Hello,

 

As all of you know, I recently visited Egypt (Cairo and Alexandria) for 3 days... Here's how i landed in Egypt:

 

I was looking at going to India in Jan and was looking for tickets via some destinations that come on the way to India... Some of the options I was exploring:

1. London

2. Egypt

 

I had covered Singapore and Hong Kong earlier so wasn't looking at flying via the Pacific this time. London is very cold this time of the year so my natural preference was to Egypt, I started looking for tickets and booked my tickets around 2 months in advance. I have always been a big fan of purchasing tickets online even if it costs couple dollars more than a travel agent, it is simple, user friendly and won't have any problem if you try as many destinations and schedules.

www.sidestep.com is what i use to book air tickets online and it works great. Check it out.

 

Here's my trip account of 3 1/2 days:

Day 1: 01/13/2010

Reached Cairo at 9:30pm in the night and was waiting to get my luggage outside, one of my bags arrived and one more of my bag didn't arrive so I checked in with the lost baggage counter and the person at the counter after some tries, got my baggage and asked me for Baksheesh which translates to tip (he was telling me pounds and dollars will do), I was kinda taken aback but had read about Egyptian people seeking Baksheesh, got used to it and gave him 2 E.P (the person made a sad face but i was like, whatever).

Got into a taxi to take me to my hostel after heavy negotiation (decided on 80 E.P).

The hostel was really nice and in a really posh area of Cairo, the views from my room were of River Nile. After checking into my room, I came downstairs and asked the reception manager if he could get me a local simcard. He immediately asked one of his co-workers to go with me to a store and get me a simcard and a 10 E.P recharge. I got phone service of Etisalat, the best part was I could use internet on my blackberry and that too, very good connection speed. I headed to bed past 12, was tired and jetlagged.

 

Day 2: 01/14/2010

Woke up in the morning around 8am and got ready, there was no hot water and i had to shower with cold water, I found out later that we can get hot water but I had to start the hot water geyser before hand (came pretty handy for the next 2 days otherwise I can't imagine showering in cold water.. hehe). I had complimentary breakfast at the hostel, I tried to tell them that I am a vegetarian and they gave me pita bread, fava beans and fig jam. They also gave me a cup for black tea. The beans tasted pretty bland but any food to a hungry stomach is wonderful. I left to visit the Egyptian Museum and then took a cab to the Giza pyramids and Sphinx. I took a camel ride while at the Giza pyramids, the camel ride is fun, def recommend that to each one of you who go to visit. One tip to remember: The people renting camels and horses rip you off with their charges, they almost start with 5 x the actual amount so be ready to negotiate heavy.
I came back from the pyramids and was tired but still took a stroll near the Nile river and had some local dinner, off for the day

Day 3: 01/15/2010
Woke up early and left home around 6am as had to catch a 7:30am train to Alexandria, it is a 2 hour train drive from Cairo. Got a first class compartment ticket, the trains were very comfortable, luxury personified... One thing that I did not like about Egypt is smoking is like embedded into the life of people over there, people smoke almost everywhere, they havent even spared train stations and airports, gosh! Reached Alexandria around 10am, the city was more spread out compared to Cairo and less crowded. I loved the air, weather and the people. Took a cab to go to Alexandrian Library, it is one of the most famous things to see there. When I got there, I found that the library, museum and planetorium are closed until 2pm as it is Friday and it opens only after their prayers are done, so much for an ignorant tourist to find out, I was sad :(
I did not waste time and decided to head to the beach, the beach was beautiful, quiet and waves were hitting the shore strong. The road alongside the beach looked to me like Marine Drive and I spent 2-3 hours at the beach before heading back to the museum and the library. Got an entry ticket and saw the museum, It was lovely, I took some nice photographs, the library has been renovated and opened few years ago but it is huge, 11 floors big and a master piece of architecture. I was hungry by the time I finished visiting these places. Saw an Italian restaurant - San Giovanni, good food and I was impressed with the amount of fresh juices available, I had like 2-3 fresh juices everyday (gawafa - guava) juice is my favorite... Took the evening train back to Cairo and reached home by 10pm in the night.

Day 4: 01/16/2010
This was my last day in Cairo, did a local city tour, visited the Ibn Tulun mosque, it is beautiful and also went to the famous Khan el Khalili market, it is a shopper's paradise and I loved bargaining and browsing through the list of items available there. Reached the hotel back around 5pm and took the cab to the airport and boarded the plane to Mumbai, the city of my birthplace.

Overall, a wonderful vacation and I loved exploring Egypt, will definitely recommend this place to anyone who wants to go...

If you would like to see all my pictures, click here - http://bit.ly/5uFCWd

Later guys,
Paras