Photo Hunt: High

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The photo below was taken during our company outing in the desert. My colleagues were up HIGH on top of the Singing Dunes enjoying the view of the desert. The Singing Dunes in Doha, Qatar is one of the approximately 30 locations in the world where sound is naturally produced from the sand dunes.

The sound is decribed as similar to a loud, low-pitch, rumble, and it emanates from the crescent-shaped dunes. The sound emission accompanies a slumping or avalanching movement of the sand, usually triggered by wind passing over the dune or by someone walking near the crest.

On the left photo below, me and my husband were climbing to the top to join others up HIGH. On the right photo, you will notice the crescent shape (right) of the dunes. I have a three-part post about our picnic in the Singing Dunes with more photos and a video how the sound is produced. If you have time, please visit my blogs - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

1. Climbing the Dunes, 2. Singing Dunes Doha, Qatar

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Air and Sea Cargo from Qatar to Philippines

I noticed that my site are getting hits because of the contact information of coriner cargo in one of my blogs. That gave me an idea to create this post. Actually, I just sent a balik-bayan box full of old clothes :) through sea cargo. I chose sea cargo because it has no weight limit although it will take at least 35 days to reach Manila from the time of loading in Qatar. Air Cargo will only take about 4-7 days but the cost is calculated by weight.

List of Cargo Company operating in Qatar that delivers to Philippines:

Note that these are posted for information purposes only and not as recommendation.

Conor Express cargo
Tel no. +974 4418453/ 4418196
Fax no. +974 4414219
e-mail: qconor1317@qatar.net.qa

Coriner Cargo
Tel no. +974 4411872

Cargo Net (Quezon Express)
Tel no. +974 4430974
Fax no. +974 4431389
e-mail: quezondoh@yahoo.com

Makati Express
Tel no. 4435461
Fax no. 4436854

U-Mac Express Cargo
Tel no. +974 441 0527/ 441 0593
e-mail: dicdoha@qatar.net.qa

Have you sent any balik-bayan box through any of these cargo companies? Why don't you share your experience through the comments?

How to apply for a tourist - visit visa in Qatar

This post is based on my own experience of applying a tourist visit visa for my brother who is still a MINOR and currently based in Kuwait. Visa regulations in Qatar may change from time to time and what's written here may be superseded by new regulations. Information on different types of visa to Qatar is available in MOI website. This post is only meant to share an experience and not a step by step guide for visa application.

Requirements for Application:

Sponsor
photocopy of sponsor's passport
photocopy of sponsor's resident permit
photocopy of sponsor's birth certificate, if the visitor is parent or sibling
photocopy of sponsor's marriage contract, if the sponsor is a married female

Update as of November 10, 2008:
Again, I applied a tourist visit visa for my brother and in addition to the above requirements, I was requried to submit a photocopy of of my husband's passport and Resident Permit and Qatar ID. I'm guessing this is because my visa is sponsored by my husband. Now, I'm not sure if there's any additional requirements if the sponsor is holding a work/resident permit.

Visitor
photocopy of visitor's passport
photocopy of visitor's birth certificate if visitor is child or sibling of sponsor
photocopy of visitor's marriage contract, if visitor is a married female

*Original NSO-certified documents of the sponsor must be available for verifcation. No need to be certified by the Philippine Embassy. The birth and marriage certificates is required to establish the relationship between the sponsor and the visitor. While not required, I still provided a salary letter and no-objection-certificate (NOC) to the Immigration.

Application Process:

1. Go to the Immigration Office in the Airport. The best time to go is early in the morning. It is open starting 6 AM.

2. Fill out the application form. The form is already translated in English and English answers are acceptable.

3. Fall in line for approval. Female cutting the line are normally tolerated.

4. The Immigration Officer can approve, deny, require more information or documents or sometimes applicants are asked to seek the approval of the Captain.

5. If approved, pay at the cashier. Note that cash are not accepted. Use a debit or credit card. The cashier will issue a receipt with the visa number. The visa may be downloaded from the MOI website. If more additional information is required, complete the requirements and get approval. If the application is denied, better luck next time. Sometimes, the applicant is informed of the reason for denial.

Definition of immediate relative:

Immediate relative means mother, father, wife and children. Brothers and sisters are also considered immediate relative; however, from previous experience of some people, visa sporsorship for siblings are difficult to obtain although visa sponsorship for a sister may have a good chance of approval than visa sponsorship for a brother especially those 18 years old and above.

Validity of tourist visit visa:

A tourist-visit visa is essentially a tourist visa. It is valid for 14 days and may be extended for another 14 days. If the visitor intends to stay longer than 28 days, family visit visa, which can be extended up to six months should be applied. However, the requirements may be different.

Visa Fee:

QR 100 upon application (as of Nov. 10, 2008)
QR 200 for the 14-day extension

Possible Reasons for Denial or Delay in Processing:

While waiting in line, I overheard some of the reasons for visa denial/ delay in processing.

- One guy is applying visa for daughter-in-law and grandchildren who live in Abu Dhabi with his son. The application was denied because the SON is NOT going to Doha.

- One Filipina appying visa for her niece. A NIECE is NOT an immediate relative.

- One guy applying visa for his son and for some reason, in their country, father and son have different surname - I think the father's name, becomes the son's surname. He was asked to go to the Captain for the application approval.

- I was asked to present my marriage contract to cross-check my maiden name with my brother's name. Marriage contract is being required for female sponsors who are married.

Other Requirements:

If the visitor is coming from the Philippines,. the visa has to be authenticated by the Qatar Embassy in Manila. Authentication are now done through courier (current as of October 2008 - please call the Qatar Embassy in Manila for further info).

Requirements for visa authentication:

-Affidavit of Support from the sposor authenticated by Philipiine Embassy in Doha. NOC letter is required for affidafit of support.

-Must pass medical examination from accredited medical centers of Qatar Embassy in Manila. (As of October 2008 - medical examination is not required anymore for tourists, business and visit visa holders)

I cannot much give much info on this as I did not undergo this process. Please contact Qatar Embassy in Manila for futher information. Check DFA website for Qatar Embassy address and contact number.

Please note:

The above experience is only for tourist-visit visa sponsored by immediate relative.

Atilla's Mongolian Grill

My husband seldom drive for me so when he offered this morning, I gladly accepted. I went to a local shop for a quick errand. After I doing my thing, my husband asked if I want to grab a bite. For a moment, we thought of a place which we haven't tried yet. It turned out we're both thinking of Villagio Mall. Sometime ago, we wanted to try the Mongolian Grill in their food court but unfortunately, they ran out of LPG on that day.

Off we went to Attilla's Mongolian Grill at the food court of Villagio Mall. We decided to order Mongolian Grill COMBO (Chicken, Meat, Seafood). The customers can create their own mix from four types of ingredients.

1. Seafood/Meat/Chicken
2. Vegetables
3. Noodles
4. Sauce

For each type, a bowl of specific size is filled with the selection of ingridients by the customers.



We also ordered Shrimp Tempura and California Maki. The Tempura and Mongolian Grill came with steamed white rice and we got a complimentary small cup of soda for each meal. The service was quick, as expected in any fast-food.

Frankly, I was a bit disappointed with the Mongolian Grill as it was too salty for my taste buds. I'm not sure if the mixture of different sauces affected the overall taste. The california maki had avocado instead of mango. Not bad, except the maki seemed dry. The tempura was okay. The shrimp was brined so it had the crunchy feel for every bite. However, the sauce I'm sure is not a tempura sauce. I think, it's just a plain soy sauce.

Overall, the experience is not that bad but I wouldn't rave about it either. I'm not sure I'd go back. For QR 110, I think I can prepare a really good home-made meal that can feed four to five people.

Photo Hunt: Metal

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I'm back after a long hiatus. I used to publish my Photo Hunt posts at The Fickle Minded; but from now on, I will start publishing my entries in this blog. In addition, I will try as much as possible to post pictures from Qatar in order to align with the blog's theme. Please leave your comment and the link to your Photo Hunt post so I can also visit your blog.

This is the Khalifa Stadium, the main venue for the 2006 Doha Asian Games. This Stadium was originally built in 1976 and was upgraded prior to the 2006 Asian Games, increasing the capcity from 20,000 to 50,000 people. As you can see, a large percentage of the Stadium is made of METAL.

Purefoods and CDO Products in Doha Qatar

I only see a red hotdog in the Philippines. And of course, while more expensive than other brands, Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs is the favorite of Filipino household. I was told that Tender Juicy (beef and chicken) is already available in the Souq. I went to the Souq last week to buy some but Filipino stores already run out of stocks. The next shipment is expected to arrive in a month or so.

On another note, I discovered that CDO products are already available in Filipino Stores. I bought 1 kilo of Holiday Binggo jumbo hotdog (QR 15), chicken longaniza (QR 8), beef longanisa (QR 8) and burger patties. Other CDO products such as ground beef, premium beef tapa, frozen corned beef are also available.

Binggo is not that good but for only QR 15 per kilo, I think you get what you paid for. I heard from friends that kids like them because they are red. The chicken longanisa is a little bit sweet but passable. I am yet to cook the beef longanisa and burger patties so I can't give my verdict.

It’s nice to have these new additions to Filipino food products available in Qatar. I hope that more products will come in the future.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post.

Rugs from Homes R Us

I got these nice rugs/ bath mat with cute designs from Homes R Us. I bought several of these and some plain ones. Here's a tip: If you find something that you like and you really need them, don't think twice, buy that item and buy enough for your needs because chances are you'll never find that item/design again or if that item is a regular in a certain shop, it will take ages before another shipment comes.

These rugs are also reasonably priced at Qr 15 - QR 45 depending on the size, thickness and design. They are cute, aren't they?




Home R Us is located in Hyatt Plaza beside Villagio Mall.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post

Easter Treat

I found these chocolates in colorful Easter-themed wrapper from SHOP RITE SUPERMARKET along Airport Road. There are different brands and varieties available - mostly egg-shaped at varying sizes. I thought it would be nice to have them in our candy bowl for the Easter season so I bought two packs and I chose the bunny and egg design. You might also find these in MEGA MART, sister-store of SHOP RITE.

Repair of Punctured Tires

When one of my tires got punctured, I was clueless how to get it fixed. In the Philippines, punctured tires are brought to a vulcanizing shop, which is not available in Qatar. My husband and my brother suggested to replace it with a new one but I was not convinced I need to buy a new one. I asked around what can be done - if my tires can still be fixed and where. I was told to go to the tire shops in Salwa Road and repair will only take ten minutes or so. But Salwa Road is out of my way so I kept delaying the repair plus I really want to go during my free time because even if the actual work is only 10 minutes, there might be a lot of customers in line for other services.

Then, I realized there's a tire shop near my place located beside Shop Rite Supermarket in Airport Rd. When I finally went there, the repair took less than ten minutes and I was charged only Qr 15. *Whew!* They removed the screw and injected a pugging material and it's done! To think, I've been procrastinating for weeks already!

So if ever your tires is punctured, just go to the nearest tire shop in your area!

Car Crashed in Al Muftah Center Al Sadd

On the night of March 9th, a car crashed in Al Muftah Center showroom in Al Sadd. By the time, I passed-by the site of accident, the car is already out of the actual crash site but the March 10 issue of Gulf-times has a photo showing the car inside the shop. Luckily, nobody was hurt and the Filipina manning the area was able run for her safety.

I am still puzzled how the crash happened. The showroom is eight steps above the ground. Meaning, the car must be really powerful and moving very fast to be able to drive up eight steps. Seems like an action film!

Doha 7th Cultural Festival Schedule

The Doha 7th Cultural Festival is currently on-going and will run until Thursday, March 6, 2008. Many countries participated in the festival through exhibits, dance and costume show, and other cultural activities. The Phillippines participated by staging The Little Mermaid show. Sadly, The Little Mermaid show does not represent any Philippine culture at all. I still want to watch it though. Today will be the last day for Little Mermaid so if you want to catch it, this day will be your last chance.

For other shows and activities, here is the schedule.