We were bracing for dreadful food poisoning, aggressive salesmen, rude caleche and taxi drivers, rip-offs and scams from every other person in Egypt. Will we survive this trip or will President Mubarak kick us out.
On The Way - Dec 14 & 15, 2008
We took the beloved Air Canada from Toronto to London to connect to Cairo. The flight was decent, but did not supply any personal televisions. The flight was a measly 7 hours to my favourite city, London. I saw pictures of Big Ben at the Heathrow Airport and this brought back fond memories of that trip. The airport was nice and we easily checked into our new airline, BMI. We boarded our flight and went straight to Egypt.
We soon arrived in Cairo at 4:00 PM, where we faced a 7 hour time difference. Mom lined up at the bank to buy visas ($15 pp) and exchange some Egyptian money. Mom did not know where to get the custom forms and a guard showed us how to peel off the visa and glue it to our passports. By the time Mom got our passports ready for immigration, everybody else already left and we got through quickly.
Within the airport we arranged an airport shuttle van for 90 LE to Le Meridien Pyramids. As we exited the airport, it was already dark; we were greeted by many people asking us “Taxi? Taxi?” We quickly hid in the shuttle and drove away.
As we drove, we marveled at the crowdedness of the city. It was rush hour at this time and there were hundreds of cars at a time cutting each other off, continuously, obnoxiousl
y changing lanes. This meant that our driver was also forced to drive in this method making all of us drifting in and out of consciousness. The pedestrians just crossed the streets haphazardly, but miraculously they escaped death by a hair. I thought our driver would run over somebody many times.
The city itself is quite modern. It looks a little like the Asian cities with the noise and the crowd, but still impressive (there is no sand). We were fascinated looking at the minarets lit up, the Egyptians in their long gowns walking around, donkey karts, etc.
After over an hour fighting this crazy traffic, we finally reached our destination, Le Meridien Pyramids. We checked in quickly and headed straight u
p to our separate rooms (Alex and I, Mom and Dad) and watched our amazing “shadow” of the Giza pyramids from our rooms in the dark.
After a couple hours of relaxing and worrying about the water (it could give us diarrhea even from brushing our teeth or taking a shower), we set out for overpriced Mexican food in the hotel. The Tex-Mex restaurant was dark and took long for food, but in the end, it was actually quite tasty. Afterwards, we were all exhausted and Alex and I insisted that Mom not to explore and that we simply slept, which we immediately did.
Day 1 - December 16, 2008 - Cairo
Cairo is the largest and most populated city in Africa and right now is home to 18 million citizens. We woke up to this city that never sleeps (mostly because of the calls for prayers from the mosque’s minarets) early in the morning.
Now, we were really shocked seeing the Pyramids in the daylight from our room and still did not believe that we were actually there.
On The Way - Dec 14 & 15, 2008
We took the beloved Air Canada from Toronto to London to connect to Cairo. The flight was decent, but did not supply any personal televisions. The flight was a measly 7 hours to my favourite city, London. I saw pictures of Big Ben at the Heathrow Airport and this brought back fond memories of that trip. The airport was nice and we easily checked into our new airline, BMI. We boarded our flight and went straight to Egypt.We soon arrived in Cairo at 4:00 PM, where we faced a 7 hour time difference. Mom lined up at the bank to buy visas ($15 pp) and exchange some Egyptian money. Mom did not know where to get the custom forms and a guard showed us how to peel off the visa and glue it to our passports. By the time Mom got our passports ready for immigration, everybody else already left and we got through quickly.
Within the airport we arranged an airport shuttle van for 90 LE to Le Meridien Pyramids. As we exited the airport, it was already dark; we were greeted by many people asking us “Taxi? Taxi?” We quickly hid in the shuttle and drove away.
As we drove, we marveled at the crowdedness of the city. It was rush hour at this time and there were hundreds of cars at a time cutting each other off, continuously, obnoxiousl
y changing lanes. This meant that our driver was also forced to drive in this method making all of us drifting in and out of consciousness. The pedestrians just crossed the streets haphazardly, but miraculously they escaped death by a hair. I thought our driver would run over somebody many times.The city itself is quite modern. It looks a little like the Asian cities with the noise and the crowd, but still impressive (there is no sand). We were fascinated looking at the minarets lit up, the Egyptians in their long gowns walking around, donkey karts, etc.
After over an hour fighting this crazy traffic, we finally reached our destination, Le Meridien Pyramids. We checked in quickly and headed straight u
p to our separate rooms (Alex and I, Mom and Dad) and watched our amazing “shadow” of the Giza pyramids from our rooms in the dark.After a couple hours of relaxing and worrying about the water (it could give us diarrhea even from brushing our teeth or taking a shower), we set out for overpriced Mexican food in the hotel. The Tex-Mex restaurant was dark and took long for food, but in the end, it was actually quite tasty. Afterwards, we were all exhausted and Alex and I insisted that Mom not to explore and that we simply slept, which we immediately did.
Day 1 - December 16, 2008 - Cairo
Cairo is the largest and most populated city in Africa and right now is home to 18 million citizens. We woke up to this city that never sleeps (mostly because of the calls for prayers from the mosque’s minarets) early in the morning.
Now, we were really shocked seeing the Pyramids in the daylight from our room and still did not believe that we were actually there.
Dad explored around the Meridien Pyramids alone and returned a bit horrified by the noise and traffic in front of the hotel. He found no restaurant opened at that time, except for a little counter from Felfela, where he bought some simple falafel sandwiches which I found too salty. Dad also bought a couple of large water bottles. So we ate at the overpriced hotel breakfast buffet instead. It was good quality and had really tasty strawberry juice. We soon returned to our room and set out.
We briefly explored the hotel and then went out onto the streets. The Meridien has a very nice lobby with a fancy looking chandelier. The swimming pool area has the view of the “shadow” of pyramids because of the thick smog. It was too cold to swim. At the front of the hotel, the bellman tried to sell us a tour of the Pyramids, but Mom refused.
We walked away from the hotel and flagged down a black and white taxi to the Giza Metro station where we would travel to Old Cairo a.k.a. Coptic Cairo. The metro was commonly used by the locals and was very crowded. We were stared at a lot, but people seemed friendly, not threatening. The fare was only 1LE pp.
There was a separate car for women only, but Mom forgot to mention this to us. So, we all jumped into an empty car which was for ladies. A girl told Mom that this car was for women only. Dad and I were very embarrassed and could not wait to get off at the next stop. As soon as the door opened, we got out and switched to another car. But now the car was packed with men, and Alex got stared at intensively making her very uncomfortable.
We soon arrived in Old Cairo (Mar Girgis metro stop). We leisurely walked around and visited many attractions: the Hanging Church, the Holy Family’s church, a Greek church and a synagogue.
We soon parted Old Cairo and took the metro back to main Cairo where we visited the famous Egyptian Museum. This time we split into two groups, Dad and I to the regular car and Mom and Alex took the ladies car. The metro stop was Sadat where we got off at Tahir Square and the Egyptian Museum.
The Egyptian museum is most famous for its collections of mummies, the Tutankhamun exhibit and many more. Many of us at this time were exhausted by jet lag and couldn’t concentrate (Dad dozed off on a bench for a long time). We wandered aimlessly for a long time and soon stopped at the amazing Tutankhamun exhibit which 
made me more alert for a while. We marveled at the view the famous pharaoh’s gold mask which was attached to the mummy in his tomb.
However, there was limited guidance in the museum on the history of the artifacts. Mom refused a museum tour guide who offered himself for 80 LE/hour, saying that we would not listen to his lectures considering our current sleepwalking state. We soon left and immediately, we got hungry for dinner.
We walked to a restaurant near the Tahir Square for grilled kebabs. It was difficult to cross the street in the crazy Cairo traffic, but we got a hang of it after a while and risked our lives a couple of times to make it to the other side of the street.
The Cairo people were very friendly. When Mom was looking at her map, a man would help her and showed her the direction. When we still could not find the restaurant, another man even walked us straight to the right place, but it was too crowded and we did not get a table. Too hungry to wait, we took a taxi from Tahir Square to the Fish Market which is a floating restaurant on the Nile. The Fish Market restaurant was really nice with good looking people eating there. The deep fried bass was very good and the bread was fresh and delicious.
We were too exhausted afterwards and decided to take a taxi with a nice driver to go back to the hotel and sleep.
We briefly explored the hotel and then went out onto the streets. The Meridien has a very nice lobby with a fancy looking chandelier. The swimming pool area has the view of the “shadow” of pyramids because of the thick smog. It was too cold to swim. At the front of the hotel, the bellman tried to sell us a tour of the Pyramids, but Mom refused.
We walked away from the hotel and flagged down a black and white taxi to the Giza Metro station where we would travel to Old Cairo a.k.a. Coptic Cairo. The metro was commonly used by the locals and was very crowded. We were stared at a lot, but people seemed friendly, not threatening. The fare was only 1LE pp.There was a separate car for women only, but Mom forgot to mention this to us. So, we all jumped into an empty car which was for ladies. A girl told Mom that this car was for women only. Dad and I were very embarrassed and could not wait to get off at the next stop. As soon as the door opened, we got out and switched to another car. But now the car was packed with men, and Alex got stared at intensively making her very uncomfortable.
We soon arrived in Old Cairo (Mar Girgis metro stop). We leisurely walked around and visited many attractions: the Hanging Church, the Holy Family’s church, a Greek church and a synagogue.We soon parted Old Cairo and took the metro back to main Cairo where we visited the famous Egyptian Museum. This time we split into two groups, Dad and I to the regular car and Mom and Alex took the ladies car. The metro stop was Sadat where we got off at Tahir Square and the Egyptian Museum.
The Egyptian museum is most famous for its collections of mummies, the Tutankhamun exhibit and many more. Many of us at this time were exhausted by jet lag and couldn’t concentrate (Dad dozed off on a bench for a long time). We wandered aimlessly for a long time and soon stopped at the amazing Tutankhamun exhibit which 
made me more alert for a while. We marveled at the view the famous pharaoh’s gold mask which was attached to the mummy in his tomb.However, there was limited guidance in the museum on the history of the artifacts. Mom refused a museum tour guide who offered himself for 80 LE/hour, saying that we would not listen to his lectures considering our current sleepwalking state. We soon left and immediately, we got hungry for dinner.
We walked to a restaurant near the Tahir Square for grilled kebabs. It was difficult to cross the street in the crazy Cairo traffic, but we got a hang of it after a while and risked our lives a couple of times to make it to the other side of the street.
The Cairo people were very friendly. When Mom was looking at her map, a man would help her and showed her the direction. When we still could not find the restaurant, another man even walked us straight to the right place, but it was too crowded and we did not get a table. Too hungry to wait, we took a taxi from Tahir Square to the Fish Market which is a floating restaurant on the Nile. The Fish Market restaurant was really nice with good looking people eating there. The deep fried bass was very good and the bread was fresh and delicious.
We were too exhausted afterwards and decided to take a taxi with a nice driver to go back to the hotel and sleep.
Day 2 - Dec 17, 2008 - Citadel-Giza Pyramids
This morning, we decided not to eat at the hotel buffet. Instead we ate delicious pastries and free cappuccinos at the hotel café. Today we were expected for a private tour by a local guide named Emad. He picked us up at the hotel and soon began our tour for the day.
He first took us to the Citadel. At the Citadel there was the Muhammad Ali mosque, which was modelled after the Blue Mosque in Turkey and was also called the Alabaster mosque because the walls are made of alabaster from Egypt. The inside of the mosque was very beautiful and it had the original set of chandelier which was given to Egypt by King Louis Philippe of France. We were amazed by the architecture of the building, the unique rooms, the scenic views and Emad’s lecture. Emad spoke very fast with an accent so we had a hard time understanding him.
There were several groups of students at the Citadel on a field trip. As we exited the mosque, Alex was surrounded by a group of very friendly local teenage girls who asked to take a picture with her.
After that Emad drove us to our ne
xt destination, Khan el-Khalili market, a very popular crowded old market filled with cheap souvenir junk and tourists. We browsed around and haggled for many souvenirs. Mom was very good at haggling and the salesmen called her “Egyptian woman”. We wandered for an hour and then had to head back to Emad.
The Sheraton Luxor supplied a wonderful view of the Nile River (longest river in the world). The hotel also has a Nubian band playing traditional instruments at the front. The musicians were very humorous and played cheerful music when new guests arrived. Mom made me take a picture of the band for souvenir.
We boarded our shuttle and headed into town. We were dropped off at the Luxor Temple (built to the God Amus) and we immediately thought to look for food. We walked along the Nile restaurants and found our recommended restaurant, El Kababshy. The food was very good, we had local food, Dad has kafta and I had beef fattah.
After our satisfying brunch we decided to just walk on the corniche (side) of the Nile River. It was a very relaxing walk and we just absorbed the heat in this scenic walk, occasionally stopping for water. The
weather was very pleasant, sunny but not hot, with a light breeze from the beautiful Nile. There were a lot of cruise ships along the bank spewing out diesel fume.
This morning, we decided not to eat at the hotel buffet. Instead we ate delicious pastries and free cappuccinos at the hotel café. Today we were expected for a private tour by a local guide named Emad. He picked us up at the hotel and soon began our tour for the day.
He first took us to the Citadel. At the Citadel there was the Muhammad Ali mosque, which was modelled after the Blue Mosque in Turkey and was also called the Alabaster mosque because the walls are made of alabaster from Egypt. The inside of the mosque was very beautiful and it had the original set of chandelier which was given to Egypt by King Louis Philippe of France. We were amazed by the architecture of the building, the unique rooms, the scenic views and Emad’s lecture. Emad spoke very fast with an accent so we had a hard time understanding him.There were several groups of students at the Citadel on a field trip. As we exited the mosque, Alex was surrounded by a group of very friendly local teenage girls who asked to take a picture with her.
After that Emad drove us to our ne
xt destination, Khan el-Khalili market, a very popular crowded old market filled with cheap souvenir junk and tourists. We browsed around and haggled for many souvenirs. Mom was very good at haggling and the salesmen called her “Egyptian woman”. We wandered for an hour and then had to head back to Emad. Emad then took us to a restaurant that he recommended. It was a buffet with many sad looking European tourists and sucky food. However, Emad special ordered us kebabs (known as “kafta”) that were actually quite delicious. The ground meat used for the Kafta however remained a mystery.
After the meal, Emad took us to a papyrus store, where we learned how papyrus paper was made, interesting Egyptian myths, and saw impressive papyrus drawings. Mom got talked into buying two small overpriced pieces of papyrus. We soon headed out again, this time to the Great Pyramids of Giza.
The Great Pyramids of Giza are the most popular attractions in Cairo. They were the only surviving Great Wonder. We entered the area where Emad got us “free” parking. The pyramids were spectacular. They were extremely large and threatening. I was taken away by the sheer architecture of this structure and I just winced at the thought of how these pyramids came to be. Emad again gave us some quick information about the Pyramids and let us roam the area on our own.
We then drove to a scenic point to take amazing pictures and to take picture
on camels (we did not ride them, just sat on their backs). The camels were very tall so when they stood up, making us a bit nervous. Emad negotiated with the camel guy for a photo session for all of us. We hung around, taking more pictures, until Dad was talked into taking a picture with an Egyptian Arafat and his headdress.
We soon left this are
a, to continue to the equally impressive sphinx (statue of a lion with a man’s face, was not as big as expected). There were a lot of children selling post cards and souvenirs here. Mom felt sorry for a little girl and bought her post cards. The site also was not crowded at all at the time we were there.
We almost concluded our day, until Emad, drove us to a perfume shop (scam). After sitting through a boring explanation (a lot of sniffing), we managed to get away by buying a “Chanel No. 5” perfume. We finally were able to finish our day, dropping off Emad and returning to our hotel.
We were planning on going to a traditional Egyptian dance performance called the Sufi dance but we dreaded the ride back to downtown Cairo. We were so tired that we even didn’t eat dinner and just went to sleep!
Day 3- Dec 18, 2008 - Step Pyramid, Cairo Mosques, Airport to Luxor.
Today was our last day in Cairo, but definitely not the least exciting. We were planning on going on another tour today with Emad’s niece. We met up with the new tour guide in the lobby packed and ready to go. We loaded our luggage into the minivan, because we would go straight to the airport after the tour.
Our first destination today was the famous Saqqara Step pyramid. We got out of the city and headed to Saqqara. Along the way, we saw the country side with vegetable farms, lots of donkey carts or men riding on donkeys and also date plantations.
The Djoser pyramid was one of the first pyramids to be built in Egypt.
These pyramids were also magnificent, reeking with history. First we watched a short documentary on the history of the Step Pyramid before we checked out the Imhotep museum where his mummy was kept. Imhotep was the architect who designed the step pyramid.
When we got to the actual pyramid I was breath taken, the fact that this structure has been here for thousands of years really impressed me. We could see the Red Pyramid from here. The site of the vast desert also looked intimidating to me, amazed at how human could live anywhere on earth.
We soon departed and went back to Cairo to visit the famous mosques. After all, Cairo is also called the City of a Thousand Minarets. We viewed multiple mosques (Ibn Toulon mosque, Sultan Hassan mosque and Al Rifai mosque). The oldest mosque – Ibn Touloun mosque – was my favourite mosque. We had to leave our shoes at the door or given shoe covers before entering the mosques. I got really mosqued out after the third mosque and we were soon ready for lunch.
The guide took us back to Khan el-Khalili to eat at a tourist trap restaurant that had delicious kafta, but poor hygiene. The restaurant faced Hussein square which was very touristy. We saw many tour buses unloading lots of tourists here. The square also has the Al Hussein mosque (a holy mosque where only Muslims were allowed in).
After our late lunch, we soon headed to the airport. We would be taking a 5 pm flight on Egypt Air
to our next destination, Luxor. Luxor is a very popular tourist city. It attracts many tourists annually because of its many tombs (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens) and temples (Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple).
After a quick 1 hour flight we arrived and were already exhausted. We immediately took a taxi to our Sheraton Luxor (50 LE). Luxor was much quieter than Cairo. The traffic was more normal and the streets were nicely decorated with Christmas lights. We soon arrived at the Sheraton, checked in and dozed off.
Day 4- Dec 19, 2008 - Luxor
Today was a very laid back and relaxed day. We chose to wak
e up late and did not eat breakfast. We explored the grounds of the hotel while waiting for the next hotel shuttle to Luxor.
After the meal, Emad took us to a papyrus store, where we learned how papyrus paper was made, interesting Egyptian myths, and saw impressive papyrus drawings. Mom got talked into buying two small overpriced pieces of papyrus. We soon headed out again, this time to the Great Pyramids of Giza.
The Great Pyramids of Giza are the most popular attractions in Cairo. They were the only surviving Great Wonder. We entered the area where Emad got us “free” parking. The pyramids were spectacular. They were extremely large and threatening. I was taken away by the sheer architecture of this structure and I just winced at the thought of how these pyramids came to be. Emad again gave us some quick information about the Pyramids and let us roam the area on our own.
We then drove to a scenic point to take amazing pictures and to take picture
on camels (we did not ride them, just sat on their backs). The camels were very tall so when they stood up, making us a bit nervous. Emad negotiated with the camel guy for a photo session for all of us. We hung around, taking more pictures, until Dad was talked into taking a picture with an Egyptian Arafat and his headdress.We soon left this are
a, to continue to the equally impressive sphinx (statue of a lion with a man’s face, was not as big as expected). There were a lot of children selling post cards and souvenirs here. Mom felt sorry for a little girl and bought her post cards. The site also was not crowded at all at the time we were there.We almost concluded our day, until Emad, drove us to a perfume shop (scam). After sitting through a boring explanation (a lot of sniffing), we managed to get away by buying a “Chanel No. 5” perfume. We finally were able to finish our day, dropping off Emad and returning to our hotel.
We were planning on going to a traditional Egyptian dance performance called the Sufi dance but we dreaded the ride back to downtown Cairo. We were so tired that we even didn’t eat dinner and just went to sleep!
Day 3- Dec 18, 2008 - Step Pyramid, Cairo Mosques, Airport to Luxor.
Today was our last day in Cairo, but definitely not the least exciting. We were planning on going on another tour today with Emad’s niece. We met up with the new tour guide in the lobby packed and ready to go. We loaded our luggage into the minivan, because we would go straight to the airport after the tour.
Our first destination today was the famous Saqqara Step pyramid. We got out of the city and headed to Saqqara. Along the way, we saw the country side with vegetable farms, lots of donkey carts or men riding on donkeys and also date plantations.
The Djoser pyramid was one of the first pyramids to be built in Egypt.
These pyramids were also magnificent, reeking with history. First we watched a short documentary on the history of the Step Pyramid before we checked out the Imhotep museum where his mummy was kept. Imhotep was the architect who designed the step pyramid.When we got to the actual pyramid I was breath taken, the fact that this structure has been here for thousands of years really impressed me. We could see the Red Pyramid from here. The site of the vast desert also looked intimidating to me, amazed at how human could live anywhere on earth.
We soon departed and went back to Cairo to visit the famous mosques. After all, Cairo is also called the City of a Thousand Minarets. We viewed multiple mosques (Ibn Toulon mosque, Sultan Hassan mosque and Al Rifai mosque). The oldest mosque – Ibn Touloun mosque – was my favourite mosque. We had to leave our shoes at the door or given shoe covers before entering the mosques. I got really mosqued out after the third mosque and we were soon ready for lunch.The guide took us back to Khan el-Khalili to eat at a tourist trap restaurant that had delicious kafta, but poor hygiene. The restaurant faced Hussein square which was very touristy. We saw many tour buses unloading lots of tourists here. The square also has the Al Hussein mosque (a holy mosque where only Muslims were allowed in).
After our late lunch, we soon headed to the airport. We would be taking a 5 pm flight on Egypt Air
to our next destination, Luxor. Luxor is a very popular tourist city. It attracts many tourists annually because of its many tombs (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens) and temples (Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple).After a quick 1 hour flight we arrived and were already exhausted. We immediately took a taxi to our Sheraton Luxor (50 LE). Luxor was much quieter than Cairo. The traffic was more normal and the streets were nicely decorated with Christmas lights. We soon arrived at the Sheraton, checked in and dozed off.
Day 4- Dec 19, 2008 - Luxor
Today was a very laid back and relaxed day. We chose to wak
e up late and did not eat breakfast. We explored the grounds of the hotel while waiting for the next hotel shuttle to Luxor. The Sheraton Luxor supplied a wonderful view of the Nile River (longest river in the world). The hotel also has a Nubian band playing traditional instruments at the front. The musicians were very humorous and played cheerful music when new guests arrived. Mom made me take a picture of the band for souvenir.
We boarded our shuttle and headed into town. We were dropped off at the Luxor Temple (built to the God Amus) and we immediately thought to look for food. We walked along the Nile restaurants and found our recommended restaurant, El Kababshy. The food was very good, we had local food, Dad has kafta and I had beef fattah.After our satisfying brunch we decided to just walk on the corniche (side) of the Nile River. It was a very relaxing walk and we just absorbed the heat in this scenic walk, occasionally stopping for water. The
weather was very pleasant, sunny but not hot, with a light breeze from the beautiful Nile. There were a lot of cruise ships along the bank spewing out diesel fume.We walked by the Luxor temple which looked like a ruin but very impressive. We also passed on the Luxor museum because none of us was in the mood for anything educational.
The passing caleche drivers constantly asked if we wanted a ride which we refused and they left us alone. We saw more Egyptian men in their traditional clothes in Luxor than in Cairo.
Soon however, Mom insisted that we headed back and not walk on the Corniche, but into the market (Alex and I were resistant). As we walked trying to find Sphinx Avenue (an area with rows of small sphinxes), we faced one of the most unpleasant experiences in Egypt.
The passing caleche drivers constantly asked if we wanted a ride which we refused and they left us alone. We saw more Egyptian men in their traditional clothes in Luxor than in Cairo.
Soon however, Mom insisted that we headed back and not walk on the Corniche, but into the market (Alex and I were resistant). As we walked trying to find Sphinx Avenue (an area with rows of small sphinxes), we faced one of the most unpleasant experiences in Egypt.As we peacefully walked, one teenage boy stopped us, offering “help” to find Sphinx Avenue. Mom foolishly agreed to follow him and he led us into a local market (actually interesting) where another boy joined us. He then walked us a long way actually to Sphinx Avenue, but they wanted to take us to a shady bazaar (commission) we refused, he accepted, but they still followed us. We gave them money, but they still followed us, one of the boys refused to leave us alone and after one scam from one of them (switching $1 for 1 LE) then Mom exploded and we rushed away. They stopped a taxi for us and as we were leaving they insisted on a tip (we did not give them any).
Once we finally got out of the area and back to the hotel, Dad immediately wanted to swim. I did not join him, but instead we all just relaxed on the pool side watching the gorgeous sunset on the Nile.
After a couple hours we set out again by taxi to Karnak temple for a sound and light show. In front of the Sheraton there were always a lot of caleches and taxis waiting for tourists. Mom easily got a taxi to the Karnark temple which was also built to respect the God Amun.
It was already dark at this time, so we had to rely on the light of the show to guide us. Unfortunately, poor lighting and boring lectures led to us being unimpressed with the show but amazed by the structure of the temple. I almost felt asleep during the ½ hour at the sacred lake. Mom regretted that we did not visit this temple during the day time. It must have been very impressive.
When we finally left we were really hungry, so we all decided to eat at the Italian restaurant in the Sheraton (yes, in Egypt). The food was actually very good (fettuccini alfredo). We ended the day after the meal and slept easily.
Day 5 - Dec 20, 2008 - Valley of the Kings
Today, we were scheduled for another tour. This forced us to once again, eat at the rip-off buffet at the hotel. The buffet was decent but had a small selection. We got picked up by our guide and then we headed to the West bank of the Nile which is the other side of the Nile.
Our first stop was the Collossi of Memnon. The two statues were very impressive, but the temple was only a ruin. The tour guide told us the sad story of how the statue's singing was the dead Memnon calling for his mother.
We then headed to the Hatshepsut temple. Hatshepsut (female) was the 5th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. As we approached the temple, our lazy guide lectured us in a café far from the temple and stayed back to let us see the temple alone. We entered the temple area and were greeted by a marvelous site, with interesting hieroglyphics.
We departed
and headed towards the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings is a valley that contains numerous tombs for many pharaohs, kings and nobles of Ancient Egypt such as Tutankhamun, Ramses II. We bought tickets and took a shuttle to the starting point of the valley. From there we were allowed to visit three tombs. In each tomb there were spectacular sights, things that you only dreamed to see. The history pouring out of the tombs were flooding our minds and the claustrophobia was killing me. Video cameras are not allowed in any part of the Valley of the Kings.
Our guide then took us right back to the hotel. At the hotel we had time, so Alex, Mom and I decided to go to the internet cafe. Unfortunately, it was not working, so we just got ready for dinner.
We walked to a restaurant called Maxime’s and ate a mediocre meal. After the meal, there was still a time left in the night, so we walked along the streets and shopped. On our walk we bought many souvenirs and turned down many “caleche, caleche?”
Once we finally got out of the area and back to the hotel, Dad immediately wanted to swim. I did not join him, but instead we all just relaxed on the pool side watching the gorgeous sunset on the Nile.
After a couple hours we set out again by taxi to Karnak temple for a sound and light show. In front of the Sheraton there were always a lot of caleches and taxis waiting for tourists. Mom easily got a taxi to the Karnark temple which was also built to respect the God Amun.It was already dark at this time, so we had to rely on the light of the show to guide us. Unfortunately, poor lighting and boring lectures led to us being unimpressed with the show but amazed by the structure of the temple. I almost felt asleep during the ½ hour at the sacred lake. Mom regretted that we did not visit this temple during the day time. It must have been very impressive.
When we finally left we were really hungry, so we all decided to eat at the Italian restaurant in the Sheraton (yes, in Egypt). The food was actually very good (fettuccini alfredo). We ended the day after the meal and slept easily.
Day 5 - Dec 20, 2008 - Valley of the Kings
Today, we were scheduled for another tour. This forced us to once again, eat at the rip-off buffet at the hotel. The buffet was decent but had a small selection. We got picked up by our guide and then we headed to the West bank of the Nile which is the other side of the Nile.
Our first stop was the Collossi of Memnon. The two statues were very impressive, but the temple was only a ruin. The tour guide told us the sad story of how the statue's singing was the dead Memnon calling for his mother.
We then headed to the Hatshepsut temple. Hatshepsut (female) was the 5th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. As we approached the temple, our lazy guide lectured us in a café far from the temple and stayed back to let us see the temple alone. We entered the temple area and were greeted by a marvelous site, with interesting hieroglyphics.We departed
and headed towards the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings is a valley that contains numerous tombs for many pharaohs, kings and nobles of Ancient Egypt such as Tutankhamun, Ramses II. We bought tickets and took a shuttle to the starting point of the valley. From there we were allowed to visit three tombs. In each tomb there were spectacular sights, things that you only dreamed to see. The history pouring out of the tombs were flooding our minds and the claustrophobia was killing me. Video cameras are not allowed in any part of the Valley of the Kings.Our guide then took us right back to the hotel. At the hotel we had time, so Alex, Mom and I decided to go to the internet cafe. Unfortunately, it was not working, so we just got ready for dinner.
We walked to a restaurant called Maxime’s and ate a mediocre meal. After the meal, there was still a time left in the night, so we walked along the streets and shopped. On our walk we bought many souvenirs and turned down many “caleche, caleche?”
But when we reached the Nile Corniche and we decided to take a caleche back to the hotel. We got one for 20 LE and rode back to the hotel. However, Mom stopped us at a store that she liked and Dad and I were forced to wait a long time, causing an inconvenience to traffic and the caleche driver. When they finally returned we headed straight to the hotel and straight to bed.
Day 6 - Dec 21, 2009-: Aswan
Today was our last day in Luxor. We packed up and took a taxi to the train station. We were planning to take the 9 am, 1st class train for foreigners to Aswan. The tour guide in Luxor bought the tickets for us (41 LE pp).
Aswan is a city in South Egypt located on the East Bank of the Nile and is known as one of the driest areas in the world (as of 2009, the last rainfall was in May 13, 2006).
As we waited for our train (which became delayed for one hour) we were continuously stared at by locals in passing trains. Some guys on the train also took pictures of us with their cell phones.
When our train finally arrived, we boarded with many other European tourists and were pleasantly surprised by the peace of the ride and time. The train looked old and smelled of urine but was quite comfortable.
Along the way, we saw a lot of local houses which looked very simple and poor. The houses looked to me as if they did not have a roof, only some straws on top. Mom guessed that because it did not rain in Egypt, so a solid roof was not necessary. On one side of the track was the beautiful Nile with green trees, contrasting with the very dry landscape on the other side of the track.
We soon arrived in Aswan and immediately took a taxi to our hotel (luggage on top) the Nile Hotel (not SPG), where all the rooms supposedly had the Nile view. The hotel itself was simple but decent, but compared to Sheraton it was somewhat a downgrade.
Our tour guide of Aswan, Mohammed, arranged our convoy to Abu Simbel tomorrow and our train tickets back to Luxor for later. By this time, we were ready for dinner. We walked to Aswan Moon near the hotel and for some reason, we ate delicious pizza.
After our meal, we decided that we would go on the tourist trap of the feluccas. Feluccas are sailboats that are commonly used to sail on the Nile River. We found a felucca with a Nubian captain (Nubian are Egyptians that are very dark) and set sail. Unfortunately, there was minimal wind, so the ride was slow and boring.
Once we got off the boat there was still time left in the day. So we walked uphill to the Nubian museum. The museum was nice and there were lots of local people. We found it amusing when a couple of guys asked to take a picture with us with his camera. Flash camera was not allowed at the museum. A guard kept following us around reminding us of that even though we never used the flash.
We were practically exhausted by the end. We quickly got a taxi for another 10 LE and went straight back to the hotel.
Day 7- Dec 22, 2008- Abu Simbel
This day was completely dedicated to go to the Abu Simbel temple.
Abu Simbel is a temple carved out of the mountain for King Ramsesses II and a second temple for his queen Nefertari. These two temples were once located at a lower level, but as a result of the High Dam, the Nile flooded into Lake Nasser forcing the relocation of the temple to higher ground. The temples were reconstructed identical to its original design and were relocated by UNESCO, which is an agency of the UN dedicated to culture.
We started our day eating at the hotel’s breakfast buffet. However, we were late so there was not much food left. The waiters were very friendly and asked to take a picture with Alex.
To get to Abu Simbel, there was a three hour drive through the desert. There are daily convoys with police escorts that would drive us to Abu Simbel. Mohamed arranged for us a nice private van with two drivers who took turns driving. We joined the 11:00 convoy and were impressed by the expected barren deserts of Egypt.
When we finally reached Abu Simbel, we were first greeted by Lake Nasser (named after President Nasser) with its beautiful blue surface. We then were amazed to see the two temples that were very impressive an
d historic. Ramsesses’ temple was very interesting with the four giant statues of Ramses II and its ancient hieroglyphics. We saw the famous mural of Ramses II with the chariot on the wall in his temple, reminding me of the movie “The Prince of Egypt”. At the Neferati temple, Mom concluded that Ramses II was very romantic when she saw the picture of Ramses II offering a lotus flower to his queen.
The sale people outside the temple were very persistent and followed us to our minivan. Mom bought a nice scarf which she would immediately wore the next few days. The shopkeepers also gave Alex and me little stone beetles (called scarabs) for good luck which we found them very nice. Alex found the constant flirting by the Egyptian boys tiring after a while.
We spent about two hours at Abu Simbel until we were forced to drive back for another 3 hour trip. However the drive was even more amazing because it was night and the stars were extremely bright because there was no light. I watched the stars the whole ride and the time just flew by.
When we arrived we were hungry for dinner so we ate at the Panaroma Restaurant across from the hotel. The restaurant was very nicely decorated with a lot of Nubian arts and we were served by a very funny waiter. He also helped me find all the Egyptian coins that I was looking for to add to my coin collection. The food was great, allowing us to try grilled pigeon for the first time.
Mom wanted to go for a walk along the Nile after dinner but it was too cold so we headed back to our hotel. After a great day we were ready for a great sleep.
Day 8 - Dec 23, 2009- Aswan, Luxor to Sharm
Today
we would be leaving Aswan to go back to Luxor to catch a very late flight to Sharm El Sheikh. We began this day by skipping breakfast and checking out of the Nile Hotel. We would not be leaving Aswan yet, so we just left our luggage in the Nile Hotel and took a taxi to the area of the Isis Temple of Philae (40 LE). This temple is located on an island and was built to the God Isis. In order for us to get to the temple we would have to take a boat to the island (40 LE). The temple was very nice but for some reason seemed very familiar (like every other temple we’ve seen).
We soon left and we were really hungry for lunch. We travelled to t
he Basma Hotel for a buffet lunch. The lunch was so-so, but the service and hotel were fancy. After lunch, we did not want to leave the Basma Hotel because we enjoyed the nice view and comfortable breeze at the restaurant terrace too much. Also Dad was tired of having to go back to the street and face the constant calls for “taxi?”, “caleche?” and “felucca?” Now we were more experienced and replied “we did already” and they left us alone.
After about an hour of relaxing, it was time to go. We walked all the way back to the Nile hotel and got ready to leave for the train station. Once again we would be taking the 4 pm train back to Luxor to catch the flight to Sharm after.
Once we arrived in Luxor, we took a taxi to Luxor airport. Luxor airport looked pretty new and there were signs that said “No tips” in the washroom. So we gave back to Dad the 1 LE that he normally gave us to give to the attendants at the washrooms. We arrived early at the airport so we ate dinner of mediocre sandwiches at the airport and relaxed. When it was time, we boarded our Egypt Air and flew to Sharm.
Days 9, 10, 11 & 12 - Dec 24-27, 2008: Sharm El-Sheikh
Sharm or Sharm el-Sheikh is a city located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, known for Mount Sinai and the Red Sea (Exodus Story). Once we arrived it was already late so we hurried to the Sheraton Sharm (SPG again), which is a resort/hotel in a taxi (40 LE).
At the hotel, since Christmas was nearing, there was very loud Euro music playing and the whole hotel was nicely decorated and had a very party atmosphere. Mom checked in eagerly but was disappointed to learn that the hotel lost our junior suite, but instead gave us two interconnecting rooms in the main building which had amazing view of the pool, the beach and the Red Sea. However, when we finally got our rooms, it was well past midnight and we fell asleep quickly.
Seeing how Sheraton Sharm was a resort, we went through the next four days very leisurely to recuperate after our extensive sight seeing days.
First, since the hotel did not have a junior suite, Mom demanded free breakfast (saved a LOT of money) and they allowed it. The breakfast was good (because it was free) and we filled ourselves for the whole day.
Everyday after breakfast, the first thing we did was relax on the warm Red Sea beach (odd red sand). We lied down all the way until lunch, which was usually at a rip-off beach side grill.
After lunch, we would do one of the most popular attractions of Sharm: snorkelling in the Red Sea, viewing the ancient coral and sea life. Only Alex, Dad and I went snorkelling, because Mom did not swim well. The Sheraton Sharm has a house reef and a floating dock where we snorkelled from.
It was impossible for me to describe the beauty of the underwater at the Red Sea. The waters were amazing! There were many types of fish all swimming around at the same time. One of the most impressive parts, in my opinion, was the amazing, gigantic coral reefs.
As Dad and I snorkelled, Mom tried snorkelling, but with poor results (the waves were too strong). Luckily for Mom though, Dad took her to a special shallow spot on the beach so that she would get her own private fish show. Mom really enjoyed the fish and I really enjoyed the sun bathing.
As Mom was not able to snorkel properly, one day she bought a tour of a half submerged submarine (half underwater) to view fish and coral along the Naama Bay. The shuttle picked us up to the dock where we would board the sub and would take off. Unfortunately, the submarine view was quite similar to the snorkelling that we have done (worse than snorkelling) and was only suitable for the ones who could not swim well (Mom). The tour was a major waste of money in my opinion (at US$45 pp).
After spending the whole day on the beach, alternating between sun tanning and swimming, it would soon be time for dinner. It got cold and dark early at about 5 pm. We returned to our room, got changed and headed to the hotel’s many restaurants.
On Christmas Eve the hotel prepared a Christmas Gala buffet that was ridiculously expensive. This was not mandatory however, so we managed to escape and ate at the hotel’s Lebanese restaurant. The food was not bad with magnificent bread and dip, but Mom ordered too much and we left many plate leftovers. We tried the Italian restaurant the following night and found the food surprisingly good.
For the last two nights, we took the hotel shuttle to Naama Bay for a night on the town. Our first priority was internet, which we found easily. Alex checked her marks and found out that she had passed her exams with decent grades, so she was very happy.
We ate at a Thai restaurant called Thai house (it was a “fusion”). The food was actually good and even I could take the spiciness of Thai food. The next night we tried the famous Little Buddha, but were severely disappointed. The place was very nice (but dark and candlelit) but unfortunately, the food was mediocre except the lemon chicken. In the end we felt ripped off by the high price and we didn’t feel great leaving the building.
After the meal, we just aimlessly walked around looking at shops, buying many souvenirs and being called by many merchants saying, “Ni hao, ni hao!” and "Where are you from?" We had a hard time finding a decent baseball cap with “Egypt” or “Sharm” for Dad’s collection. Instead there were a lot of “Nike” knock off caps or “Florida” caps (?) which made us very disappointed.
When the shuttle finally arrived we took it back to the hotel to our awaiting beds.
Day 13 - Dec 28, 2008- back to Cairo
We were nearing the end of our trip. Today we were leaving Sharm. For the last time, we ate our complimentary breakfast and then packed. We then went to the free airport shuttle. We checked into our Egypt Air flight and then boarded the short flight to Cairo. Once we arrived we were greeted with the familiar traffic. We took a taxi to another SPG hotel, the Heliopolis Meridien.
We rested for a couple hours and then set off. Our first destination was once again the Khan el-Khalili market. Before we entered the market, we first went to the Al Azhar mosque. In that mosque we once again got scammed. As we entered, a man gave us some mysterious looking bread which we reluctantly ate and then he guided us throughout the mosque. As expected, at the end of the “tour” he wished for payment. After that episode, we entered the market and as always, we walked aimlessly. This time surprisingly, we did not buy anything.
After our little walk we decided to go to the Al Azhar Park. This p
ark is a very nice area that is very lively with many children, couples and families. This park offers a very nice view of Cairo and the Citadel. We peacefully walked around and en
joyed our last day in Cairo. We discussed some of the best parts of our trip, listened for the last time to the prayers and were sad that it was almost time to leave.
We concluded our stay in the park with a dinner at the Citadel View restaurant where we ate shockingly good paninis. From there, we finished our day and took a good old black and white taxi back to the hotel (20LE). We rested easy and were ready to leave for tomorrow.
Dec 29, 2008- Back to Toronto
In the morning we packed our things and said our farewells to our beloved Egypt. We took our final shuttle with our final Egyptian driver to the airport. There we checked into our last flight on Egypt Air to London. We sadly boarded and took a simple 5 hour flight to Heathrow Airport.
In London, we had a long 3 hour wait in the airport to connect to our Air Canada Toronto flight. So to pass the time, Mom let Alex and I use the internet (1 pound / 20 min). We only got one computer, but I really wanted to talk to Erik on MSN so I bought myself one. However, I became very lucky; the last person that used that computer left early leaving me with 1 extra hour.
Finally it was time to go to our final flight on this trip. We boarded the Air Canada plane and were shocked by the personal TV’s in front of us. This last 7 hour flight went by quickly because I continuously watched movies including the Dark Knight and Tropic Thunder.
When we finally arrived in our home town, we immediately grabbed our luggage (safe and sound) and took the next taxi home. We finally made it back, surviving our long trip.
Conclusion
This trip has been one of the most adventurous trips and one of the best trips we have ever been on. I found that the Egyptian people were very friendly and humorous. I loved the many amazing wonders that many people dreamt to see and the ancient history was just pouring out of them. From aggressive salespeople to crazy caleches, Egypt may have its faults, but this trip was one heck of an adventure.
I will cherish the memories forever.
Day 6 - Dec 21, 2009-: Aswan
Today was our last day in Luxor. We packed up and took a taxi to the train station. We were planning to take the 9 am, 1st class train for foreigners to Aswan. The tour guide in Luxor bought the tickets for us (41 LE pp).
Aswan is a city in South Egypt located on the East Bank of the Nile and is known as one of the driest areas in the world (as of 2009, the last rainfall was in May 13, 2006).
As we waited for our train (which became delayed for one hour) we were continuously stared at by locals in passing trains. Some guys on the train also took pictures of us with their cell phones.
When our train finally arrived, we boarded with many other European tourists and were pleasantly surprised by the peace of the ride and time. The train looked old and smelled of urine but was quite comfortable.
Along the way, we saw a lot of local houses which looked very simple and poor. The houses looked to me as if they did not have a roof, only some straws on top. Mom guessed that because it did not rain in Egypt, so a solid roof was not necessary. On one side of the track was the beautiful Nile with green trees, contrasting with the very dry landscape on the other side of the track.
We soon arrived in Aswan and immediately took a taxi to our hotel (luggage on top) the Nile Hotel (not SPG), where all the rooms supposedly had the Nile view. The hotel itself was simple but decent, but compared to Sheraton it was somewhat a downgrade.
Our tour guide of Aswan, Mohammed, arranged our convoy to Abu Simbel tomorrow and our train tickets back to Luxor for later. By this time, we were ready for dinner. We walked to Aswan Moon near the hotel and for some reason, we ate delicious pizza.
After our meal, we decided that we would go on the tourist trap of the feluccas. Feluccas are sailboats that are commonly used to sail on the Nile River. We found a felucca with a Nubian captain (Nubian are Egyptians that are very dark) and set sail. Unfortunately, there was minimal wind, so the ride was slow and boring.
Once we got off the boat there was still time left in the day. So we walked uphill to the Nubian museum. The museum was nice and there were lots of local people. We found it amusing when a couple of guys asked to take a picture with us with his camera. Flash camera was not allowed at the museum. A guard kept following us around reminding us of that even though we never used the flash.
We were practically exhausted by the end. We quickly got a taxi for another 10 LE and went straight back to the hotel.
Day 7- Dec 22, 2008- Abu Simbel
This day was completely dedicated to go to the Abu Simbel temple.
Abu Simbel is a temple carved out of the mountain for King Ramsesses II and a second temple for his queen Nefertari. These two temples were once located at a lower level, but as a result of the High Dam, the Nile flooded into Lake Nasser forcing the relocation of the temple to higher ground. The temples were reconstructed identical to its original design and were relocated by UNESCO, which is an agency of the UN dedicated to culture.
We started our day eating at the hotel’s breakfast buffet. However, we were late so there was not much food left. The waiters were very friendly and asked to take a picture with Alex.
To get to Abu Simbel, there was a three hour drive through the desert. There are daily convoys with police escorts that would drive us to Abu Simbel. Mohamed arranged for us a nice private van with two drivers who took turns driving. We joined the 11:00 convoy and were impressed by the expected barren deserts of Egypt.
When we finally reached Abu Simbel, we were first greeted by Lake Nasser (named after President Nasser) with its beautiful blue surface. We then were amazed to see the two temples that were very impressive an
d historic. Ramsesses’ temple was very interesting with the four giant statues of Ramses II and its ancient hieroglyphics. We saw the famous mural of Ramses II with the chariot on the wall in his temple, reminding me of the movie “The Prince of Egypt”. At the Neferati temple, Mom concluded that Ramses II was very romantic when she saw the picture of Ramses II offering a lotus flower to his queen.The sale people outside the temple were very persistent and followed us to our minivan. Mom bought a nice scarf which she would immediately wore the next few days. The shopkeepers also gave Alex and me little stone beetles (called scarabs) for good luck which we found them very nice. Alex found the constant flirting by the Egyptian boys tiring after a while.
We spent about two hours at Abu Simbel until we were forced to drive back for another 3 hour trip. However the drive was even more amazing because it was night and the stars were extremely bright because there was no light. I watched the stars the whole ride and the time just flew by.
When we arrived we were hungry for dinner so we ate at the Panaroma Restaurant across from the hotel. The restaurant was very nicely decorated with a lot of Nubian arts and we were served by a very funny waiter. He also helped me find all the Egyptian coins that I was looking for to add to my coin collection. The food was great, allowing us to try grilled pigeon for the first time.
Mom wanted to go for a walk along the Nile after dinner but it was too cold so we headed back to our hotel. After a great day we were ready for a great sleep.
Day 8 - Dec 23, 2009- Aswan, Luxor to Sharm
Today
we would be leaving Aswan to go back to Luxor to catch a very late flight to Sharm El Sheikh. We began this day by skipping breakfast and checking out of the Nile Hotel. We would not be leaving Aswan yet, so we just left our luggage in the Nile Hotel and took a taxi to the area of the Isis Temple of Philae (40 LE). This temple is located on an island and was built to the God Isis. In order for us to get to the temple we would have to take a boat to the island (40 LE). The temple was very nice but for some reason seemed very familiar (like every other temple we’ve seen).We soon left and we were really hungry for lunch. We travelled to t
he Basma Hotel for a buffet lunch. The lunch was so-so, but the service and hotel were fancy. After lunch, we did not want to leave the Basma Hotel because we enjoyed the nice view and comfortable breeze at the restaurant terrace too much. Also Dad was tired of having to go back to the street and face the constant calls for “taxi?”, “caleche?” and “felucca?” Now we were more experienced and replied “we did already” and they left us alone.After about an hour of relaxing, it was time to go. We walked all the way back to the Nile hotel and got ready to leave for the train station. Once again we would be taking the 4 pm train back to Luxor to catch the flight to Sharm after.
Once we arrived in Luxor, we took a taxi to Luxor airport. Luxor airport looked pretty new and there were signs that said “No tips” in the washroom. So we gave back to Dad the 1 LE that he normally gave us to give to the attendants at the washrooms. We arrived early at the airport so we ate dinner of mediocre sandwiches at the airport and relaxed. When it was time, we boarded our Egypt Air and flew to Sharm.
Days 9, 10, 11 & 12 - Dec 24-27, 2008: Sharm El-Sheikh
Sharm or Sharm el-Sheikh is a city located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, known for Mount Sinai and the Red Sea (Exodus Story). Once we arrived it was already late so we hurried to the Sheraton Sharm (SPG again), which is a resort/hotel in a taxi (40 LE).
At the hotel, since Christmas was nearing, there was very loud Euro music playing and the whole hotel was nicely decorated and had a very party atmosphere. Mom checked in eagerly but was disappointed to learn that the hotel lost our junior suite, but instead gave us two interconnecting rooms in the main building which had amazing view of the pool, the beach and the Red Sea. However, when we finally got our rooms, it was well past midnight and we fell asleep quickly.
Seeing how Sheraton Sharm was a resort, we went through the next four days very leisurely to recuperate after our extensive sight seeing days.
First, since the hotel did not have a junior suite, Mom demanded free breakfast (saved a LOT of money) and they allowed it. The breakfast was good (because it was free) and we filled ourselves for the whole day.
Everyday after breakfast, the first thing we did was relax on the warm Red Sea beach (odd red sand). We lied down all the way until lunch, which was usually at a rip-off beach side grill.After lunch, we would do one of the most popular attractions of Sharm: snorkelling in the Red Sea, viewing the ancient coral and sea life. Only Alex, Dad and I went snorkelling, because Mom did not swim well. The Sheraton Sharm has a house reef and a floating dock where we snorkelled from.
It was impossible for me to describe the beauty of the underwater at the Red Sea. The waters were amazing! There were many types of fish all swimming around at the same time. One of the most impressive parts, in my opinion, was the amazing, gigantic coral reefs.
As Dad and I snorkelled, Mom tried snorkelling, but with poor results (the waves were too strong). Luckily for Mom though, Dad took her to a special shallow spot on the beach so that she would get her own private fish show. Mom really enjoyed the fish and I really enjoyed the sun bathing.
As Mom was not able to snorkel properly, one day she bought a tour of a half submerged submarine (half underwater) to view fish and coral along the Naama Bay. The shuttle picked us up to the dock where we would board the sub and would take off. Unfortunately, the submarine view was quite similar to the snorkelling that we have done (worse than snorkelling) and was only suitable for the ones who could not swim well (Mom). The tour was a major waste of money in my opinion (at US$45 pp).
After spending the whole day on the beach, alternating between sun tanning and swimming, it would soon be time for dinner. It got cold and dark early at about 5 pm. We returned to our room, got changed and headed to the hotel’s many restaurants.
On Christmas Eve the hotel prepared a Christmas Gala buffet that was ridiculously expensive. This was not mandatory however, so we managed to escape and ate at the hotel’s Lebanese restaurant. The food was not bad with magnificent bread and dip, but Mom ordered too much and we left many plate leftovers. We tried the Italian restaurant the following night and found the food surprisingly good.
For the last two nights, we took the hotel shuttle to Naama Bay for a night on the town. Our first priority was internet, which we found easily. Alex checked her marks and found out that she had passed her exams with decent grades, so she was very happy.
We ate at a Thai restaurant called Thai house (it was a “fusion”). The food was actually good and even I could take the spiciness of Thai food. The next night we tried the famous Little Buddha, but were severely disappointed. The place was very nice (but dark and candlelit) but unfortunately, the food was mediocre except the lemon chicken. In the end we felt ripped off by the high price and we didn’t feel great leaving the building.
After the meal, we just aimlessly walked around looking at shops, buying many souvenirs and being called by many merchants saying, “Ni hao, ni hao!” and "Where are you from?" We had a hard time finding a decent baseball cap with “Egypt” or “Sharm” for Dad’s collection. Instead there were a lot of “Nike” knock off caps or “Florida” caps (?) which made us very disappointed.
When the shuttle finally arrived we took it back to the hotel to our awaiting beds.
Day 13 - Dec 28, 2008- back to Cairo
We were nearing the end of our trip. Today we were leaving Sharm. For the last time, we ate our complimentary breakfast and then packed. We then went to the free airport shuttle. We checked into our Egypt Air flight and then boarded the short flight to Cairo. Once we arrived we were greeted with the familiar traffic. We took a taxi to another SPG hotel, the Heliopolis Meridien.
We rested for a couple hours and then set off. Our first destination was once again the Khan el-Khalili market. Before we entered the market, we first went to the Al Azhar mosque. In that mosque we once again got scammed. As we entered, a man gave us some mysterious looking bread which we reluctantly ate and then he guided us throughout the mosque. As expected, at the end of the “tour” he wished for payment. After that episode, we entered the market and as always, we walked aimlessly. This time surprisingly, we did not buy anything.After our little walk we decided to go to the Al Azhar Park. This p
ark is a very nice area that is very lively with many children, couples and families. This park offers a very nice view of Cairo and the Citadel. We peacefully walked around and en
joyed our last day in Cairo. We discussed some of the best parts of our trip, listened for the last time to the prayers and were sad that it was almost time to leave.We concluded our stay in the park with a dinner at the Citadel View restaurant where we ate shockingly good paninis. From there, we finished our day and took a good old black and white taxi back to the hotel (20LE). We rested easy and were ready to leave for tomorrow.
Dec 29, 2008- Back to Toronto
In the morning we packed our things and said our farewells to our beloved Egypt. We took our final shuttle with our final Egyptian driver to the airport. There we checked into our last flight on Egypt Air to London. We sadly boarded and took a simple 5 hour flight to Heathrow Airport.
In London, we had a long 3 hour wait in the airport to connect to our Air Canada Toronto flight. So to pass the time, Mom let Alex and I use the internet (1 pound / 20 min). We only got one computer, but I really wanted to talk to Erik on MSN so I bought myself one. However, I became very lucky; the last person that used that computer left early leaving me with 1 extra hour.
Finally it was time to go to our final flight on this trip. We boarded the Air Canada plane and were shocked by the personal TV’s in front of us. This last 7 hour flight went by quickly because I continuously watched movies including the Dark Knight and Tropic Thunder.
When we finally arrived in our home town, we immediately grabbed our luggage (safe and sound) and took the next taxi home. We finally made it back, surviving our long trip.
Conclusion
This trip has been one of the most adventurous trips and one of the best trips we have ever been on. I found that the Egyptian people were very friendly and humorous. I loved the many amazing wonders that many people dreamt to see and the ancient history was just pouring out of them. From aggressive salespeople to crazy caleches, Egypt may have its faults, but this trip was one heck of an adventure.
I will cherish the memories forever.
