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Jay Burgess

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 15, 2012, 09:12:27 AM
Hi Wan

Pretty sure it was a 30 kg limit in economy class. I checked in about 28 kgs - 1 carmate with 6 rods and 1 large Shimano bag which had a few clothes and loads of gear in it.  I did not pay any extra baggage charges.  Oman Air is a very decent airline.  I was impressed with the KL to Muscat flight.

Many thanks Mark, good to hear the 30kg limit. BTW, where can i buy extra baggage weight i.e another 5kg is surely nice!! How many hours from KL to Salalah?

izhan

I just traveled with both Emirates and Oman Air and I checked in 3 pieces (carmate, clothes bag and large tackle bag) which was just under 35kg and on all legs (Australia to Dubai, Dubai to Muscat, Muscat to Salalah) no questions were asked and I not once paid an excess baggage charge  8) Thumbs up to the middle eastern airlines   ;)

Lenny Lim

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 16, 2012, 01:14:36 AM
Hi, Wan,

Oman Air is giving us 30kg each. That's 120 kg shared among 4.

Our flight from KL to Muscat is approx 7 hours followed by another 1.5 hours from Muscat to Salalah.


Mark Harris

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 16, 2012, 01:19:28 AM
And then 3 hours with Ahmed the driver, doing 180-200 kmh :).  It's an experience :).

Jay Burgess

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 16, 2012, 11:26:04 AM
And then 3 hours with Ahmed the driver, doing 180-200 kmh :).  It's an experience :).

An experience is an understatement Mark  8)

180-200 kph is no exaggeration either!

Wan Izhan

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 16, 2012, 03:09:49 PM
Hi, Wan,

Oman Air is giving us 30kg each. That's 120 kg shared among 4.

Our flight from KL to Muscat is approx 7 hours followed by another 1.5 hours from Muscat to Salalah.

Many thanks Lim.
I presume Oman Air transits in Bangkok.
Loaded reels can be handcarrried?
Any issues with Thai and Muscat's custom?
Is the lodge at Hallinayat Island ready? how far from the fishing ground?

izhan

Mark Harris

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 16, 2012, 03:15:28 PM
Izhan, if you check the Oman Air link I gave you will see that most flights go direct KL - Muscat.  Avoid the time wasting transit in Bangkok.

Omani customs are very straightforward.

Your question about staying on The Hallaniyat Islands would be best directed by email to the operator you are fishing with.  If that option is available and you choose it, be prepared for very basic facilities.

Barry Kurten

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 17, 2012, 06:23:49 PM
I live in the UAE and travel quite a bit out of Dubai Airport, one thing ive learnt .. EXPECT the UNEXPECTED , they have even take to confiscating Biltong  :P

@Mark , im doing my first trip to stay out on Hallaniyat island in 2 weeks.
Have you stayed on the island ?? How basic is basic ?? Is there anything in particular (over and above tons of fishing tackle) i should pack ??
We are talking about a fishing village in the middle of nowhere , basic is the name of the game i think !   :D

Mark Harris

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 17, 2012, 07:16:39 PM
Hi Barry

I have not stayed on Hallaniyat only on the mainland at Shuwaymiah.  From talking to the operators in Shuwaymiah, facilities are pretty basic on the islands, particularly in regard to hygiene. Given it is only a 45 minute crossing, on an arduous fishing trip I think I would prefer some comforts, eliminate the risks of getting sick on a very expensive trip, and stay on the mainland!

Barry Kurten

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 17, 2012, 08:22:32 PM
Thanks a million Mark,

Sounds like the operators are trying to do a bit of "competive advertising" if you ask me !
Ive stayed on the mainland and 4 people sharing a shower and toilet is not exactly the most hygienic setup neither, BUT in the name of catching monster GT's we are always more then prepaired to rough it a bit  :D 

IMHO, The hour you lose traveling out to the islands is a massive advantage for the guys out on the island, and me being the amateur that i am, i need every bit of help i can get :)

Mark Harris

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 17, 2012, 08:57:32 PM
As the mainland operators I know of also offer the option of staying on the islands, probably not on the competitive advertising point :).

Best of luck with your fishing. That area has been producing very good fish in between the bad weather in the past 2 months.

Celso Mendonca

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 18, 2012, 07:15:05 AM
Hi, Wan,

Oman Air is giving us 30kg each. That's 120 kg shared among 4.

Our flight from KL to Muscat is approx 7 hours followed by another 1.5 hours from Muscat to Salalah.

Many thanks Lim.
I presume Oman Air transits in Bangkok.
Loaded reels can be handcarrried?
Any issues with Thai and Muscat's custom?
Is the lodge at Hallaniyat Island ready? how far from the fishing ground?

izhan
Hi Izhan.
Starting from Hallaniyat the nearest point is 5 minutes and the farthest 50 minutes. ;)

Jay Burgess

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 18, 2012, 11:56:21 AM
Thanks a million Mark,

Sounds like the operators are trying to do a bit of "competive advertising" if you ask me !
Ive stayed on the mainland and 4 people sharing a shower and toilet is not exactly the most hygienic setup neither, BUT in the name of catching monster GT's we are always more then prepaired to rough it a bit  :D 

IMHO, The hour you lose traveling out to the islands is a massive advantage for the guys out on the island, and me being the amateur that i am, i need every bit of help i can get :)

On a good day the travel out to the islands in only 40 minutes and it's negligible really... but if you're really concerned about it just get out of bed earlier - you can be at the islands just after sunrise if you really want. IMO the comforts gained by staying on the mainland are a huge advantage for the guys staying at the lodge as we all know how physically demanding GT popping is there's nothing quite like starting the day feeling nice and refreshed  8)

Nick Bowles

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Re: Warning Dubai Airport Braid Issues
March 21, 2012, 11:13:06 PM
Afternoon,

Hope everyone is well. I don't normally comment on posts that are not based on our reports or me trying to provide information or advise as I don't see the value getting involved in negative posts that do not really have any benefit to anyone as no one will admit they are wrong but in this case I feel that there is a bit of misrepresentation in comments and in perception that have been posted regarding our and our partners operation in Southern Oman.

Us as Ocean Active and Al Husn have both villas on the mainland in Shuwaymiuyah and on the Hallaniyat Islands, so we operae from both locations and have the best of both worlds. Operating in Oman and especially Southern Oman is a huge logistical job and in so doing you'll find there will be issues that sometimes need to be overcome or plan Bs put in place. We have chosen to mainly operate off the island as this cuts down time from towing the boat from the villa to the marina in the morning and evening and an open ocean crossing. If the weather is perfect which is rarely this time of year you might be able to make the island in 1.5 hours each way with launching the boat and crossing to the islands, this is traveling at a safe speed. We have chosen to operate off the island as this gives us a additional few hours fishing each day because we are 3 minutes from the fishing grounds and also we fish early morning, come back for lunch and relax take a shower and be fresh for the afternoon session, then fish late into the evening as we leave the boat in the water in our marina which is 100m from our villa. We do this so there is not so much pressure on the fish with to many boats and also so we can fish the best times of the day. We are also able to change equipment or tactics through the day depending on conditions and fishing as we can get back to the villa. We are able to fish when the weather is bad as we can fish different sides of the island which are protected from the wind ensuring we fish additional days a season.

As for the island and villa we have 10 rooms with 3 en suite rooms with bathrooms, there is high pressure showers, rooms cleaned everyday, laundry done everyday if required, walk in cold rooms for food storage, fresh food and meals everyday. We also have a 70ft dhow arriving from Salalah every 3-4 days with fresh supplies and fuel. So not sure how this is not hygienic or how hygiene is even an issue as we have not had any incidents in the passed and I have been using the island for the last 4 years? It is a lot more hygienic than when we were operating from the mainland and a whole lot easier on the clients as we are traveling less, relaxing for a bit during midday when fishing is slow and we have a large team of people running logistics from dhows, to cleaners to trucks transporting clients. So clients have the best chance at trophy fish and still get to relax and enjoy the Omani hospitality. We have also opened up our marina and villa to other operators when they have had boat trouble and not been able to get back to the mainland due to bad weather and we have not had complaints from their staff or clients. We have also had some very well travelled GT clients stay with us in Southern Oman like Mogi-san from Pro Shop Mogi, Minami-san President of Hots, Chris Tang from Wei World, Sami from Saltywater Tackle and my biggest critic my Father who is 71 yeas old and if he can stay on the island then anyone can. All of the above will be coming back and we had no complaints.

We operate off the island with 2 x 39ft Center Consoles plus two villas and have a lot of logistics that we run and this is reflected in our price and service. We operate in Dubai UAE, Fujairah UAE, Musandam Oman, Maldives, Seychelles, Mozambique and next season North Carolina USA. We have a lot of experience in this region from the last decade and we are here to promote the popping and jigging community. There are operators in all of these destinations that we operate and all of us have pros and cons, no one is perfect. But I hope in future if anyone posts information about our operation that the facts are correct and clients can make their own decisions based on reputation, price, requirements etc.

If anyone has any comments or queries please send me a PM and I'm happy to answer any queries or provide any information. We are here to provide a good service and the other operators in the Southern Oman run good operations according to their goals and capabilities and at least clients have a choice on who they want to use depending on their requirements so in all competition is good but not good when information is misleading.

Cheers,
Nick