Canucks Travelling Light?

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What are we planning on packing for our 24 night stay in Egypt over Christmas Break?

Packing light is key given airline baggage restrictions on domestic flights, the fact that we will be on the move throughout Egypt and, needless to say, our ageing backs. To pack light, you have to pack smart.

Our challenge: Have enough room for souvenirs when we only plan on taking one 22x16 suitcase and day pack for each Travelling Canuck!

Guidelines for Packing

Here are some guidelines that the Travelling Canucks are using to pack smart:
• Consider weather, destinations and our travel style.
• Make a checklist.
• Stick with two or three basic colours that can be mixed and matched. Remember dark colours in classic styles look great and don't show soil like light coloured clothing.
• Accessorize to add colour and interest.
• Pack multifunctional clothing i.e. pashmina to use as evening shawl, to wrap if the weather is chilly or air conditioning is cool , to work as a headscarf in Arab countries, or to wear as a sarong with a bathing suit.
• Never pack something you only plan to wear once.
• Take one versatile coat, cropped jacket, or sweater that goes with everything from jeans to evening wear.
• Pack a lightweight Gortex jacket for rain and wind if there is a chance of inclement weather.
• Fold and roll clothing with care for wrinkle-free clothes.
• Pack evening wear and suits with hanger in a dry cleaning bag to keep clothing wrinkle free and hang up asap.
• Use Zip-lock bags in assorted sizes to make packing and unpacking easier, to separate clean clothing from soiled clothing and to keep clothing dry from the elements and accidental spills. By compressing full bags by squeezing the air out, maximize suitcase volume!

Travelling Light?

To avoid lining up at hotel business centres and hanging out in internet cafes like we did on our last trip, we are taking our own laptop to wirelessly connect to cyberspace! We will be blogging, googling news in Egypt and at home, Facebooking, and uploading digital pics! We have also posted our itinerary and travel details on Google calendar and plan to use Skype and email to confirm hotel, flight and tour reservations, so we hope carrying around the laptop will be outweighed by the benefits of staying connected.

Our MP3 players will guarantee that there won't be a shortage of music when we spend two 10 hour days travelling by van across the desert to get to and from Siwa Oasis and when we go on a full day excursion to see the Temples of Dendara and Abydos, a 10 hour return trip from Luxor.

While we are taking digital cameras to capture our visual impressions, we are also taking our video camera in the hopes of getting some cool footage. Although I have to admit on our last trip we carried it around with no video time to show for it, this time, Junior Canuck is a budding film maker, so watch out Spielberg! Her next movie title might just be "Travelling Canucks and the Pharaohs Revenge"!

So much for leaving technology behind as we explore the ancient world!

What to Pack?

With all the techno-gadgets, travel books, and medical kit etc., we hardly have any room for our clothing! With the cooler temperatures and chance of rain in Alexandria and Cairo (Lower Egypt) in December and January, and cooler temperatures at night and warm days in the Western Desert and Upper Egypt, where it never rains but reaches mid to high 20's throughout the winter months, layering will be the key!

While packing trousers, long-sleeved shirts and T-shirts for Papa Canuck is not a problem, snug-fitting clothes, low necklines, short sleeves and pants are issues that a mother of a teenage daughter has to tackle. Since the more conservative you are, the less attention you will attract, we are trying to pack light-weight pants, long or half-sleeved shirts, and boarder shorts with long-sleeved top for swimming.

Since we are travelling in winter, it can get cold at night and in the morning, so we will be bringing shells/light fleece jackets. For our Moroccan adventure, we bought scarves/shawls, which are handy accessories to keep warm, dress up an outfit, and provide head cover for visiting religious sites. Wearing something smart in the evening is also helpful in fitting in when dining out. Since we will be celebrating Christmas and New Year's Eve and cruising on the Nile for three nights, we will have to pack some evening wear - a first for the Travelling Canucks!

We plan on taking two pairs of comfortable shoes (a pair of runners and a pair of leather shoes). One pair of flats for evening wear will have to do! Since mosques require that footwear be removed or be covered with canvas shoe covers, we will make sure to wear socks and bring an extra pair to walk in to keep our shoes clean.

Travel Money

While Euros and US dollars are gladly accepted in Egypt, we generally try to pay as much by credit card as possible to avoid carrying cash or relying on traveler’s cheques, and maximizing our Aeroplan points for future flights! Having said that, small hotels often do not accept credit cards or traveler's cheques! We have noted that while most major credit cards are widely accepted, some merchants prefer cash or may charge a fee for payment by credit card. So, we usually bring some travelers cheques to exchange at banks in case of emergency.

We purchased Egyptian pounds before leaving even though the exchange rate is better in Egypt just to be on the safe side given we are landing in Egypt in the early morning hours. We plan on using ATMs to get local currency when we need it so we are bringing our debit cards. If traveling during hours when banks are closed or to an area with a limited number of banks, we make sure we have planned ahead. Generally, we only use ATM's when the bank is open in case there is a problem with the machine. If we have to exchange foreign currency at banks, foreign exchange offices, or hotels, we always ask the clerk for small notes (i.e. denominations of 20, 10, 5 and 1 LE since it makes it easier to pay for taxis, tips, entrance fees, etc. in exact change, which also helps to avoid getting short-changed or arguing over getting back the change!

Two weeks to go and counting! Our wait has become increasingly unbearable. We can hardly wait to experience all the sights and sounds of Egypt.

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Photos

Canucks Travelling Light?
So much for leaving technology behind as we explore the ancient world!