Wow! We are in Cairo. We've seen the pyramids and they are super! We are doing fantastically! And now...The rest of the story:
The flight from Tunis to Cairo was only a little late, so that wasn't so bad. It's scheduled arrival was 2:30 AM, that was bad. Tired, dazed and weary from dealing with travel on our own, we were led through customs by a very caring guy, which wasn't bad. Instead of showing us where to catch a taxi into town, he showed us upstairs to his travel office, that was bad. He talked us into a tour of the Giza and Saqqara pyramids of a lot less than we thought we would have to pay AND a car to our hotel (the hotel driver did not show up and we couldn't get through to them on the phone) so that wasn't bad. We arrived at our hotel, in a very seedy, somewhat scary location to find it somewhat of a dump.....no let's be honest here....it was a dump; and this was bad. After a very short night's sleep, we ventured forth in Cairo to find a new hotel. After a somewhat difficult search, Gail and I hit the "do it yourself, budget travel" wall. And this is GOOD!
After two and a half months of do it yourself, budget travel, we are staying in a suite at the four-star Flamenco Hotel for approximately ten times the room cost of our last hotel. We have hot and cold running water 24-7, bath towels, a toilet that flushes, windows that open and close, with the Nile River under our balcony. We even ordered a room service dinner our first night because we didn't want to search for a place to eat.
We have our Egypt itinerary all in order with the help of our new travel agent friend. We visited the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara yesterday. We got to climb down into 4,500 year old burial vaults on our hands and knees (boy are they sore today) just like you see the explorers do it in the movies. And we walked on the pyramids. We didn't worry about getting lost, or how get back to town or where to eat.
Today we had a relaxing day at the Egyptian Antiquities Museum. We spent hours looking close-up at thousands of items. They have the full Tutankamun exhibit there. It's amazing how well these items have been preserved. tomorrow through Sunday we will be at Alexandria and Luxor and the Valley of the Kings and Aswan and then up to Dubai for a visit with Jen, Bruce and Jack and Kim Stracke.
The Egyptian people are amazingly friendy and helpful. They are all trying to make a buck but they are really nice. Cairo is a city of eighteen million people and I think they were all at the main square the last couple of days. It is very, very polluted in Cairo with all the cars running at about eleven miles per hour average. There are water buffalo being herded to the fields in morning rush-hour traffic and donkey carts are a very significant part of the transportation, even right in the city. It is a strange, beautiful place with exotic people dressed in all sorts of traditional dress. We are really happy we are here. Happy travels!
Dan & Gail
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2 comments:
I am glad that you two are having such a fantastic trip even through bad weather and sickness. I can definitely relate to finding a good 4star hotel when things aren't going so hot. lol! Keep up the Blogn'!
By now, I hope your knees and hands are well. The Loft misses you. We all miss you. I know well the wall of which you write. I'm glad you two found just the thing to overcome it.
Soldier on and remember that when you're feeling down you can always just stop and ask yourselves, "WWIJD?" (What Would Indiana Jones Do?)
I'm not encouraging you to drink any saucy brunettes under the table or feed people to propellers or anything, but just think about it.
:)
Michael Robinson
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