Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

The Black Flag Cafe is the place travelers come to share stories and advice. Moderated by Robert Young Pelton the author of The World's Most Dangerous Places.

Moderator: coldharvest

Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby crotalus01 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:00 am

Or Yemen in general? I am kinda dreaming as it is looking like South America will be pushing the budget but I am checking out Yemen - always wanted to go there, and I simply love the Middle East. First hurdle to overcome is the visa - according to the Embassy homepage, tourist visas are suspended indefinitely. Anyone know if this is still true? Sorry I haven't gotten off work in time to call them and inquire for myself yet (damn Eastern time zone!).
Next is travel outside of Sana'a - how seriously do they take the tasriih (or lack of one)? I was pretty much banned from going into the West Bank when I was in Israel in 2007 but I snuck onto a bus dressed as a local and took my chances ( and it all worked out). I am wanting to go to Socotra, Sana'a, Sa'ada, Shibam, possibly Aden and Al Mukalla.
Finally, is Socotra - anyone here been there and have any advice? Hotels, cost, etc would all be appreciated. I am not interested in a tour, I want to go and do my own thing if thats possible (and if I can save the $$$ necessary).
Just FYI - I speak enough Arabic to get around, I can dress as a local and blend in (did that successfully in Afghanistan, Jordan, Israel and Morocco), and I am well versed in Arabic/Middle Eastern customs. You guys that have been around the Flag for a minute know me and know I am not one of these jerkoffs that go willy-nilly into WMDPs with no forethought.
Anyways, any advice - stories - etc would be very much appreciated, especially current sitrep, prices, et al. You guys know what I am looking for! Give it up please!
Remember, Salad is NOT food. Salad is what food EATS...
User avatar
crotalus01
Professional Skydiver
 
Posts: 1457
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 4:02 pm
Location: Memphis, TN USA

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby crotalus01 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:08 am

And anyone know whatever happened to Meghion? Last I heard she was teaching English in Sana'a - but that was about 2005. I miss her posts, especially her spelling - always thought it was the ultimate irony she was teaching English and she had the spelling skills of a retarded 5th grader ;)
Remember, Salad is NOT food. Salad is what food EATS...
User avatar
crotalus01
Professional Skydiver
 
Posts: 1457
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 4:02 pm
Location: Memphis, TN USA

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby rickshaw92 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:23 am

Never been but I think it would be way cool. I hear the kidnappins are kewl and a real money saver.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
User avatar
rickshaw92
Pikey Bastard
 
Posts: 9165
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:28 am
Location: Airport Inn trailer park

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby vagabond » Thu Apr 05, 2012 5:00 pm

How is it cheaper to go from East Coast USA to Yemen than to S. America?
"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies
User avatar
vagabond
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 5342
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:20 pm
Location: LA

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby ReptilianKittenEater » Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:34 pm

Socotra is definitely a place I wanna go. Please post pics if you do go.
User avatar
ReptilianKittenEater
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 3121
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 3:18 am
Location: St. Catharines, ON, Canada

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby crotalus01 » Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:14 am

vagabond wrote:How is it cheaper to go from East Coast USA to Yemen than to S. America?

I meant that just going to SA would be pushing my budget. BUT if I can save a little more $$$ I just found out I get a 90% discount on Turkish Air....
Remember, Salad is NOT food. Salad is what food EATS...
User avatar
crotalus01
Professional Skydiver
 
Posts: 1457
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 4:02 pm
Location: Memphis, TN USA

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby vagabond » Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:51 am

crotalus01 wrote:
vagabond wrote:How is it cheaper to go from East Coast USA to Yemen than to S. America?

I meant that just going to SA would be pushing my budget. BUT if I can save a little more $$$ I just found out I get a 90% discount on Turkish Air....


Ah makes sense. That's a pretty sweet deal and Turkish Airlines has some good non-stop flights to the US.
"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies
User avatar
vagabond
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 5342
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:20 pm
Location: LA

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby buffybot_in_beirut » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:38 pm

Was in Yemen (excluding Socotra) almost two years ago and published some notes here:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/t ... ID=1922310

My visit was before the "big" troubles started, but after Yemen had tightened its visa rules (in 2007 I got a visa on arrival at the airport!) and at a time when conventional wisdom was to stay away.

Also check out the whole Yemen branch on the LP TT, including current posts. One guy visited Socotra as recently as February 2012 and posted his trip report on 13 February. You might still get a tourist visa through a local travel agency, or from a low-key Yemeni embassy in little-known countries. (But then travel to such embassies will be expensive unless it's on your way, so perhaps not a very practical idea.) Unfortunately it seems that travel around the country is currently more restricted than ever.

I am not sure if blending in is a good idea. You may get your appearance 99% right, but the missing 1% could alert locals who might mistake you for a visiting Arab Jihadi in disguise.

Socotra is a totally different universe, apparently very safe, but not cheap at all. You could sort out flights in such a manner that you minimize your stay (and thus any risks, and any reservations that the authorities may have about your trip) on the mainland.
buffybot_in_beirut
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 495
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 12:02 pm

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby flipflop » Fri Apr 06, 2012 11:34 pm

Whoops-a-daisy! Linking from the LP Thorn Tree to the mighty (windswept and precious) BFC?

Grab your helmet and find some cover fella

Cheers
Patriots always talk of dying for their country, and never of killing for their country - Bertrand Russell
User avatar
flipflop
Cuntus Maximus
 
Posts: 8382
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 11:11 am
Location: Arse Full Of Chips

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby buffybot_in_beirut » Sat Apr 07, 2012 1:15 pm

I know, I know... :-)

Well I guess people can either wait for certain types of info at the BFC forever, or swallow their pride and mingle with the (alleged) hippies at the TT. Fact is the enormous amount of traffic at the TT automatically produces some very good info. You just have to sort through the crap to get to it and ignore the know-it-alls, first-time-travelling teenagers and the "my-parents-warn-me-I-will-get-kidnapped-in-Liechtenstein-is-it-true" types.
buffybot_in_beirut
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 495
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 12:02 pm

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby vagabond » Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:37 pm

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/2012479515618741.html

Yemen airport closed over attack threats
Facility shut down after forces loyal to sacked air force chief surround Sanaa airfield and threaten to attack planes.

The airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, has been shut down after forces loyal to a military ally of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh threatened to attack landing and departing aircraft, according to an airport source.

The source said Saturday's closure came after the airport was surrounded by loyalists of the air force chief, General Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, a half-brother of Saleh, who has refused to step down after being sacked by Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the current president.

"No aircraft has taken off or landed since these forces made their threat late on Friday," the source said, adding that the troops surrounding the airport were backed by members of the Hamdan tribe that supports Saleh.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the men were led by Naji Jamaan, a Hamdan tribal chief.

Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone from Sanaa, Mohammed al-Qadhi, a Yemeni journalist, described the situation in the city as "very tense", with Saleh loyalists on standby in the southern areas.

Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar has refused to step aside unless several senior defence ministry officials also leave, a military source said on Saturday.

In a message to his troops, the dismissed head of the air force said Hadi's presidential decree would not be "implemented" until Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, the defence minister, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Ali al-Ashwal, the chief of staff, left their posts.

The move against Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar comes amid almost daily protests demanding the resignations of all Saleh relatives from the government and the military.

"For more than two months now, there have been strikes and protests" demanding Ahmar's removal", Qadhi told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

‘No choice’

Hakim al-Masmari, editor in chief of the Yemen Post, told Al Jazeera that Hadi has "no other choice" but to make the dismissals.

"He became president under one condition: he would be able to start a national dialogue a week after he takes power," Masmari said.

"It's been a month and a half and the opposition factions have refused to enter any dialogue with President Hadi unless military reforms take place immediately."

In addition to the air force chief, Hadi dismissed on Saturday the head of the presidential guard, General Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, a nephew of former president Saleh.

The military source said Tareq had also refused to quit and had turned down an offer to command of the 37th Battalion of the Republican Guard in the southeastern province of Hadramawt.

Still in command

Gulf Co-operation Council chief Abdullatif al-Zayani, who led mediation efforts to convince Saleh to step down, said the six-nation group "supports" Hadi and "backs all measures he takes to help Yemen exit its current crisis".

Zayani also "urged all political power players in Yemen and all those involved to support the Yemeni president to move forward in implementing the principles stipulated by the Gulf initiative".

That initiative, under which Saleh resigned after 33 years in power in exchange for immunity from prosecution, includes a restructuring of the army as one of several conditions.

During his years in power, Saleh chose his aides carefully and many remain in control of security bodies. Critics say he has been interfering in the transition of power.

Saleh's son Ahmed still heads the elite Republican Guard, while a nephew, Yehya, commands central security services.

In a February speech, Hadi stressed the need to reunify the army as he pledged "radical reforms" and to fight al-Qaeda as he outlined a two-year transition plan
"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies
User avatar
vagabond
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 5342
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:20 pm
Location: LA

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby coldharvest » Sat Apr 07, 2012 6:48 pm

flipflop wrote:Whoops-a-daisy! Linking from the LP Thorn Tree to the mighty (windswept and precious) BFC?

Grab your helmet and find some cover fella

Cheers

Just because they're a bunch of patchouli fuck-wands doesn't mean the information isn't valid
I know the law. And I have spent my entire life in its flagrant disregard.
User avatar
coldharvest
Abdul Rahman
 
Posts: 25677
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:36 am
Location: Island of Misfit Toys

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby rickshaw92 » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:32 pm

buffybot_in_beirut wrote:I know, I know... :-)

Well I guess people can either wait for certain types of info at the BFC forever, or swallow their pride and mingle with the (alleged) hippies at the TT. Fact is the enormous amount of traffic at the TT automatically produces some very good info. You just have to sort through the crap to get to it and ignore the know-it-alls, first-time-travelling teenagers and the "my-parents-warn-me-I-will-get-kidnapped-in-Liechtenstein-is-it-true" types.


The TT can be entertaining with these types.


coldharvest wrote:
flipflop wrote:Whoops-a-daisy! Linking from the LP Thorn Tree to the mighty (windswept and precious) BFC?

Grab your helmet and find some cover fella

Cheers

Just because they're a bunch of patchouli fuck-wands doesn't mean the information isn't valid



The information in question helps me avoid having to drink with them.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
User avatar
rickshaw92
Pikey Bastard
 
Posts: 9165
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:28 am
Location: Airport Inn trailer park

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby Mikethehack » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:54 pm

rickshaw92 wrote:
buffybot_in_beirut wrote:I know, I know... :-)

Well I guess people can either wait for certain types of info at the BFC forever, or swallow their pride and mingle with the (alleged) hippies at the TT. Fact is the enormous amount of traffic at the TT automatically produces some very good info. You just have to sort through the crap to get to it and ignore the know-it-alls, first-time-travelling teenagers and the "my-parents-warn-me-I-will-get-kidnapped-in-Liechtenstein-is-it-true" types.


The TT can be entertaining with these types.


coldharvest wrote:
flipflop wrote:Whoops-a-daisy! Linking from the LP Thorn Tree to the mighty (windswept and precious) BFC?

Grab your helmet and find some cover fella

Cheers

Just because they're a bunch of patchouli fuck-wands doesn't mean the information isn't valid



The information in question helps me avoid having to drink with them.


Let's hear you say 'Socotra' while smashed on Tusker.
I'm not really a proper reporter, due to the chronic lack of discipline, negligible attention span, and a certain juvenile difficulty taking serious things seriously.
Andrew Mueller.
User avatar
Mikethehack
Pimpmasterus Generalismus
 
Posts: 8405
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 6:34 pm
Location: The Irish colonies

Re: Anyone here been to Socotra Island?

Postby Ozymandias » Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:50 pm

I was in Yemen a few years ago. I also have a friend who lived there and travelled to Socotra. If you PM me your email, I will put you in touch. It looks incredible from the photos he's shown me!
User avatar
Ozymandias
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 271
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:07 pm
Location: Maputo, Mozambique

Next

Return to Black Flag Cafe

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests