A trip to Egypt sounds to many, me included, a must-have in ones lifetime. We originally planned the trip in last May, but gave it up last minute due to work schedule change, so we were really happy to be able to, finally, take off and land in at Cairo airport (CAI) on Jan 22nd.
Blessed as we were, our itinerary of 8-day / 7-night, covering Cairo (2.5 days), Aswan+Abu Simbel (2.5 days) and Luxor (2days, including Kom Ombo and Edfu), by-passed almost all uprising and riot scenes that were to follow right after our Cairo leg of trip is completed. The only nerve-racking moments came when our overnight train from Luxor to Cairo arrived at Giza train station at 5:30am on Saturday, Jan 29t h during the eerie hours of the first curfew law in effect. Despite our repeated calls the previous day and the strong verbal assurance from our Tour company in Cairo that a rep would be waiting for us at the train station, we saw nobody except several tanks and armoured vehicles outside the station! (We later learnt that Egyptian government cut internet and cell phone services overnight, making it impossible to communicate with tour reps and drivers.) Anxiously waited for 30 mins, I saw a private car diver stood sideway and when we approached to him he asked for outragious fares to offer us a ride to the hotel. Without hesitation we immediately hopped on the century-old car, left the army guarded station, drove into unknown dangers of dark, looters filled streets of Cairo. Exactly how we managed to overcome fear and panic and got ourselves to the Airport at 10am (our flight is 1:20pm to Milan) is worth a separate, new chapter of The Exodus (出埃及记).
We were lucky compared to those trapped in Cairo and other cities who have endured much more hardship or completely ruined their lifetime vacation (at the hotel in Garden City, Cairo where we stored our winter jackets and stuff bought in Cairo, a group of young tourists just arrived from China told us they had to get by 1.5 days with only a bag of noodles because all stores/restaurants in the area were closed; at the Airport a small business delegate from Zhejiang showed us riot street photos with images of a burning hotel they took yesterday; another Chinese family told us their bus from Red Sea resort was attacked by a riot gang near Cairo, the young couples mother, likely from Northern countryside, still shaking while waiting for their delayed flight to Beijing), we missed only one scheduled visit to Karnak Temple, in the outskirt of Luxor, it was canceled Friday (Jan 28th) afternoon because of the news that a major road is blocked by demonstrators. And our final 4 hours Exodus journey, eventhough full of thrilling moments, can still be called 有惊无险.
Over all we enjoyed the trip and the photos we took, though not as many because most temples and museums forbid photograhy, appear nice and serve to remind us the unique experiences we had in Egypt.
埃及的古老历史不用我在此赘述，能够亲眼见见那些几千年前留下的神庙和法老的物件，就是我们来埃及的目的。至于观后感，不是对埃及历史有浓厚兴趣的我，也就省了笔墨去感叹。不过要说风土人情，埃及挺让人失望，觉得比不上莫洛哥，这是埃及作为一个文明古国的可悲之处。还是写几个在旅途中遇到的人吧。
Meggie: 来自香港的独行女侠，跟我们同一天从开罗出发，不同的package，但６天的行程中我们好几次碰面。比较沉默寡言，不会普通话，英语带很重的英国口音。在Aswan的一个Day tour中只有我们三人组团，闲聊中得知她是在英国出身，受教育，几年前回香港做事，现在是瑞银的一名private banker。问她香港金融界前年有无受影响，她说当然，最严重时她曾两次被made redundant。她带的全球通iPhone，不断接到同事发来的信息，对及时了解开罗动乱情况有很大帮助。我们上周五在卢克索一家本地餐馆品尝完地道的stuffed pigeons后便分手，我们回开罗她第二天一早飞红海resort。要没记错的话她应该是２月３号飞机离开开罗回香港，不知她是否顺利离开。
史帝夫: 美国亚力桑那州人，20几岁, 生物工程硕士，毕业后选择high paid美军在阿富汗的contractor工作. 我们在开罗的一家本地人爱光顾的餐馆偶遇. 我们对着犹如天书的menu不知如何下手，只好比划着按邻桌的盘子点了菜。他告诉我们他之所以选择这份有生命危险的工作主要是因为每年十几万的诱人年薪。签了２年半的合同，才来３个月就出来当背包客, 是个喜欢游走世界的家伙. 他说他的理想是在家乡大学城买下４-５套公寓出租给学生，自己则辞掉工作拿着租金周游世界。真是个敢想敢干的年轻人。据他说在房市低迷的家乡６万美元就可以买下一套公寓，而且他的student loans可以抵掉大部分所得税，两年下来在阿富汗攒下的钱还真不难实现他的理想。但愿他能如愿以偿。
来自北京的年轻couple: 俊男liang女，穿着时髦而不艳俗，英语流利，落落大方，一扫以往大陆游客的土气和蛮气，令人眼前一亮。交谈中得知，两人同在北京一家政府涉外机关工作，来埃及是自助游，因为有中国驻埃及有关单位的关系，加上语言没问题，玩儿得挺自在，更从关系单位拿到两张埃及政府认可的记者证，按规定在每个景点可以免费参观，省了不少门票钱。父母均是留过洋的知识分子，算是早期海归，两人小时候也都曾随父母在国外呆过。上周五结束了Luxor的day tour后，他们还要去红海resort呆几天才回开罗。不知道现在情况怎样了，他们的父母一定会很担心。
Mohamed: 旅馆服务生，20岁出头，学Egyptology的，大学毕业后边打工边进修tour guide program。据他讲两年进修的学费很贵，要１万８千多，在埃及这可不是一个小数目，可见进导游这行门槛不低。小伙子很热情，我们２９号上午在旅馆找去机场的出租车遇困难，多亏了他的帮助。希望这次埃及革命不会为他日后找工作造成不良影响。
Busy streets outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Tahrir Square, the epic center of the revolt, the night before
Oldest pyramid (2600 BC) in Saqqara
Laid-down statue of King Ramses II in Memphis
Great (Khufu) Pyramids of Giza
Sphinx with pyramid in the background
Cairo's 800+ year-old Citadel
inside its mosque
Cairo's Coptic church, there is 1/4 Christian population in Egypt, hard to believe at first glance
Philae temple in Aswan
扬帆尼罗河near Aswan
Nubian village near Aswan
Police guarded tourist convoy to Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel temple
Kom Ombo temple
Edfu temple
Luxor temple
Sunset on the bank of the Nile river in Luxor
Stuffed Pigeon, my favorite Egyptian food
Jan 29 5:30am at Giza train station
one of our Exodus planes, seeing it from CAI depature hall was a big relief
Below is a summary of the whole trip (it was booked through the hotel we stayed in Cairo, and customized according to our needs. Thanks to Hany, the owner):
8 Days / 7 nights
Highlights of the Tour:
- Dinner Cruise with Show Dancing
- Pyramids Sphinx, Saqqara and Memphis
- Egyptian Museum, Citadel and Islamic Coptic Cairo
- Aswan High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk & the Philae Temple
- Private tour to Abu Simble
- Esna and Edfu Temples
- Temple of Kom Ombo
- Luxor & Karnack Temples
- Valley of the Kings and Queens
- Temple of Hatshepsut
Detailed Itinerary
Day 22 Jan: Arrive CairoDinner Cruise
Arrival at Cairo International Airport
Meet and assist by Representative
Transfer by Coach / Bus to the Hotel
At 19:30 night you will enjoy the dinner in the 5*star Cruise Boat with bellySufi Dancer
For two hour sallying trip on the River Nile-finish at 21:30
Back and overnight at Hotel
Day 23 Jan: Giza Tour
Wake up and breakfast at Hotel
Full day tour to the Pyramids Sphinx, Saqqara and Memphis
Overnight at Hotel
Day 24 Jan: City TourSleeping Train
Wake up and breakfast at Hotel
Full day tour to the Egyptian Museum, Citadel and Islamic Coptic Cairo
Transfer to Giza station to catch the sleeping train to Aswan
Day 25 Jan: Arrive Aswan
Meet and assist by Representative
Check in Hotel
Visit the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple
In the Evening you will enjoy the Local Felucca trip for one hour around Kitchener and Elephantine IslandsBack to the Hotel
Day 26 Jan: Abu SimbleAswan
Wake up and breakfast at Hotel
Private car At 11:00 am to visit Abu Simble
Visit Abu Simble Temple
Back to Aswan
Over night at Hotel
Day 27 Jan: Kom Ombo & EdfuLuxor
Wake up and breakfast at Hotel
Private car to Edfu
Visit the Temple of Horus in Edfu
Drive to Kom Ombo
Visit of the Temple of Kom Ombo
Arrive Luxor check in at Hotel
Day 28 Jan: EastWest Bank of LuxorSleeping train
Wake up and breakfast at Hotel
Visit of the East Bank Luxor & Karnack Temples
Visit of the West Bank (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon)
Transfer to Luxor station to catch sleeping train back to Cairo
Day 29 Jan: Depart Cairo
Meet and assist by Representative in Giza station
Transfer by Coach / Bus to the Hotel
RefreshTransfer back to the air port
Tour Includes
1. Accommodation in Cairo
2. Accommodation in Aswan and Luxor Hotel.
3. All Tours transportation with A/C Bus and English speaking guide.
4. Two way sleeping train tickets with private sleeping cabin.
5. Dinner Cruise tickets
6. All pick updrop off - ToFrom the stationair port
Tour Excludes
1.Entrance fees
2.Tip
As you can see the itinerary is quite exhaustive without sacrificing a reasonably leisure pace. There are pros and cons with it still:
Pros:
--flexible, catered for individuals need and enough free time to explore near the hotels (often in downtown area)
--all tours are provided with English speaking guides. This makes visiting historic sites an easy task for people not very versed of Egyptology
--the two overnight trains make it possible to visit more places in less number of days. The quality of the sleeper train is not as good as we expected though(we took a similar one 4 years ago in Spain, its much better)
Cons:
--day tours often accompanied by shopping stops which is annoying (although LD seems to have enjoyed at least one or two shops as she bought a dozen bottles of the so-called Royal Perfumes of thousand-year-old recipe)
--not enough times in the Egyptian Museum and Abu Simble Temple. The latter was inevitable as every tour group (small or big) has to choose one of the two daily departures of policed convoy (either 3am or 10am) from Aswan, the journey took 3 hours each way and only 1.5 hour left for seeing the temple.
--small group tours (we had a private car and a guide in 4 out of 7 day tours, the rest with smaller groups of <10 people) mean you have to pay more tips to guides and drivers, some of whom even demanded tips outrightly
--using not well established tour companies also means some untrustworthy promises, such as what we encountered upon arrival at Giza train station that very morning. The groups of 30+ Japanese retirees and of 20+ American younsters were met with their big buses and transported safely, whereas dozens belonging to smaller groups were suffering dearly and left on their own during critical moments.
Thanks for viewing, Happy Chinese New Year!
