And So it Begins - Cairo

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And So It Begins. Day 1.

Arriving at Launceston airport with everything I need for the next 7 weeks was all a bit anticlimax after almost seven months of anticipation. After a quick stop at a 2nd hand bookshop, a hardware store for a set of instrument screwdrivers (just in case) and a visit to the Katmandu store for some clean underwear, Kate gave me a hug and drove away only to return a few moments later with a message which I promptly forgot. At the check in counter I was handed 3 boarding passes and told my luggage was checked through to Cairo. Oh innocent me! I have a photograph of my pack going up the ramp into the hold of the Dash 8 turbo prop. I may never see it again.

A few minutes before boarding, the check in agent arrived at the boarding gate. I knew Launceston was a relatively small regional airport but I had to wonder if this guy was the baggage handler as well.

Off I went into the mist and after a cup of tea (Coffee, Tea or Wine sir?) I arrived in Melbourne or the “Big Smoke” as us lads from the country like to think of it. I had a five hour wait until my next flight departed for London via Hong Kong. To use up a bit of my time I decided to go down to the baggage collection point for my Launceston flight.
I arrived at the correct carousel but strangely enough there were no other people and no baggage at all. Two more flight numbers appeared on that carousel and I waited and then waited some more. After 15 minutes the carousel stopped. What was really weird is that no baggage for any flight appeared and no people appeared. That my bag didn’t appear wasn’t really much comfort at all.

After a brief stop in Hong Kong I faced a further 14 hours of flight and so it was after a wearying 24 hours of flying I arrived at 1.30pm at Heathrow, one of London's five airports and perhaps the best known.
When Captain Cook set out for Australia in 1775, Heath Row was probably unheard of and may have been a boggy marsh occupied by several million frogs and a few ducks. Heathrow Airport used to be known as the village of Heath row. There were certainly no aircraft leaving for Cairo and absolutely none for Australia in those days.
We know this for a fact! Otherwise Australia would have been discovered 6 months earlier than it was.

Day 2.

Sitting at Heathrow terminal 5 and waiting for my next flight on British Airways I am contemplating my brilliance at using up my frequent flyer points for this Holiday.
Oh what a good idea it seemed at the time and not giving any thought to having to fly back towards Australia for 5 hours.

Terminal 5 is massive - it’s a 20 minute bus ride from the older Terminals 1-4 and even the departure gates are between 10 and 20 minutes from the main terminal 5 building using a shuttle train as an interconnect service.

A few minutes before leaving home I received an email telling me that our Hotel had changed from the Havana Hotel to the Swiss Inn. So it was with some trepidation that I arrived in Cairo wondering if I would be met as promised. I need not have worried.

As I walked into the arrivals hall Mohamed from the transport company was holding up an Oasis Tours sign. He immediately set me at ease, got me lined up in a queue, solicited $20US dollars from me and disappeared for a few minutes, returning with my stick on Visa stamp and $5US change. Then taking my baggage claim he went out to pickup my pack which amazingly had arrived. The immigration officer was not big on speech. Just stamped the passport and handed it back. Why this took 5 minutes I have no idea. Fairly soon I was reunited with Mohamed and my pack and we were dodging traffic heading towards the Hotel. The usual 45 minute drive extended to and hour an a half. We were in football traffic jams at 2am. Apparently Cairo is hosting the U20 world championship this month. There were groups of cars and motorcycles with often 8 or more people hanging out of the car windows or 3 on a bike all waving Egyptian National flags.

Day 3 and 4
Cairo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world with 25 million people. There are a lot more people than there are rubbish tins. It became a bit of a game for us as we walked around to see who could spot the most bins. Sean won with a score of two. Our time in Cairo was spent walking to the river Nile, which was about 2.5km from our hotel. As soon as Sean and I arrived at the river edge we spotted a well dressed couple of guys fishing, they were good enough to hold up their catch for a photograph.
A local by the name of Memo strolled over and started telling us about “Black magic Tombs” and explained that he was an expert guide with much more knowledge and passion than the typical guide we would find in Giza. I was tempted to try to arrange a sunset tour with him. 100 Egyptian pounds for 4 people and 3 hours with his car which is about $22 Australian, however we had a visit included in our Middle East tour package already arranged for the next day so we passed on his offer.

We then headed back to the Havana Hotel for a cold beer (15 Egyptian or $3.50) which was followed by the group meeting back at the Swiss Hotel for our pre departure meeting.

My first dinner in Cairo was at a Kebab Restaurant. One option was to have a roadside take out ($2.50) which several of us did the following night.
But on this night I shared a table upstairs with Steven and Linda, a couple from London.
Our meal was a “1kg mixed meat Kebab” for 4 which cost 154 Egyptian or about $12 each.

Day 5. Sunday 4th October. Cairo and the Pyramids.
This is the start day of our Oasis Overland tour. There was only one elevator working and Sean and I were last ones down to the foyer, 10 minutes late. First stop of the day was a visit to the Egyptian History Museum. The entrance fee of 60 pounds was included as was pretty much everything for the rest of the day. We boarded a charter bus complete with Aircon’, guide and a very well dressed security guard. I didn’t notice until late in the day that he had an Automatic Machine Pistol tucked handy under his suit jacket. I asked several of my fellow travelers the next day; at what point did they notice that our guard had a machine gun in his pocket. Most said that they did not notice at all. They take tourists safety very seriously here in Egypt with armed tourist police regularly around the streets and at every attraction we visited.

The Egyptian museum had some interesting exhibits but as to be expected it was crowded and very noisy. I made the mistake of staying with the group and the tour guide. I should have arranged to wander by myself and meet up later. Two and a half hours seemed to be enough for us all and it was time for a visit to a Perfume shop where we were offered Hibiscus Tea, very refreshing and a pair of Falafel each for lunch. The Perfume shop must have a deal with the local take away shop. I don’t think our group is big on shopping. Sean may have been the only one to buy a small bottle of perfume. Nevertheless the visit was interesting as we learnt about the difference between commercial perfumes which can be up to 80% alcohol solvent and these pure natural oil perfumes which have no added alcohol.

After lunch it was up to the Giza plateau and the pyramids.
You get a first glimpse of the Pyramids when you are still many kilometers away but they are masked somewhat by the urban sprawl of Giza.

I can’t say I was disappointed as Kate and Sean had explained how Giza and Cairo were encroaching around the Pyramids. But as a UNESCO world heritage site I felt that it was terribly exploited with camel and donkey rides, hawkers offering all sorts of trinkets that one can only imagine where they are made, hundreds of tour buses and of course thousands of tourists.

I was hoping to be at the Giza Pyramids for Sunset, which was not to be. In truth Sunrise would have been a more interesting time but I don’t think you are allowed onto the Giza Plateau until the gates open at 8am. I have a feeling that the really impressive photos of the Pyramids were taken from someone’s rooftop apartment of which there are thousands just across the road from the Pyramids. Downtown Giza and Cairo are both visible from the Pyramid site.

Included in our visit was a camel ride. Sean and I opted out so that we could walk beside and take some photographs. It was a bit of fun. Bec’s camel threw its saddle along with Bec. Whilst the camel bolted I offered to carry Bec the rest of the way. The Camel driver got tipped but I didn’t.

Following the visit to the Pyramids and a visit to see how Papyrus is made and the inevitable opportunity to purchase we were taken to a reasonably classy restaurant for a set piece dinner. A number of meals and activities are included in our tour payment. We of course pay for our drinks. My friend Paul in the UK bought a holiday package to Egypt that included all the Gin and Tonic that you could drink. He never talks much about that trip - probably because he doesn’t remember very much about it after drinking so many gins.

After dinner our coach took us to Cairo railway station for a 12 hour overnight journey to Aswan, 900km from Cairo. This was indeed a tiring part of our trip - not at all like I expected with a tilt back aircraft style seat and not much at all to do except try not to ruin your back and attempt to get a few hours sleep.

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Comments

[Belinda]

Hi travellers
So glad everything is going well. I look forward to the next instalment of the Tasker family travel diary. Take care. Cheers, Bel

[Boagler (Paul)]

Enjoy
David - have a great trip. I am enjoying reading your exploits. I must have logged on last night my time just as I was going to bed - seen messenger pop up. PB

[Lucky Phil]

At last
We wondered where you were, I suggested sending a search party. Keep the posts coming, I need a holiday even if it's only a cyber one.

[Howard the Elder]

Good Job
I enjoyed reading about your exploits, and the pics are great. While the potential impact of the airplane on Australia's discovery by the Europeans is unclear, my research shows indigenous Australians had already discovered it long before Cook arrived. Well, keep it up, and try not to loiter so much at the baggage claim. Howard

[David]

Wonders of the world
So David, you have now seen one of the wonders of the world - Terminal 5. It's going to be downhill from now you know:-)