Egypt Vacation Summary. The good, The Bad, The ugly

Visiting Egypt was a wonderful family trip that delivered more than expected, and I expect a lot.  Seeing all the monument was more than you can put into words or pictures because being there is an experience that just cannot be captured.  The Egyptian people were always friendly and if you smiled and said hello they would always follow with a hello.  As with every culture that I have encountered a neutral looks is not away one that portrays what we thinks as friendly.  This take sometime to understand and adjust. The kids that we encountered on field trips where always a delight and made us laugh at the things they would do to get our attention.  Cairo is an in your face city and was almost to much at times.  Crossing the street is an event all by itself.  Crazy is the only word that I can put to it.  We had a number of time that we used the Egyptians as Human shields because they seem so indifferent to the cars passing inches from them. Egypt has now been crossed out on my Bucket list but I would love to do it again. Aswan to Cairo this time not Cairo to Aswan. 

Our Tour guides were top notch. I can not say enough about the knowledge of Ali in Cairo and Mostafa out of Aswan. I studied for 6 months before out trip, so I knew more about Egypt than most travelers. I often stopped them in the middle of a discussion to have them clarify or repeat something I did not understand.   Mostafa would provide information and then quiz you to see if you listened. I looked forward to the daily quiz and he got me form time to time.  Ali provide a discussion about the Islamic religion and answer questions openly and in detail. 

We receive a number of tips from fellow traveler and would like to share some of our own.  Take at least 200 one dollar bills for tipping. The Egyptian hoard the small bills because they need to tip, leaving the tourist out in the cold and over tipping.  If you drink coffee take a single mug immersion heater that will run on 240 along with coffee and a coffee cup. We were in a number of situation where we just could not find a cup of coffee to start the day.  Pick up some extra power adapters before you go.  The Internet has the cheap ones and that is all you need. We took one and ended up purchasing three more because we need to charge the cell, Computer, Game boy, and run a hair dryer all at the same time.  Do not ride the trains if your funding permits. They are dirty, unreliable, loud and slow.

All the Hotel we stayed in were clean and the staff very helpful. We did not stay in fancy Hotels and most would be considered 3 star Hotels.  Tipping is just part of the custom and everyone tips everyone. Expect the a few people to look at there palms when you tip them and give you this sad look.  If you have guide ask for Guidance on the tip.  All of our guides seemed to be pretty clear on what would be expected and the advice did not seem out of order. 

Is an Egypt trip for everyone.  Absolutely not.  Egypt is not clean by US standard and at times can be overwhelming. When you walk on the street you must dodge cars, Sort out money that is different colors and has English only on one side, Tip correctly, Avoid Vendor or deal with them talking to you all the time. All this you must at one time.

If you are ready for an Adventure and not a vacation Egypt is the perfect place and will deliver. 

Day 15 Honolulu bound.

After I flew out of Chicago yesterday to Houston they started cancelling flights. It was snowing when I left but I guess it really picked up. We were so lucky on our way home as we dodged snow in London and now Chicago as well.  Well today Sunday we jumped out of bet at 5:00 AM so we could get to the Airport with time to check in and then eat breakfast. We found that the seat were all mixed up again but this seemed to just be our standard issue from the beginning.  Grace was able to get the Kid in one set of seats and the two of us in another. This worked.  We had one short stop in Denver and then a pretty smooth flight home. This is our living room full luggage ready to be unpacked. This will not happen in the next 12 hours so the cloths will go straight from the luggage to the washer.

Home sweet home sunset.  The feel of your own bed can also be a wonderful think. I will write a summary later.