Route: JFK-FRA-CAI-AMM-TLV (SQ, MS, MS, RJ)
Sunday 10/11.
I arrived at JFK 65 minutes before my flight and after about 10 minutes of me convincing the check-in agent that I can get an Egyptian Visa in CAI, I made it to the gate 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time. I was flying Singapore Business class (R was not available
). As far the hard product is concerned, it is arguably the best J product that exists, the seat is huge, extremely comfortable and very private. However, I was very unimpressed with the soft product, slow service, horrible drink menu, and no amenity kit (maybe I'm just too used to F
). The KSML was non other than the infamous Bornstein's inedible thing they call “food”.
SQ J
Monday 10/12.
I landed in FRA on time and I headed to the Maple Leaf Lounge (I was already in the Senator Lounge a couple months ago, so I decided to check out a different lounge this time while I'm in FRA). The lounge is much smaller than the Senator Lounge but it's very nice and wasn't crowded at all. I davened shachris, took a shower, had something to eat and waited until my next flight to CAI.
The EgyptAir flight from FRA-CAI was on their 737-800 which had recliner business class seats, which wasn't too bad for a 4 hour daytime flight. They had a Koran hanging on the wall in the front of the cabin (although I'm not sure if one can actually take it down, as I didn't ask if I can use it
). I was happily surprised when they served me Hermolis KSML!!
I landed in CAI at 710pm. The immigration system there is very simple, you buy a Visa for $25 from the money exchange banks which are located right before passport control, then go to passport control and get it stamped, and I was out of the airport with my bags by 740pm. I got a cab from outside the airport to take me to the Le Meridien Pyramids, which was a 1 hour drive and cost me $15 (I was clearly ripped off, but I just wanted to get to the hotel). Driving through Cairo was a crazy experience, the city is absolutely nuts. There are no traffic laws, not a single traffic light in the entire city, everyone just drives and drives until they are a half an inch from a car merging into them, 2 lane highways have 5 cars driving side by side, it's an amazing site to say the least!! The hotel is very nice and big, but was quite empty, I was upgraded to a nice suite. They have a good sheesha bar on premises with classic cheap Egypt prices ($3.50 for a sheesha). After some sheesha and beer, I went to sleep.
Maple Leaf Lounge
EgyptAir on board Koran
LM Pyramids
Tuesday 10/13.
I hired a private tour guide to take me around for the day (cost $165 – all entrance fees included), he picked me up at 8am and we headed out to the pyramids. The drive from my hotel to the pyramids was about 2 minutes. There are 3 large pyramids in Giza and a few smaller ones around them. After walking around the pyramids and climbing a little bit up the largest one, I took a camel ride for 30 minutes around the area. We then went to see the Great Sphinx and a temple which is next to it.
Just a tip for any future trips – Do not go to the pyramids before 10am, it was extremely hazy out until 10am and I unfortunately didn’t get too many nice pictures because of it.
After the pyramids excursion, we drove an hour to the Egypt Museum which is located on Tahrir Square and houses all the mummies and artifacts from all the pyramids and tombs around Egypt. You can't bring a camera into the museum, but I managed to get a few pictures using my phone. Afterward we walked to the middle of Tahrir square to shoot some pix there.
We then drove 30 minutes to Old Cairo, walked around the streets there for little while and went to see the Ben Ezra Shul (legend has it that the Rambam used to daven there).
Afterward my guide drove me back to the airport, which took an hour to get to, but I arrived with more than 2 hours to spare before my flight. The EgyptAir check-in agent checked my bags through for my Royal Jordanian connecting flight from AMM to TLV without a problem at all. I went to a quiet room that they call a “lounge” and found a quiet corner to daven mincha.
Nile River
Egypt Museum
King Tut
Animal Mummies
Tahrir Square
Ben Ezra Shul
The flight from CAI to AMM was an hour long and very uneventful. I landed in AMM and had a 1:40 connection until my next flight. The flight from AMM to TLV took a total of 25 minutes and I landed in TLV at 915pm.
Thank you Hershelsdeals and everyone else who helped me plan this trip!!
