Wadis, Peaks, Souqs and Sands: Oman 2025

[1022]

The Sultanate of Oman has been on the bucket list for quite some time, but never quite reached the top of places to visit … until now. As a tourist destination it offers incredible landscapes from coral reefs, beaches and fjords to rugged mountains and desert sands as well as cities with rich culture, history and architecture from ancient ruins to the contemporary Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Muscat. I’m looking forward to sharing some of the highlights with AFF readers.


Collage of Oman highlights from the web

Booking

Several months ago 1022+1 and I decided to block much of April 2025 in our calendars for an overseas trip given the favourable placement of public holidays vis-a-vis annual leave required for a decent trip. I then promptly cobbled together flights for us from SYD-MNL in early April on QF points (him) and redeemed VA points on SQ for me due to lack of 2 seat availability on any flights on suitable dates. I was able to secure two seats on QF20 for our return flight to Sydney at the end of the month.

The plan was then to use to Manila as a inexpensive jumping off point for relatively affordable paid J flights to yet-to-be-determined far-flung places.

So then, where to from Manila? We looked at Portugal thanks to decent cash fares in J on EY to Lisbon, though it didn’t fully grab me for an April trip as the weather might still be a bit cool for beaches and swimming. We also considered Montenegro because it’s a country neither of us knew much about but once we did a bit of research, realised it has a huge amount of appeal. That would have entailed a ME3 flight to Rome or Milan then connection by land or LCC to Podgorica. Though in the meantime we spent a fair bit of money on another trip at the end of 2024 plus a few other expenses, so the “cheap” circa $4k return fares from Manila to Europe weren’t quite so appealing.

Then in October 2024, Oman Air redemptions became available on QFF. Curiosity led me to look at availability between Manila and Muscat. Despite a few QF website glitches, there were plenty of flights with 2 J seats on days that fit our plans. Slight problem was that we didn’t have quite enough QFF points between us for MNL-MCT return for two. I booked us together on MNL-MCT and +1 on MCT-MNL using up almost all our combined Qantas points at the time. Fortunately our booking coincided with with an AC Aeroplan points sale, so I bought 50-odd thousand points and booked for myself via the Air Canada website (painless) for the MCT-MNL leg, on the same flight as +1’s QFF redemption.

Itinerary Snapshot
All flights are in J, including domestic flights in Oman, apart from my final SYD-MEL which is in Y with a classic upgrade request pending.

Initial Outbound:
Me: MEL-SIN-MNL (SQ218 A350-900 Longhaul config and SQ910 A350-900 Regional Config)
1022+1: SYD-MNL (QF19 A332)

Remainder all together:
Manila: 5 nights at Fairmont Makati

MNL-MCT (WY844 787-9)
Muscat: 5 nights at Movenpick
Jabal Akhdar: 1 night Alila Jabal Akhdar Resort
Nizwa: 3 nights House 76
Jebel Shams: 2 nights Sama Al-Khutaim Heritage House
Muscat: 1 night Novotel MCT Airport Hotel

MCT-KHS (WY 737-800)
Khasab: 3 nights Atana Musandam
KHS-MCT (WY 737-800)

Muscat: 1 night Novotel Airport Hotel

MCY-MNL (WY843 787-9). *edit: MCT-MNL
Manila: 1 night Fairmont Makati
MNL-SYD (QF20 A332)



GCM overview

In true AvGeek form, our initial flights aren't together due to redemption availability. But 1022+1 these days is totally on board with the proposition that occasionally flying a day apart is worth it for champagne and flat beds rather than the whY alternative. There’s also the added complication that we split our time between Melbourne and Sydney at the moment and so MEL is my start and end point for this trip and SYD is his.

Some of the things I’m looking forward to on the trip (in no particular order) include:

• My first time on SQ J in more than 15 years (last time was upper deck on a 747-400!)
• Scrambling and swimming in wadis (deep gorges/waterholes)
• Hikes in the mountains
• Dhow cruising in the “Fjords” of the Musandam Peninsula
• Souks in Muscat
• Pinto Art Museum in Manila
• The Oman Air J lounge in Muscat
• A night in the spectacular looking Alila Resort in the mountains
• Middle Eastern food and hospitality
• Snorkelling and/or diving in the Persian Gulf

So buckle up and prepare for departure in less than a week on my second AFF TR

 

[Pushka]

The Sultanate of Oman has been on the bucket list for quite some time, but never quite reached the top of places to visit … until now. As a tourist destination it offers incredible landscapes from coral reefs, beaches and fjords to rugged mountains and desert sands as well as cities with rich culture, history and architecture from ancient ruins to the contemporary Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Muscat. I’m looking forward to sharing some of the highlights with AFF readers.

View attachment 437528
Collage of Oman highlights from the web

Booking

Several months ago 1022+1 and I decided to block much of April 2025 in our calendars for an overseas trip given the favourable placement of public holidays vis-a-vis annual leave required for a decent trip. I then promptly cobbled together flights for us from SYD-MNL in early April on QF points (him) and redeemed VA points on SQ for me due to lack of 2 seat availability on any flights on suitable dates. I was able to secure two seats on QF20 for our return flight to Sydney at the end of the month.

The plan was then to use to Manila as a inexpensive jumping off point for relatively affordable paid J flights to yet-to-be-determined far-flung places.

So then, where to from Manila? We looked at Portugal thanks to decent cash fares in J on EY to Lisbon, though it didn’t fully grab me for an April trip as the weather might still be a bit cool for beaches and swimming. We also considered Montenegro because it’s a country neither of us knew much about but once we did a bit of research, realised it has a huge amount of appeal. That would have entailed a ME3 flight to Rome or Milan then connection by land or LCC to Podgorica. Though in the meantime we spent a fair bit of money on another trip at the end of 2024 plus a few other expenses, so the “cheap” circa $4k return fares from Manila to Europe weren’t quite so appealing.

Then in October 2024, Oman Air redemptions became available on QFF. Curiosity led me to look at availability between Manila and Muscat. Despite a few QF website glitches, there were plenty of flights with 2 J seats on days that fit our plans. Slight problem was that we didn’t have quite enough QFF points between us for MNL-MCT return for two. I booked us together on MNL-MCT and +1 on MCT-MNL using up almost all our combined Qantas points at the time. Fortunately our booking coincided with with an AC Aeroplan points sale, so I bought 50-odd thousand points and booked for myself via the Air Canada website (painless) for the MCT-MNL leg, on the same flight as +1’s QFF redemption.

Itinerary Snapshot
All flights are in J, including domestic flights in Oman, apart from my final SYD-MEL which is in Y with a classic upgrade request pending.

Initial Outbound:
Me: MEL-SIN-MNL (SQ218 A350-900 Longhaul config and SQ910 A350-900 Regional Config)
1022+1: SYD-MNL (QF19 A332)

Remainder all together:
Manila: 5 nights at Fairmont Makati

MNL-MCT (WY844 787-9)
Muscat: 5 nights at Movenpick
Jabal Akhdar: 1 night Alila Jabal Akhdar Resort
Nizwa: 3 nights House 76
Jebel Shams: 2 nights Sama Al-Khutaim Heritage House
Muscat: 1 night Novotel MCT Airport Hotel

MCT-KHS (WY 737-800)
Khasab: 3 nights Atana Musandam
KHS-MCT (WY 737-800)

Muscat: 1 night Novotel Airport Hotel

MCY-MNL (WY843 787-9)
Manila: 1 night Fairmont Makati
MNL-SYD (QF20 A332)


View attachment 437529
GCM overview

In true AvGeek form, our initial flights aren't together due to redemption availability. But 1022+1 these days is totally on board with the proposition that occasionally flying a day apart is worth it for champagne and flat beds rather than the whY alternative. There’s also the added complication that we split our time between Melbourne and Sydney at the moment and so MEL is my start and end point for this trip and SYD is his.

Some of the things I’m looking forward to on the trip (in no particular order) include:

• My first time on SQ J in more than 15 years (last time was upper deck on a 747-400!)
• Scrambling and swimming in wadis (deep gorges/waterholes)
• Hikes in the mountains
• Dhow cruising in the “Fjords” of the Musandam Peninsula
• Souks in Muscat
• Pinto Art Museum in Manila
• The Oman Air J lounge in Muscat
• A night in the spectacular looking Alila Resort in the mountains
• Middle Eastern food and hospitality
• Snorkelling and/or diving in the Persian Gulf

So buckle up and prepare for departure in less than a week!

Oman is a stunning country. We loved it. The mosque is out of this world. The wadis are stunning. And it's so clean - as a legal requirement of the older Sultan. And then there's the Souk. And camels. Camels everywhere. I have photos just like the ones you got from the web. It's that beautiful.

 

[drron]

MCY-MNL (WY843 787-9)
Manila: 1 night Fairmont Makati
MNL-SYD (QF20 A332)

You had me excited with your MCY - MNL flight. Thought it might open up a lot of possibilites.

 

[1022]

You had me excited with your MCY - MNL flight. Thought it might open up a lot of possibilites.

Hahaha! First of many typos with my clumsy fingers, no doubt

 

[n7of9]

Looking forward to this (I'm running out of places to go )

 

[Scash]

On board! I’ve never really thought about Oman but definitely interested now. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

 

[I love to travel]

Will be interested to hear your thoughts on Oman Air

 

[Seat0B]

I’m with @Pushka on this - Oman is totally stunning. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the places you visit.

 

[1022]

And so it begins, with cold churros in the fairly underwhelming Melbourne Silverkris lounge.


Despite the international terminal being busy when I arrived at around 22:15, it took 10 minutes flat to get from the value car park bus drop off in front of QF T1 arrivals to SQ J check in and bag drop and through security and eGate border control. I reckon that’s close to a record for me departing Australia!

A quick stop to buy new duty free earbuds to replace a pair I left behind in Tokyo last year and I made a beeline down to the basement lounge precinct. The SQ lounge is on the smaller side but never got totally full ahead of the flight. And as I type people are starting to make their final trips to the facilities prior to boarding which is scheduled to commence in about 15 minutes at 00:05 for our 12:45 departure.

According to EF, 52E is the only empty seat on the whole flight in J, PE and Y. So cabin crew will be kept busy no doubt on the overnight 8 hour trot to Singapore

 

[SuePa]

Bon voyage!
I'm looking forward to your trip.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Am on board @1022 - enjoy!

 

[1022]

Flight: SQ218 MEL-SIN
Aircraft: A350-900 (Long Haul config)
Tail No: 9V-SMO (7 years old)
Seat: 14A
Sch Dep/Actual Dep: 00:35 / 00:25
Sch Arr/Actual Arrival: 5:30 / 4:48

Given the fact that this flight departed well after my usual bed time, my intention was to try to squeeze as much sleep out of the time in the air as possible. So no SQ book the cook for a 1am lobster Thermidor and no leisurely meandering through the wine list.

I left the lounge at about 11:55 for the advertised 12:05 boarding time. By the time I got to the gate they were calling the final economy class group up to board, so it had obviously started a fair bit earlier than scheduled. Thankfully the priority lane was well signposted - at the end of the well organised queuing area rather than over the podium (hello QF!!) and an agent was posted there to direct people to the correct queue according to class of travel or status.

I was greeted upon boarding and shown to my seat. As mentioned upthread, this was my first time on this SQ product. My first impression was how tall and … chunky … the seat modules are. My second impression was that a mother daughter combo who were watching AFL in the lounge on speakerphone (grrrrrrrr) and calling a friend about the match so all could hear their analysis of play (grrrrrrrr) were seated very close by (grrrrrrrrr). Their excitement for what seemed to be their first trip in J was endearing though and a good reminder never to take this stuff for granted.

A stream of cabin crew came through the cabin each playing a unique park in the kabuki theatre of an SQ pre-departure scene. Drinks were proffered. I chose champagne. Hot towels were distributed by one and collected by another. Those who had booked the cook had their meal choices and timing confirmed and then orders and preferences were taken from everyone else.

I forgot to take a picture of the menu for this flight but it was a choice of dinner items or breakfast items, encouragement being to eat once in the overnight flight according to one’s preference. I think this is a really good service flow given the awkward timing of this 7-ish hour flight.

I opted to just request the continental breakfast prior to landing and a cup of chamomile tea after takeoff.



Doors were closed by about 12:20 and we shortly began our pushback and short taxi to runway 27 for a departure to the west. The neighbouring CX A350 reminded me of how much I like the look of this aircraft and the powerful yet whisper quiet takeoff remind me of how much I enjoy flying on it. This was only my third flight on the A350. My first two were recorded in my previous TR documenting my RTW trip in 2023. Tragically, one of those aircraft, JAL’s JA-13XJ was the A350 destroyed in the HND runway collision that occurred in January 2024.

Barely 5 minutes after the seatbelt sign was turned off, pre-ordered meals and drinks started emerging from the galley. Perhaps the efficiency of SQ service is one of the reasons it is often described as impersonal and robotic. There’s no time for small talk and pleasantries when working so quickly. I downed my tea, flipped my seat into bed mode, took an outer layer of clothes off that I was wearing over the top of BA F PJs that I’d changed into in the lounge shower suite and settled into sleep.

I decided that I’m a fan of the SQ long haul seat, both in seat mode and in bed mode. The width of the seat definitely feels luxurious and the craftsmanship, materials and attention to design detail are all excellent. The sleeping surface is much more comfortable than a customary reclining flatbed, despite the slight inconvenience of having to flip the backrest down. There’s also the positioning of the retractable seatbelt while sleeping. Not once during the night did it feel like it restricted movement or press uncomfortably the way a normal metal buckle over the hips often does when lying flat. The footwell was wide enough for me and the sleeping surface had plenty of space to spare length-wise. As a side sleeper can see that you might want to pick your seat depending on which side you prefer to lie on to better contour to the curve of the seat in front.

I slept solidly for a few hours, had a toilet break and then slept again. I’m not sure exactly how long both halves of my sleep were because I think my phone adjusted timezones at some point during the night. I was woken by an FA saying that breakfast would be served shortly. This was despite having my DND light on. I must have been in a fairly deep sleep because I was initially a bit surprised that we only had about 80 minutes until landing, thinking they were waking people up somewhere over central WA for some reason! As it was, we were over the Indonesian archipelago and bouncing around in some light equatorial chop. Hot drinks couldn’t be served while the seatbelt sign was on, but crew were otherwise free to continue service and pax weren’t being stopped from using the lav. This somewhat lax approach to the seatbelt sign surprised me slightly after the amount of publicity SQ got after that mid-air turbulence incident a year or two ago over the Bay of Bengal which probably occurred around the same point in the flight as this.



Eventually the seatbelt sign was switched off for 10-15 minutes at the top of descent and coffee was delivered in a paper cup. After that, final landing preparations were made and we landed gracefully on to a wet runway in Singapore and had a short taxi to the gate which was on the F concourse of T2 - the same concourse that my Manila flight would be departing from in a bit under 4 hours.

This short red eye passed quickly and completely unremarkably. Service - as mentioned - was efficient and polite to the point of obsequiousness but unmemorable. The wide seat and unique bed were both very comfortable. My only quibble was with the IFE. The giant screen is nice to look at, though I only looked at the moving map on the IFE and that wasn’t for long. The non-touch screen interface was very annoying to navigate - almost as if the hand controller buttons and actions were a complete afterthought. Someone who knows SQ better than I do can chime in perhaps. Is it actually a touch screen system and my screen wasn’t working? Or it is it just a PITA of a system to use?

Next up, SQ SilverKris lounge in T3.

 

[1022]

Singapore Transit: SilverKris Lounge T3

Despite the fact that I my flights both used gates in T2, I wasn’t keen to sit in the dark and drab T2 lounge for over 3 hours, so I took the people mover over to T3 and headed up the escalators to the much larger and newer SQ lounge there. When I arrived around 5am there was only a small smattering of people. My first stop was a shower. Thankfully there was no wait at this time seeing as the morning rush was yet to arrive.






The shower room was contemporary and spotlessly clean. Perhaps a little on the petite size. I only had a backpack, but it would have been a bit of a nuisance to open up a folding carry on wheelie bag. Amenities were non-branded and pretty basic. The toilet offered a choice of typical S.E. Asian bidet hose or a Toto washlet.

As a nod to my new favourite YouTube Avgeek/Flight Reviewer, Jayden Wong, here is a photo of coat hooks in the shower. He has this very cute obsession with coat hooks. I must say I was grateful they had 2 so that I could hang all my clothes, including a clean t-shirt to change into post-shower.





After freshening up I first sat in the portion of the lounge that it to the right of the main entrance. This section is open to the terminal below (a little like the HK QF lounge) and has a small buffet, bar and coffee machine. Unfortunately a sign said barrister service starts at 6am, so I just grabbed some fruit and a pastry or two from the buffet and sat in one of the leather armchairs along the open edge of the lounge.






At 6:00 I went and ordered myself a long black. What was served would make a roadside diner in Btfk Indiana proud in terms of its approximation of dishwater masquerading as coffee. After a couple of sips of that I decided to pick up sticks and explore the more expansive wing of the lounge on the other side.

The food options and open kitchen here were truly impressive for a business class lounge. I wasn’t feeling very hungry so just picked at the buffet for some scrambled eggs and a couple of sides. I grabbed a table at the far end of the lounge by the large windows where daylight was illuminating lots of SQ wide bodies preparing to transport people around the world.

About an hour before advertised boarding I was getting a bit bored of the lounge. (Maybe I just picked a corner that wasn’t very interesting from a people-watching point of view!). So I headed down into the T3 shopping area for a bit. You’ll remember that in Melbourne I bought earbuds. I was deliberating between the latest top-end Sony WF5 model and and AirPod Pro. The ones I left in a hotel in Tokyo last year were an earlier Sony model which I really liked. As an aside, I managed to forget those headphones, house keys and car fob in my hotel room safe. They were able to arrange shipping of the keys but the courier company refused the headphones because of the lithium battery in the case. The hotel promised to hang on to them more or less forever!! I love that about Japan. I also love (perversely) that some poor housekeeping manager probably had to fill in reams of paperwork and fax it off in triplicate to head office somewhere. I digress…. Back in Melbourne I opted for the Apple headphones on recommendation of a colleague who had just got a pair seeing as online reviews were six of one and half a dozen of the other. The apple ones were around $80 cheaper too. However as it turned out, I would have saved a further $100 at least had I waited until Singapore and instead gone with the Sony ones. In the plus ledger, the AirPods’ noise cancelling did a good job of blocking out the aforementioned AFL fans in the Melbourne lounge and my favourite music sounded very crisp and clear on the AirPods…though maybe with slightly less bass tuning than the Sony model.

I took the shuttle back over to T2, walked to the very far end of the F pier to my gate, passed security at the gate and had about 10 minutes to wait until priority boarding was called for SQ910 to Manila.

 

[1022]

Flight: SQ910 SIN-MNL
Aircraft: A350-900 (Regional config)
Tail No: 9V-SHN (5 years old)
Seat: 17A
Sch Dep/Actual Dep: 08:55 / 09:30
Sch Arr/Actual Arrival: 12:50 / 13:05

Priority boarding commenced at the advertised boarding time of 8:20 for this 3-ish hour flight to Manila. It was a long walk from the gate along a windowed corridor to the top of the jet bridge which afforded a good view of today’s 5-year old A350.



I was greeted upon boarding at door 1L and pointed to row 17. The staggered regional J product on SQ’s A350s and 787s is attractive and certainly more than comfortable for a 3 hour intra-Asia flight. I’m sure it would also be fine for overnight trips to Australian cities, though obviously not as comfy as the much more spacious long haul product.



Once I sat down I was happy to discover touch screen controls for the IFE which was a definite plus compared to the previous flight. On the flip side, the seat felt really narrow - as in I’m not sure that the seat pan was really any wider than a typical economy class seat. It’s fine for me because I’m not particularly wide in the hips or shoulders but those booking business class because they need additional width might be in for a bit of a surprise. What was also noticeable was a fairly sizeable gap between window seats and the wall of the aircraft at foot and seated hip height. Perhaps if the seat was designed for the slightly narrower 787 and installed in the A350 without modification, that might explain it. Finally it’s often been mentioned that stupidly, the “true” window seats (with console situated between seat and aisle) have their “wing” for visual privacy on the window side of the seat, thus blocking one of the two windows.

I was distracted from all these detailed observations by an offer of juice followed by a hot towel service which was then followed by brunch orders being taken. I noticed the person across the aisle requesting a mimosa for their welcome drink and I was slightly tempted to follow suit and ask for a glass of champagne, but stuck to the (processed) orange juice.

After all the usual premium cabin niceties were done, we just sat at the gate as departure time came and went. One or two flustered passengers trickled on board…and then we waited longer without any updates. Eventually the captain came on to give his welcome announcement and mentioned that there were just a few more connecting passengers and their luggage to be accounted for and we would be on our way.

Soon enough the final door was closed and we pushed back for a fairly short taxi and powerful takeoff.

Here is the breakfast menu for today’s flight. Alcoholic drinks weren’t proactively offered but were available on request for those who wanted something off the OK looking wine list.








Breakfast service started fairly soon after the seatbelt sign was turned off. First crew brought around trays with a fruit plate followed by offers of bread or croissants. After they were cleared, the mains came out. I opted for the dim sum which was tasty, albeit a bit greasy. I guess fresh steamed dumplings aren’t really feasible on a plane unless they had a full steam-to-order setup. (Or full scale yum cha trolleys. Now THERE’s an idea!!).



After breakfast was cleared away, there was no more service to speak of. Crew were never far away, but also weren’t proactive in any way.


Some early morning convection on climb

I’m not much of a movie or TV person. In fact flying is almost the only time I really dip into either apart from maybe one or two TV shows on Netflix a year. I also use flights as an opportunity to watch stuff that I’d normally be too embarrassed to admit to having never seen. In this case it was the first of the Harry Potter movies!! It was an enjoyable way to while away a decent two thirds of the flight.


Final Approach

We had a scenic descending hold to the west of Manila and made our final approach on the main runway, landing to the north east. It was another short taxi from the end of the runway to our gate in terminal 3 where we arrived slightly behind schedule but had caught up some time after the initial delay to departure from Singapore.



A little hard to make out, but this is a BA A380 being worked on in the MNL hangars


Lots of yellow tails here

The immigration hall was empty when I and the other business class passengers from our flight reached it. The first bags took around 15 minutes to appear and mine was among the others with priority tags that came out in the initial tranche. I like that there are monitors at the belt showing handlers unloading luggage from the containers on to the conveyor belt.

Suitcase in hand I passed the nothing to declare lane at customs, scanned my QR code declaration and was then landslide in Manila. First stop was an ATM to get some local currency then past a handful taxi touts outside (just like Melbourne really…) to try to locate the booth for “coupon taxis” - I.e. regular taxis but fixed fares - into Makati to the Fairmont hotel.

The coupon taxi system seems to work well. No need to haggle over a fare or trust that the meter hasn’t been fiddled with. Also no need to wait around for a Grab (local version of Uber throughout S.E. Asia) diver to accept a booking and try to locate each other. Simply give your destination to the person in the booth. They write the fare and the taxi number plate on a slip of paper and hand it over to a waiting driver. With no one in front of me in the queue, I was in an almost new Toyota station waggon with a young and personable driver in no time. At that time of day it only took 15 minutes from T3 to Makati and only cost 440 Pesos ($13). Given how dodgy taxi drivers are in Melbourne and Sydney and all the stories of airport passengers being ripped off, it feels like it’s time for them too to have fixed airport fares to the CBD and other popular set down destinations!

(Proper regulation and a genuine attempt to do better than ride share competition instead of hubris and aggression would do the industry some good in Big Australia cities too….rant over).

Next instalments will cover Fairmont Makati, a very impressive 10 course degustation at Gllery by Chele and various bits and pieces from 4 days in Manila. I'll likely be typing them up during the flight to Muscat in about 10 hours from now!

 

[1022]

Manila summary + Pinto Art Museum

My time in Manila can largely be summarised by “food, shopping, massage, family, art”. There’s no need to go into great detail of the intricacies of our time in Manila, apart from pointing out the incongruity of the fact that I hate malls in Australia and diligently avoid them whereas when I’m in Asia I suddenly decide that I should traipse up and down looking for various items of clothing that can easily be bought at home but somehow seem more important to purchase while travelling with an already pretty full suitcase. Go figure!

For anyone visiting Makati, there are two massage joints I can recommend: Karada massage in Glorietta for Japanese style shiatsu in a pretty clinical setting, and Foot Zone massage in One Ayala for Chinese influenced reflexology and back treatments. The latter is a little bit more of a comfortable setting, but still very much at the therapeutic end of the spectrum rather than somewhere to go for day spa type pampering and soothing massage.

As for food: there was too much of it over the few days we were there. Once 1022+1 arrived from Sydney a day after me, we had a few dinner appointments with various uncles, cousins, etc. Apart from lunch one day at Japanese chain Ten-ya (tempura specialty), we ate all Filipino food. Yum!

A few candid shots around Makati and BGC.


Yep. Kmart's home brand has its own store in Manila and apparently a bit of cachet








On our last full day in Makati 1022+1’s uncle picked us up at Fairmont in the morning and we battled Manila traffic for close to 90 minutes to travel approximately 16km to get to Pinto Art Museum near Antipolo which is technically a separate jurisdiction just outside of the offical boundaries of Metro Manila.

Pinto Art Museum is a spectacular labour of love by a philanthropist and patron of Filipino contemporary art Dr Joven Cuanang. Established initially as a small artists’ collective and safe refuge during the tumultuous 1980s, it has gown into a sprawling estate and gardens atop a lush green hill with distant views to the city skyscrapers on a clear day. Even if the gallery walls were all empty, the gallery and gardens would be worth visiting for the beauty of the whole site and impressive Spanish-infused tropical architecture that follows the topography of the steep hill its built upon.

The very small sample of photos below provide a sense of place and of some of the art - predominantly painting as well as some sculpture. The almost overwhelming number of works are spread over 6 distinct inter-connected galleries, grouped loosely by artist rather than thematically or chronologically. This meant that the curation felt a bit chaotic and overloading at times - not too dissimilar to the city that inspired much of the art! There is a lot of darkness and suffering depicted. Themes of colonialism, displacement, inequality and corruption within the ubiquitous Catholic Church and menacing government are all prominent. Yet the ties to Filipino Catholicism remain strong with a dedicated chapel among the many small outbuildings in the grounds.













Your humble correspondent humbled by art

I can't recommend Pinto highly enough to anyone visiting Manila.Make a beeline! We were fortunate of course to have a relative to join us for the day, so transport wasn’t an issue. The best alternative would probably be to hire a driver for the day. The effort will be well rewarded. I put it up there among my favourite galleries in the world which include; Naoshima; Hakone Outdoor Museum; MoNA; and Louisiana Art Museum in Copenhagen.

 

[1022]

Lunch at Gallery by Chele
Gallery by Chele is one among a small handful of top fine dining restaurants in Manila. Situated somewhat obscurely on the 5th floor of a bland office building in the commercial district of BGC, it is a collaboration between two chefs: one local and one Spanish. The 10 course tasting menu is really the only sensible choice to go for in a restaurant of this calibre, though they do also offer a truncated tasting menu and limited a la carte in select sittings.

The dining experience begins with a short “guided gallery tour” to a couple of tasting stations in different sections of the restaurant from the main dining room which accommodates 8 tables. The first station was a ferment bar where we were offered shots of house kombucha that was vibrant purple from being infused with dragonfruit skin. Next was a counter off to the side of the kitchen for the first or many many amuse bouche morsels. The moment we sat back down at the table, another 6 or more small bites were brought to the table and placed in front of us with a crisp, choreographed formality that matched the starched linen.

The food was Filipino inspired and informed without veering into fusion cliche, and the menu had a running theme of coconut through every course - again with deft subtlety and great creativity. I’ll let the following photos (starting with the menu) do the talking. The standout dish was the lobster. Up to that point some of the flavours and textures were a little bit heavy compared to what one might expect from a 2 or 3 hatted restaurant in Sydney or Melbourne. Whenever we eat in high-end restaurants overseas, I am reminded of how good we have it at the pointy end of our dining scene in terms of access to incredible produce, talented chefs who perhaps exercise more restraint and precision than some of their overseas peers, and service that is both on point but also has just the right hint of Australian familiarity.




Some of the pre-course small bites








The stand out lobster dish









All in all - as you can see - this was an excellent lunch and at less than AUD500 for two including wine represented good value for this style of dining. I can definitely appreciate why Gallery by Chele is rated in the San Pellegrino top 100 restaurants in Asia.

 

[1022]

Fairmont Makati

As an Accor Platinum member, this was the natural choice for our stay in Manila. Makati is probably the most tourist-friendly part of the metropolis to stay in and the Fairmont is right in the heart of Makati’s commercial district. So it ticked the location box and is priced at least $200 a night less than the more salubrious (and stuffy) Raffles colocated Raffles. Though compared to Raffles in Singapore, the Manila outpost of the brand is a bargain when rooms can be found for approximately AUD480 sometimes

My one previous experience of a Fairmont hotel was the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver during my 2023 RTW trip. My impressions of the brand remain the same after this stay: conservative - almost staid in fact, but really solid room hardware that will date somewhat gracefully, excellent service and an overall atmosphere of refinement as opposed to overt luxury.

I was pleasantly surprised at check in to be upgraded from my entry level room to a Club floor with “Deluxe” pool view - so technically a 3 category upgrade. Though the rooms themselves are all the same size and decor apart from suites. Club privileges at Fairmont properties are usually only extended to Accor Diamond members, not to Platinums, so this was definitely a generous treatment. My Platinum welcome amenity was a fruit plate and a bottle of Evian. A bit better than the muesli bars and $8 wine I tend to receive at Accor properties in Australia!

As you can see from the photos below, the room is mostly shades of brown and beige, but importantly, the bed was very comfortable, there were plenty of international power points and USB-A outlets in sensible places, lighting controls were logical and reasonably customisable and the bathroom was really well laid out with soaking tub, separate walk-in shower and toilet cubicle Housekeeping did an exceptional job of maintaining the spotless appearance of the room during main service and evening turndown. Our room overlooked the hotel pool on level 4 and across the way you can see New World Makati hotel on the left which we stayed in on our last trip to Manila together and Greenbelt Mall on the right with its European luxury brand stores at street level.

Our room was on level 7 (of 8) which conveniently is also the floor that the club lounge is located on. I visited the lounge during coughtail hour on my first night when I was alone in the hotel, but once 1022+1 arrived the next day, we were out every evening during coughtail hour. Our complimentary breakfast was served each morning in the lounge and we didn’t visit any other F&B outlets in the hotel so I’m not able to comment on those! The breakfast offering was excellent for a hotel lounge. The buffet was fairly small but they managed to fit an impressive range of western, Filipino and South Asian hot and cold dishes on the buffet as well as offering eggs, pancakes and waffles to order. Espresso coffees were also included and made to order, though the quality was rather hit and miss. Service by lounge staff was really excellent and always delivered with a warm smile.

View from our Lv7 room

50 shades of beige. But it's all good quality beige.




We spent one morning by the pool which is a good length for swimming laps (25m if I had to guess) though could be a little bit on the small side if it was crowded given the size of the hotel. On the afternoon that we were having lunch at Chele, there was a pool party being held and the pool was closed to hotel guests all day and night as a result. The alternative being offered was to go up to the Raffles pool on level 9 but unfortunately we didn’t have time to pop up and see how the other half live!

In a city with wide choice of 5 star properties below AUD350 a night, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Fairmont Makati. Some would no doubt prefer more contemporary interior design or a grander, more opulent lobby (for instance) but for once I can happily report that this is a hotel that offers substance over style rather than the more common inverse.

 

[1022]

Flight: WY844 MNL-MCT
Aircraft: B787-9 (2 class Config)
Tail No: A4O-SK (3 years old)
Seat: 11G
Sch Dep/Actual Dep: 07:45 / 07:35
Sch Arr/Actual Arrival: 12:00 / 12:20

The day before departure I booked an airport transfer from the hotel to NAIA Terminal 1 for a 5:15 pickup. The $35 price is more than double the going rate for a Grab or taxi, but given the early hour spending an extra $15 or $20 between two was worth it for peace of mind and pre-paid convenience. I got a text message about 4:50am from the driver to say he was already waiting downstairs.

Reception was of course mostly deserted at this early hour but checkout still seemed to take a good 5 minutes. There were no extra charges on the bill or anything. It was just a multistep process, carried out meticulously.

The drive to the airport was painless and we pulled up in front of the classic sweep of T1 by 5:30am. Manila’s T1 used to be dubbed one of the worst airport terminals in the world. The departure hall is a grand open space showing off some pretty impressive brutalist-esque architecture. The hall had a fair number of people milling around this early in the morning but it wasn’t particularly busy. Interestingly they have dispensed with the former need to pass a luggage x-ray and metal detector to enter the terminal which alleviates a big part of the typical chaos and delays at Manila.

We were first in line in the business class queue at the Oman Air counters and seen shortly once an agent had finished serving the previous customer. At the counter next to us, a poor chap was getting the “computer says no” treatment. It sounded like his reservation (made via a travel agent) had been canceled for some reason. If it wasn’t for the help of the Qantas Rewards escalation team - and the fact that I only know that such a team exists thanks to AFF - that could very well have been us too seeing ticketing for this trip required manual intervention.

It took a few extra taps at a keyboard and some additional checks of our tourist e-visa confirmation emails before boarding passes could be issued, but we were soon on our way through a relatively quiet and efficient security check and deserted outbound immigration desks. Airside is where one can see why T1 earned the world’s worst airport moniker. It was dark, cramped with low ceilings and haphazard people flows. The only terminal seating to speak of seemed to be in the downstairs gate holding pens.

Oman Air business class ticket holders are invited to use the PAGGS lounge which was conveniently located next to our gate, number 7. I’d read stories of the small space becoming easily overcrowded seeing as it’s also the T1 Priority Pass lounge and no doubt serves as a contract lounge to other international carriers. This morning it never got more than half full so was comfortable enough to spend the hour or so that we had to wait. Those seated near the windows had good views of the apron and departing aircraft. I wasn’t particularly hungry so didn’t pay much attention to the buffet. I had a decent barista-made long black and a couple of slithers of watermelon from the drinks fridge which was about the only fruit on offer. The rest of the buffet was mostly hot rice dishes, siumai dumplings and pesto penne. Not really typical breakfast food.

Our boarding passes indicated boarding time of 6:45, a full hour prior to ETA. At about that time the displays in the lounge for our flight switched from “Go to Gate” to “Closed”…. Seemingly bypassing “Boarding” and “Final Call” that preceding flights had displayed. So a final quick trip to the gents and then down the stairs to get 7 where priority boarding had begun. A staff member retracted the queue barrier to let us into the roped off business class section of the holding pen and we joined the queue to board our 787-9 to Muscat and my first flight on Oman Air.

We were greeted at the aircraft door somewhat cooly by the Filipina in flight manager. Spoiler: her demeanour never really warmed at all during the flight. An off day perhaps?

The cabin is a lovely looking space. The well regarded APEX suites are perhaps a little bit dated alongside the likes of Q-Suite or the NH Cube, but they take up a lot of real estate for a business class seat and the window seats remain among the most private in the sky. I like the adjustability of seating/relaxing/sleeping positions on this seat and the large sturdy table. The screen is too far away to control by touch but the wired remote unit in the armrest is easier to use than the one that SQ has deployed.






Pre-departure service consisted of a choice of orange juice or lemon-mint. Cold towels were distributed and then finally the pre-departure highlight of cardamon-infused Arabic coffee and dates. Food orders were also taken prior to takeoff.











We pushed back 10 minutes early but then held on the tarmac for a good half an hour until our clearance for takeoff was finally given.

During the climb the crew did the dreaded dimming of 787 windows at the very start of an 8 hour day flight. We were in a centre pair of seats but thankfully a few of the window seat people realised that the windows weren’t locked black and re-illuminated the cabin in a partially blue glow typical of the “Dreamliner”.

This flight just had a whole lot of oddities in the service flow and delivery that - if I’m totally honest - left me wondering why Oman Air has such a good reputation and is so loved by many of the usual aviation bloggers and You-Tubers. For a start this was an 8 hour flight with only one dedicated meal service with choices of a eggs, pancakes or a random fish dish. None of the options were either Omani nor Filipino. Then there were a few substantial snacks which could be ordered dine on demand. Technically the whole menu was dine on demand, but the crew weren’t very forthcoming with promoting that.


I ordered the pancakes and a glass of champagne to start and a coffee to finished. The champagne (Piper Hiedsieck Brut) was served with a ramekin of warm mixed nuts before the table was set for breakfast service. Breakfast soon followed and was enjoyable.




Throughout the meal service flow and the flight in general, service from the two gents mostly working the business cabin was disjointed and inconsistent. For example when 1022+1 ordered the champagne coughtail from the menu, the fa advised it’s unpopular and not very nice so he’ll make him a Bellini instead. Or later in the flight when he ordered the hamburger off the snack menu he was told that the caterers didn’t load any, but I’m sure I saw some being brought out to other guests later in the flight. Instead he had the cheese brioche which was brought out with a side and dessert whereas the fish I ordered was delivered as just the main without the extras on the side.



Not once were drink topups offered nor any niceties provided with the service. It wasn’t unfriendly or anything. Just kind of economy-class like: bring stuff, remove empties. The cabin manager was largely invisible in the business cabin throughout the flight, not that I think she would have contributed much to the overall service.

Finally no amenity kits, slippers or socks were provided on this 8 hour flight. The extent of amenities were dental kits and razors in the lavs plus a couple of perfumes and hand cream. Pet hate: the flimsy paper towels invariably ripped when trying to extract them meaning you either had to grab a wad of them at once or end up with a post-it note sized bit of ripped paper to dry your hands with.



So all in all, a fairly disappointing introduction to Oman Air’s lauded business class product.

 

[1022]

Arrival and Exploring Muscat Highlights

What we saw of Muscat Airport upon arrival was stunning. Wide, open spaces, modern, clean and well thought out. There was a bit of a queue in the foreigner line at immigration and no sign of any priority lanes for WY premium passengers. We were through after about 15 minutes after a rather brusque interaction with one of the more unpleasant immigration officials I’ve come across apart from entering the U.S.

A small smattering of bags were already on the belt when we arrived in the baggage claim area and no passengers waiting to collect them which suggests that 95% of the people on our flight were connecting passengers.

After a quick air-side ATM visit and being pointed to the luggage x-ray machine at customs, we emerged into the spacious and spotless arrivals area and quickly located the SIXT counter to collect our rental car for the next 12 days. It was a fairly lengthy process to do all the paperwork and then a very very thorough pre-collection vehicle inspection with the helpful staff. One of the reasons I picked SIXT was because they were offering a status match for Accor and I’d hoped for an upgrade from the Suzuki Vitara I’d booked to a slightly larger 4x4. There’s an odd rule that in order to drive up the road to Jebel Akhdar you need a 4WD vehicle to do so, despite the fact that the road is sealed and in good condition according to all reports. The Vitara (or equivalent) from SIXT was the cheapest 4WD I could find online from the usual reputable companies.

Sadly status wasn’t recognised and given the intricate level of detail in the paperwork that the agent launched right into, I wasn’t inclined to enquire about a bigger vehicle. Though after having to really push the anaemic engine in the car just to keep up on Muscat’s cut throat expressways perhaps I should have!

The drive to Movenpick (separate review later) was only 15 minutes and we then spent the first afternoon relaxing in the room and by the pool followed by an early dinner at a nearby Turkish restaurant (delicious!) and a very early night given the time difference and 4am wakeup back in Manila.

The plan for the first full day in Muscat was to visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Royal Opera House, Mutrah Fort and Souq.

The mosque is only open to infidels from 8:00 - 11:00 Saturday to Thursday. Due to a slightly slow start to the day we didn’t get there until a bit after 10. The mosque’s footprint is truly enormous. The former Sultan commissioned the mosque in the 1990s and it opened in 2001 so it is built in a slightly more contemporary style than many other grand mosques in the Middle East.

Given our slightly limited time for the visit, we decided to eschew the audio guide and the approaches from a tour guide inside the forecourt to just explore under our own steam with the plan to come back and appreciate it in more depth another day.

Quite simply: it is breathtaking. iPhone photos can’t begin to do it justice.














After the mosque we headed to the Opera House. Sadly tours of the theatre weren’t available due to a performance that evening. It didn’t seem worthwhile to buy an entry ticket just to look at foyers, so we opted to save it for another day.

Next stop, Mutrah for the souq and fort. All the street parking in the main commercial area of Mutrah is paid. Problem being one can only pay via SMS from an omani SIM. My international data roaming plan from Saily was therefore useless in trying to pay for parking. (Aside, Saily is an offshoot of NordVPN that many online travel writers promote. It’s worked out much cheaper than adding roaming to my Australian mobile plan). As luck would have it, a parking inspector was giving the next car a ticket as I was grappling unsuccessfully with the SMS system. I asked him if there were any meters or other way to pay and he just muttered “SMS only” and wandered off in the other direction. Perhaps that was a tacit indication that he’d turn a blind eye to our parked car. Hire cars are distinguishable from locals’ vehicles by having red number plates instead of yellow. I wasn’t game to chance it, so we ended up parking in a free area about 10 minutes walk away along the waterfront.

Initially two towers were built overlooking the harbour in the early 1500s and then strengthened with full fortifications by the Portuguese colonisers mid-century. Omanis retook the fort and expelled the Portuguese around 100 years later. It fell into disrepair but was reconstructed in the 1980s and is now a somewhat infrequently visited tourist attraction.







After a hot climb up the fort (somewhat tempered by fans placed along the path) we wandered the shaded alleys of the souq. Being the middle of the day things were quiet as most of the traders not catering to tourists close between 1 and 4pm. What was open was the usual assortment of tourist souvenirs such as fabric, local items of clothing, frankincense in many different forms and slightly pushy touts though none were aggressive or unpleasant. I wouldn’t mind picking up an ornament or two for the house, but I wasn’t especially in the mood for rummaging and haggling. That might wait for the souq in Nizwa next week.

After lunch near the souq we made our way back to the hotel via a very brief stop at the locked gates of the Royal Palace followed by a quiet afternoon, some TR writing and some time by the pool with a book.

Dinner was at an Omani restaurant called Ramssa where we were seated on the floor in a small semi-private dining room and enjoyed camel (that tasted very suspiciously like goat!), fish stew, sides and dessert. This was washed down with an absolutely delicious frankincense-infused lemonade.

 

[VPS]

That Mosque looks amazing