Category Archives: Egypt

Egypt and Jordan – Day 4 – Feb 6, 2026


Abu Simbel – Like the Alhumbra – A MUST SEE!

I’m quickly stealing some WIFI time – it’s 5:00 AM here in Egypt on Feb 7th – and I want to get one more blog done before we lose WIFI for several days.

I’ll do my best.

As instructed, we get up at 1:00 AM, put our packed luggage outside our door by 1:30 AM, and gather in the lobby. The Kempinski has prepared packed breakfast for us – and is serving coffee and tea. I can’t drink coffee at 1:30 in the morning – so settle for hot water.

We are begining to recognize our fellow travellers – and they are a very well traveled group of folks! Several have done multiple trips with Odyssey – one couple has doen at least 15 trips – others are more in the 5 or 6 range. Their reasons for choosing Odyseey – much like mine -are the variety of the trips and the high level of service and accomadation. But don’t let that fool you – it’s also the top level guides that determine (as per our fellow traveleers) the enjoyment of the trip – and I must say Hussain has definitely impressed me.

Anyway – we need to get to the airport. It uurns out that just having a reservation doesn’t guarentee you a seat on a specific flight. You have to show up at the airport and check-in. And there are hurtles to cross on the way to that goal.

For once in my traveling career – I’m delighted hand over all responsibilty to someone else. Just listening to him explain all the steps we must accomplish just to check-in daunts me.

I must say that at 2:00 AM, Cairo is a slightly different place. There are still lots of folks walking and driving around – the number of motor bikes is incredible – I think they might match the number of cars. But you don’t see any bicycles – interesting, eh? But the heat in summer probably makes any kind of manual labor challenging – bike riding included!

There are often folks sitting on sidewalks with their legs in the street. Hussain simply says they are stupid – and it is a rather dangerous position given the number of cars roaring past, but I suspect it’s a lack of seating. If you sit on the sidewalk curb, your legs are more comfortable than if you try to squat against a building – and you are probably less likely to be asked to leave. Clearly Hussain doesn’t want to discuss this – but since I often want to sit down rather than stand – I definitely notice the lack of ‘sitting’ options. There are some – just not a lot.

There are also a lot of police presence. And they are clearly ‘working’. We spot at least 10 different large groups of police cars/vans stopping cars and pedestrians, and pass numerous police standing and keeping watch behind steel vertical barriers. They are armed, and alert. And I don’t dare try to snap a picture.

Just as we are leaving the hotel, a police transport van pulls in – and discharges a large group of uniformed soliders – armed with rifles or AK-47s. They quickly disappear into the alley behind the Kempinski.

I think I mentioned earlier that we often have a ‘security’ guard with us on the bus. This morning is no different – we wait till he joins us, and then we head out to the airport.

I’m proably way too nosey for my own good – but I can’t help but see how many shops are still ‘open’, and how many men are wandering the streets in small groups. You would not see this in downtown Montreal.

I think to myself – we are so blessed.

We go thru 2 levels of security as we near the airport, then the bus parks and we all climb out. Porters take the suitcases (I check – yup ours are still in the pile), and we start thru the levels of security to get into the airport.

First we put all our carried on items thru a scanner, walk thru what looks like a metal detector – but are individually patted down afterwards. I’m guessing that the detector is not working. The pat down – done by a young woman in my case – and a man for Victor – is quite complete. Both of my legs, my arms, my chest, and my back are patted down. I have to remove my hat (it goes thru the scanner), and of course all electronics. All we bring with us for the pat-down are our tickets and our passports.

Once thru that – we move into the airport proper – and line up for another check – this one is a passport verification. Then we get to the domestic check-in line, and are quickly processed. The airline attendant offers to check Victor’s carry-on (for free) and we agree. I keep mine with me – I’ve already been told that 4 of our fellow travelers have no luggage – I’m not letting my clothes for the next 4 months out of my hands!

We wait while Hussain tries to figure out where the missing luggage is today – it was misplaced on the trips here – one set in Vienna, one in Instanbul. I think they locate the luggage from Vienna – but the suitcases mis-directed in Instanbul are still missing. I hope they show up. We are getting on a ship at our destination – and not having your suitcases – sheesh.

Anyway – we follow Hussain thru another two lines of security – one is another full pat down, one is a shoe-less version.

Finally we are at our gate. I eat some of the breakfast packed for us by the Kempinski (yum) – and we have hurried up to wait. Apparently we are on the 2nd flight out to Ashwan this morning – but since it’s still very dark – I’m not worried.

Plane loads up – we do the quick 1.25 hr trip to Ashwan to land in a completely different world.

First off – Ashwan is a lot warmer than Cairo and I’m over-dressed. And there are a lot less people and a lot more military.

We board our waiting bus – no security to leave the airport so that’s fast – and the porters again handle the luggage. We watch carefully to be sure our suitcases are all accounted for – and notice that now red stickers have been added with the numbers 508. Wonder why?

It is a 4 hour trip to Abu Simbel – and we are driving thru the Sahari Desert. There will be just one bathroom stop at the half-way mark – so I drink my water very slowly. I also finish all the food packed for us by the Kempinski – and it’s barely 8:00 AM. At least the sun is up.

Unlike the Gobi Desert – which was white and soft sand – the Sahari – at least here is flat and more red-ish. There are also surprising large patches of green.

Military duty is required of all men in Egypt. Men with less education serve 3 years, men with high school education serve 2, and those with University degrees serve 1 year. That makes for a lot of Miliary – and finding things for them to do is a challenge. So 20 years ago – the government decided that the Military should create farms in the desert and grow important food crops like wheat and alfalfa. And that having the Military build factories in the desert would be a good idea as well. The isssue is that factories built and run by the military don’t have to follow the same rules as factories built by private interests – and thus have much lower costs. Apparently 75% of the current production is now being done by these factories. The farms have been less successful – adding only 5% to the amount of food grown. Since they are located in the desert – the amount of water drawn from Lake Nassar to keep these farms green (and they are very green) is huge.

Eventually we get to our bathroom break – which everyone agrees is very unique. Part huge area of toilets – Part small snack bar – Part local coffee and Hooka shop – it’s our first look at how ‘real’ Egyptians travel. Lots of photos are taken!

I’m begining to feel the negative effects of getting up at 1:00 AM and having to travel and find 2 seats in the bus that are un-occupied. I curl up and nap – and wake up to find a completely silent bus! Everyone has gotten out – leaving me behind! The doors are all locked closed – and I have a moment of panic. But then I spot our bus driver and bang on the window. He opens the door and points to where the group is gathering in preperation to go into Abu Simbel. Whew, I didn’t miss anything – and I grabbed about an hour and a half nap. Works for me.

We walk with our whispers into the Temple area. Hussain hands out our tickets, we pass the gates, and continue down a beautiful manicured walkway with flowering bushes and some trees towards two large mounds. When we round the mounds with Lake Nassar behind us – we come face to face with Abu Simbel.

Stunning. Glorious. Amazing. Once in a life time. Incredible.

I simply am in shock. This is Ramses II Temple – created here 4000 years ago to celebrate his first victory over the Hittites at age 25 and completed only a few years before his death at age 97.

No wonder UNESCO saved this wonder of the ancient world from the waters of Lake Nasser.

It was originally located about 200 yards away – the top of the temple ending about 60 yards below the current level of the water. It was cut into large squares, GPS scanned – and reassembled here – still oriented towards the sun so that the face of Ramses II in the inner most chamber is illuminated only twice a year – on his birthday, and on the anniversary of his becoming king.

But it’s not just the outside that’s glorious – inside are some of the most magnificant examples of heirogliphic art I’ve ever ever seen.

I always thought of heirogliphics are flat and rather stilted – but here – in situ – with the shadows and natural lighting (and lots of help by artifical lighting as well) – they literally come alive. It’s hard to describe exactly how magnificantly beautiful these paintings are – but it’s easy to say – you must come and see them for yourself.

One of our fellow travelers – who has come to Egypt several times – told us that this was his first time making the trip to Abu Simbel – normally he stops at Luxor – but he should have made coming here a priority. It is truly unique and different and wonderful.

We then go into the smaller – but still insanely beautiful temple to Ramses II primary wife (he had over 100 kids – so there were lots of woman to choose from) Nefertari. I’m even more stunned by these images. The dresses seem to swirl around the legs – and there is no question that she is serving the gods (and Ramses II).

I would easily stay longer – and I’m sorry that Hussien isn’t allowed inside with us to describe what we are seeing – but there are rules.

I did some research – and if you look up Abu Simbel there are video’s on the internet. I’m going to be watching them – I suggest you do to!

We gather again, brave our way past the vendors desperate to sell us something – one man bargained himself from $40 for a blouse down to $6 – while our fellow traveler ignored him – and reboard the bus.

This time we are taking a very short drive down to a boat launch where we will take a 25 passenger skiff to our ship. The Omar El Khayam will be our home for the next few days as we cruise around Lake Nasser admiring the Nubian momuments saved from its waters in 1960-1965.

Our check-in is seamless – 508 is our room number – and we get to finally eat lunch and nap.

Today’s evening activity is a sound and light show at Abu Simbel so we gather at 6:30 to make the short trip by boat back to the bus parking area – and from there go back to the park. We get seats and relax watching the sunset and the sky go dark.

The sound and light show is a good effort. The music is very dramatic and coordinates with the story line and the projected videos. I enjoy it – but I’m really looking forward to dinner.

At the end, we walk back to the bus and then to the skiff and then to the ship. I’m convinced that we are making a big circle – so I decide to verify my thinking the next day when we sail on toward Ashwan. But for tonight – I love dinner – Veal Chops are yummy and I see cooked carrots! Vegtables – I’m so excited I actually get seconds.

We enjoy an animated conversation with some of our new friends – Tom, Sherie, Pam, Susan and Andrea – then it’s back to our room. They tell us that WIFI is going to stop as soon as the ship sails – so I grab my chance to quickly do at least one blog – and when I start seeing double – I head off for bed. Tomorrow is a long needed ‘quiet’ day – we sail at 6:15 and do a pass by to see sunrise on Abu Simbel at 6:30. Then at 10:30 we’ll pass by the remains of an historically famous – but currently in ruins – fort called Kasr Ibrim. I’m totally looking forward to a quiet day. I feel a bit like I’ve been go go going for ever!

Signing off to head off to bed – The Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 3 – Feb 5, 2026


It’s another day in Cairo, and today we start our Odyssey Tour by meeting our guide and fellow travelers in the lobby of the Kempinski.

But first – breakfast. It’s just as overwhelming as it was yesterday – but this time I bravely ask the chefs to prepare me an Egyptian Version. They gleefully agree and are handing me plates with samples of all the ‘special’ things that they feel Egypt has to offer.

I do love their version of scambled eggs I will admit – add nuts to anything and you pretty much have me sold, but Ful Medames has me frankly unimpressed. Part of the issue – I said not spicy – and I’ll bet it is always served spicy. But it’s a very unappealing grey color. I kinda pretend to eat it, and then push it aside.

Now we go down to the lobby area and meet our guide – Hussain, and our 19 fellow travelers. They are mostly in the 60 to 79 age range = or as Victor refers to us – the White Haired Crowd. But they seem very nice. Hussain – our guide and fearless leader for the next 2 weeks is a Nubian Gentleman with a degree in Egyptology, and has actually worked 2 seasons as a archologist. He’s experienced, well spoken, extremely informatie – and a general delight.

This is going to be great.

We start with the standard ‘rules’. No polictics – there was a fist fight several months ago – they don’t want repeats. Don’t talk or even recognize the vendors. If you ignore them, they will ignore you. Be polite, be on time (he’s not waiting if you aren’t there), All delivered in a droll manner and with a smile. I like him!

We then board our 44 passenger bus. Given that we’re just 19 (21 if you include Hussian and our security guard), that makes for plenty of space.

As before – we are heading out to the GEM.

I ask Hussain about the frequent condos that have entire floors vacant – without even windows.

Hussain says that naturally there are lots of reasons – but bottom line – it’s money. If you want to put up a building – you need a permit. Permits are only good for one year.. So developers hop to it. and get the structure of the bilding up and running . They stop just sort of finishing the building! No foors, No ceilings, No windows, and tell the buyer – your job to finish. They have fulfilled the requirements of the Permit – their job is done.

And there are lots and lots of building like this –

As one of our fellow travellers quipped – well that explains the lack of ‘homelessness’.

After what feels like a much faster trip – avoid rush hour in Cairo folks – it’s not worth the travel time – we again arrive at the GEM.

And this time Hussain takes care of everything for us. We are given ‘Whispers’ – remote listening devices that allow us to hear what Hussim has to say – even if he Whispers. Since we must set them to a specific channel – I’m going to guess a version of an old fashioned walkie-talkie. Our channel for the entire trip will be #5!

What is astonding is the differences between what Hussain (remember – he’s a University trained Egyptogist and has experience doing digs) shows us and what we saw yesterday reveals the incredible depth of displays in this volumous space.

Again we start with a quick look at some of the materials before King Tut – focusing on reading the hieroglyphics. Hussain tells us that we define Civilization as an Organized society with a discernable leadership, a written language, and records. By this standard – as soon as the Egyptians had formalized hieroglyphics, they were civilized – and that happened almost 5000 years ago.

He shows us how to do a beginner’s read of hieroglyphics, then takes us to see some of the most interesting examples of why the Egyptians were considered Civilized so long before other communities. In the museum’s collection are examples of early writings that have now been ‘translated’ – and because the Egyptains loved to write on stone – are still readable. He also shows us perserved early versions of the Book of the Dead – the insanely complicated instructions that had to go with a corpse to the afterlife.

Unlike our first guide – Hussain is interested in convincing us of the depth and weath of Egypt. He also is concerned with some of the more conteversal aspects of the current regime. But more on that later.

We tour the museum slowly – but very differently today. So worth that extra day! I spot places that I didn’t ‘see’ yesterday and would like to spend more time at today because Hussain has promised us time to wander. The docents have done a wonderful job of identifing in both English and Arabic all the display cases – sometimes repeating a brief explanation 4 times (once on each side), but sometimes changing it up.

After our 2 hour guided tour – which includes a much more detailed description of what might have gone wrong with King Tut who died very young – and was buried with 365 Canes (clearly he had trouble walking) and a very detailed discussion of the relationship between the 4 gods – Osiris, Isis, Set and the 4th sister – Nephithys – it’s free time.

Victor finds a comfy place to sit – I go back to sections that were skipped on both tours. There are 3 (maybe more – I found 3) underground sections. One dedicated to the Valley of the Kings, one to what has been uncovered in the ‘artist’ colony that existed not far from the Valley of the Kings and housed all the folks and their families who had dedicated themselves to workiing on the tombs, and one focused on what has been done underwater near the former site of Alexandria.

The last was my favorite. They had video footage of the divers ‘discovering’ various items – mostly statue pieces and coins – and then the items were displayed for us to see. As a scuba diver who’s done some underwater ‘forging’ – this was super interesting.

They also had photos taken during the opening of King Tut’s tomb, a section devoted to explaining what happens during the 12 hours of night – including images of the various gates a soul must navigate on their way to the afterlife.

It’s a huge huge museum, and like all really big museums, there is lots to uncover. I barely make it on time back to our meeting place!

We all go for lunch at Zooba – and this time are served a feast of Egyptian flavors and foods. Beware the Egyptian appetizers – it’s easy to eat your fill of beets, sausages, and humus – not leaving room for the main courses of grilled chicken (I do LOVE their grilled chicken), fava bean and cheese vegetarian dishes, and of course deserts. Today it was a truly delicious rice pudding.

Hussain now takes us over to see the full sized ship that carried King Korfu to the great Pyramid and was then unassembled and stored near by for his use in the afterlife. I’m am again impressed. Not only with the ship which is remarkable intact after 4000 years – but the incredible design of the building built to house it.

Hussain also points out some Paprus that is growing at the museum. I didn’t actually realize it was a plant much like bamboo! Cool.

We have definitely walked our feet off today – but we still need to get back to the hotel.

Because buses are higher than cars, on the return trip we drive very close to the appartment buildings we’ve been passing. Hussain explains that these appartment buildings were painted by the government when it was realized that the road visitors must travel from the ‘fancy hotel district near the Nile’ and the museum would pass this way.

We also see ‘farms’ on the roofs of several of the buildings. Once you know to look for them – they were highly visible from our elevated positon. We say several chicken farms of course – but also sheep herds, and goat herds. I’m consumed with wondering how they take them down the elevators!

Back at the hotel we get a brief period to relax – then we meet for a welcome ‘drink’ (I’m drinking only soda water – this place is dry!) – and then we go over to one of the popular islands in the Nile for dinner. Again the appetizers (Mezze) are delicious. This time we have the Egyptian version of Samosas, Fried Beef buns, and course Pita. The main course – Grilled Chicken! I’m a happy camper.

Back to the hotel and bed. We must have our luggage outside by 1:30 AM – and we must be in the lobby by 2:00 AM sharp as we are flying tomorrow to Ashwan!

Signing off to get packing – and trying to grab some sleep – The Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 2 – Feb 4, 2026


It’s a new day – and I’m straving! Clearly the airport and airplane food wasn’t sufficient – and I’m thinking Breakfast!

So Victor and I get up – and get going. First stop – Breakfast at the Kempinski Nile – and What a breakfast it is!

I’m totally blown away. And it’s not like I haven’t enjoyed some pretty impressive breakfasts in my life – but this one – wow. And it was included in our reservation. Color me very very happy.

Naturally – my first stop is coffee – but you are not allowed to get your own – oh no – there are two coffee waiters and it is their job to get my coffee.

Ok – Latte would be perfect – and they smile, nod, and disappear, returning quickly with a small but completely perfect Latte. Yum.

Meanwhile, I’m investing the breakfast options. There are several different service areas. First I see the fruit juices – fresh squeezed Mango, Guava, Orange and a fourth choice that I can’t remember.

2nd section – the fruit station – some fruits I recognize, like grapefruit and oranges, others I think look familiar – like dates, and a lot of fruits that I’ve honestly never seen before. I try something white – and I’m no wiser. On this section there are also a lot of round fruits – green, white, pink, red – but my bravery only goes so far. I’ll skip them for now. Also on the fruit station are the meats and cheeses. So many options.

3rd section – the Honey Comb and raw honey selection! Wow – My camera is out immediately. That’s the largest Honey Comb I’ve ever seen!

4th section – the Bread choices. I’d say I recognize maybe 4 or 5 of the options – the rest are mysteries. Not quite pastries, but they look to be sweet. I’m sure at least 3 different options were in the donut family, but the ones that appeal to me the most are decorated with sesame seeds – both white and black. They are in different shapes – round and cresent variations, and I gleefully grab a round one with black seeds. Then I turn around and realize there’s another station behind me with cereals like oatmeal (delicious) and Fool (fava beans I’m told – but not green – more of a grey). There are toppings for the hot cereals – standards like nuts, but other options I really don’t recognize.

And there’s an omlet station! Now that looks familiar – and delicious.

Since it’s my first breakfast here – and I’m not sure how my stomach is going to react to gastronomical challenges – I opt to go safe. We are here for 3 nights – I’ll be braver tomorrow!

After my delicious breakfast, we take a hired car to the GEM. I’d bought us tour tickets for 10:00, and based on last nights travel adventure – I’m leaving lots of time to get to the Museum. Ahmad is quite friendly – the car is a mini-van – even though it’s just the two of us.

The plan is that the car is ours for the day – and we trade phone numbers. I’m to message Ahmad when we’re ready to head back to the hotel.

After info exchange – we head to the GEM. This time it’s both daylight, and not rush hour – although the traffic is still quite insane. We can see more and more appartment buildings – and I point out to Victor how many appear to have deserted floors. Not only do the floor appear vacant – they often have no windows, and the ones we can see inside have no finishing inside either. We spend the ride trying to guess what causes this – I suggest that maybe when you move out you take the windows with you, Victor thinks that maybe something has happened and the owners have never moved in at all. I decide to definitely ask when we meet our guide tomorrow.

From one of the many multi-lane highways in Cairo, Ahmad rounds a corner – and there is the GEM. It’s over 500,000 ft of exibit space making it one of the largest museums in the world. The entire thing is done on a massive scale – in keeping with the massive size of the objects on display.

I’d pre-bought tickets – and despite my language concerns – folks generally speak English – and everyone is super helpful. It’s the massive size that is the most daunting.

We find how to get earphone sets for our tour – and join our guide. She’s obviously highly experienced, and after a bried info proceeds to guide us thru the top exhibit in a 2 hour tour. About 1 hour of the tour is devoted to King Tut – all 5000+ of the object discovered in his tomb are on display. And the rest of the tour is spent pointing out the highlights of the exhibits related to other Kings.

The grandeur simply can not be described in words. Nor can words describe the crowding. Our guide estimates that there are more than 5000 visitors today – a relatively standard week-day load. I’m betting that 1/2 of them were in the King Tut Galleries. Good thing are are 6 of them, right?

The center part of the musuem is an open air atrium that runs the full height of the building. To reach the main exhibit areas – all located on the top level, on the left side of the Atrium – you can opt to take an upward moving sidewalk, or climb stairs. Or guide takes the walkway – and talks to us about what she’s seeing as we move slowly up past the Egyptain timeline. Everything is on a simply gigantic scale. Even the moving sidewalk is split into 5 parts!

King Tut is clearly the highlight of our first tour – and our guide makes sure that we play attention to what she thinks are the highlights of that collection. So yes we get time with the all gold funeral mask, she points out dagger with the iron blade – created hundreds of years before iron was created, and most importantly – talks about the 8 layers of Sarcophgus.

I hadn’t appreciated the sheer size of the outer 4 Wooden Boxes that were nested, one inside the next. They are quite literally room sized – and decorated with gold that has been engraved with glorious Designs – including of course – Eyes of Horus.

But even more stunning are the inner coffins (he had 4). From Gold covered carved wood to solid gold – they are beautiful. And in absolutely perfect condition.

It’s the condition of the items – all 4000 years old – that of course makes them most remarkable.

After the tour – Victor and I decide to try the Multi-Reality show on the creation of the pyramids – from simple dug graves, to the humble ‘bread’ momunent – thru the step Pyramid to the Great Pyramid that is visible from the ‘Pyramid Viewing Gallery’. It’s cute – but not a must see.

The real must see is the Boat of King Korfu. Discovered fairly recently, it was used to transport the body of the King to Giza, then disassempbled and carefully placed into a boat shaped pit dug to one side of the Great Pyramid. After the discovery, the boat was treated like a jig-saw puzzle and re-assembled.

It is massive – over 150 feet long – and intact. Over 4000 years old – Organic – and beautifully preserved.

We grab lunch at Zooba – an upscale Egyptian Fast Food Restaurant in the GEM and very highly rated. Yum.

Then we contact Ahmed to let him know we’re ready to head out. As we leave – we realize they are closing the GEM for some dignatary – and said VIP is arriving right now! Yikes. I ask who is coming – and find out that it is the wife of the Turkish President who has come to chat the Egypitan Leader.

We quickly regroup with Ahmad and head out – we are lucky and manage to escape the parking area secuirty detail right before the VIP shows up. Whew.

The trip back to the hotel is much easier than the trip to the GEM. Victor and I are totally wiped out – we’ve done a lot of walking and a lot of traveling in the last 2 days – and we need some down time.

The roof of the Kempinski is the perfect hideout. There’s a heated swimming pool, nice tables, a bar and food service team, and a magnificant view over the Nile. We relax, chat, blog, and wind-down. Tomorrow is another long day.

Signing off over-looking tourist boats on the Nile – the Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 1 – Feb 3, 2026


Yes – it’s been a long time since I picked up pen and pencil (well, computer and keyboard) to write a blog post. Ignore the last one of course – I was finishing up Santa Fe, but a Turtle doesn’t get ahead unless they stick their Necks out – so I’m fulfilling my promise to my daughter Adrienne – I’m blogging my trip with Victor (husband of 55+ years) to Egypt and Jordan.

The idea for the trip has always been on our bucket list – but wars kept interferring. Our timing was pretty horrid to be honest. And we didn’t want to commit to this kind of a trip without some positive feelings – so we kept delaying and dodging and avoiding.

But then Tufts sent us a brochure for their trip to Egypt and Jordan for February 2026 – and the fire got re-ignited. It turned out that the Tufts trip was fully booked, but the same travel company – Odysseys Unlimited – had exactly the same trip planned – but without the ‘Tufts’ ID. and the dates worked. So we took the jump – and booked the trip with Odyssey.

Odyssey specializes in small group travel (max of 24), and focuses on specific destinations. The trips are ‘all inclusive’ – or what passes for ‘all inclusive’ these days – most meals, all hotels, most travel. And their offering for Egypt and Jordan covered everything on our bucket list. And we wouldn’t have to do any planning – they had everything planned for us (almost).

So we booked the trip – and figured out the missing pieces, primariy the Air Fare arrangements and how to spend extra time at the GEM (Great Egypt Museum) which just opened 2 months ago (November 2025).

The tour starts Feb 4th – a travel day – so there’s nothing planned.

But we had to get to Egypt. And while Odessey which do the airplane booking for you – they won’t give you your flight points, and there’s a surcharge for Premium Economy which Victor prefers. So I went flight hunting – and found that if we flew out of Canada – there were heavily discounted Business Class tickets available – and when crossing ‘The Pond’ – there were lie-flat beds.

Challenge #1 – Victor was going to be in STX on Jan 31, and I was going to be in Utah. Hmm. Best bet seemed to fly to Miami, spend the night there – and then start our trip to Cairo from Miami. Crazy thing – to get the discounted Business Class seats – we had to fly Miami and spend the night. Then the next morning, we’d board an AC flight to Toronto, change to the long haul to Vienna, then change to a short haul on Austian Airlines to Cairo.

I’m not generally a fan of having to change planes twice, let alone thiree times – but the appeal of a lie-flat bad on the long (8 hr) haul for barely more than economy was insanely appealing.

Next – dates. I didn’t want to have to hit the ground running – so we decided to arrive in Cairo the day before everyone else. Odessey agreed to arrange for someone to meet us at the airport in Cairo on Feb 3, and we opted to spend an extra night in the Kempinski Nile Hotel. That allowed us to go to the GEM museum the next day (Feb 4) which I hoped would mean I’d have more time to actually see the museum than the tour was allowing.

Planning done – the hard part was simply waiting for Feb 1 to arrive.

As I mentioned in my last blog – I was very sick (Flu-A, then Pneumonia) for the month of January – so instead of flying from Salt Lake city to Miami – I went back to my sisters home in Columbia to be nursed back to health (thank you Cathy) – and from there went with my sister and her husband Bob to a week long Tai-Chi retreat in Dunedin. On Feb 1 – instead of flying from SLC to Miami as originally planned – I flew from Tampa to Miami and then sat at the airport waiting for Victor to arrive.

For the record – this is during that insane cold snap in the Southern US – and it was cold. Tampa was expecting Snow – and the hotel we selected in Miami had no HEAT! I forgive them that – who thinks you’ll ever need to heat a room in Miami – but I have to tell you – it was just above freezing – and it was COLD in Miami and COLDER in our room. I needed 2 extra blankets – and my winter coat from Montreal.

Not a great start I must tell you. We decided that the hotel we’d chosen near the Miami Airport was the pits – even though it was hardly their fault that for once in 10 years they needed heating in the rooms. But a cold room is a COLD room.

Next morning we are up, I take a hot shower to warm up (the room is still COLD – and we get out of Dodge. Since we’re flying Business Class – we have access to the Lounges at the airport – and we figure that will be the better Breakfast.

And it was great. I had oatmeal, some delicious Turkish Cookies, and 2 cups of Latte! I’m a lot happier – and Victor too is feeling better about this ‘traveling’ thing. At least we are both finally feeling warmer.

When we check in – I have – to the staff’s amusement – a serious talk with our luggage. I want to be sure they know that they are going to Cairo. I always fine that making sure your luggage is aware of the correct destination helps cut down on the possibility of lost bags. And it does seem to help. Of course I also use that time to check the luggage tags!

Flight from Miami to Toronto – Great. I eat a lovely lite lunch – Victor sleeps. In Toronto – we go to the Air Canada Signature Lounge and have the best meal I’ve had in an airport in forever! Seriously. It was table service, and the Tuna Sushimi and the Alberta Beef (severed medium Rare) were both excellent. We were greeted with Champagne, and Victor opted for wine with his dinner.

Then we boarded the flight from Toronto to Vienna. Air Canada Business Class – even with lie flight beds – is not the Emerites. It’s worth what we paid for it – but just barely. Not the most comfortable of beds, and the service was hit and miss. Sometimes quite lovely – sometimes as if we’d tried to make their lives tougher than necessary. But still – a bargain is a bargain and I did have a bed, and I did get at least 3 hours of sleep. Totally worth it!

Transfer from Air Canada to Austrian Airlines went swiftly – with no border to deal with. In fact – we only saw border folks once, and that was in Miami. After that – it was free sailing all the way.

We arrive in Cairo thinking – Whew – good job. Even get both our suitcases (see – talking to them worked) – and it is only as we’re leaving baggage claim that we realize that we didn’t see anyone with a sign with our names.

Oh dear. Did I manage to NOT arrange for a pickup from the airport? I just can’t remember. So we call the Kempinski Nile. They tell us that they have no record of us arranging to be picked up – but we can just take one of the taxi’s on offer. And then we get the best advice ever – the fellow from the hotel tells us – it should be 15 to 20 dollars US – 25 at most.

The challenge for us as Canadians arriving in Cairo is simple. We don’t normally bargain for taxis. In Canadian airports – random folks coming up to you to ask if you want a taxi is not only frowned upon – it’s forbidden. So to be suddenly flooded with at least a dozen different men and women asking us if we need a taxi, and they will help us – give them our phone, we’ll call a taxi for you… ya da ya da – it’s scary.

But once we knew the correct price range – it was a lot easier. One guy was sticking with us like glue – so we finally asked how much. He said $40. Victor says no – $15 to $20 – finally they agree on $25. He uses his cell phone to call a driver (very nice chap) – and tells him – $25 and the name of our hotel.

Being nervous nellies – we track our driver’s path thru the city – but he is going to our hotel. Much comforted I start looking around and notice that many buildings just don’t look occupied. In some cases – there are no windows at all – in some there is a floor or two or three with no windows – and the rest looks normal. A building that’s occupied and a building that’s not looks very different. Tomorrow I’m going to ask that this is about.

Most of the buildings I see are clearly appartment buildings – maxing out at maybe 12 floors which makes me wonder about the popularity of elevators. And most are a rather uniform drap light brown or beige. Often folks have put up a curtain to protect their balcony space from too much sun, and there are lots of laundry hanging out to dry.

Like areas of India that I was driven thru – there are market areas with folks selling what ever they can sell – sometimes from tables, often with just a piece of cardboard under the goods.

The traffic is insane. The city scape a dreary beige, folks seemingly everywhere – jay walking across 8 lines of traffic the norm, police cars every where, and in the more popular areas – police standing behind bullet proof shields on major corners.

I’m reminded of when I first saw Bangcock – dirty and noisy and loud and scary. Too many cars, too many people.

But I also know I’m tired – and I need to get to the hotel and stop.

And our driver does exactly the right thing – he gets us to the Kempinski Nile – and we over tip him we are so relieved to be where we know there’s a restaurant and a bed with our names on it.

The hotel is stunning – our room is lovely, the food was quite good – and maybe I had a bit too much wine. But tomorrow is another day!

Signing off – The Soup Lady