Egypt plus SQ Suites/First photo TR

[Lynda2475]

n two of them we had to take off our shoes (like who does that these days)

Every USA airport I have been through since 9/11 - but no where else.

 

[boomy]

Every USA airport I have been through since 9/11 - but no where else.

Twice? Geez I didn’t remember it’s still a thing in the US.
I get taking shoes off once at security but to be asked to do it twice at two seperate checkpoints is something I haven’t experienced since the 90s.

 

[jase05]

Every USA airport I have been through since 9/11 - but no where else.

Was common in Vietnam on our last couple of trips, DaNang especially were hot on it

 

[boomy]

Our flight to CAI was on a new A320. Another short flight.

Cairo has Uber service which is great as it avoids dealing with taxi drivers and the need have enough cash to pay.

The roads weren’t busy at that time of the night and we reached the hotel with half an hour.

Conrad Cairo, like most luxury hotels in the city, is located on the riverbank. We were lucky to be upgraded to a nice suite with Nile views.







Breakfast the next day was decent.















Unlike Hilton Luxor, the Conrad felt almost empty. Later we found out that Cairo doesn’t get as many European holidaymakers because they prefer the sunny resorts of Hurghada and Luxor (Cairo was still cold in April).

 

[RooFlyer]

I can however think about many negatives in Egyptian airports.

Sounds like that hasn't changed. I still vividly recall in 1994 in the MS check-in queue where the (I believe local) lady was checking-in I swear, about 15 pieces of bundles, suitcases, boxes etc. Or trying to. I could just imagine the check-in agent "Just the dozen or so pieces today, madam?" Of course she couldn't but nothing was going to dissuade her. That was a long day.

I spent this afternoon checking out QR flights, tours, hotels etc for November. discovering along the way that I could swap my BA Avios into the QR program. That's nice.

 

[boomy]

Similar to Luxor we also booked all our tours in Cairo through the hotel. The Conrad works with Amex to book the tours. Here are the tour options and price list:



Unlike in Luxor the price list here depended on the number of travelers, the more people the cheaper it got. For the 3 of us rates ended up more or less the same as in Luxor - $80 USD pp full day and $60 USD pp half day (EGP/USD 0.055).

 

[boomy]

I spent this afternoon checking out QR flights, tours, hotels etc for November. discovering along the way that I could swap my BA Avios into the QR program. That's nice.

If you are looking for the best value J then KrisFlyer sweet spot is AU-ME in J for 88k points plus ~$200 AUD taxes.

QR is great airline but they charge more points and much more taxes for the same class of travel, unless you can score a seat in F Ex-SYD and then you’re ahead

 

[RooFlyer]

Similar to Luxor we also booked all our tours in Cairo through the hotel. The Conrad works with Amex to book the tours. Here are the tour options and price list:

I hope you chose Saqqara, because that's where I'm going to (planning to go) to

 

[boomy]

Cairo Tour Day 1

Our guide waited for at 9am as scheduled to start a full day tour. The first destination in Cairo must be the pyramids so we drive about 40 min to Giza which is a city adjacent to Cairo. Both cities make Greater Cairo with population of 21 million (biggest in the Arab world).

Driving in Cairo is not fun, to say the least. There are no rules on the road, no lanes and barely any stoplights. Luckily we were there during Ramadan month and we were told traffic is much better in that period. Well, I don’t want to imagine Cairo traffic in normal times

When we arrived to our first destination, the pyramids, there were just a few busses there. I was expecting big crowds similar to what I’ve seen in Luxor but Cairo touristic areas were less busy, which was great for us but not so great for the locals who are dependent on tourism.

The Giza pyramid complex (day visit)

Short summary (from Wikipedia):

The Giza pyramid complex, also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza.













It’s possible to enter the Great Pyramid for extra fee (can see the entrance in the first photo) but our guide said there is nothing interesting to see inside, also my mom suffers from claustrophobia so we decided not to go in.

It is also possible to take a camel ride and see the pyramids from different angles. Our tour guide just happened to bump into one of the camel ride operators after they talked a bit in Arabic he said: this is my good friend and he can offer you very good price for a short camel ride. Then he turned to him and said in English, give them good price yes, they are not Americans just for that funny comment I was slightly tempted but my parents did camel ride in India, I did in Uluṟu and we all agreed it’s one of those things you do once to off the list with no desire to do it again so we passed.

The pyramids were as impressive as expected and the low number of tourists made the experience even better.

 

[boomy]

This is a classic photo tour guides like to take, usually not with blurred face

 

[VPS]

It’s possible to enter the Great Pyramid for extra fee (can see the entrance in the first photo) but our guide said there is nothing interesting to see inside, also my mom suffers from claustrophobia so we decided not to go in.

Good call - it stinks like a toilet

 

[boomy]

Memphis and Saqqara

Information from Wikipedia and Memphis tours:

Memphis was the first capital of Ancient Egypt. Most of the pyramids found near Cairo, numbering well over 100 in total, were built during this period when Memphis was the most important city in Egypt and most probably the world.

Memphis was known as the “White Wall,” most probably referring to the palace of the king, which was built with whitewashed bricks, until the 26th century BC. The latest name of Memphis is a Greek translation of the Egyptian Men-nefer, which is the name of a nearby pyramid built in the 6th Dynasty.

Rameses II​

King Ramses II, often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom reigned -1279-1213 BC (19th Dynasty), gained his reputation and the love of the ancient Egyptians due to his many military expeditions that regained posse to Egyptian lands such as Nubia and Canaan. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."

Saqqara Necropolis​

Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English, is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis.

Saqqara contains the oldest complete stone building complex known in history, the Pyramid of Djoser, built during the Third dynasty.

 

[boomy]

After the tour finished we went back to the hotel and spent some time in the exec lounge before going out to dinner. The Conrad is currently being refurbished, starting with the lounge and basic rooms (finished), then the lobby and suites (ongoing). The refurbished exec lounge looked great











We spent most of our time in the nice private area shown in the last photo catching up on the latest world news.

 

[boomy]

The canapés offered were quite good and changed daily.









They offer local beer, wine and spirits.
We tried the wine, which wasn’t great



Thankfully the beer was better.
It was actually nice and refreshing.



There was a nice balcony to sit outside and admire the view.

 

[123gogirl]

Having been to Egypt three times now, your photos etc have brought back some amazing memories. May now have to call in again on my next upcoming trip OS in June. Luxor is a favourite place of mine, despite the constant harrassment by touts which is worse there than any other place I go to in Egypt. Saqqara out of Cairo is not to be missed, it is in the middle of the desert and gives one the feeling of actually "being" in Egypt. I spent a month in Dahab on the Red Sea which was pretty special. Not everything you see in Egypt IMO is touristy or tacky, apart from of course the papyrus shops and souvenirs, it is experiencing a historical culture beyond anything one could imagine. Should be on everyone's bucket list, as long as you can handle the touts

 

[Maca44]

Thank you, a really great read and as they say, a picture says a thousand words.

 

[Drakecula]

I'd love to visit Egypt, but MrD doesn't think it would be safe. So if I ever do go it'll probably be without him but with other people as I think me going by myself would be even less safe than if I'd gone with him. I'm a big Stargate SG-1 fan so all these pictures make me think of Dr Jackson and his theories of the pyramids being landing pads for alien spacecraft.

 

[craven morehead]

Some photos of the resort taken on the first night:

The Lobby

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The grounds

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Nice digs

 

[RooFlyer]

Booked for November

 

[boomy]

as long as you can handle the touts

I have a system that works every time:
Walk strait ahead, don’t look right or left, no eye contact and most importantly NEVER get into conversation with them. Once they see you are not responsive they will quickly give up and move on to another target, like my dad who was too polite and got constantly harassed