#DSFKHI The Biggest Shopping Extravaganza

On 16th Dec. 2016  Pakistan’s leading group of shopping malls launched 17 days shopping festival ‘Dolmen Shopping Festival’  (DSFKHI) across the three malls in Karachi. The festival is filled with fun contests, exciting discounts and delicious food

The launch event kicked off by the surprise arrival of stars Iman Ali, Anoushay Ashraf, Faizan Haqque and the musical sensation Zoe Viccaji.

 

Faizan, Zoe, Iman, Anoushay

The celebrities revealed the ‘Match & Win’ game and ‘Magical Doors’ which allow shoppers to play for a gift hamper.

They also kick started the lucky draw which will have daily winners as well as a grand prize of 1 Million Rupees at Dolmen Mall Clifton, powered by Summit Bank. The prizes for Dolmen Mall Tariq Road and Hyderi are 500,000 PKR and 250,000 PKR respectively, which will be announced along with the grand lucky draw winners at the closing ceremony on the 1^st of January 2017, making someone’s new year really special! And not just that, shoppers can also win gifts from Dolmen Mall brands through five lucky draws every day.

To participate, regular shoppers will have to show their receipt of a PKR 10,000 purchase whilst Dolmen Loyalty Card holders would be eligible to play with a purchase receipt of PKR 5,000.

With each floor at the malls designed to bring with it a new set of activities to entice the audience to explore further, Dolmen Malls truly appear as a shopper’s paradise. Dolmen Mall Clifton, Tariq Road and Hyderi feature a beauty lounge that is a treat for makeup enthusiasts who have a chance to learn tips from experts and get free makeovers. Children will also get a chance to play our life-sized games and win for themselves in the Carnival while families can enjoy exhibitions of Home n Décor, Dolmen Bazaar and various other festivities.

As an added treat, Sunny Day brunch will be hosted every Sunday in the food court at Dolmen Mall Clifton and Tariq Road to encourage people to try new food and reignite the ritual of having Sunday breakfast with the family to the soulful sounds of live music.

Sunday Brunch from Chachajee

Careem also started the special promo code for the Shopping Festival, just book a  ride with Careem to get 20% off to/from Dolmen Shopping Festival. Use promo code ‘DSF2016’. Code is valid till Valid till 31 Dec 2016.

The management at Dolmen aims to provide quality events year after year, giving their audience a chance to celebrate.

World Record Challenging Traveler Comes to Pakistan

On July 15, 2015, a young American woman, Cassandra De Pecol (Cassie), departed on an international expedition to travel to all 196 Sovereign States of the world, in an effort to break a Guinness World Record, while promoting World Peace through the International Institute of Peace through Tourism (IIPT).  She hopes to inspire the world through her travels under Expedition 196, and connect with citizens of the world as she personally carries the banner of World Peace in traveling as a ‘World Citizen’.

Cassie at Mazar-e-Quaid

Cassie has covered about 193 countries already so far. She is now in Pakistan for a few days and will be visiting Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Her programme in Pakistan is being organized by PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Pakistan Chapter, supported by the country’s leading PR firm, Asiatic Public Relations Network, or APR as it is better known.

Cassie with the Mayor of Karachi

“Tourism plays a vital role in promoting peace and understanding between the countries and the peoples of the world, and we are sure that Cassie’s visit to Pakistan will go a long way in projecting the real Pakistan to the world – a Pakistan of hospitable and peace-loving people, and a Pakistan of a rich diversity in every way,” stated Akbar A. Shareef, Chairman, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Pakistan Chapter.

While in Pakistan, Cassie will be delivering talks at leading universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and at a Rotary function, meeting the travel trade, visiting some important cultural and heritage sites, meeting the Karachi Mayor and participating in a tree plantation activity, meeting the media, and interacting with youth and social media activists, among still other activities in a hectic itinerary.

Cassie at IBA Karachi

Speaking about his agency’s involvement in Cassie’s Pakistan trip programme, Zohare Ali Shariff, the CEO of Asiatic Public Relations Network said, “It is a great privilege for us to not only meet Cassie, but to also be directly associated in planning and executing a productive itinerary for her Pakistan visit, which we have thoughtfully worked out to give Cassie as wide an exposure as possible in the limited time available, to our people and especially to our youth, and to our rich and diverse heritage and culture. We are sure Cassie will leave Pakistan with indelible fond memories, and we wish her the very best for her world record attempt and her mission of promoting global peace.”

Cassie planted a tree at KMC building

Cassie’s dream since high school has been to see every country on Earth, and it wasn’t until her 25th birthday that she realized her life-long dream was in plain sight, just waiting for her to make a move. There was no better time to pursue her goal of seeing every country on earth. So, she spent one month sweating over a wall map and planning her itinerary for what would be, Expedition 196.

Cassie with the bloggers

“I choose to live my life in a unique way. To live in iconic, low key lifestyle where I do what I want, when I want, and inspire those along the way.” – Cassie De Pecol.

Hershey’s Kisses Cookies Recipe

Last month my friend brings lots of chocolates from Budapest, Hungary. It includes 50 Hershey’s Kisses. So I got an idea to use them in a recipe.

Ingredients:

36 Hershey’s Kisses

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup peanut butter

1½ tsp baking powder

Half tsp salt

2 cups flour

2 tbsp butter, melted

About ¼ cup sugar

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl combine eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and peanut butter.
3. Mix in baking powder, salt, flour, and melted butter.
4. Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll into sugar.
5. Place on an non-greased cookie sheet and bake 8 minutes.
6. Once removed from oven, immediately press a Hershey’s Kiss in center of each cookie ball.
7. Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire rack.

Cassie de Pecol visiting Pakistan to Promote Peace

Cassandra de Pecol aka Cassie is an American woman  who wants to break the Guinness  World Record for the  fastest  female to travel to all 196 Sovereign Nations in less than 3 years and 3 months.

She starts her journey on 1st July, 2015. In 17 months she has been to 193 countries including North Korea, Iraq, Palestine and Kosovo. Her favorite region is Middle East.

She wants to promote  peace through sustainable tourism. All details about her expedition can be found at Expedition 196.

Pacific Asian Travels Association  (PATA) Pakistan Chapter and Asiatic Public Relations (APR) bringing her to Pakistan to visit Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Here she will be visiting cultural heritage sites, giving lectures at the universities and meeting media and press.

 

Yesterday with Karachi’s Mayor Mr. Wasim Akhtar she planted Cedrus Deodara tree (the National Tree of Pakistan) at the Karachi Municipal Corporation Building.

She also presented the peace declaration to the Mayor, Mr. Waseem Akhtar as a token of peace from her country to ours.

Last night APR & PATA organized a Bloggers Meetup where Cassie shared her traveling stories from around the world. It was a  casual meetup where she shared her traveling stories from around the world followed by a Q&A session.

Cassie at the @asiaticpr office and she is so much fun to talk to! #CassieVisitsPakistan pic.twitter.com/vEm8Gkerxa

— Zee Talks (@zeetalks1) December 13, 2016

 

LIVE on #Periscope: Cassie – The fastest woman to travel around the world sharing her experience #cassievisitspakis… https://t.co/BrqMh3KtQm

— Farman (@farmansha) December 13, 2016

 

Thankyou PATA & @asiaticpr for brining in @cassiedepecol to PK
a session worth remembering. Hope she visits again 💜#CassieVisitsPakistan pic.twitter.com/DdmY1DL15J

— عنبر ذوالفقار (@Cheese_Pakora) December 14, 2016

 

At the end of the meetup she shared some tips for the travelers:

• Do not research about a country before traveling, keep all perceptions about a country outta the door.
• Always pack light. You don’t need to look like a diva while you are traveling.
• Use apps like  couchsurfing,  airbnb , skyscanner and  google maps to save costs.
• Do not hesitate in exploring new foods, new experiences, new trips, new places
• Buy one way ticket and don’t worry about the rest. Find job and experience the real life in a country. That’s the best way to travel.

Me with Cassie de Pecol

 

Djuice brings Pakistan’s first interactive online film

In pursuance of its commitment to empower youth, Pakistan’s first and only youth centric telecom brand Djuice is bringing in the first Pakistani online film ‘Oye Kuch Kar Guzar’ or ‘take the plunge’ in collaboration with YouTube. The film will inspire and actuate Pakistani youth into discovering their true potential and self-reliance in order to work their way towards realizing their dreams.

The film is the first of its kind to be crafted and featured solely on YouTube. Besides inspiring youth into self-discovery and self-belief, the maiden online film will go long way in strengthening the digital ecosystem and digital uptake in the country. It will establish and bolster digital media as a convenient and reliable entertainment resource in the country.

Cast of Oye Kuch kar Guzar

‘Oye Kuch Kar Guzar’ is especially designed to appeal to the youth of Pakistan. It will be the first time that a brand will allow viewers to choose their own story by using annotations, cards and end screens. The film aspires to enable youth to overcome their constraints, follow their dreams, confidently express themselves and own up to their individuality.

Djuice Adcom Team

The film is a distinct genre to allow the viewer to steer the story flow according to their own taste and preference. The film is split into mini episodes and at the end each episode, the viewer can navigate the story in their chosen direction, besides being able to skip ahead or see related videos throughout.

Tapu Javeri at the launch

Sharing his thoughts, Bilal Kazmi, Chief Marketing Officer said, “It is the first time that a Pakistani brand has created this sort of digital content for youth to inspire and motivate them into facing their true selves. This relatively newer genre will enable viewers to direct the story according their whims. We believe that internet has a massive potential to serve a digital entertainment resource. djuice has set the precedent and we will continue to create special online content in the future.”

Ushna Shah

Speaking on concept of Oye kuch Kar Guzar, Haris Rasheed, Director of the film said,“Coming from a middle class family, this is a story I myself deeply connect with. We all struggle to find our place in this fast paced world, and most of us give into the pressure of settling too soon with what we can achieve rather than what we want to achieve. With passion one can do what they want to do rather than what they have to do. Breaking free of the ‘norms’ of society and finding your own place and your own voice in this world doing what you love is what this story is all about.”

With the launch of 3G/4G services in the country, the technological uptake has improved exponentially. It has ripened many opportunities ready to tap into in the digital ecosphere. With a large portion of population having access to technology, the entertainment potential of internet awaited to be explored. Djuice has opened newer horizons by launch of the film.

Photo Credits: Movie Shoovy

#OYEKuchkarGuzar Review

Few days ago #OyeKuchkarGuzar started as hashtag for city wars on Twitter triggered by Mangobaaz and it ended  up with Pakistan’s first online film released on Youtube produced by Djuice Pakistan starring Ali Safina, Ushna Shah and Uzair Jaswal.

Here is the teaser of the movie.

Story

The story was about Sherry who wants to follow his passion and become a singer. He was traveling to Karachi in a train where he was joined by Uzair Jaswal, Ushna Shah and Mahjabeen Habib  and after that the most unforgettable  adventure begins.

What’s New

This is the first Pakistani movie that has been released on Youtube with a unique interactive experience.  It has been released in 5 episodes with alternate endings, at the end of each episode you have to select the option to continue the story. They also added comic style animation to make it more interesting.

Most hilarious thing about the movie was Taher Shah guest appearance, a man who needs no introduction.

Overall it was unique and refreshing experience and Youtube interactive option at the end of episodes gives it  all new twist. Humorous punchlines will keep you entertained till the end of the movie.

Rating 8/10