Jan's Egyptian Vacation

Photo Collection:    General Photos     Museum     Pyramids     Temples     Tombs

Welcome to our vacation. We're currently flying at 37,000 feet over the North Sea, just dawn as we near the end of our flight to Vienna. Final destination ….. Cairo.

It all started innocently enough, as many stories do, but over the Internet - apropos for the late, mid '90's - via e-mail to Jan from Waheed Samy, a professor at the American University at Cairo. Waheed and Jan had met during a digital video seminar taught by Jan in the summer of 1995 at the Institute of Academic Technology in Raleigh.

In relevant part, the message read as follows:

Jan pondered the invitation for a millisecond or two, then called Dr. Barb, who was also invited. Dr. Barb, known for her aversion to international travel, especially to exotic places, pondered yet another millisecond before ordering Jan to accept immediately. Jan checked with the Doceo Board of Directors, who also immediately approved. Conversations ensued, agreements were reached, and the trip was scheduled for March 7, which, by no small coincidence, is also today's date.

Jan, of course, bragged about the trip to anyone who would listen. One particularly patient friend, Brian Nadel, suggested that Jan accept the loan of a digital camera to document the trip, so long as Jan promised not to send him vacation pictures. Brian even offered to contribute the film for the entire trip, but Jan would have none of it - hey, you have to draw the line somewhere.

From there, it became a simple plan to create our own little vacation web page. HTML encoding services quickly, excellently and as always efficiently performed by Dorinda at Spadion. Snapshots courtesy of our borrowed Kodak DC 40 and audio via whatever source we could get to digitize.

Here's our itinerary. We fly to Cairo via Vienna, leaving Friday March 7, arriving the following day. Four days in Cairo, during which time we hope to visit the pyramids, Sphinx, marketplace and the Cairo museum, among other sites. Jan will give three presentations to the faculty and staff of the AUC which Dr. Barb plans to attend simply to catch up on her sleeping. Then on to Luxor for a quick stop at the Valley of the Kings and other sites of historical significance. We leave Cairo Sunday morning, arriving back to Atlanta, Sweet Pea and spring training late Sunday afternoon.

Day 1

Figure 1-Barb - now just where is that darn taxi?

I'm not sure I know anyone who doesn't get a little nervous before international travel, pulling together the required paperwork, clothing and trashy novels. It's worse when you're Dr. Barb, pulling 15 hour shifts at Egleston Children's Hospital up to the day of departure. (In true surgeon style, Barb wanted me to point out that she was also on 24-hour call, making it even more difficult).

Life hadn't been so easy for me, either. I started the week at Andersen Consulting teaching a three day seminar that coined the phrase "digital video - I thought it was easy," (you definitely had to be there) and left me with my first ever case of food poisoning, which struck about lunch on the third day. If you ever get the chance to eat stringy fried onions in a greasy spoon in St. Charles, pass it up, but then, you probably knew that already.

Figure 2 - I'm ready!

As always, everything came together in the end, the cab rushed us to the airport and we made our flight. Barb slept on and off through most of the flight, but now she's reading books on Egypt trying to soak it up like John Travolta in Phenomenon. My needs are much more simple -- once I know how to order beers in a county, I've got all the culture I need, and Budweiser and Miller Lite parles vou in any language.

Figure 3 - Barb - showing the fruits of years of on call training

Unfortunately, I only got a few minutes sleep, my excuse for this somewhat dry lead. Hey, it's tough writing comedy at 2:00 AM EST, even if you are cruising over Germany in what looks to be a lovely day. But if you have the time, read along. It's all in fun and there won't be a test at the end. But there will be some surprises along the way, and I'll bet we make ya laugh at least once. Out loud.

Next Stop - Vienna Airport.

Vienna Airport yielded one essential truth of value to all travelers - if the airport doesn't have a Delta Crown room, you can sneak into the American Express lounge for free with an AMEX Gold Card, and some minimum charge with the Green. May not seem important now, but wait till you've been up 9 hours in a plane and you need a place to brush your teeth and get some free coffee and danish. Killer danish, too.

Austrian Airlines, our chariot to Cairo, joyfully doesn't follow Delta's smoke free policy. If you don't have seat assignments, as we didn't, get to the gate early or you'll be back behind the galley of their MD80, deep in the heart of smoking section.

The only open seat on the entire plane was right in front of Barb, on the aisle on the right hand side of the plane. Which meant that every smoker on the plane availed themselves of the seat once the seat belt sign darkened. There I was, caught between a smoke stack to the front of me and a jet engine less than a foot from my right. Barb searched her memory banks, but couldn't remember a single case of second hand smoke causing cancer on one 3 hour flight. That joyful news considered I did the only reasonable thing I could think of - fell asleep. Barb says I even slept through a meal, but I have trouble believing it.

Figure 4 - Cairo from the starboard side smoking section

I mention the right hand side of the plane for one critical reason - when you land, the pyramids and Sphinx, if visible at all, are off the left hand side of the plane, so mind your seat assignments accordingly. The seat gods were apparently serving others that day, cause there we were, smoking section, no pyramids. Our seats yielded exactly one usable picture - actually, I'll let you be the judge of that.

Cairo Airport

Our fortunes reversed when we landed in Cairo. Waheed's mail said that "someone" from American University would be there to meet us, which I assumed would be a student. I don't know about you, but somehow this didn't make us feel any more comfortable.

Figure 5 - Hey - did we ever leave Atlanta?

The airport itself is a long, low building that looks like any US high school built in the 60s, green tones and all. Fortunately, Barb's concerns were immediately alleviated by the appearance of a co-cola sign, her being a southern girl and all. Hey, man, we were home! Being from the north, I was a bit harder to please, but any vague fears I had disappeared once I saw my name in neon lights by the customs entrance. Ok, it was a simple white board sign, but believe me, a neon sign wouldn't have made me feel any better.

Collector number 1 was a short fellow with good temper and a brisk manner. He was charged with two collections for the AUC that day, us and the Chairman of the University of Florida's engineering department, a veddy distinguished fellow. It was great being in the car with him, a gator, and Barb, a Georgia Bulldog. But I get ahead of myself. When done properly, and it was in our case, getting through the airport is a highly specialized and efficient process, involving at least four players and three handoffs. Collector number 1 was charged with getting us through customs. He took our passports, directed us toward the visa counter (don't get your visa ahead, it cost $15 US pp and takes three minutes. Plus it's a money exchanger who you'll have to visit anyway, since at least Vienna didn't exchange Egyptian pounds, a controlled currency that converts to about 3.5 pounds per US dollar).

Figure 6 - we were known - home free

About 10 minutes later he returned, shepherding us around the long customs lines to Collector number 2, in charge of helping us get our luggage. Said luggage appeared very quickly, and we were handed off to Collector number 3 who took us to our car to the Nile Hilton. Tinkers to Evers to Chance, we were out of there. Barb and I couldn't decide if it was the AUC connection or the Nile Hilton, where we stayed, that arranged the smooth transit. Either way, if you come to Cairo, ask your hotel or whoever you're visiting about their ability to ease your flow through the airport. It'll end up saving at least an hour during the crankiest part of your trip.

To the Hotel

Every foreign traveler has stories about traffic in Italy, or Paris or Rio, or any other country where hot blooded people drive small, older cars. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say if you're looking for more stories, you won't be disappointed. As I told Barb along the trip, it helps to keep in mind that few people actually die in car accidents occurring at less than 40 mph, though they have been known to spoil your day.

Figure 7 - No problema - they took our guns at the Atlanta Airport!

I'll give you the traffic stories, but how many of you have actually been in a hotel with a metal detector? That's hotel, by the way, not high school - heck, they're everywhere.

Actually, as we came to find out, the Nile Hilton follows a simple rule that would drive Jessie Jackson crazy - if you're obviously an American, it doesn't matter if you ring the detector like a school bell, they just glance up and tiredly wave you through. We didn't see any wild eyed pistol wavers, but I assume that if they set off the alarm they might get a bit more attention.

Terrorists don't relax, however. Every 50 yard or so are one or more uniformed soldiers carrying Kalishnakovs, or AK-47s, or whatever they're called, obvious machine guns with the curved magazine. Either that or automatic shotguns which are just as scary. They get kind of pissed if you try to take their picture, violating Jan's rule number one of foreign travel, to wit - never piss off an 18 year old with a mustache and a machine gun. As we later discovered, you can find the right GI Joe who will snarl, look fierce and let you snap a quick photo for a couple of pounds, but Barb would have no part of it. That whole photographic integrity thing, I guess, don't simulate a picture that your life is in danger if it isn't, so you'll notice no pictures of machine guns but many pictures of the kitty cats who roamed the streets and loved being the subject of attention. The only danger there was getting too close and wanting to take them home.

Figure 8 - Barb making friends

The Nile Hilton

What makes a great hotel? We probably don't have that kind of time, but Barb and I both definitely nominate the Nile Hilton. Whether it's the Egyptian cotton sheets, the room balconies, the genuinely warm and attentive staff, or the luxurious pool and health club, this is definitely a great place to stay.

Figure 9 - First stop, lobby bar. Hey - they tell you not to drink the water!

Prices are like those in expensive hotels in New York or Paris except (hee hee) the prices are in English pounds, not dollars. A continental breakfast for two with more break and coffee than you can consume easily costs over 50 dollars in New York City (once you add the city, state and hotel tax, anyway), but costs 55 pounds here. That's under $20 US, including gratuities. All things considered, we were glad to be here.

Back to the story. Quick snacks at the lobby bar, a walk down the Nile and we were ready to change and head for dinner. We made the mistake of laying down for just a second, however, and slept for 12 hours, crashing around 7:30 PM local time (12:30 PM, Atlanta time). Overall, the trip had been remarkably efficient, taking about 17 hours, door to door, less than most day's work for Dr. Barb.