Tag Archives: Travel
Best Mobile Phones Of 2012
Continuing my Best Of series, here is my best mobile’s list for 2012. My phone’s list will go through best screen, best battery,best phone for hacks, best camera, best highend smart phone with a friendly budget and best luxury phone but before I start just a simple reminder that all the phones mentioned are my personal choice and not based on any other list made from any tech sites, all the mobile phones are available in Kuwait and Ive tried them personally.
Best Phone’s Display
Its really easy to determine which phone has the best display in 2012 , it hosts the same specs as the famous Samsung Galaxy S3 but unfortunately havent had the huge media spotlight or mania as Samsung had. The phone Im talking about is the htc One X beautiful android with a solid build, if compare its 4.7″ display to the Galaxy S3 or the iPhone 5 its like comparing a 2 year old displays to a true HD display its truly AMAZING.
Best Battery
No matter what smart phone you have in your hand and how pleased you are with it at the end of the day it comes to how much battery you still have to make those urgent calls or check those important emails. I actually didnt buy this phone but I’ve used it during my business trip to Istanbul, I accidentally forgot my Blackberry back home and I was planning to use it with a Turkish sim so a friend of mine offered me his motorola Razr Maxx to use it during my trip. He is also an iPhone user and when I asked him why he is not using the Motorola he simply replied its my travel phone, and I came to realize what he meant when I kept using it excessively. Im always connected to the internet checking my work emails, twitter, whatsapp, Google+ you name it plus phone calls of course and at the end of the day I return to my hotel with a 40 % charge. All day long heavy usage and a 40% remaining now thats a BEAST. It also felt so durable in the hands with its kevlar back. The camera is not that great but the battery in this beast is phenomenal a 3300 mAh.
Some may argue that Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a 3100 mAh battery plus great specs and awesome display but in my opinion the motorola may claim this category because its much smaller in general, cheaper 90 KD and The Note 2 is a Phablet not a smart phone.
Best Luxury Phone
Hands down it is the BlackBerry Porsche Design P9981, check out my review on the P9981 Here. The design is extraordinary as if it came out of a sci-fi movie.
Best Phone for Hacks
Its so obvious its gonna be the Nexus 4, a pure android experience and a device loved by developers. Usually Nexus phones has a massive number of ROMs that can be installed on it but since its not available in Kuwait yet and the Galaxy Nexus is pretty old now Im gonna choose the htc One X again coz I know its loved by developers and I’ve tried so many ROMs on it.
Best Phablet
Although i didnt use it but its the only phablet available in Kuwait till now of course it the Galaxy Note 2.
Best Camera Phone
It cant be a phone list without having the iPhone 5 in it, some may claim it to be the best phone of the year but actually I wont specify a certain best overall phone especially coz we had some great phone in 2012. Back to the iPhone 5, although its just an 8 MP camera but we all know its not always about the number of pixels the camera optics and software play a huge role in picture quality.
Best High End SmartPhone & Budget Friendly
The Samsung Galaxy S3, its the best selling smart phone for 2012 and a great overall phone. Quad core, 4.8″ display, 8 MP camera and it retails for only 160 KD. It hosts almost the same specs as the htc One X & performance wise its a beast. For only 160 KD & 6 colors compared to the iPhone’s starting price of 200 KD or htc’s 190 KD Samsung wins this category. Its not a cheap phone but a high end smart phone with a reasonable price.
Instagraming from LONDON
While in London during last winter, i decoumented my trip with pictures that i uploaded to my account in instagram. Most of my instagram followers are probably familiar with those pictures, except some of those ghost followers i am having just like everybody else hehehe.
if you are reading this & not following me already, follow me @Az_Q8blend
For more pictures check @Az_Q8blend in instagram
Do i Miss LONDON?
To be honest I don’t really know if I do or not. I hate certain aspects of London, like the number of people who just get in your way all the time”eyes rolling” specially Arabs with “agendas”. I hate the every year raising number of money biggers flying around the shopping stores, waiting for their next victim. But then I remembered the great sights, weather, memories & FOOD in London.
Who could resist London’s FOOD!
Or maybe eating while strolling around the food market in Covent Garden on Thursdays & hunting Faberge Eggs afterwards
What about being in a world of CHOCOLATE!
I have to be certain …. i think i missed you LONDON!
Declaimer : i know this post had diverted from it’s original idea due to me being FASTING “i can’t believe it’s 11th Ramadan already!”. But who in earth don’t like FOOD pics & posts, right?
BYRON – Proper Hamburgers
Well well well, finally we got the chance to try out this well known gourmet Burgers place “BYRON”
while trying any new burger place i stick to the classic burger, i think tasting the burger naked “Meat” flavor can make you judge a burger better “am a meat lover indeed”
this branch is newly opened in Soho, i liked how the building is whole glass, it feels like you are eating on the walkway & the sun can find it way to your table easily.
the seating area was nice & tidy
the menu is kinda basic & easy to browse; burgers, sides, salads & desserts
we had green olives while waiting for the Burgers. Nothing complimentary, those olives costs approximately 2 KD “london prices on fire, Baby” ;P
The Burgers was well presented, holding up all together & the bun is soft and Fresh
thats the BYRON sauce to the side. It should be eaten with the burger but we ate it with the fries instead “seems like mayonaise based sauce”
the Apricot salad which was nice, only thing is the apricot is a little undercooked
Bottom line : it was nice but i preferred GBK over BYRON. Maybe it’s my taste buds whats defected these days, but all i could say is: it was “OK” ,,, & in my dictionary OK means Maybe just MAYBE am going back for re-try
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (gbk) @ Westfield London
When we first saw it.. their branch that was in the Avenues popped up in our heads immediately.. So we decided to have our lunch there since it’s no longer available in Kuwait..
Unlike how it was back home.. here you have to place your order on one of those cashiers
They were opening the window shields to the walkway area.. which made the place more wider and refreshing
Here’s a section where you could get as much as you want of peanuts, water with slice of lemon and mint and many other things
The laundry clip refers to your tables number 
And here it comes the classic burger.. it had a red sauce that’s close to tomato paste but with a sweet flavor close to the sweet relish.. which added a touch to the taste of the sandwich 
We’re not big fans of cole slows and I don’t know why we ordered it.. but we liked it a lot 
The second one is a green salad.. nothing new 
Chunky Fries and Skinny Fries.. both were yummy
The staff were amazing.. we really had a good time there
Location:
Unit 1072
Westfield Shopping Centre
White City
W127GB
London
Phone: 02087491246
Ripley’s.. Believe it or Not!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is one of the entertainment attraction we love to visit over and over.. where we explore 700 odd, amazing and fun exhibits across 5 floors.. We’ve seen there some of the strange things that we’ve heard or read before..
This place is really where you can educate yourself and gain some culture in a matter of fun
The world’s smallest car
The famous Pixar Cars character (McQueen) made of crochet
A Mini Cooper encrusted with 1,000,000 Swarovski crystals
Some bizarre transformations “Pranks of Nature,” like two-headed calf and 5-legged lamb
Tower Bridge made out of matchsticks
An upside-down tea party
This cardigan was worn by Marilyn Monroe in a 1962 photo shoot on Santa Monica beach. Other items include Marilyn Monroe’s purse, clutch and make-up bag.
Dresses made out of tissue rolls
This is the world’s tallest guy (2.72 m).. you could stand by him and see the difference 
Besides him a mammoth fossil
Loved their chandelier
One of the corridors leading to the wonders of the sea
Get a close up view of a Great White’s teeth and see an Albino Alligator! so creepy
Genuine human shrunken heads from the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador, bizarre ritual to shrink, involving removing the skull
Ghanaians choose to be buried in an elaborate coffins.. which represents some aspect of their life. Coffins are carved in the form of cars, trades, animals, etc, and the eagle generally indicates a leader or tribal chief.
Spinning Vortex Tunnel.. This optical illusion, once on the walkway, gives you the impression of the walkway moving and not the walls!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London is Located at:
The London Pavilion
1 Piccadilly Circus
London W1J 0DA
The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt
While we were getting around in London, we noticed many artistic eggs distributed all over many places.. at first we thought it’s just a preparation for Easter, then we realized the metal plate below each egg which explained everything..
The story is that there are 209 eggs hidden across 12 Egg Zones across central London.. and in the competition’s website they have the maps of those 12 zones where you can use them to hunt and find all the 209 eggs..
The first, second and third eggs we found them in Covent Garden
This one was in Selfridges
These are in St. James’s Park
This one is in Carnaby Street
And this was also in Covent Garden
Whoever enters the competition might win The Diamond Jubilee Egg valued at over £100,000 by simply texting the keyword when they find an egg!
So what do you think.. should we participate?
