Document Attestation in Philippine Embassy in Doha

Before submitting your documents to Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), you will be required to get your DFA Authenticated (Red Ribbon) or Apostille documents attested; either from the Qatar Embassy in the Philippines or Philippine Embassy in Qatar.

Based on personal experience. Two (2) DFA-Authenticated documents. I went there on a Wednesday afternoon, few crowd. 1 hour.

1. Get a number for the attestations, notarial.
2. Be seated. Wait for your number to be called.
   In my case, the window was not catering anyone so I was called right after I got the number.
3. Go to the counter, and present your documents for assessment.
4. You will be handed back your documents and a piece of paper we will call “slip” wherein listed is the document types/concern you need and the total amount you need to pay.
   You will then be asked to go to the Cashier Window to pay.
5. Hand the documents with the slip to the Cashier. She will ask for the amount indicated. Document attestation is 100 QAR/document.
   I paid in cash, but I assume they accept cards because I saw a POS on the counter.
6. Cashier will keep the documents, then stamp your slip and hand it back to you.
   The stamp notes that the documents will be ready for collection at DOOR 2, one hour after payment.
7. DOOR 2 is where they release the renewed passports and other documents. There’s a small black box on the counter where you will put your slip.
8. Wait for your surname to be called.
   I waited for around 38 minutes until I was called.
9. Your documents will be handed over to you. You need to check if they stamped and signed the back part of the DFA Authentication Certificate.
10. Sign the logbook for documents (do not forget to write the receipt serial number.)

DONE!

I spent roughly one (1) hour inside the embassy from step 1 until I signed the logbook. The collection part is where the waiting game is at. There’s plenty of seats, and you can read a book or browse the web on your phone. Double check your documents before leaving!

Philippine Embassy in Doha (Location Map)

• WEBSITE: Philippine Embassy in Doha, Qatar

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How To Maintain Colored Hair in the Middle East (and Where To Acquire Hair Products in Qatar)

Phew — It has been ages since I posted something related to hair! I’m keeping a hair-related blog, right. Anyway, I hope you do enjoy looking at my candy subscription boxes this past few months.

Before anything else, I would like to remind you about my disclaimer notes that are posted here and here. This post might also contain some affiliate links and/or codes where you can get discounts from partner websites and I will also get a small amount in return.

Finally — I found time to think about what subject it is to share with you with regards to hair – and what I thought might be interesting to discuss is what I’m recently facing: As you might know, year 2017, I had moved to the middle east to work and being the person I used to be, I know that the first thing that comes to mind to most people when they hear middle east is the sand; desert; camels…?; heat!

Well, you are right about that. Except that it gets colder during winter down to 9~10°C. But for half a year, you have to deal with the other side: 31~42°C, sometimes up to 49°C. What to do by then?

• Store water in pails to cool it down for bathing
  During summer at peak hours of heat, you can almost boil an egg if you turn on the tap and put it in the running water. I kid you not. I cannot wash my hands directly from the tap during summer. Although, this is not always the case; this mostly happens to buildings or villas that store their water on the roof. Most high-rise buildings and hotels have cold water any time of the day and heaters are always available. So, one thing to be reminded of if you happen to stay at a place in the middle east, or eventually live in it, is to store cool water for bathing during summer because hot water for hair is a big NO.
  
• Get under the shade; avoid walking under the sun
  Much like your skin, hair (and your scalp) might be well exposed to UV rays from mister sun. Good (or bad) thing about the middle east is you get access to air-conditioned rooms every where you go, even some bus stops has AC. If you find yourself needing to walk under the extreme heat, better be prepared with caps or scarfs. Fun trivia: if you are a Southeast Asian, chances are you have your umbrella with you, but will not see anyone else using it in the middle east. Nobody prohibits you using such, you just might notice that you are the only one (like what happened to me.) If you feel more comfortable with umbrellas in tow, go ahead!
  
• Do not shampoo your hair everyday
  This is a general reminder to all kinds of hair. For dyed hair though, applying shampoo to hair will speed up fading the color. Downside is you might be uncomfortable with the greasy feeling, and if that’s your concern, you can use an alternative shampoo such as Dry Shampoo. You can find different types of Dry Shampoo in Qatar; powder type No Drought dry shampoo from LUSH Cosmetics, who has branches across big malls inside Doha; or spray cans like the famous Batiste that you can find in almost all grocery stores, common scents that I see are Original, Cherry, Floral, and Blush.
  
• Use oil treatments once or twice a week
  Oils are great recharge for your hair. You strip them off, you put them back! You can find them at all grocery stores in different types, shapes, and color.
  
• Use damage repair treatments as often as instructed
  I personally recommend Olaplex No. 3 for bleached hair. I bought mine locally from Nazih, a hair and beauty products supply store who has a number of branches in Doha. You can also try Some By Mi’s MIRACLE Repair Treatment, that I have yet to try, which I bought from YesStyle — you will also get EXTRA discount when you type in the promo code: YES5NIKITA at checkout!

Now that you are ready for the heat… Do you want to hear about the places you can visit here in Qatar? Let me know by commenting below.