No we just need the water to be connected and for some nice shrubs to decorate the streets. Anyone know when the water is coming?

I have been neglecting this blog for sometime now… It’s funny how the nearest of things can feel like the furthest.  I often remember to post an update as I’m boarding a flight out of Kuwait.  Then I get too busy when I come back home.

There are so many changes to the area with roads, footpaths, road signs and even newly finished houses.  New mosques are nearing completion and many gardens are also taking shape.

The most recent update which I could not ignore is the testing of the street lights earlier today.  It looks like the final set of street lamps will be switched on this week.  It will feel very different – I remember when phase 1 was switched on back in December 2007.

It took me a while to realise what the mess was near the exit from 30.  This is the largest diversion I’ve seen on a highway outside downtown Kuwait City.  I think it will be a challenge for sometime.  The plans for the bridge sound very exciting though, so it will be worth the wait.

The funny thing is that the project will take as long as we’ve been waiting for it.  I first mentioned it in 2008 here, and again last year here.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the many mosques in Mangaf.  We’ve also been hearing most of them.  At least three are still under construction: two new and one under renovation.  These are images of these particular mosques for later comparison.

Mangaf Beach was affected by an oil spill and has since received some attention.  It was being regularly cleared over the past few weeks by KNPC.  The final touches, which were by no means a small task, were carried out by a group of volunteers who organised themselves to be there for three hours last Saturday.  Do please remember: the weather only started getting better this week, so the heat was also there with them!  I was unfortunately unable to join (my sincere apologies) and I hope to be there next time.

On behalf of anyone reading this post, and indeed everyone benefiting from a clean beach, I want to thank Yuri Lipkov for organising the clean-up, and Yan Liu for keeping me informed. The group photo above is by Mr Akbar (KNPC) – Thank you.

The next clean-up is planned for down the road, Mahboula Beach on Saturday 30th October 2010 7am-10am.

To make discussions easier, and to make the website more friendly and accessible, there is now a Facebook page linked to Mangaf.net.  Visit it, Like it, and please add it to your favourites to help promote it.

See you there.

You can’t miss the fence around the pipeline area, which is a real eyesore.  The only positive thing I can think of is how beautiful the desert will look, inside, during the spring.  No cars will damage the seasonal growth.  I hope we can at least access it on foot.  It would be a real shame not to use – at least the adjacent area – as a walkway for the nicer days of the year.  My children and I have had many walks here, and I hope we can continue to do so next winter/spring.

It started late last year.

When they started paving the footpaths last winter, I was disappointed to see no space left for trees and shrubs on the main routes.  Over the past two weeks, they’ve dug out the blocks in the middle of the wider paths and set up the borders for plants in the future.

I can’t believe that something this simple is not taken into account the first time round.  I am happy however that it wasn’t overlooked altogether.

Looking fuller and more like a typical Kuwaiti suburb, Google Earth have updated again recently and the above is the current view.  No new roads are visible, which means the next update will look much more complete.  There are signs of the preliminary work done on the main routes.

If you’re interested in how it looked before, click here for how it looked in March 2007; and here for February 2009.

Photo by BitJockey.  More here.

I arrived this morning from a business trip. When I read on 248am and Nicole B blogs about a spill near the North Pier, I headed straight to the beach and saw the action there.  There were two security cars.  Having just arrived from 12 hour flight, the last thing I wanted to do is argue about taking photos.  I chickened out – so please click the links in this post for more information.