11/10/08

Day 1 – October 19, 2008 (Boston, New York)

 We arrived at Logan with plenty of time to spare for the flight to NY LaGuardia Airport.  Out first minor mishap reveals that if you do your pre boarding over the web, the gate on your boarding pass may change on the day you actually leave.   We found this out when we noticed the departure board had our flight at a different gate than the one we we’re slipping our Dunkin’ Donuts coffee at.   A brief hustle to the right gate, and all was well.

 I come across a kiosk that is pitching movies you can download to go right there onto a thumb drive.   Of course I have a thumb drive and insert it into the kiosk to get free sample videos for Jordan and San Diego that we can all enjoy on my laptop or Palm pilot.   I find this very cool.   The Jordan videos have some nice information on Amman and Petra.   I also appreciate the new Logan waiting area seats that include power outlets and USB ports under them.

 I spend a good amount of time trying to figure out how to thread my headphones into my spiffy new Scot eVest.   I’m still finding miscellaneous pockets in the vest and pants.

Day 2 – October 20, 2008 (Cairo)

 Flight to Cairo from NY is about 9 hours and uneventful.   Watched about 3 movies, of which, Swing Shift, was the only one a can remember with any clarity.   The plane lands 45 minutes early, and since there are no jet ways; you walk off the plane onto buses.  I immediately get on a bus, turn around, and notice Jeanie is not right behind me; opps.   We get back together at the terminal and are greeted by the A&K representative who whisks us thru customs, etc.   We begin to bond with our fellow travelers.

On the bus ride to the hotel, we’re offered ice cold bottled water and told that throughout the trip, bottled water will be available.   We are told, “do not drink the tap water, do not brush your teeth with tap water”, etc.

 The weather in Cairo is pleasant, the traffic is bad, but no where near as bad as say, Bangalore, India.   The hotel room is excellent with a nice view of the Nile and air conditioning that works.   I soon find out that the wireless is not free and can’t seem to pick up the access point anyway.

Day 3 – October 21, 2008 (Cairo)

We arose around 9:00 and have breakfast in the hotel.   Numerous discussions ensue on plan for the day.  I suggest walking from hotel to the railway station and then down to the gardens.   5 minutes into the walk, we’re deep in what looks like the iron and auto parts district.   Rutted dirt streets with small shops stacked with pieces of iron and steel or specific auto parts; ex. Shock absorbers, cylinders, tools, etc.  There are virtually no women on the streets except for Dave, Jean and Debbie.   Seems like lots of staring from the men sitting on chairs outside the various shops.   We see donkey and horse carts and various livestock wandering around.   In several places the curbs are almost a foot high.   We believe this is to discourage parking on the sidewalks.   There are cars parked literally, everywhere, with no rhyme or reason.  We decide this is less than ideal plan and opt for returning to the hotel and trying a boat ride on the Nile.

We negotiate a deal with a limited English speaking driver who takes us to the boat ramp.   Furious negotiations ensue and we’re off for a 2 hour cruise on the Nile.   Our boatman speaks no English, but we get along ok.   See the photo album for associated photos.

At the turnaround to come back to the ramp, we are stopped by Egyptian police.   Some discussion with our boatman and the police take place, a license is produced, a form is signed and we’re on our way.   I mentioned this encounter to our taxi driver on the way back and it seems it has something to do with the police, rich tourists from the Conrad, and cruising the Nile.   I’m still not sure how it all fits together.

We meet our fellow travelers in the lobby at 5:15 for the Light and Sound Show at the pyramids.   The last of the tour members arrive and introductions are made all around.   The usual, “what did you do today?”, conversations take place and we’re off to the Giza plateau.

The traffic is horrendous and we find ourselves inching along as there are no traffic lights in Cairo and general chaos rules the day.   Eventually we get to a place where we need to make a left-hand turn to the main street to the pyramids, but the traffic is not allowing any such maneuver.   Our tour guide exits the bus and goes to the intersection to talk with the traffic police on moving things along and polls the cars next to us in the left-hand lane on their intentions of making a left.   We bull our way left, make the turn and race to the pyramids.

We miss a few minutes of the show, but have front row seats for a surprisingly entertaining show.    The sound is full Dolby stereo and the lasers, lights, etc. are top notch.   The pyramids are impressive, even in this somewhat circus atmosphere.   We’ll be seeing them in daylight later on the tour.

People in the audience flash away with their digital cameras, thinking somehow their puny cameras can make a dent on illuminating the scene.    There must be some serious lights arranged around the monuments to illuminate them they way they do.

On the way back, our tour guide produces some miniature pyramids that he purchased at the site, in a way of an apology for getting us there late,  a nice touch.

Day 4 – October 24, 2008 (Cairo)

The tour officially starts today.   The group assembles in the lobby, meet our Egyptologist and it’s off to the Egyptian Museum.   On the short ride to the museum we get to know our guide for the remainder of our stay in Egypt.   He tells us about the traffic, the lack of traffic lights, the 4 minute driver’s test which gets you a license good for 9 years, etc.   We are informed that cameras are not allowed in the museum, so I the pictures I took are from outside the museum and I leave my gear in the bus.   However, once I get in the museum I see numerous teenagers clicking away with their camera cell phones.

 Prior to entering the museum, our guide equips us with these “whisper headsets”.  These allow him to broadcast to us while in the museum to be heard above the general commotion in the halls.   As we test them out in the bus, we are temporarily flummoxed on hearing anything, until Jeanie advises turning the volume up.   All works perfectly after this valuable technical advise.

 The museum is stuffed with antiquities, most of it poorly labeled, if at all, but still excellent stuff.   The highlight is the Tutenakam exhibit that has the golden caskets, the gold death mask and lots of “stuff”.   It seems the Egyptians believed that life on earth was temporary before you went to the afterlife, so you spent a lot of time preparing for the afterlife.   You brought with you duplicates of stuff just in case you lose something.   There is a recurring theme that Egyptian’s always have a “Plan B”.   The coffins found within coffins that you often see, is designed to discourage looters.   The coffins found in King Tut’s tomb where all built in place.   King Tut’s mummy remains in his original tomb in the Valley of the Kings, which we’ll be visiting latter in the tour.

We go thru the Royal Mummies room which is cool.   King Ramses II mummy is the main attraction here.   His mummy is extraordinarily well preserved.  You can see his fingernails, eye lashes, white hair, and so on.  While milling around there is much commotion and video filming going on and we find out that the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Montenegro is looking at the mummies as well.  As we move around, he actually says “Excuse me” to me as we squeeze by the display cases.