Safir Zamalek Suites Hotel Cairo

... the city (which usually close at 12:00 necessitating you to return the next day), fill in a file wroth of documentation (in Arabic of course), pay baksheesh through your nose, drink tea with bored (and heavily armed) officials till your bladder threatens to burst and smile all the way. I dare not add to the paper war by going into more detail, suffice it to say that getting into and out of Egypt by car is an expensive and hair-greying experience. Finally we had the Landy back ...

... middle of the ride, the camel handlers suddenly stopped and started chugging orange Fanta, signaling the end of the daily fast, and we waited as they went through their nightly rituals. That evening we had a traditional roast of meat, cooked in the ground all day and uncovered just minutes before eating. The locals then performed a type of dance, everyone tried a bit of Shisha again, and then we were all of to bed&#8230;finally.<br><br> As we ...

... asking if you have had a fever, cold, flu or other cold/flu symptoms recently. I also noticed there is a camera that reads your temperature as you enter the passport control area and everyones image and temperature is shown on a TV screen that is monitored. I'm not sure but this could be due to swine flu.<br>Everyone who comes to Egypt needs a visa. You can apply for it in advance or just buy it at the airport when you arrive as I did. I was initially going to pay for it ...

... participant on the old Nickelodeon show &#8220;Legends of the Hidden Temple&#8221; as I climbed up into the center of the pyramid. But it was hot in there and I was not able to drink any water as I was fasting, so I was pretty miserable. I was actually relieved to get outside, back to the desert, where it was cooler since there was at least a breeze. My friends and I took some obligatory pictures with the pyramids under our fingers or ...

... headlights. People sometimes just don't use them at night. Stop lights: always blink yellow and I have not figured out how they work. I actually don't think they do. Crosswalks always blink "walk" and getting across the street depends on your ability to dodge cars, because they won't stop for you. People tend to get across busy intersections in cars by starting to drive and hoping they don't get T-Boned. Once an adventurous car or two makes it halfway across the intersection, it is ...

... of St.Makarius the Great, the Paromeos Monastery, the Monastery of St.Peshoy and the Syrian Monastery- Back to hotel in Cairo. Overnight in Cairo.<br><br>Day 4:<br><br>Breakfast at hotel- Drive via air-conditioned modern van to the Red Sea to visit St.Antony Monastery, Founded in the mid-4th, at the site of the remains of St. Anthony. He and St. Bakhumeos (the first monk to organize in groups of hermits ...

... was so nice! The vibe in Cairo is very relaxed, people are really kind and friendly. I had people on the street randomly say to me "You are Welcome!" which is a nice change. Everyone I spoke to was lovely, helpful and had a bit of humour to him. <br><br>The next day I decided to walk to the Egyptian Museum. Which was only a 10 minutes away (supposedly, I think that's African time however). When I arrived I was told by nice young guy that the museum was closed ...

... hall area and we wearily plonked down and ordered some food. There were people smoking the sweet smelling water pipes we had seen in Istanbul in the cafe we sat in.fed we went back to the hostel only to find there was no water in the showers or toilets due to the breakdown of a pipe related to the collapsed building. Hmmm. At the hostel we arranged a trip to see the pyramids and other sites tomorrow with a driver and car for the day.<br><br>Sunday 5th July. Up early we left in the cool early ...

... very similar to riding a horse (except being much closer to the ground). The tombs were amazing. We visited the tombs of Ramses I, IV, V, VI IX, and Tutankhamun. Afterwards we spent the afternoon relaxing at the pool on the roof of the hotel.<br><br>Today we went on our tour of Saqqara, Dashur, and Memphis. It was a fantastic tour and our guide Karen was great. When we go back to Egypt (for Alexandria and the loop of the Oases in the Western Desert) we'll definitely use ...

... camels?" The t-shirt, a camels cigarette advertisement, reads "9 out of 10 men who try Camels prefer women." I thought that was pretty funny. <br><br>A kid followed me for over 20 minutes through the market trying to sell me papyrus bookmarks, 10 for 5 pounds. I wanted to buy just one for 50 piastres (half a pound), but the kid couldn't do math and didn't want to sell just one. He cursed me in Arabic for being a bad business man...<br><br>I wore my Homer, Alaska t ...