Holiday in Egypt

At first I was skeptical about taking my family to Egypt last month. I was worried about everything we heard in the news and on TV recently, which is normal I suppose. I also know that I was not alone in my concerns as many other travelers where asking the same questions I was on the Frommers and Tripadvisor forums. Is it safe? Is it stable? Will my wife/daughter be harassed? etc? I would suggest to anyone thinking of travelling to places like Egypt to check out all these websites and do your proper research. All the responses from people who have recently travelled to Egypt were quite reassuring. In the end, we are very glad we went.

My wife, my son & I spent ten days in Egypt. We stayed in Cairo for 3 nights, flew down to Luxor for a 4 night Nile cruise, stayed 2 nights in Aswan then one back in Cairo before our flight home to the UK. We would have liked to spend a few nights in Sharm el Sheikh as well but Andrew couldn't stay longer.

Cairo is a strange city to understand. The stories we hear are true concerning the horrible traffic, dust and noise. We were told that the city is home to about 18 million people, and 5 million commuters from the outskirts of the city come in to work everyday. We stayed at the Fairmont by the airport. Although a great hotel, getting to the museum downtown and the pyramids (and back) is an awfully long process. To avoid the traffic either go extremely early or schedule your excursions in Cairo to Friday & Saturday, the official weekend. On the other hand it is full of life and lights, people seem to be always laughing. Shops stay open past 2am.

The Egyptian Museum is right in the middle of Tahrir square. We were quite worried on the drive there, especially Melinda, my wife. Once there, we were taken back by how quiet it was. The main roundabout had very few cars, the central garden had just been re-sown and there were a few vendors on the pavements selling flags, knock-off bags and other small items. Also, you find yourself imagining what it must have been like a year ago with hundreds of thousands of people gathered here from all walks of life chanting, protesting and hoping for a better future. That is how our guide described it. The museum itself has so many beautiful artifacts on display. We even saw the mummies of pharos, quite impressive. But the museum itself needs major maintenance and refurbishment. Our guide told us that a new state of the art museum was being built outside the city and should be completed by 2014. I hope it's true.

That evening we went to the Khan el Khalili market in old Cairo. This is the only place where we felt a little uncomfortable. You could feel the stress and desperation of these sellers who have been severely affected by the dip in tourists lately. But being so aggressive for us to buy is no way to improve things either. My wife bought a few galabeyas (traditional dress) and jewelry boxes, while Andrew got papyrus prints for his home.

Next morning was Cairo's highlight, the Pyramids. The sheer size of them is breathtaking. One must wonder how people with wooden and copper tools built such monuments. And they are 7000 years old. We didn't enter the pyramids but took a camel ride around them, frightening but fun. Thankfully our guide negotiated with the camel people as it seemed to be a heated argument about the price. That night we ate at a local known restaurant called Abu Sid. It serves typical Egyptian food and also serves alcohol which was great. The stuffed pigeon was remarkable. Our last day in Cairo was dedicated to its Islamic heritage. We first went to the Citadel, Azhar Park then several old mosques in old Cairo. Really beautiful ornaments and geometrical decoration.

The next morning, we took an internal flight to Luxor where we boarded our Nile cruiser for four nights. The Royal Lily is a fantastic ship. The cabins were much bigger than I expected. We were given connected cabins, much to Andrew's anguish, which allowed my wife to easily spread out her clothes in the closets of both rooms. The closets aren't particularly large. The boat manager Mohamed greeted us personally and later in the cruise gave us a private tour of the ship, even the engine room. The cruise is the highlight of the holiday; that is if you don't mind the early mornings for the excursions. We were told that they are done so early to avoid crowds, yet there doesn't seem to be many tourists there these days. Most other ships are moored and not operational. Our favorite excursions were the Karnak Temple, Kom Ombo Temple and the botanical gardens in Aswan. One really is taken aback by the size & splendor of the monuments built by the pharos. Andrew said they must have been the most egocentric people who ever lived. Whatever it was, it shows you the power of human imagination. Although all cruises are sold on a full board basis, I would recommend that at least twice in the cruise you eat in a restaurant outside the ship, once in Luxor and once in Aswan. There aren't many restaurants around but the hotels all have good restaurants. The M?venpick in Aswan has a tower with a skyview restaurant of the town. Spectacular view while having your meal. The food on board the ship was excellent but one should make the most of being in different towns.

Our 2 nights in Aswan were pleasant. The hotel was nice, staff very friendly. Both the hotel and the ship are M?venpick hotels so you know you are in good hands. Aswan is a quiet town, moves at a slow pace. So after Cairo and early morning on the cruise, relaxing for 2 days at the pool and walking around the town was the perfect ending. We took a late afternoon flight back to Cairo, so we had dinner at the hotel and went straight to bed. Next morning flew back home.

We would definitely recommend going to Egypt for anyone who has doubts. It is safe, pleasant and still has many less tourists than before. We were told that before the revolution, the queues and crowds at the sites were irritating. So now is the perfect time to visit. When researching, I found many tour operators who sold packages and fixed itineraries. Although their prices were very good, they are not flexible and won't necessarily include what you want.

I found a local cruise company called Nile Exploration. Their main business is Nile cruises, but they arranged all the rest for us. The price was reasonable, we followed our own itinerary. It seems they booked the rest for us to ensure we use their ship. In the end, it worked out perfectly. http://www.nile-exploration.co.uk/en/rlily.html

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/holiday-in-egypt-302206

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