Author Topic: D93's Trip to Egypt  (Read 26818 times)

Offline D93

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 8791
  • Total likes: 21
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 14
    • View Profile
  • Location: PHL - TLV
D93's Trip to Egypt
« on: October 15, 2015, 07:11:24 PM »
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!!
« Last Edit: October 15, 2015, 07:20:14 PM by D93 »

Offline Mech

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Jun 2014
  • Posts: 959
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: Los Angeles
  • Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Hertz PC, National EE, United Silver, SkyTeam Silver
D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2015, 07:18:18 PM »
WOW!! Great TR as usual! I had you in mind in my tefillos!
Now waiting for your TR's of Qatar, Bahran and all the other crazy trips you're gonna take soon

Offline shimino1

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 2411
  • Total likes: 133
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
    • View Profile
  • Location: israel
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2015, 07:19:17 PM »
Thanks for the trip report.
Can you say a few words about the pyramids? Is it a must see, happy you went for the experience, can't wait to go again, etc'

Offline Yehoshua

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2011
  • Posts: 10172
  • Total likes: 213
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2015, 07:21:45 PM »
Wow, great TR!! Love the pics. Egypt didn't strike me as a place to have modern cars. Who knew!

Offline sruly101

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Mar 2012
  • Posts: 2326
  • Total likes: 3
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: NY
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2015, 07:22:35 PM »
YUP!!! And here goes another amazing (crazy.lol) TR from D93!! Really nice pictures, I'm glad you enjoyed it, waiting for more TR to come

Offline benjie1305

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 5844
  • Total likes: 17
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 15
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: NY Area
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2015, 07:22:42 PM »
️  sounds like you had a great time! Looks like a day was just the right amount to cover all the noteworthy things!
Work hard, Play harder!

Offline PraiseCanada

  • Dansdeals Gold Elite
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 193
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Programs: Skymiles, Matmid, Starwood Gold, Aeroplan, RBC Visa, Hertz Gold, BA Avios
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2015, 07:24:17 PM »
Wow, great TR!! Love the pics. Egypt didn't strike me as a place to have modern cars. Who knew!

I like that "No Photos" sign in your picture of the Ben Ezra Shul

(Btw, why don't they let photos?)

Offline Hershelsdeals

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 3583
  • Total likes: 13
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #7 on: October 15, 2015, 07:24:29 PM »
Excellent TR! Glad everything worked out

Offline TimT

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 20K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 22077
  • Total likes: 7131
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 12
    • View Profile
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #8 on: October 15, 2015, 07:25:57 PM »
Thanks for the TR

Offline Yehoshua

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2011
  • Posts: 10172
  • Total likes: 213
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #9 on: October 15, 2015, 07:26:10 PM »
Was it cool seeing the Nile? Could you picture it as blood?

Offline Joe4007

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Feb 2013
  • Posts: 4077
  • Total likes: 154
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 11
    • View Profile
  • Location: NY
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #10 on: October 15, 2015, 07:28:50 PM »
Great! Thanks for sharing!

Offline Moes Tavern

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2013
  • Posts: 1074
  • Total likes: 30
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 29
    • View Profile
  • Location: The Garden State
  • Programs: Marriott Platinum Elite
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #11 on: October 15, 2015, 07:30:20 PM »
Pretty awesome!!!
"I've done some things I'm not proud of, and the things I am proud of are pretty disgusting"

Offline Yaalili

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2009
  • Posts: 12764
  • Total likes: 473
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 157
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: Crown Heights, NY
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #12 on: October 15, 2015, 07:33:20 PM »
Nice TR, thanks for writing and pics are great.

Offline sammy n

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 2813
  • Total likes: 21
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #13 on: October 15, 2015, 07:33:48 PM »
Amazing!! Still cant believe you did this trip!!

Offline SearchGuy

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Dec 2012
  • Posts: 6254
  • Total likes: 205
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 103
    • View Profile
  • Location: Brooklyn exodus
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #14 on: October 15, 2015, 07:35:53 PM »
Impressive stuff! Nice!

Offline MoGro17

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 343
  • Total likes: 8
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: Area 51
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #15 on: October 15, 2015, 07:38:23 PM »
Boooooooooooooooooo

Offline Centro

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2012
  • Posts: 2935
  • Total likes: 8
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 33
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #16 on: October 15, 2015, 07:40:18 PM »
Very nice, thx!

Offline jaywhy

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Sep 2012
  • Posts: 3768
  • Total likes: 68
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #17 on: October 15, 2015, 07:56:43 PM »
Nice!

Offline D93

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 8791
  • Total likes: 21
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 14
    • View Profile
  • Location: PHL - TLV
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #18 on: October 15, 2015, 08:09:12 PM »
WOW!! Great TR as usual! I had you in mind in my tefillos!
LOL! Maybe that's why I'm still alive ;)

Thanks for the trip report.
Can you say a few words about the pyramids? Is it a must see, happy you went for the experience, can't wait to go again, etc'
"Must see" is an understatement.
It was an amazing experience to see one of the 7 wonders of the world and it has been on my bucket list for years. I would in theory go back, but I would like to first see other places in the world before I revisit previous ones.

Wow, great TR!! Love the pics. Egypt didn't strike me as a place to have modern cars. Who knew!
Don't worry, majority of the cars there are the type that everything makes noise except for the horn.

️  sounds like you had a great time!
I sure did :)

Quote
Looks like a day was just the right amount to cover all the noteworthy things!
True, but there's definitely what to keep busy with for 2-3 days in Cairo alone, I just went to the places I wanted to see the most, and there's also other cities in Egypt as well, maybe next time.

Excellent TR! Glad everything worked out
Thanks again for your help!

Was it cool seeing the Nile? Could you picture it as blood?
Nope - the Nile is so much bigger and modernized than I expected.

Amazing!! Still cant believe you did this trip!!
Me neither ;)

Offline DMYD

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 2909
  • Total likes: 4
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: Brooklyn
Re: D93's Trip to Egypt
« Reply #19 on: October 15, 2015, 08:10:26 PM »
Short and sweet!!! Thanks for sharing.