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Published: November 6th 2007
Arriving at Cairo airport my nephew Jim and I were met by a local agent who secured our visas $15 US per person and we sailed through immigration. Retrieved our bags and were handed off to driver and local agent. Quick drive through the city as it was Friday at noon; Friday is the start of the weekend in Egypt. We checked into the Cairo Marriott & Casino and had a great room; enjoyed the hotel. Tips, tips, more tips. Take lots of small money for tips. Small Egyptian money is hard to come by. US dollars at this time are widely accepted. Nearly all toilets require a tip. Drivers, porters, guides, agents, etc. all require a tip. I would like to see the travel company in Cairo take control of the tipping (add to the bill if necessary) and eliminate it for their guests. I eventually came to agree with a Brit I met later in the trip that the system is designed to cause visitors to overtip. Everyone demands a “dollar” when an Egyptian would not give more than 1.50 LE (Egyptian pounds) which is about a quarter. You are likely to have a dollar but you are not
likely to have 1.50 LE.
Cairo is dirty and horribly smoggy; all vehicles spew horrendous amounts of exhaust. Everybody smokes cigarettes; they are very cheap in Egypt. Outside Cairo the farmers had all just burned their old crops while we were there to clear fields for new crops and a “black cloud” literally enveloped Cairo (reported in the news as such). The government has no control over the farmers and cannot stop them.
We did the sound and light show at Giza (US$42 pp) which was pretty kitschy. The memorable part was the muezzein calling everyone to prayers over blaring loudspeakers in the middle of the show, and the cars driving down the road between the pyramids during the show.
My nephew Jim traveled with me on this trip and he was an A+ student. Most of the English speakers on the Nile cruise remarked upon his excellent retention and quick learn of the barrage of information our guide was throwing at us at the various sites. He was also video taping quite a bit at the same time proving his multi-tasking skills.
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