| Submitted by: Patrick Tarnay, United States |
| Submission Date: 04 February 2005 |
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Conversion Factor: $1 US = 3.33 LE (Egyptian Pounds)
Leave our house knowing we will be checking into our Cairo hotel in about 28 hours. LV- LAX flight slightly delayed leaving us a 2 hour layover at LAX. Our Cairo flight is boarding nearby as we exit our plane at JFK. We're one of the last people aboard our TWA Cairo flight. We pray our luggage makes the transfer with us.
2 ½ hr into JFK to Cairo flight I realize we've long past the 'JFK triangle'. I was worried about the take-off, then proceeded to forget about my flight stress for awhile. I think about the safety of the flight attendants' jobs to calm my stresses. The plane is packed with Arabs and Americans. Sleep only 3 hours, Linda sleeps about 7 of the 10 hour flight, small child across the aisle throws up on herself during Cairo landing. Have to wait 1 ½ hours in the Cairo airport immigration line. About 30 teenage students in front of us each having complex passport situations, absolutely brutal to witness!
While our hotel cabbie is waiting to introduce us to the Cairo driving experience, we fend off numerous taxi offers. These folks are infamous for dropping you off at the hotels they recommend, not the hotel you have reservations for. They have name tags and look like airport employees.
No words can describe the rollercoaster on tires we went through to get to the hotel. Driving in Cairo is one hand on the horn, with the other waving out the window. Street lanes are clearly painted, and clearly disregarded. Beep, beep, beep everywhere you go. This is Cairo, land of 12 million. We wonder how the elderly could possibly get behind the wheel.
Our hotel is the Windsor-Cairo, old in appearance & upkeep. The room is mediocre with a 3-4 minute delay for the hot water to reach our 4th floor. However the location is key, only 200 meters from the friendly Cairo subway. At $35US it is our most expensive accommodation of the three we'll stay in.
We arrive at 4:00pm, unpack, adjust to new time schedule by eating dinner at a local food joint, and hitting the Cairo Tower. Our guide book ('Lonely Planet') recommends a local Egyptian restaurant, the 'Alfy Bey'. Definitely an abrupt introduction to Egyptian food. The one thing we like right away in Egypt is the fresh squeezed OJ anywhere & everywhere in this country. The bad thing is the slabs of lamb meat on bland rice. Fresh flat bread is served with every meal with a wonderful dip called BOBAGANOUSH.
The host of the 'Alfy Bey' approaches us at our table inquiring about our homeland. He is thrilled to meet us on our first day in Egypt. He explains to us that he is 'Nubian'. They are a long standing South Egyptian culture, much of whose land has been engulfed by Lake Nasser, the result of the Aswan Dam. Since then, the Nubian people have been forced to look for work within Cairo. He has very dark skin in which he often points to. He tells us he lives in Egypt, but he is Nubian. He is disappointed that we will not be visiting the temple of Abu Simbel in Aswan (S. Egypt). He claims Abu Simbel is his 'house', the greatest place in all of Egypt. We would run into him 9 days later. Dinner = 60LE after good tip, stomachs filled mainly with bread and Bobaganoush.
We've heard great stories about the Cairo Metro system, so we decide to give it a crack by taking a ride to Gezira Island on the Nile. This large river island is home to exclusive resorts and the beautiful Cairo Tower. We buy the elevator tickets & extra drink coupon redeemed in their revolving lounge (35LE each). In the elevator ride up the operator asks where we are from while explaining the height and age of the tower. His next maneuver is organizing his wad of cash while telling how great the people of America are. 1LE makes him happy, but he didn't put his money away until my wallet was completely in my pocket. Spectacular night views from the tower. This makes us excited about the Cairo days to come. On the way down we hear the same story from our lift operator 'elevator is 14 seconds up, 14 seconds down'. A group of local teenagers in the elevator laughs at his English and he turns red. He tells the kids he can speak many languages, which makes them laugh even more. As we leave the elevator I tell him 'adios', his complexion lights up and he yells 'adios, sayanara, good-bye'. Hilarious!
We've been swamped in the subway and on the streets by passerby's saying 'welcome to Egypt' & 'hallo'. We're definitely the only tourists on the subway, and we seem to be the only tourists on the streets of downtown Cairo. We will also come to realize that Cairo has virtually no foreign residents and very few ethnic restaurants outside the 5* hotels. Extremely strange for one of the biggest cities in the world.
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Wake up at 7:00am for a self guided tour of the only existing 'wonder of the world'. We take the metro to Cairo University in order to cut down on taxi costs. Subway costs us 1LE for the two of us each trip (30 cents US total). Grab a taxi outside subway station to the pyramids.
On the way, the pre-warned ceremony begins. The taxi driver picks up a local guy about 2 miles outside the pyramids. His name is Mohammed and he wants to take us to a camel stable for a 'round the pyramids trip'. We know what's up, but we had planned on renting camels, so we go with the game. We end up in a remote camel/horse stable alley. Pay taxi 10LE, and walk with Mohammed into the office of the stable manager. Mohammed disappears while the manager explains the short/medium/long journey options; Linda on a camel, me on a horse. I like the 'medium' a 2-3 hour trek with two guides. The manager refused to discuss prices at that point and time. An answer I accepted for some an unexplained reason. I knew I would be paying an inflated price being dumped here, but didn't realize the further tactics coming our way.
Linda was immediately whisked away on her camel ('Mickey Mouse'), I mounted my horse and was kept within eyesight, but not earshot of Linda and her guide. About 500 meters later the manager drops a $120 US price tag for our tour. I argued the price, only to have the manager in my face claiming 'disrespect me, camel, 2 horse, 2guide'. His fearless raised voice reminded my of our seclusion. Out in the middle of nowhere I agree to his $120 US.
Anyways… the tour was unbelievable. The Giza desert is littered with trash, but the views are incredible. Cruising through the sand with these 3 monster pyramids staring at you is extremely peaceful. The feeling of being here is baffling. The pyramids are disgustingly enormous is all I can say.
I was quickly trotted up to Linda's camel after I had agreed upon the price. We were stopped a few times by the guides at perfect photos opportunities. They then let us off at the Pyramid of Mycerinus for a climb into the pyramid's burial tomb.
To enter the pyramid you must climb up a staircase then down an extremely narrow shaft for about 2-3 tourist filled minutes. Once in the tomb, you are free to stand, but two Japanese ladies refused to unwind from their tightly crouched postures. Everyone in their tour group was urging them to stand up. The ladies' grunts of refusal had all of us other tourists in hysterics. They just continued crawling throughout the tomb. Meanwhile, being inside this huge stone structure gave off a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. No hyroygliphs in any of the 3 pyramids, but crawling down the steep decent was one of the highlights of the trip.
We switch animals for the ride back. Camel trotting is brutal on your legs. Linda dealt with it the first half, I suffered through the second half. We would both pay tomorrow as well. The trip ends at a perfume shop, we tip the two guides $10 US total, then we're led into the shop. Once inside we meet the pay-up man and we pay-up the $120US. We then avoid the sales pitch and immediately leave the shop to a nervous crowd still outside. The pay-up man and our two guides ask what is wrong. 'We just want a taxi back to Cairo'. The pay-up man begins to offer $40 US return, but we can't trust him. So we grab the nearest cab out of dodge.
Rest awhile at the hotel while we figure our opinions of the Giza experience. We probably had the price tag written on the clothes we were wearing. We ended up being overcharged about $60 US. But the inflated price turned out to be worth it. A 3 hour tour of one of the most picturesque scenes in all of the world = $130 US with tip. Nasty tactics have our memory tainted with slight taste of bitterness, but if this attraction was located in the US we would've paid at least $300 for the 3 hours of 3 animals & 2 guides.
Next stop is the shopping bazaar 'Kahn al Khalili'. After the haggling of Giza, we decide to go to the haggling capitol of the world. The 'Khan' is packed with both locals and organized tour groups. Many food joints, spice markets, and jewelry shops. Bargaining is difficult due to the bazaar's tourist clientele. Bargain decently for an item for my sister & a wallet for myself at leather goods store. Bargained with a gold jeweler who refused to budge from his asking price. Our departure didn't bother him one bit. No set rules in this country's markets. Obligatory rhyme: Shwarma sandwich yummy… gives me mummy tummy. All other digestive troubles have been omitted from this travelogue.
Looking for ethnic food we are headed to the middle class suburb of 'Doqqi' for dinner. Subway lets us off on the main drag. Unfortunately no signs, shops, or people have any English in them. A manager of a nice hotel down a dark alley helps us. A luxury we would be taking advantage of in this city is its friendly people.
The manager called the restaurant we were looking for. He wrote it's name in English and Arabic on a sheet of paper. 8LE with tip for our taxi driver. This Indian restaurant was at least 3 miles from where we were from. Restaurant run by a few Egyptians with decent Indian food. 70LE after tip.
We then take a 5LE taxi to the Nile Hilton for two expensive drinks on their beautiful roof-top lounge overlooking the Nile. Much deserved after today's experiences! Easy subway ride home.
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Wake up at 8:00am, walk to check if McDonald's serves breakfast. No luck, off to the Nile Hilton, next door neighbor of our destination, the Egyptian Museum. 3 fresh croissants, 2 OJ's, and 1 coffee = 35LE with tip. Price definitely worth the convenience and service. This meal was important for our museum energy.
The museum opens at 9:00am, so we arrive at 8:30am to hoards of Japanese, Frenchies, and Germans. Their tour busses packed in like sardines.
Get into the museum at about 9:15am to find a huge collection from the earliest civilizations of all time. We've been told to split the museum tour into two days due to its immensity. However we manage to see just about everything in 3 hours (self-guided). |
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| Copyright © - "Patrick Tarnay" |
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