A traveller's reflection: Iraq Day 01: KL - Muscat

My Travel Journal

"There isn't much I haven't shared with you along the road and through it all there'd always be tomorrow's episode" - Elton John

I started traveling around the world since early 80s when I had the opportunity to combine business trips with vacations. Then later when my rezeki is in abundance, there were numerous other trips along the way for vacations, most of the time with hubby and the kids when the timing is right. I have also started to compile the journal and photo-pages covering almost more than 45 years of world wide travel. Some destinations I visited just once, others many times. Many of those places are the obvious famous places people would like to visit but some, the casual traveler doesn't even think to try. I have placed links to my travel at the side bar of my personal page, My Life Reflections, and will be updating them from time to time.

My wish is to continue my travel and complete circumnavigate the globe, insyaAllah…

Friday, 22 December 2023

Iraq Day 01: KL - Muscat - Baghdad

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination...” - Roy M. Goodman

(The start of our journey)

Day 01: 13 December 2023 (Wednesday)

Route: KL - Muscat - Baghdad

Drove from Bidara house after Maghrib prayers. Traffic jam was massive towards Rawang so we drove direct to our Putramas Apartment and parked our Merc there. Booked a grab car to KL Sentral. We had dinner at Burger King KL Sentral before we boarded the 9.20 pm ERL to KLIA. Performed Isya prayers at KLIA surau.

(Boarding the ERL from KL Sentral)

(Group check-in at KLIA)

(Waiting for our 4.30 am flight)

The group of 42 gathered at counter G at 12:30 pm for luggage check-ins, boarding pass issuance and briefing. The group comprised of ALCC Travels, Intifada Travels, Zahafiz Travel and Nikmat Travels. We were the only two from Nikmat Travels and will be travelling with the big group throughout our tour in Iraq. We were informed that visa of three people in the group were not approved and they had to submit their applications again to the Embassy. Once approved they will join the group later in Iraq. Completed the group check-in process by 2.30 pm.

A. Route: Kuala Lumpur – Muscat, Oman
Flight: OV446 ETD0430 KUL ETA0725 MCT

(7-hour flight to Oman)

(Oman's no frills, low cost Airline, Salam Air)

For this trip, we were flying with Salam Air, the first low-cost airline in Oman. The 4.30 pm flight to Muscat was full. There were some Umrah groups and a large group of students from Iran. We slept throughout the first part of the journey as there was no entertainment on board. Throughout the journey, we were provided with only one meal of cold chicken sandwich. Performed our Subuh prayers about 3 hours before we landed in Muscat.

B. Route: Muscat, Oman - Baghdad, Iraq
Flight: OV335 ETD0900 ETA1100 BGW

(A brief transit in Muscat International Airport)

Arrived in Muscat International Airport, Oman at 7:25 am for a brief transit. Transit process was swift. We had less than one and a half hours to board our next flight to Baghdad departed at 9:00 am. The journey took less than three hours and a light refreshment was served. Throughout the journey we experienced some light turbulences and arrived in Baghdad International Airport around 11.00 am.

(First glimpse of Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq)

Before the Immigration checks, we had to wait for almost two hours for security and visa clearances before we could get our passports stamped. After baggage collection, we met our Indonesian local guide Mr Gus Mohd and an Iraqi guide, Mr Karak. Boarded the 44-seater bus which would be our transport throughout our stay in Iraq.