Dipping my toe back in the Nile

RooFlyer

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About a year ago, I had a tour credit, like half the world it seems, and a desire to start international travel again, but was a bit tentative, with international restrictions still uncertain and uneven. So I decided a single destination would be the thing to do and I plumped to do Intrepid's "Premium Egypt" tour, mainly for the couple of days cruising down the Nile. (The tour I had a credit with included Ukraine :(:(:(.)

I've been to Egypt twice before, in the early 1990s, for work, and we did manage to skive off a few days to see Luxor, Valley of the Kings and Cairo/Pyramids, but its time to give them another go, and to fill in a few gaps, such as the Citadel in Cairo and the Step Pyramids of Djoser at Saqqara. Also, the new Grand Egyptian Museum was due to be opened by now, and is in the program, and that was a major plus. (Its not open :()

The tour:

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For the flights, it was a no-brainer to go QR and QSuites (J), and out of habit, I decided to fly ex-ADL, as good seats tend to be available for longer there. Qantas connecting flight ex HBA added no extra :) and DOH-CAI-DOH is classified as First - in actuality it's Business, but in that part of the world, the regional J cabins are tagged First, which means extra Avios and admission to the Al Safwa lounge both ways.


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With Qantas going downhill fast, and they having gifted me Plat until March 2024, I decided earlier this year to credit the QR flights to QR's program, which shares Avios with BA and now has a tie-up with Virgin. The QR/VA alliance hadn't started at that point and fortunately I left my MEL-HBA leg unbooked, so it was a no brainer to add VA as the last leg of the journey.

Qantas naturally played silly bu**ers with my booking. They stopped running HBA-ADL direct earlier in the year, but didn't cancel my flight until about a month out. My TA booked me HBA-MEL-ADL, but as I didn't trust QF to run as scheduled, I had to build some padding into that part of the journey and gritted my teeth and took a whY-only bird to MEL. :mad:

A TR by @boomy not long ago reinforced my looking-forward to this trip.

The tour included meeting at CAI on arrival, and a ride to the tour hotel, the Steigenberger out at Giza, by the pyramids. I arranged to arrive 2 days prior to the tour to give me time to recover after the inevitable poor sleep on the way over, and padding in case of irrops (remember, booked 10 months ago).

A slight complication was that the evening before I was to fly out of HBA, I was to give the dinner speech to a national conference being held in Hobart - 260 people at $160/head!! That took a lot of preparation time, at the same time I was trying to remember what to pack (HLO).

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Anyway, it all went OK and the HBA QP was for once uncrowded. On boarding, it turned out that Qantas put a business-configured B717 on the leg HBA-MEL. So 1E got me an OK seat, but only whY points and SCs, even though it was a J ticket. :mad: One last way to screw me over, eh Alan?

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Off we go.
 

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MEL-ADL lunch was Shepherds Pie and mushy peas. Was offered and accepted some relish, which mysteriously was put on the peas 🧐

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I had about 8 hrs in Adelaide and got a room at HIX for points to kill the time. Then back to ADL and an hour in the QP before going through immigration. I see the new duty free area is still under construction 😳

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The QR came in from NZ 30 mins late, but soon on board 5E, my preferred seat in this cabin. Rear facing, solo by the window with storage on the aisle side, and 'mid cabin, so to minimise noise from galley & toilet traffic on either end. (Running out of) meal choices not an issue on QR 😆

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I am positively puce at this trip by roof_lyer…
After boomys fantastic ta , tried to entice swmbo with a very nice Itinerary but no dice.
I am travelling vicariously and positively green with envy...
 
Egypt can be hard work, @tgh - I've been here a day now and Cairo is much as I recall - crowded, dangerous on the roads, dogs everywhere, suicidal pedestrians ... but with a backdrop of the pyramids etc, its worth it. When I was here before, I got over the driving conditions (ie as a passenger) because you never got up enough speed to be badly injured if there was an accident. Now they have a big 'freeway' system and speeds increased commensurately!

Back on board QR915. World Cup themed amenity kit in large, ?handy case.

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PDB of Chas Heidsieck .

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Dinner menu I posted before but will again, as with the tucker. :)

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Amuse bouche

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Qld prawns poached in butter

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Cheesy WA crayfish. That's a baked lemon on the left.

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'Proper' cheese & crackers etc

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Then snug in my QSuite, watching the new Downton Abbey flick.

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This was the brekkie menu, but I skipped it, looking forward to it in the Al Safwa lounge.

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We arrived at DOH about 45 mins late, abt 5am local. Effortlessly through transit security and then 'turn left' :)

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The Al Safwa First lounge is jealously guarded - First travellers only, OW Plat & above won't get you in (QR plat does). 5 people in front of me for the Pretorian guard at the base of the escalator and 4 of them got turned away!! My first visit and, frankly, it didn't quite hit the spot for me. In a word: cavernous. And sterile - a complete contrast to, say The Pier First at Hong Kong.

The spa was fully occupied, so I slummed it in the 'family area' showers.

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That's a water feature on the RH wall.

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Looking towards the restaurant, where breakfast awaited.

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There are lots of different areas, that I didn't get to explore this time, but what was noticeable was the overall lack of seating - the area on the right seemed to be the biggest cluster and it was full by the time I left. I assume there are other areas (as well as a sleeping zone).

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Breakfast of eggs royale and a sour cherry danish. Fresh OJ was a zinger.

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With the late arrival of the inbound, I only had about an hour left before my next departure and I wanted to check out the new (very) Changi Jewel-like garden at the extension of HIA, opened just in time for the World Cup traffic. Down the escalator. By this time - 6am - the airport was heaving.

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The garden is out the far end of pier C and its about 1km from the teddy bear thing in the main concourse. Nice, but will need a few years for the vegetation to grow and be more forest-like.

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On the way back, I had a devil of a time finding the lounge again - 10 mins wandering round in the general area - no signs!! Found it, and mentioned it to the lounge desk who said that they had passed similar feedback to management before ...

There are lockers in the lounge, so I retrieved by bags and waited by an elevator for transport to a remote stand. Small snacks/coffee station

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Called, and down elevator to bus loading station, where a 'First' bus awaited. Very nice.

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Egypt can be hard work, @tgh - I've been here a day now and Cairo is much as I recall - crowded, dangerous on the roads, dogs everywhere, suicidal pedestrians ... but with a backdrop of the pyramids etc, its worth it. When I was here before, I got over the driving conditions (ie as a passenger) because you never got up enough speed to be badly injured if there was an accident. Now they have a big 'freeway' system and speeds increased commensurately!

Back on board QR915. World Cup themed amenity kit in large, ?handy case.

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PDB of Chas Heidsieck .

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Dinner menu I posted before but will again, as with the tucker. :)

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Amuse bouche

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Qld prawns poached in butter

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Cheesy WA crayfish. That's a baked lemon on the left.

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'Proper' cheese & crackers etc

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Then snug in my QSuite, watching the new Downton Abbey flick.

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This was the brekkie menu, but I skipped it, looking forward to it in the Al Safwa lounge.

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They've upped the amenity pack since May.
 
Onto QR1303 DOH-CAI, a B777 (was supposed to be a B787-900). As QR doesn't have Business on this route, I'm in 'First', although its really just Business.

The cabin ended up being about 1/2 full. IMG_9252.JPG

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Breakfast menu

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PDB of usual Chas Heidsieck, with cardamon coffee and dates after take-off

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I had an inling that the time after landing in Cairo would be a bit hectic, so I asked for a late breakfast in lieu of early lunch. Spiced beef kofta with fried egg.

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A few scenes over the Sinai; we traversed Saudi airspace of course, else this would be a pretty long flight!

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Arrival at Cairo for anyone following. Go along usual arrival corridors, then down long escalator. If you are being met by someone 'pre emigration' they will be at the bottom. There was maybe 20 guys there this time, with names on signs. I had to make 3 passes to find my guy (arranged by Intrepid) and then it was very unclear what was to happen. He had to wait for another pax, so told be to buy my visa on arrival and wait "over there" - past immigration, I gathered. Buy a visa US$25 by cash or card (separate lines. cash faster) from bank booths immediately adjacent to gaggle. Its a loose slip of paper; I don't think they looked at Passport.

Join immigration queues - hard to tell which ones were general, diplomat etc, but queue moved pretty quick. No questions asked :) , just scanned passport photo page, stick visa in, stamp, and off you go. No health paperwork or questions. Virtually no-one wearing masks. .

I then waited for the guy, unsure how long he would be; after 10 mins another guy appeared who said the other pax was getting money. 15 mins more (I was HLO) and we went through customs with the second guy (virtually no-one stopped) & out to concourse. I forgot to get SIM card. :(, but got some cash from ATM there.

Out to street and turns out the other pax was with a different Intrepid tour & hotel so we got into separate mini vans & off.

Overall not a bad experience. Not as chaotic as many 3rd world countries' arrivals but could have been better organised by Intrepid people; in the end I went through most of the process myself, rather than being assisted through it all, as I expected.

This is the route we took to the Steignenberger hotel, out by the Pyramids and new Grand Egyptian Museum and it took about 45 mins.

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I had 2 nights before the tour started, again, to let me recover from the trip. I get very knocked around by jet lag these days; 1 day usually needed, but I did 2 this time, thinking I could mooch around for an extra day. But I made a bad mistake. I initially booked the extra 2 nights through Intrepid, in the initial tour hotel, as it included the meet and transfer, described above and I thought I could spend some extra time at the new Museum. But then after Boomy's TR, and the realisation that the Museum wouldn't be open, I decided to change to a city hotel and arrange my own meet & transport with a recordation from Boomy. Ooops - too late to cancel the tour hotel, so I was stuck out in the sticks.

There is a lot more freeway in Cairo from when I was here 25 years ago - and its obvious they way they put at least this one in is to knock down parts of buildings and just carve a route through. Traffic lanes are just mere hints of suggestions ...

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Past the Citadel, which I'll be returning to

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The ride was pretty white-knuckle but my driver seemed good, and we arrived unscathed at the Steigenberger Hotel. I've been here 2 nights now and I wouldn't recommend it. Typical 'third world tour hotel' - all marble and smart uniforms, but generally crummy 3-4 star. Great location right across the road from the new museum (under construction) and close to the pyramids, but the latter entrance is a long way away. Absolutely nothing nearby to walk to; streets dirty and dog-strewn.

My room:
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I don't get a view of the pyramids from my room, but you get a peek from the pool terrace. The long tapering grey thing in the first pic is the edge of the new Museum.

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I've had 2 dinners in the restaurant now (buffet only) and its pretty poor. Everything over-cooked/over steamed and a bit soggy, and - again I remember from my past visit - the 'chefs' constantly fussing over the food - re-arranging, stirring etc so mostly you can't actually get to it. Waiters over fussing too. Oh well.
 
Following with interest as I’m going to be there in March.
 
Next day I was really lagged after another bad night's sleep, so I just mooched around a bit, and then decided ... to go to a mall. Not exactly riveting TR stuff, but I had forgotten a few things and it got me out of the hotel.

The GEM:

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A 30 min Uber ride was abt A$10 out to the Mall of Egypt, to the NE, out in the apartment block boonies. Could be anywhere.

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Snow world ...

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I got everything I needed, cheaply and Ubered back. The pyramids amidst urban sprawl is bizarre

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Next day I Ubered into downtown. I am going to see all I want to see on the Intrepid tour, plus 2 days at the end of the tour when I'm staying at the Conrad downtown and doing one of their tours. So it was just a walk-about in the sun (temp mid 20s).

The drive was pretty easy - 35 mins or so, traffic flowed very well.

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Cairo Tower. More of that later.

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The Qasr El Nil Bridge and its 19th Century bronze lions (at both ends).

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Saad Zaghloul Statue - he was an Egyptian independence fighter/campaigner in the early 20th century

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Ramses Hilton on the right.

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For Ritz-Carlton fans

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I walked a long way down, then up the river on the other side; a really nice day for walking. Iwent past the Cairo Tower and on a whim, decided to go up it. 205 pounds for foreigners (A$12), including a mask to wear in the elevator.

I came here in 1994, on my last visit. The big pink building is the Ramses Hilton; the pink building on the right in today's photo is the old/current Egyptian Museum

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With the late arrival of the inbound, I only had about an hour left before my next departure and I wanted to check out the new (very) Changi Jewel-like garden at the extension of HIA, opened just in time for the World Cup traffic. Down the escalator. By this time - 6am - the airport was heaving.

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The garden is out the far end of pier C and its about 1km from the teddy bear thing in the main concourse. Nice, but will need a few years for the vegetation to grow and be more forest-like.

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On the way back, I had a devil of a time finding the lounge again - 10 mins wandering round in the general area - no signs!! Found it, and mentioned it to the lounge desk who said that they had passed similar feedback to management before ...

There are lockers in the lounge, so I retrieved by bags and waited by an elevator for transport to a remote stand. Small snacks/coffee station

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Called, and down elevator to bus loading station, where a 'First' bus awaited. Very nice.

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Now, that's a flash bus 🚍
 
Met up with my tour group last night; 6 Aussies and 6 Canadians. One Canuk couple from Calgary - my second home and hubby works in the fraccing industry - so a lot in common. Even knew a couple of people I used to deal with. :) Range of ages from 22 to 80.

This morning, it was the Pyramids; lovely day, but air quality less then yesterday. I'm not going to give history etc (whew, I hear ...), just some pics of the tour and hopefully some of interest.

The 'Great Pyramid' of Khufu, built over 27 years in abt 2600 BC. Its a nice pile - 2.3 million blocks - of limestone!

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The 'Solar boat' that used to lie along one edge is gone, to the new Museum.

Paid an extra A$27 to go into the burial chamber; highly recommended unless yo are claustrophobic - or very unfit. Its warm to hot and a lot of steep climbing.

Entry and exit thought a 'modern' robbers adit. The constructed entry is above this.

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Walk along a rough tunnel for a bit

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Then up the first incline, a bit tight. People coming down have to pass you ...

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Then up a much longer incline, the Grand Gallery Again, two ways.

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Then a 10m crawl or very low stoop to the burial chamber. Hard to avoid getting people in the pic :)

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