Egypt and Jordan here I come

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I'm about to head off to see Egypt and Jordan with my husband. It's only a short trip and we are going on a package tour so it is not as exciting as most of you younger travellers, but time restrictions, and age, make it the best way for us to go. We start the trip in Cairo and then fly down to Abu Simbel and all the other usual tourist destinations in this area. I'm really looking forward to seeing Petra, in Jordan, afterwards. I have always wanted to see it so I hope it meets my expectations. Right now I am still trying to work out what we should pack! The travel information provided recommends cotton in these hot areas but when we travelled Europe last year we found that most hotels will not allow you to use irons. Cotton needs ironing! Especially when we will be staying in smart hotels- you are expected to look half decent at meal times. Hotel laundries cost a fortune so I will be doing our hand washing in the bath but that still leaves the problem of the ironing.

Does anyone have any bright ideas?

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Comments

[Ruth from Wales]

Food
Make sure you try lots of falafel and homous - they are renowned for it in Jordan! In Petra, try to make sure you get there as early as possible. and try to get away from your tour group for some quiet time. As for clothing, have a look at your local camping/outdoor shop. They should have some nice travel clothes which don't need ironing. These kinds of shops have branched out from traditional hiking clothes and now have some very nice styles. You can always take some posh clothes along for your evening meals! Have a great trip, Ruth.

[Snap Shot Stacey]

Stop making yourself sound old!
You're not old! Can't wait to read all about your trip (and see the pics!) as you've been reading mine. P.S You'll have to change my age to 25 on your profile page now! What DID you end up packing?

[Snap Shot Stacey]

Try the forums
P.S If you want actual advice etc then go to the travel forums to post your request. You can use the general forum or the one specific to Egypt depending on your question. Love ya!

[dragonlady]

Homous
You were right Wendy. I don usually like homous (we usually call it humus in Australia) but I tried it in Jordan and it was delicious. I didn get the chance to write up my log while I was travelling so I must now try and do it, after the holiday. Petra was definitely the standout!

[dragonlady]

A few too many clothes
Actually I did better than last time - the only things I didn use were the long pants I packed for evenings (I swelled up in the heat and couldn get them on!!) and the cardigan. I had also packed my track suit, which I lived in in England. My screw-them-up skirts were all used and the blouses all drip dried well. I had too many pairs of shoes and sandals, though. Same problem - swollen feet and couldn get most of them on! I took 2 pair of sandals (wore out one pair completely on the trip) and 2 pair of shoes -plus one pair for evening (not used). Ah well.

[lurpak34]

If you're staying in smart hotels, maybe they will have an iron in the room? That is, if you're staying in a city, not a village... (Thanks for the comment on my AC/DC tour blog) P.S. Laundry and ironing in Egypt/Jordan will be a fraction of the price that it is in Europe. P.P.S You were about to head off 2 months ago...and there's no blog yet?! Tut tut..

[dragonlady]

Ironing
You are right. quite a few did have irons, unlike Europe. But as you say the laundry service was cheaper, although the best value was on the Nile cruise - it was only half the cost of hotels. We nearly didn't get the last lot back in time before we left the boat, though. I was getting really worried as they had had it 2 days! Sorry about the blog. I'm back fromthe trip and still haven't had time to do it - flat out at work. It's on my to do list!!!