November 21, 2009

Chowking Opens in Doha

Posted by xtian001 at 09:38 PM
chowking.jpg
 Chowking in Doha

At last, Chowing opens in Doha! After months of speculation and rumors, the Philippine fast food chained opened its doors to Qatari residents on Wednesday. From Facebook friends, we found out that lines to sample the dishes are so long that you have to wait at least 30 minutes to get your food. So much for "fast food". Still, Filipinos are expected to flock the fast food chain located near Ramada on Salwa Road. I'm we'll try it out one of these days when all the hoopla has subsided.
 
Here is more news from Gulf Times:
Former Philippine president Fidel V Ramos and prominent Qatari businessman Hussein Alfardan formally opened the first Doha outlet of Philippine food chain Chowking on Salwa road on Wednesday.

Hundreds of Filipinos, led by the Philippine Ambassador Crescente Relacion attended the opening ceremony which was addressed by Ahmed Hassan Bilal, chairman of the Ahmed Hassan Bilal Enterprise, the local partner of Chowking in Qatar.

Bilal promised the gathering a great dining experience at the newly-opened restaurant which has two function halls which can accommodate up to 144 people. The Doha restaurant is the 427th Chowking outlet worldwide. The restaurant is open from 12noon until 10pm.

Erwin Elechion, president of Chowking Food Corp and Relacion also spoke.

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October 30, 2009

Cebu Pacific Seat Sale in Asia

Posted by xtian001 at 11:54 PM

 

 

     

CEB allots 100,000 seats for our sought-after P1 seat sale to all destinations!

Travel June 15 to September 30, 2010

The Philippines’ leading airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) offers a ‘Go Lite’ P1 seat sale to all international and domestic destinations starting now until November 2, 2009, or until the allotted 100,000 seats are sold out. Travel period is June 15 to September 30, 2010.

It is our early Christmas present, and our way of saying thank you for your overwhelming support.

We fly the most routes and destinations in the Philippines, including Siargao, Laoag, Roxas, Virac (Catanduanes), Naga (Camarines Sur), Busuanga (Palawan), Cauayan (Isabela) and Kalibo (Boracay).

Our trademark P1 seat sale also covers all of CEB’s 14 international destinations namely: Kota Kinabalu, Taipei, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Busan, Shanghai, Incheon and Osaka.

CEB flies to Hong Kong and Singapore direct from Manila, Cebu and Clark.

Passengers with check-in luggage will just add P100 upon booking. The P1 fare is exclusive of government taxes and administration fees.

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August 06, 2009

Goodbye Tita Cory

Posted by mavis at 03:37 AM

Yesterday we watched history unfold before our very eyes as we stood there on Osmena Avenue, with thousands more Filipinos, waiting to bid our beloved President Cory our final goodbye. I feel honored and privileged having been there to witness how one person out of her integrity, honor, decency and kindness could bring people from all walks of life togeher even in her death.

You truly were that one person the FIlipinos could trust and you will continue to be that one person who inspire us to do good things despite ourselves. Thank you for our history but most of all thank you for reminding us that the Filipinos are a wonderful and decent people worth dying and sacrificing for. Paalam minamahal na Tita Cory!

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June 28, 2009

Qatar Airways Cheap Tickets to Philippines

Posted by mavis at 08:32 PM

I was told by my Qatar Airways employee friend that they have dropped the prices to their flights in the east. I went online to check the current prices and lo and behold! Cheap prices to the Philippines indeed! For example, an Economy Super Value Plus return ticket on July 30 from Doha going to Manila coming back on August 18 will only set you back for QR 2970 taxes included. I got mine a month ago for QR3700++.

My friend said that it was the Swine Flu scare that brought the prices down. In any case, better start buying those tickets if you intend to fly this month or the next coming months. I just made a quick search for a flight on September and returns on November and the price for the trip, including taxes, is just QR 2570. If you are not yet sure of the exact date of flight, you better get the Economy Standard Value 2 which permits changes to your date of flight. The ticket would cost you QR 2970 but would allow you to freely change you travel dates witihin 6 months.

This is the best time to buy those tickets!!!

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June 05, 2009

Tips on Flat/Apartment/Villa hunting in Doha,Qatar

Posted by xtian001 at 09:15 PM
We’ve spent the last 3 weeks hunting for a flat/apartment/villa in Bin Omran, Bin Mahmoud, Clipp, Khulaib, Markhiya, Nasser, Abu Hamour and Salwa Road. It’s been very tiring to say the least as we would, on weekends, usually leave the flat in the morning and end up going home in the evening. We’ve looked at flats, apartments, and villas; fully furnished (FF), semi- furnished (SF) and unfurnished (UF).  Here are some tips and lessons we’ve learned that we can share when you’re hunting for a flat or villa in Doha.

BUDGET AND EXPECTATIONS:
Settle your budget and expectations. Do you want a 2 room flat or a 3 bedroom flat? Do you want it furnished or unfurnished? How much is your budget and what can you compromise with? Essentially, the big bulk of this falls on your budget. In our case, even though we can allot QR15,000/month for our housing, we found it unpractical for us especially that we’re only 3 in the family. If you have a big family and can afford a 12,500QR 3 bedroom villa, then there are a lot of options for you. You can find small but gated compounds for that amount. Otherwise, 2 bedroom flats in new buildings would usually cost you 6500QR (UF with ACs) to 8000QR (FF). 3 bedroom flats start at 7500QR (UF),  8000QR (FF) to 10,000QR for a “high-end” apartment with pool and gym. Once you’ve settled with what you want or need, select your location.

LOOKING FOR ADS:
Once you know what you want, start looking at the ads. You can call real estate agents like:

Al Emadi - http://www.alemadi.com.qa/pages/apartments.html
Al Fanar -http://www.alfanarrealestate.com/
Homes2Rent - http://www.homes2rent.biz/
Century21 - http://www.century21qatar.com/
Zukrof - http://www.zukhrof.com/

 You can look for ads Online through QatarLiving, or through the online classifieds section of Gulf Times. You can also grab some publications that specialize on Real Estate in Doha (RENT) or your local newspapers. You can also go to your Grocery shops which usually have a board intended for announcements. You can ask your colleagues for numbers that they might have called if they have moved recently or if they are in the same boat as you. Make a list and write down contact numbers and type of flats/ villas being offered which fit your wants (location and budget).

Also, if you have car, drive around the area that you’re interested in and I’m sure you’ll find tarpaulins and signage on new buildings ready for occupancy. We’ve probably seen more flats doing this that calling or looking at ads online/print.

SOMETHING FISHY:
So you’re looking at the Ads and suddenly you see an ad that asks you for only 5500QR for a 2 bedroom flat or an 8000QR villa? You can dream on, skip the ad or if you like, give it a try and see the location. However, from what we’ve experienced, 5500QR for a flat gives you irregular and small room sizes and renovated buildings. An 8000QR villa nets you an OLD villa which you’ll dare not live in. Although we found a 9000QR compound villa in Abu Hamour which is new but the rooms are far too small. So don’t expect too much from those kinds of ads unless the real estate prices really goes down that far.

more to follow on next post...

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