Our first trip of 2024 was to Rameshwaram in India. Our last trip for 2024 was to the land of Rameses..
We have made three big trips this year (including the 25th anniversary trip to Europe in the summer) and they have all been with just the two of us. At this point I am slowly getting used to traveling with San without the kids. Miss them everytime the camera is pointed anywhere but time will bring them back to my photos. This trip was a success given it could have been canceled at any minute. Our flights changed so many times since we booked it.
As usual all credit to San for taking me along on this trip. All I did was take pictures, haul luggage and irritate her at times with my being overly concerned about anything and everything.
We did go with friends and family and that made it special.
Having learned the lesson from summer(never blogged about that trip), will write about this one before my memory fades.
We went on Lufthansa from SFO to Cairo with a 2+ hour halt in Frankfurt. It was nice flights and we had fun walking around Frankfurt airport and window shopping!
Watched a sunset on the way from Frankfurt to Cairo..this was somewhere above Greece..
Once we got to Cairo airport we got a Visa at Entry for 25 USD per person. Paid cash at the counter right before immigration check and they give us a sticker. You hand that to the immigration officer who sticks it on to the passport and stamps it. First time I saw this procedure!
We were out very quick. The trip was organized by Latif aka George in Cairo. He had folks meet us as soon as we came out of the plane and was waiting for us outside the airport parking lot. We drove straight to Giza.
Our hotel was literally facing the pyramids. At first I thought we were staying at the Grand Hyatt.. then learned it is a hotel called Hayat ! Every house on that road became a hotel or airbnb apparently. Ours was a decent hotel and the folks were nice. As soon as we drove and checked in, they asked us to go to the roof of the hotel right away to check out the view.
What a view it was!!
This was pretty much what is was in the reflected city lights! Have always wanted to see the great pyramids. It is always surreal when you see them like this!
We were given some fruit drinks to enjoy while watching the view...
Then it was time to hit the bed. We were told to be back on the roof for a sunrise breakfast to watch the sun light up the pyramid face. Folks here seemed to be all about getitng the right photos and that was music to my ears!
A warning to folks who read this blog and make vacation plans..
The thing that hit us as soon as we went out of the airport in Caior was the cigarette smell. It is everywhere. Even the non smoking room in the hotel has smoke coming in from the drain pipes. The rooftops, the cars we drive in.. seems to be unavoidable. Every adult male we saw who looked like a local was smoking!
If you are averse to smoking, wear an N95 mask the entire time. All of us had a tough time with that throughout the trip. I lost my appetite after smelling all that smoke. Also you don't see any women outside the airport. When we went into Giza the thing that struck us was we did not see any females on the miles of road we drove around. so many shops and folks on the street.. all men! The women in our car noticed it right way.
More on the next post..
