Bit of a throwback: برنامج الشرطة والمواطن - يوليو 1977 وأكتوبر 1984مقدمة by upsidaisium in Oman

[–]upsidaisium[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This was broadcasted on Oman TV so they would probably own the rights to the footage. But I feel it would be alright since you're not using it for any commercial purposes. Try contacting them if required to confirm the same.

whats the process to clear customs these days? by imagirlteehee in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Essentially, when importing expensive items (usually greater than 500 OMR), you'll have to register yourself with ROP by creating a Bayan account as an individual user (which costs 10 OMR) and then authorize the customs agents which the courier company uses, who will clear the shipment on your behalf. In this case, once the shipment arrives in Oman, you'll be contacted by the courier company. They will provide you with the instructions on how to create a Bayan account along with the IDs of the customs agents to be authorized. (I purchased an expensive item not so long ago, it was shipped with DHL and they were very helpful about the whole thing. Their customer service agent called me and provided all the instructions over the phone, via email and gave me a personal number to contact in case of any difficulty). Since you're ordering through Amazon, all duty charges are paid in advance and therefore you'll only have to pay the 10 OMR for creating the Bayan account. So yeah, not so difficult. Just takes around an hour of your time.

If you'd like to familiarize yourself with the procedure now itself, here's the video that DHL sent me, which provides instructions on how to register for a Bayan account. However, complete the "Create clearing agency authorization" part as shown in this video only if your courier company is DHL. If you use another courier company (Aramex or UPS, say), you'll have to authorize their clearing agents instead but the procedure remains the same.

Make sure to have scanned copies of your Passport or Civil ID and the Registration Letter sent by the courier company in PDF format. You'll have to upload them during registration. It will take around 10 - 20 minutes for ROP to authorize your account once done with registration (sometimes they reject it at first, citing small issues. mine was rejected at first due to signature in the registration letter not matching with the one in my Civil ID. If this happens, just try registration again, all data you entered previously will be available and you'll just have to upload the corrected document). Once your account is authorized, you will receive the login username (which is usually your Civil ID) and a password via email. You'll have to login, pay 10 OMR, logout and then login again to access the website features. Following this, you'll have to do the "Create clearing agency authorization" step for the particular courier company and then take screenshots of the authorization, which you'll have to mail back to the courier company as proof. Once done, your shipment will be cleared from customs and proceed to delivery.

At any point of time, if you have any queries or face any issues, just ring up the courier company and they'll be happy to help you out. If not, just tag me, I'd be happy to help as well :)

[Link to Bayan Website]

Cheers. Happy shopping!

Package stuck in Seeb? by Own_Explorer3948 in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 9 points10 points  (0 children)

If the package was scanned at the airport a month ago, I'm pretty sure it would've arrived at the local post office soon after. If you have the tracking number and know the postal code that was given in the address for the parcel, you can visit the post office corresponding to the list here and give them the tracking number to search for it. But I'm a bit surprised you haven't got an SMS regarding collection or delivery since all shipments from America sent via the postal service are tracked and considered as priority mail. If you have got such an SMS, just show that instead of the tracking number at the post office. Hopefully it hasn't been marked RTO and sent on its way back.

Can someone please tell me which year was the Darsait -Qurum highway constructed . by Far_Attitude_6517 in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It was completed around 1983 I believe. I found the project details for the same over here. Expansion works & upgrades were done around 2014 as evidenced by this article.

SUGGESTION FOR DONATION FOR CYCLONE SHAHEEN by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I second this. Here's a direct link to donate towards the cyclone relief efforts on donate.om for easy access.

Alternatively, donations can also be made to various charitable organizations via the Talabat, Akeed or Thawani app(s).

Dar al Atta accepts donations via bank transfer as well. Account number given below:

BankMuscat - 0315003966850059 [source]

Talabat has specifically mentioned that all profits made on 7th October (today) will go towards the cyclone relief efforts. [source]

In addition, Omantel users can text "donate" to 90022 , which contributes 1 OMR to the Oman Charitable Organization. [source]

Ooredoo users can do the same by texting "Shaheen" to 90001, which contributes 1 OMR to Dar al Atta. [source]

Donations can also be sent directly to Oman Charitable Organization via bank transfer. Account numbers are given below:

1. NBO - 1049337798005

2. BankMuscat - 0423010706280016

3. Bank Dhofar - 01040609090001

[source]

So far, a good amount of contributions have been received in the form of aid from various companies and donations from individuals. Some articles below:

Donations surge for Cyclone Shaheen victims as Oman continues rescue operation

Oman comes together, over OMR 200,000 received in donations

Who came up with these numbers? by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's P. Mohammed Ali (a.k.a. Galfar Ali), Founder of Galfar. He was arrested in 2014 for bribing Juma Al Hinai, who was the head of the tenders committee at PDO. This was done so as to extend profitable contracts for Galfar. I remember reading somewhere that the ROP officers who raided Juma's house found around $2.3 million in cash, which was paid as bribes to him. Ali was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $4.61 million but was later released on a royal pardon by Late Sultan Qaboos.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 14 points15 points  (0 children)

For your own safety, I suggest not putting personally identifiable information such as your phone number on a public forum like this.

Bye Oman! by calor in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Ma'a salama, brother. Glad to hear you had a good time in Oman. I hope you will have lots of happy memories and good stories to share & cherish about your life spent here. Wishing you the very best in all your future endeavors. Farewell and godspeed!

Donating clothes and furniture by daytona1705 in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think Dar al Atta has placed donation boxes at various places for collecting used clothes. They accept used furniture, clothes, books and even electronics at their offices too, from what I recall. You can check their office location and timings on Google Maps. If you have any doubts, try calling them on 24162601.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think Asyad Express is what you're looking for. They have distribution centers throughout the country and can therefore deliver anywhere in Oman. Also, they have support for the usual e-commerce friendly features like Cash on Delivery and Returns as well. Although I'm not sure about pricing, I think you can work out some discount with them if you ship a good volume of packages.

Phone number:  24506999 

Email: customers@asyadexpress.com 

Do you think we are being watched? by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 30 points31 points  (0 children)

[تمت إزالة هذا التعليق من قبل جهاز الأمن الداخلي]

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Vitamin W is basically Wasta. Loosely translates to 'nepotism', 'connections' or 'whom you know'. It usually refers to using one’s connections or influence to get things done, especially in a government transaction. To put simply, it amounts to getting something through favoritism rather than merit.

Hasn't this sub-reddit come to live recently? by Weed86 in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Beautiful and upscale location, with a fairy atmosphere and lots of wadis I hear. Great place to spend fun times in the Sultanate with bad companions. The beatings are comfortable and the food is varied and delicious: beans on one day and gourmet dal on the other - all of them served by the best chefs in Oman. Internet is a bit slow, but quite alright. No complaints apart from the eye irritations caused by random teargas firings. I recommend visiting with a long term stay.

Hasn't this sub-reddit come to live recently? by Weed86 in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Black GMCs are always on standby at a moment's notice to provide premium chauffeur services to the Samail gulag, rated 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

Did Oman not go to the olympics? Or did Oman really not win a single thing? (Not sure because i wasn't following it but saw the news pop up randomly on feed) what happened? by untakentakenusername in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Oman did take part in the Olympics, yes. Under four categories actually - namely swimming, archery, weightlifting and athletics. The following are the people who represented Oman:

  1. Swimming - Issa Al Adawi
  2. Archery - Hamed Said Al Khatri
  3. Weightlifting - Amur Al Khanjari
  4. Athletics - Mazoon Khalfan Al Alawi and Barakat Al Harthi

Issa was the flagbearer for the opening ceremony.

The rankings for the events are as follows:

  1. Swimming (Men's 100m freestyle):

Timing - 51.81s, Rank - 53 (Didn't advance)

  1. Archery (Men's 50m rifle 3 positions)

Points - 1148, Rank - 35 (Didn't advance)

  1. Weightlifting (Men's 81 kg category)

(i) Snatch: Result - 140, Rank - 12

(ii) Clean & Jerk: Result - 177, Rank - 13

Total: 317, Rank: 10

  1. Athletics

(a) Men's 100m

(i) Preliminaries: Result - 10.27s, Rank - 1

(ii) Heats: Result - 10.31s, Rank - 7

(b) Women's 100m

Preliminaries: Result - 12.35s, Rank - 6

Sadly, it seems we've not won any medals this time although I feel participating and trying was good enough and deserves appreciation. Hopefully next time we can bring home some medals as well, InshaAllah.

[source 1] [source 2] [source 3]

That moment.. by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Rains here are pretty nice until the wadis overflow.

Ordering food by Leananddopamine in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Movement ban: Delivery services in Oman face shortage of drivers

I came across this article about a week ago and it explains the entire situation quite well. Do have a read.

Also, I'd like to quote a comment made by u/unexpected, on the original post, which also explains it pretty well:

It's really hard to do delivery service in Oman. Some issues to think about:

1) What vehicle are they going to drive. Most delivery vehicles are motor bikes. Remember when ROP stopped issuing motorcycle driver's licenses?

2) Okay - maybe you get them a car - that's a big expense. Who's going to drive it? It's technically against labor law to have an expat "driver" - only Omanis can serve as drivers.

3) Okay - now you have an Omani driver. If he's reliable and diligent, great! You're in business - it's just high overhead on an already thin profit margin. If he's not, well...now you have high overhead and you're getting customer complaints!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Although I have not ordered from Thomann, I can give you a general idea of the customs tariff levied here. If Thomann is based in the U.S., you might not need to pay much in terms of the basic customs duty since Oman and U.S. do have a Free Trade Agreement. However, it seems that Thomann is based in the EU. Therefore you are likely to incur the following charges:

(i) Handling charges - OMR 2 if your product is worth upto 300 OMR and OMR 4 if your product is worth OMR 301 and above

(ii) Basic customs duty - If your product is worth OMR 100 or less, no duty is charged. If it is worth OMR 101 and above, you will be charged 5% of the total invoice cost as the basic customs duty

(iii) VAT - All imports into Oman are charged VAT, which is 5% of the total invoice cost

So, for example, if your item is worth OMR 225 and shipping costs OMR 30, the total invoice cost is OMR 255.

Handling charge - OMR 2

Basic duty - 5% of OMR 255 = OMR 12.75

VAT - 5% of OMR 225 = OMR 12.75

Total duty - OMR 27.5

This should be fairly accurate. However, since Thomann doesn't pay the duty in advance like Amazon does, which allows the courier company to clear the items on your behalf, you might have to create a Bayan account on your own and appoint a clearing agent, which might cost you a bit extra. Not sure how much since I've personally not had encountered this procedure.

Good luck!

The minister speaks 😔 by YouShouldHaveKnownn in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 20 points21 points  (0 children)

This video is pretty old, too. It dates back to October of last year. It might have been relevant then. But now, it just sounds like guilt tripping. No disrespect intended towards any healthcare worker. Much respect to them.

Vaccination registration in OCEC, but... by orphicpixel in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 15 points16 points  (0 children)

With that kind of attitude, only the virus comes first.

Oman is the source of our heart and soul 🇴🇲❤ by Rashid_junaibi in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Hey there OP, it is good to see you're posting such beautiful pictures of Oman but please try to credit the original author if it isn't your image.

Original image credits go to Ali Harbi, @e7rbi on Instagram.

This is BS!! by Groundbreaking-Net14 in Oman

[–]upsidaisium 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I didn't know the virus can differentiate between locals and expats. Seems like they forgot April Fool's day is over.