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 When I was a bit younger and in somewhat better health, I would travel to
Egypt straight through from Texas, which no matter what I did, ended up being a
24 hour trip including layovers. I just can't do that any more, so I lay over in
New York for a night these days coming and going, and recommend that arrangement
to anyone traveling from the US Midwest. The flight from New York to Cairo and
visa versa, takes between ten and one half to eleven hours, which is actually not
so bad in and of itself. But traveling for another five or ten hours, including
layovers, is just too hard for many people. Most Europeans do not have this
problem.
So when I was asked to arrange a visit for some of Tour Egypt's personnel, I
made similar arrangements. The problem is that, without the layover in New York
on the way in, many people are just too tired to hit the ground running, and
many tours start up right away. In fact, I arranged for a Dinner Cruise our
first night in Cairo. Then on the way back, after the eleven hour flight from
Cairo to New York, carrying baggage through various terminals  and connections
within the US is difficult, and a rest in New York once again helps.
Usually, when I layover in New York, I don't do much sightseeing, but having
my wife and a group of friends with me, we did our best to look about during the
short period we were there, and then the next day it was off to Cairo. Not all
of our group laid over in New York. Several of the younger members came in from
Florida directly, while another drove in from nearby. I had met most of them,
but not the two from Florida, even though Alan Boyles is our sales manager in that
region. Meeting him was a delight, and with him was the youngest member of the
tour, his cousin Rachael Gustafson, who of course I had also not met. She flew in from Albuquerque.
The other members of the tour included myself and my wife, Joanie, one of our
regulars on the BBS
conference center, Ann Marie Terra, one of our
directors, Darrell Young and his wife Rita, my first assistant and partner in
Tour Egypt, Rhonda Oates and her husband, Billy, his brother and sister-in-law,
James and Kathy Oates and finally, Rhonda's brother, James, who unfortunately
did not have the time to take the whole tour with us. They represented a wide 
range of ages and energy levels, from Rachel, who could best be described as a
young female version of Tigger the tiger, able to jump furniture, small
buildings and cultural limits, to James Oates, the oldest member who
had only recently received a hip replacement and made his way through the tour
using a cane. I, my wife and Ann Marie were the only ones who had visited Egypt
prior to this tour.
We traveled aboard EgyptAir in coach, as this tour was really arranged as a
budget tour, but that was not too bad going because coach was relatively
un-crowded. In fact, my wife was able to find four empty seats together and make
a bed of them, but this is a reservation that must be made early during the
flight or others will beat you to it. This flight I also took along a couple of
quality pairs of noise canceling headphones, which I would recommend to anyone.
They not only cut down on  the noise, but also provide much better sound for the
two or three movies that EgyptAir usually shows during the flights. The ones
EgyptAir hands out are rather cheap affairs, and the noise canceling feature
really helps the sound clarity.
All in all, I enjoy traveling on EgyptAir for, as I have said many times
before, its sort of like getting an early taste of the country. I frequently
meet some nice Egyptians and have even been invited for dinner by a few.
Otherwise, the food is decent even in coach, and the staff have always been
kind, though I like to see the older stewards because they seem to be a little
more helpful than the younger ones.
It never fails that, upon landing in Cairo, a round of applause goes up
through the plane. This seems to be a tradition based on the long flight rather
than any safety concerns. No matter how  tired I am, the Cairo air always seems
to enliven me, and admittedly I feel joy at touching Egyptian soil once more. On
this trip, for the first time, I lead a tour down the stairway and was
immediately met in the terminal by several Misr Travel representatives with a
sign held high for the "Dunn Group". This is probably the second most
important transfer of any tour, the first most important being the one back to
the airport for the ride home. No problems here, however, as Misr Travel guided
my group through the process, helping with their luggage and making sure
everyone found their way onto the waiting bus. They were also flexible enough to
allow one last stop at the Tax Free shop before exiting the terminal.
Egypt is notably careful with their tourists. Frankly, I have never visited
any other country so concerned for traveler safety, and so it was no surprise
that we had a ten minute delay, actually hardly long enough for our baggage to
be loaded upon the Misr Travel Bus, while our tourist police escort arrived. I
personally don't worry about security in Egypt, knowing the high values and
friendliness of Egyptians, but I think that having one policeman onboard the
bus, with a  police escort car following us, was probably reassuring to my
American companions. It is actually interesting to note that some members of the
tour were told by people prior to leaving, unfamiliar with Egypt, to tell people
in Egypt that they were Canadians if asked about their nationality. However,
even on the first day, everyone felt comfortable enough to reveal their real
homeland. No one ever felt threatened, and to the contrary, most Egyptians like
meeting Americans and are enthusiastic about learning more about our
culture.
From the airport, the tour really started immediately. Our guide was already on the
bus, and after introductions were made, we began our forty-five minute ride to
the Movenpick Pyramids Hotel in
Giza (Cairo). While I normally enjoy staying in Zamalek,
I will say that the drive to the Movenpick, with the Pyramids in easy view,
passed by lots of sites along the way. So Soha Sabbour, an Egyptologist and our guide, provided a short
orientation while pointing out various landmarks. Soha was really a remarkable
guide who soon found her way into the hearts of most  of our tour group. Most of
the time when I have visited Egypt with groups, different guides were provided
in different regions, but it was nice to have Soha all the way on this one.
Of course, it was a little difficult for the group to completely concentrate
on Soha's orientation, because the first thing one notices about Egypt, with few
exceptions, is the traffic. What I have almost come to ignore I think was quite a
shock to those who had never been to Egypt, and so their first Egyptian
adventure was simply making it to the hotel. I will not go into detail too much
about the Movenpick Pyramids Hotel
at this point, as we will be
doing a complete review of this facility, but I do believe
everyone was impressed with the garden like atmosphere and the
hotel's friendly staff. Of course, the Misr Travel
staff
assisted us with our check in and remained at the hotel long
enough to make sure everyone was situated in their
rooms.
That night, Hebba from the Hotel Longchamps, a dear friend
of mine, had arranged a dinner cruise for us aboard one of the
Oberoi dinner boats. I had intended on hailing three or four
taxis, but Misr Travel
instead arranged a bus to take us and
pick us up at no additional charge, even  though this was not
part of our original itinerary. So after a little rest,
admittedly too little for a few of our group, we headed off
once more.
To me, a dinner cruise is a must for anyone visiting Egypt.
I have been on many of these, but my wife had not, and I had
always wanted to take her on one. Neither had any of the rest
of our group, and so while everyone was a bit tired out from
our long flight, this was a chance to relax and enjoy their
first entertainment in Egypt. Nile dinner cruises are actually
somewhat like a nightclub experience. There is usually an
elaborate buffet, with a good variety of food and lots of
deserts, but the real focus of the evening is the
entertainment and the beautiful view of the Nile skyline of Cairo. A good one, as this one was, will usually include a
belly dancer accompanied by a full oriental band, a whirling
dervish act, and a singing duet, usually performing mainstream
western music. At some point in each act, the entertainers
will mix among the diners allowing photo opportunities, and
may even invite various guests on stage. Its a good show, and
one that just about every tourist enjoys.
However, these dinner cruises usually last
between an hour and a half to two hours, and if a break is
needed, or one simply wishes to enjoy the skyline, most
provide an upper viewing deck, a nice retreat from the
entertainment below. This was also the first chance for most
of our tour to experience their first meal in Egypt. Many of
them were somewhat concerned about finding food that they
would like in Egypt, but most facilities that cater to
tourists usually have a good variety of dishes, as did the
Oberoi boat. Certainly there were oriental dishes, but there
was also some Italian food and various meats, and by the end
of our visit to Egypt, even the picky eaters had put on a few
pounds. One must also  remember that Egypt is not only famous
for their Pyramids, but also for the fabulous array of deserts
served at just about every meal.
Thus, our first day in Egypt ended with a well
deserved rest at the Movenpick Pyramids Hotel. The wake up call the
next morning was not too very early for most, though I had to
start a bit earlier. I was to meet the new Chairman of the
Egyptian Tourist Authority, Ahmed El Khadem, while everyone else
went to the Giza Plateau to visit the Great
Pyramids and the
Sphinx.
They had a good time climbing around the pyramids, riding
camels and, of course, making a stop at a carpet factory,
which must almost always happen when one travels through Egypt
with a guide.
I had purposely kept the itinerary light, making
independent plans for the afternoon. I had a great visit with
the ETA Chairman, an enthusiastic and very intelligent man and
afterwards, I joined up with the rest of the group in Zamalek
at La
Bodega, an upscale restaurant on 26th of July Street
that I frequent on most every trip to Egypt. We had been
invited by Hebba for a dinner at the Hotel Longchamps
in their
new restaurant that evening. Unfortunately, several of our
older members who had visited Giza climbed their way into the
Pyramid of Menkaure, which was a bit too much for them. They
returned to the hotel while I showed the rest of the group
around my home neighborhood in Egypt near the Longchamps,
where we visited a number of shops and walked about. This is a
nice neighborhood, with a large contingent of Egypt's foreign
embassies. Hence, the stores shops are very upscale and the
whole area is very secure.
 That evening, the dinner at the
Hotel Longchamps was, for much of our group one of the true high
points of the tour. Our manager in Egypt, Ahmad Antar,
was there, along with Karen Phillips, one of our Egyptomaniacs
living in Egypt and working as a tour consultant. This was
more than a nice chance for the group to visit my base in
Egypt. It was also a belated birthday party (surprise) for
Darrell Young, one of our Directors, and for Billy Oates, the
husband of Rhonda, one of my partners in Tour Egypt.
Unfortunately, Rhonda was one of the ones who over did things
at the Pyramids and she and her husband were unable to attend
the gala affair. Nevertheless, it was a
grand, relaxing moment with good food and good company. The
Hotel Longchamps is often referred to as an oasis of
tranquility in what is otherwise the hustle and bustle of Cairo, and its hard to exactly nail down the reason, but I can
always walk into this home of mine away from home and feel the
any tension drain away. And while Hebba is an excellent host,
the rest of her staff is like family to me. In fact, so
impressed was Darrell Young, one of our Tour Egypt directors,
with Hebba and the Longchamps that he has insisted on writing
a follow up review of the facility personally.
That night we returned to the comfortable Movenpick
for an early wakeup call the next morning and our
flight to Aswan. There were many more Egyptian adventures
ahead of us, but those will have to wait for the next part of
this series.
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