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Old 10 Mar 18, 09:17 PM  
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BONZO
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Well, Wadi ya know - Lausanne to Muscat 2018 Day 7 (Journey home)

Monday 22nd January

Well, Wadi ya know - Lausanne to Muscat 2018 Day 7 (Travel home)

Cast:
Me: Shaun
Alison (who edits and adds comments to these reports before I post them!)

Link to Index is here https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1065039


So we woke up in our lovely hotel room for the final time and had our last breakfast on the lounge patio whilst taking in the views for the last time.

We managed to get a taxi direct from the hotel at a fixed rate to the airport – we’d checked with the front desk the previous evening how long we ought to allow for traffic etc. The journey was very smooth and we took a deep breath before heading into the airport as we knew from researching that it would be a bit of a painful process.

Three lots of security!

So, past the initial security to get into the terminal we went to the empty check in desk and queued up for boarding passes. Phew, just as well as the desk agent said we were eligible for the lounge (which we knew), but she printed off vouchers that allowed us entry.

Next it was the main security and passport check to get airside – fairly quick luckily so we made our way to the lounge (which was a bit grim – no natural light, very crowded and had no mugs or cups left so you had to wait for the bar staff to wash one up!) We settled down for a short while with a coffee and pastry. The departure boards weren’t working and they didn’t make announcements over the tannoy so mindful of the time we took a slow walk down to the third and final security check just before the gate.

There was a huge pile of liquids just before the scanner – lots of people had bought drinks that they couldn’t take through with them!

Unusually for a non USA airport, they made us take off belts and shoes before placing luggage through the scanner and the security staff indicated that there was a problem with something in my luggage. What on earth could it be I wondered? Yes, they didn’t like my 4-way extension lead and made me leave it behind. Oh well, no big deal as it was one of Poundland’s finest.

Next, I got pulled over for a bag swab, I must have looked really dodgy although I promise I wasn’t wearing that rather fetching head gear from earlier in the holiday.

Finally we sat down in the gate area which was literally just a room full of seats and waited for boarding to be called. Well, what a surprise, typical bun fight to get through first with no pattern or schedule apart from children and wheelchairs first.

As expected it was a bussed gate and only the front doors of the bus opened up and people poured onto the bus leaving the poor wheelchair bound passengers on the pavement! Luckily the gate agent intervened and got the back doors opened and the waiting passengers boarded. We just about managed to squeeze onto that first bus as well!

We were held on the bus for a short while before they let us board. Alison took a couple of quick photos:





And eventually they left us off the bus and we boarded swiftly and sat in the same seats that we had on the way out (7A and 7K) on opposite sides of the plane again! The Cabin Service Manager came round to introduce herself and asked if there was anything she could do for us (she went to Alison first and Alison asked her to drop the travel sickness tablets over to me!)

A couple of bus loads of passengers later, everyone was on board and we took off on time (9.30am). The first meal was breakfast.

Alison went for the French toast which she said was lovely. I went for the mixed grill (including non pork sausage and bacon) which was not such a good idea! However there was enough else on offer (fruit, yoghurt, rolls, pastries etc) to keep me going.






The flight was about 6.5 hours and we both watched films, played games and snoozed on and off.

Some inflight photos:





About an hour before landing there was a light afternoon tea offered.



We landed on time at Heathrow, hotfooted it through immigration and customs, jumped in a POD back to the car and headed home (via the kennels to pick the dog up) –getting home at about 4pm. It was nice having a day time flight coming home – no real jet lag to speak of with a 4 hour time difference!

Overall thoughts:

We like Heathrow T5 (especially the first wing and the lounge!) and we are still fans of BA Club World, even though they don’t stack up particularly well against some other airlines' business class offerings

We enjoyed visiting Lausanne and the Olympic museum

We really enjoyed Muscat – our first trip to the Middle East (I’m sure it won’t be our last)

The real highlight was the Wadi day trip. If we go back to Muscat we would consider another similar trip with the same company (they do overnight desert expeditions amongst others)

We LOVE having a warm break in January – it seems so decadent to be swimming in the sea and sunbathing when it’s cold at home!

Thanks for reading!
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Edited at 09:39 PM.
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Old 11 Mar 18, 11:14 PM  
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kaydee
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Thank you I’ve enjoyed reading your report and learning about Muscat.
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Old 7 Jun 18, 04:44 PM  
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Glee Fan
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Great report. Ashamed to say I had never heard of it and had to google it after you posted on my thread about where was warm in February. It does look a lovely place though. Thanks for reporting on it.
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Old 17 Jul 18, 12:51 PM  
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TartanRose
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Thanks for posting. I've not explored much of the East but Muscat looks like a lovely city break.
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