Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

8MB ADSL Speed from QTEL!

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:30:19 +0300

Qtel has further upgraded its ADSL service, with the launch of two new speed ranges offering faster browsing experience for broadband internet users.

Customers now have a wider choice of speed options, with 4Mbps or 8Mbps now available with the service. The higher speeds will enable customers to download films, music and games faster and more easily.

The enhanced speeds now available are among the many benefits delivered through Qtel’s major ADSL upgrade, which began on 1 April 2009 as part of its ongoing ’Broadband Anywhere’ initiative. The new 4Mbps speed is available for QR400 a month, with the 8Mbps plan costing QR600. Both new speeds are subject to technical feasibility, the company said yesterday.

In May this year, Qtel doubled the speed for all ADSL and Mozaic TV+ customers for free, as part of a series of enhancements to the company’s Broadband services.

Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director, Group Communications said, “We are delighted to offer these new speed plans to customers who want an even faster browsing experience. Our top-end 8Mbps plan will make it easier and faster than ever for people to enjoy downloads and video streaming at anytime. We will continue to invest in the expansion of our Broadband network, to increase availability and to ensure that speeds will be able to keep pace with the growing demands of new applications.”

Existing ADSL customers can upgrade simply by calling 111 and new customers should visit any Qtel Shop to apply for service.

Qatar Airways Cheap Tickets to Philippines

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:32:07 +0300

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!!!

Spiders from Space

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:54:04 +0300

Busy Friday

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:08:49 +0300

It has been a very busy day. We woke up early as we were to look for Kangkong or Chinese Water Spinach for our "Sinigang". I've been dying to eat some since last week and requested Mavs to cook some over the weekend. Plus, we were expecting friends from my locale in the Philippines as they were sending off some stuff for their families. Luckily, Food Palace had the "Kangkong" and so we didn't have to go to Lulu Hypermarket. We decided to fetch Maggy early so we were home by 10:00. Mavis started cooking as she was also in a hurry to finish as she had a date with a friend in Villagio. She finished at 12 and hurriedly took a shower, dressed up and left. Bebong came at 12:30 as he was coming from Mesaieed while Mel came 10 minutes later. Lunch was great and we probably spent a lot of time at the table just talking and discussing stuff.

After sometime, I showed them some of the "Movies" that Xiane has made. We were all laughing and told them that we could try doing our own. After some minutes of acting, goofing around and playing, we produced our "Spider" movie (I'll post it here later). We had a blast! Mel left afterwards while Maggy and I formed our 2-man band with the Guitar Hero. Since Bebong had to leave and catch up with his bus to Mesaieed, we (Xianelle, Maggy and I) had to drop him off at the Souq Area. Maggy was up next and Xiane and I were able to meet with MAvis at Villagio afterwards.

Tiring but fun. We haven't been able to pack things for vacation yet and tomorrow's morning schedule is packed as well. Oh and I haven't even told you about our trip to the Souq last night and our dinner with our other friends. Too little time with so many things to do!

I'm waiting for Qtel Again

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:18:29 +0300

UPDATE as of 24/06: After calling 115 on Sunday, I was told that I have an appointment for Thursday this week. Great! Was just hoping that they SMSed me as they committed instead of groping inthe dark. I was actually called again today by CS for a confirmation of tomorrows' schedule.
_____________________________________

I've applied for a shifting of Qtel services and was told that they'd SMS me after 3 days to give me an appointment. That was a week ago! I already called QTEL and last Thursday to "remind" them that I did apply for the shifting and was told that I'd be given an appointment in 3 days time. Apparently, the guy in QTEL Lulu hypermarket, who told me this, was lying. The CS told me that it takes 7-10 days before they even give me that appointment! Arghhh... I just hope w're still here when that happens.

This is what I don't like about QTEL. It's always a waiting game.

Xianelle's Report Card 2009

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:25:17 +0300

Click on the image to view all thr pages of Xiane's Report Card for Year 2009

Great work Xianelle! So proud of you! Keep it up!

Lizard Escape on Facebook

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:07:24 +0300

H1N1 Virus is in Qatar

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:36:24 +0300

After receiving a SMS from the The Supreme Council of Health last night denying the occurrence of Swine Flu in Qatar, newspapers in the morning reported three cases of Swine Flu in Qatar. All the three cases were officially confirmed by the Minister of Heath H E Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani yesterday, the newspaper reported but I also got the SMS message from QTEL yesterday. Very misleading and confusing. Make up your mind so that people don't panic nor spread rumors about cases of swine flu.

H1N1 in Qatar: Denied by The Supreme Council of Health

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:05:58 +0300

I've had some sources tell me about an email that is being passed around that a McDonald's branch in Al Nasser has been closed because somebody got infected with the Swine Flu or H1N1 Virus. This was supposed to be the first case of Swine Flu in Qatar. However I just got a SMS from QTEL which says that:

"The Supreme Council of Health denies the occurrence of H1N1 case in a restaurant, and calls for getting information from the right sources."

Well, we'll see what the papers say tomorrow. However, I'd trust the Council more than emails being passed around. Let's just hope that Qatar remains to be free from the H1N1 virus.

We have moved to our new building.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:27:33 +0300

We survived our move from Old Airport to Al Sadd last Saturday. We had to abort our plan of moving on Friday as it became obvious to Mavis and I at 3 a.m. of Friday that we were not going to finish packing. I called up the truck owner I talked to last Wednesday and told him that we had to cancel. He was ok with it but I assured him that we would definitely be moving Saturday morning.
We did finish packing our things though it was already 2 in the morning of Saturday when we did. Although we didn’t have much rest, we had to wake up early to finish some more taks we needed done.

The truck and labor we hired came right on at 9. After trying to fill up the truck, we we’re able to deliver for the 1st batch of furniture and stuff in the new building and had the last of our stuff delivered in the afternoon. I’m not sure what exact time the men finally left but we were able to settle down at about 5 p.m. Not being able to cook or prepare anything for dinner, we had to go to ever trusty McDonalds.

After 3 days of moving in, the living room is still a mess. Well, everything is still a mess but things are taking shape slowly. And as always, my Audio-Video system (AVR, 5.1 speakers, Plasma and Xboxes) were the first to be set up on the first night itself along with the PC. However, I still don’t have any Internet access. I was able to go to QTEL this afternoon and applied for the shifting of their services to Al Sadd. The CS rep told me that they’d send me an SMS after 3 days to schedule an appointment. Hopefully, they’d schedule an appointment before we go on vacation in 2 weeks time. I also need to settle the water and electricity but would do so next week. (I’m posting this elsewhere).

This is definitely one of the most tiring weeks of my life. With what seemed an eternity of packing stuff, the move itself was physically tiring and draining. Not to mention that we have to unpack the stuff again. But the move is worth it. We’re in the middle of everything. I’m 20-30 minutes away from my work place with morning traffic and it is the same for Xiane and Mavis going to DMBS. And we think that this should hold true even if Xiane moves to Qatar Academy next school year. It’s just we are drained and have to prepare for our needed vacation too. Anyway, we’re taking one step at a time each day.

Some comments from the 1st 1000 customers of Vodafone

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:54:07 +0300

Remember the "1st 1000" customers of Vodafone? The 1st 1000 were actually given a "forum" (which they called "blog") to post their comments and suggestions to Vodafone as they tested the network of Vodafone. I am not sure how many have been posting in the "forums" but from a thousand, there are less than 30 who actually posted something. One of the reasons why people were not that receptive about it was that we were not allowed to change the passwords given to us. It is indeed difficult to remember a mumbo-jumbo of a password given. Anyway, in the begining, we've commented and told Vodafone where they needed to improve on network coverage and after days of not being able to make calls and frustration setting in, Vodafone eventually made some improvements. As days and weeks pass by, we, the 1st 1000, felt being left out and all the hype of being just a "guinea pig" for testing purposes became more eveident. Here are some comments from the Vodafone 1st 1000 "blog/Forum".

from Imran:
One must realize that the Blog was full of praises and excitement at the beginning from everyone including me. We even felt proud to be amongst the "1st 1000" customers of brand Vodafone.

...we all motivated Vodafone, supported them and even criticized them, where required, as part of the Team working to build Vodafone Qatar.

We all support Vodafone, infact I myself would love to be a customer of Vodafone till I am in Qatar but Vodafone should show "Value for their customers", moreover value for the people who help them in building their network in their infancy stage.

If they open the plans where everybody can subscribe and the same plans are given to 1st 1000 without any value addition, wont we feel undervalued and uncared for, customers? Others didnt pay a penny to Vodafone and got the same plan, we paid QR280, dedicated both money, time and patience to Vodafone and we too are offered same plans without any value addition, as others.

from (name withheld):
Not to sound negative, but I was expecting Vodafone to provide us with an experience unlike their predecessor. Unfortunately, what we have so far is more of the same. As a member of the ist 1000 team, I was expecting to be informed first about the steps Vodafone is taking towards rewarding this group. All Vodafone did so far was take a service charge for an incomlete service (No international calling or messaging, no roaming, no improved coverge, and no sign of improvement). In my specific case, Vodafone charged me for the service for a third month (the service was due to end on 31 May) before informing me they were extending the trial period. When I called, I was informed that the balance will be valid for 2 months (July 2009). Additionally, I had a balance of QAR 1130.00 on the date of my renewal and after charging me the QAR 70.00 and adding the QAR 700.00 I ended up with the balance of QAR 1,400.00??? I do not understand it. When I called them (get this), my phone call was interrupted because of a connection error??? when I called back, the representative told me she will get back to me in 48 Hours. I am waiting!!!! In today's paper, Vodafone announced their new service packages which we as the first 1000 had no idea about nor were we made aware of how to confirm our service or to transfer our balance into our permanent service. I am still wondering what happenned to my 400.00 QAR balance that evaporated and still waiting for somebody at Vodafone to move.... I am very dosappointed also to learn that despite the fact Vodafone offers competitive rates and packages worldwide, their rates here in Qatar as announced are extremely disappointing and do not offer any privilages financially or service wise to their client. Vodafone may rake up a lot of money initially, but they will not have customer loyalty or boffer an alternative to the abuse we suffered under Q-Tel unfortunately. I hope this will be read by somebody that may look into the subject not from as a special case but a general case, because i believe others are suffering as much as I am.

from Fionah:
Its sad - I had so much of hope until the last month. Its not just one thing or network coverage as a single-out which would have been acceptable. Its the belief in an international brand who accepted a sample public audience at a fee and then failed as a service organisation to live up to world class service level standards which should have been mastered after years in the industry. It is also a tragedy in its own making that the company launched its offering to the first 1000 public members without any visible planning in its marketing, communication and product implementation strategy for this group of people.

Vodafone should have taken more time to think through its strategy - yes we are just the 1000 and not shareholders but as a company you took money from me (a member of the market you will service) to test a service that is now going out of its contract time (which you still charging me for) so from my side you have failed on your end of the contract and wrapping it up as a thank you gift that I am covering as an dumb test agent for you. In the end it was not about whether your coverage was perfected (as this will only be perfected over time)...it was a matter of how you treated the people who would sell, use and appreciate your product as loyal customers.

The Current State of our Apartment

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:24:55 +0300

This is our aparment at the moment. It's filled with boxes and plastic bags. Hopefully, everything would be ok when we move out this week. Wish us luck!

Schools seek Ministry permission for fee hike

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:52:11 +0300

Schools are asking for another hike! It seems that Qatar, instead of providing cheap yet having a high standard of education, is falling to the loop of increasing tuition every year. Not only that, schools right now are already asking for advance payment of tuition almost 4-5 months before the school year even starts. For those who are already enrolled in schools, payment must be done at least a month before the current semester ends or they would loose a place for next years' school year. It is only in Qatar where I've seen this. And to think that there is an abundance of enrollees every year and places for schools is almost close to rare, why would they require parents to pay tuition several months before the actual year starts? Don't they have enough funds to pay for what ever they need to pay?

Although these are private schools, the Government should have a hand in regulating these schools. With the new hike request, do you think the actual amount goes back to the children's eduation through better facilities, newer books, better equipments, etc? I'm not so sure. They are saying that the hike in needed due to "a rise in operational costs due to the inflation in the country". So does that mean that all the parents were given salary hikes by their employers because of the inflation? If that's not the case, then the Governement should also impose on yearly pay hikes for parents who send their kids to school to balance everything out. Otherwise, education becomes a burden for families with already low income.

Just to give you a sample of how much one has to pay for education in Qatar (aside from entrace fees, resources fees, registration fees, etc):

Doha Montessori and British School
Preschool -QR 17400/ Year
Reception to Year 10 - QR 25500/year to QR 37500/year

Philippine School Doha
Pre- Elementary to High School -QR4430++/year to QR6190++/year

American School Doha
(Capital Fees - 10,950 -14,600)
Pre Kindergarten - QR26,880/year
Kindergarten to Year 1 to 5 - 44,8323/year
Year 6-12 - QR 58,300/Year
Preschool -QR 17400/ Year
Reception to Year 10 - QR 25500/year to QR 37500/year

Doha Modern Indian School
Kindergarten 1 and 2- QR7300/year
Grade 1 to 4 - QR8965/year
Grade 5 to 12 - Qr 10,265 to 14,274/year

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

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:15:54 +0300

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...

Qatar Summer work timings being enforced

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:48:25 +0300

Good news for those who work outside. With the heat we've been experiencing, it is just right for them to implement this. However, this only starts on June 15 with the Ministry being vague on "if the Mercury soars, work must stop". Would this be 50C? As I've said before, I don't know if they actually publish the temperature to 50C even when it is at that. I'd rather have their limit to 48C. anyway, read on:

DOHA: Summer working hours for construction sites and open spaces will be enforced from June 15, but the Ministry of Labor has said employers should follow daily weather reports until then and if the mercury soars, work must stop. The summer timings for site work were announced by the Ministry yesterday, according to which work must stop between 11.30am and 3pm from June 15 until August 31, giving workers and afternoon break of three-and-a-half hours.
The Ministry has warned that violation of the working hour rules will attract immediate punitive action and work on a site concerned will be halted for at least a month. “That’s the minimum punishment,” cautioned the Ministry, Qatar News Agency reported yesterday. In a first, construction and contracting firms have also been asked to make a prominent display on their sites of the summer working hours on a daily basis for the workers as well as labour inspectors to see it clearly.
“The notice displaying working hours must be put in a prominent place so that it is clearly visible and every worker as also labour inspector can see,” said the Ministry statement. Making a detailed announcement, unlike in the past when the statements used to be brief, the Ministry, talking of the health and safety of site workers, said building and contracting firms must follow weather reports on a daily basis until June 15. “This is important for maintaining health and safety of workers during the summer months.” Workers can under no circumstances be asked to put in more than five hours of duty on a site in the mornings between June 15 and August 31.
Violations are to be directly intimated to the minister by the Labor Inspection Department, after which he will issue a decision ordering stoppage of work at a site for a minimum of one month, according to the Ministry statement. Qatar, in conformity with its labour law, introduces changed timings every year during peak summer. The Peninsula