds at Al-Rai marketplace,” she affirmed.

“Though there is no evidence linking the virus to humans, the Ministry of Health alerted all hospitals and the relevant departments to keep watch and brace for any emergency in the future,” Al-Qattan added. She asked everybody to keep away from birds or animals, particularly the dead ones, and report to the health departments on any cases of mass deaths among birds, adding that the Ministry was in contact with relevant international organizations to follow up the situation.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 birds of different kinds of species were put to death during a campaign on the birds market, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to eyewitness reports, the cages were emptied of their contents before the birds were killed, placed in large bags and taken to a landfill for burial. It has been reported the decision was taken to get rid of the birds because of the bird flu virus.

The daily added, the epidemic was discovered during an inspection and triggered the emergency department of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR), the Environment Public Authority, the Environment Police and the Kuwait Municipality and a joint committee was formed to carry out the mission.

Before the mass killing of the birds, the market was closed and disinfectants were sprayed to all parts of the market – lethal disinfectant which kills all types of bacteria and viruses, a reliable source told the daily.

The daily said the mission was to stop the spread of the disease, and that there was a complete news blackout about the incident and very few details were leaked out to the journalists. It has been said even the photo journalists were prevented to take pictures of birds being put to death.

An official source at the PAAAFR said, about 2,000 birds were detected with bird flu, after the results of the examination following a complaint by one of the customers showed the presence of the virus.

The source explained that the method adopted for the execution of infected birds is done by separating the head, then collecting in bags, spraying with disinfectants and sending for burial.

The sources added an integrated team consisting of personnel from the Ministry of Interior, the Environment Police and the Kuwait Municipality has closed the bird market until further notice. Deputy Director-General of the PAAAFR for the livestock sector, Dr Ali Al-Qattan said immediate action was taken after the discovery of virus in the birds market, noting that all preventive measures have been taken to protect livestock and poultry breeders.

He said the campaigns will continue to fight the disease and frequent tours will be made to the market until it is confirmed that birds are free of disease to protect the food security and poultry wealth.

T4 terminal, Kuwait Airways

I usually fly Qatar airways but the prices were too expensive so I went with Kuwait Airways. The good thing is when you book online a pop-up  message tells you T4 terminal is where you need to go. Well, the airport was lackluster to say the least, it was very basic, it didn't have any welcome vibes. It' pretty much empty with one coffee shop coming soon, a couple of atm machines and that's about it. No exchanges, no restaurants just a small space with some couches. When you enter the departure area it's one big long line because they combine two or more flights and on this day half of the ticket agents were missing.

 We stood in line for almost an hour, people were getting irritated and then they had a last call for Saudia in which all of the people started running to check in. It's total chaos with some people thinking they can just walk around the everyone and head up to a counter. It really lacks tough people who have the huevos to tell them to get back in line.

Once you reach the departure area there isn't much more, a couple of coffee stands one of which is from Kuwait Airways, the sell coffee and sandwiches at premium prices. Both up and downstairs has minimal seating, we had to sit three seating areas away from our gate because it was so full.

On the way back in the Qatar terminal Kuwait Airways only has a small space with four ticketing agents which makes for another long wait and even more chaos when people try to head up to the business/first class line when they are economy. The only good thing is when arriving there isn't much of a wait to get back into Kuwait, the passport control and security areas are quick.

I will only take KA if I can't find a cheap ticket, the wait is just horrible.

Chili's Seaside officially Closed

Al Shaya must have won the battle, Chili's seaside is now closed and a Starbucks is on the way because we need more, right? It's sad to see one of the only restaurants we had in 2004 go down because of a coffee shop. So many memories everyone in Kuwait had there and like most things old they should be torn down to make way for what some people perceive as progress, more coffee shops and malls.

 The last pics you will see.....

Salem Al Mubarak Street 2019

I happened to be in the Salmiya area and remembered the new walk area they had built recently so I checked it out. What a disappointment indeed, it was in horrible shape, not shocking though as most projects in Kuwait go, the contractor gets the money, builds it and then abandons it which is what has seemed to happen.

These little shops still haven't been finished, garbage everywhere, fountains not working and just overall dirty. Yes, it had rained recently but most of the neglect was here long before the rain.

It looks tired and neglected, who would have thought this was a recent project. The middle area is nice but surrounded by old run down buildings with people's underwear hanging from the windows. I'm sure it looked better on paper than in real life.

One of the pictures, it was supposed to be renamed Barayeh Salem and was to be one of the trendy places in Kuwait, so what happened?

You can see more pictures here