Jewel of Egypt

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hey Kim!!

Wish I could go along with you ....(I live just out of Bendigo)!!! If I can help allay your fears please let me know & we can arrange a time to get together. I can bring LOTS of pics for you to view!! (either pm me or email tiawarra@bigpond.com)

Please don't having any fears about being a solo traveller....all will be fine.

Looking forward to hearing from you....Debbie

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hi Kim!

A friend and I will be on that tour as well, we are both early 20's and female, good to know there will be another aussie! I can't wait! its getting close now.

Zoe

Re: Jewel of Egypt

[quote]Originally posted by :
[b] Hi Kim!

A friend and I will be on that tour as well, we are both early 20's and female, good to know there will be another aussie! I can't wait! its getting close now.

Zoe [/b][/quote]

Re: Jewel of Egypt

[quote]Originally posted by :
[b] Hi Kim!

A friend and I will be on that tour as well, we are both early 20's and female, good to know there will be another aussie! I can't wait! its getting close now.

Zoe [/b][/quote]Hi Zoe it is great that you and a friend are on the trip. I will be travelling in South Africa before this trip leaving Australia early March. See you there.
Kim

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hey Kim,
While I didn't do the JoE trip, I was a female travelling alone with days extra prior and after my tours.
You will have zero hassles alone... zero.
It depends on which traveller hotel they put you up in, but if you are in the Santana - it is an easy walk to the Metro (less than 1LE) to get from Dokki to Tahir Square and then to the Museum. Even though you will get a guided tour of the museum, I HIGHLY suggest you spend 4-5 hours there when you first arrive, because with the tour you are moving quickly and only see a handful or so of major pieces. Alternatively, if you are at the Salma (hope not!) you will be taxi bound to and from.
Another easy thing to do that won't push you too far out of the comfort zone is to go to Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo) which is also accessable by Metro - the Metro stop is directly opposite one of the churches there - and the whole area is just lovely (even with the restoration work going on). There is a fantastic old photo store there (there are 3 of them that I found in Cairo - all the same company - but this store was much cheaper than the ones at Giza or Tahir).
My first day in Cairo - I actually walked from my hotel to the Museum and back - much to the annoyance of the 100 or so taxis that wanted me to ride with them... prolly not a good idea unless you are used to the traffic - I had come from Syria, so it was no worries. It was however a unique and beautiful way of seeing Cairo, the gardens, and the people.
If it is clear, jump a cab and go up Cairo Tower for a good view - and a very nice sunset. There are other places to go, but if you are alone, this is prolly the least threatening.
If you are feeling adventurous, I highly suggest you stick the hand deep into the pocket and hire a taxi for the day (140ishLE) to take you to Saqqara - I went with our tour, but there is SO much there that I went on my own for another 5 hours and still didn't get to see everything that was open there. You MUST go see the Mastabas there as they were some of the highlights of my 6 weeks in the Middle East.
It is also a good idea to go to a supermarket and get some snackies... Metro (the store not the train) is close to Salma and Seguina is close to Santana.
Good luck girl - you will have a blast.
Ma Salama!

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hi Tae

I'll the tour Jewels of Egypt on 12th February. And I think I'll have to stay at the Salma Hotel (just for the tour, no extended stay).
What's wrong with the Salma ?

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hi Onyx
I don't want to put you off it... It just wasn't my kind of hotel in an area that wasn't my kind of area. Also, it wasn't what I would class as a "Traveller" hotel, with most Adventurer hotels I stayed in better - again my opinion.
It is good though if you don't want too much of a culture shock upon arriving Egypt.
I had 4 extra days at the end of my final tour, and asked to be transferred out of the Salma and back to the Adventurer hotel in Dokki because for me Dokki is more suited to my kind of travel - independent and fun.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hello Tae,

Whilst I realise no two people have the same opinions, I have to voice my own thoughts of the Salma.

I spent around 2 weeks at the Salma Hotel in Dec 03/Jan 04. The Salma provides working toilets & showers, clean linen & very helpful staff. What more could a weary traveller ask for? It has a clean dining room & good meals.....yes I know that bread rolls aren't our idea of breakfast....but when in Rome.... Yes you can get much fancier Hotels but lets be honest do you relly need anything more than the above mentioned? Isn't travelling all about seeing what's on the other side??

The staff at the Salma are always ready to assist in any way they can, always with a smile. I have stayed at 5 star Hotels in Egypt & I can tell you that the service isn't always as friendly as the Salma.

Anyway, that's my two bob's worth. As awlays, I wish I were going too . All the best......Debbie.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Who said anything about a fancier hotel? I transferred DOWN a level to an ADVENTURER hotel - Primarily because of how highly westernised the area was and secondly because of the lack of viable public transport. Certainly it is in a nice area, but I would rather stay in a lower end hotel which suited my travel needs and expectations that had beds with support and drains that drained. I am pleased however you enjoyed your time there - maybe I just got two dud rooms, but I could have kissed my tour leader for getting me transferred out. I did tip her very well though.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hello Tae,

Must apologise for my error there!I obviously didn't realise that you had transferred down.

However I still believe the Salma is a nice place to stay in, just my own opinion. I haven't experienced the problems you mentioned & believe that the staff at the Salma would have done their best to solve any problems that you may have had. I stand by my earlier statement: if the showers & toilets are working & the beds are clean, you really don't need anything else.

I have mainly used taxi's when in Egypt anyway, have never used the public bus or trains when travelling solo,so can not make a comment there. It is very easy to get a taxi at any time of the day from the Salma.

How can you state it is a highly Westernised area when there is a Mosque next door?? Most built up areas of Egypt show a Western influence, how is this area any different? I'm not trying to start an argument here, I'm just trying to understand your feelings & thoughts.

All the best.....Debbie.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hi,
Not wanting to start an argument here, but...

I stayed at the Salma when I was in Egypt last year. I thought it was a pretty good place, clean, nice bar, and the staff were more than helpful to assist in anyway.

I didn't think it was in a "westernised" area, especially as the mosque is next door. However, I did notice quite a few fast food restaurants on the main street just round the corner from the Salma... as well as traditional Egyptian food places.

For me, the Salma was ok. But everyone is different.

P.S. The Salma is in Dokki.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hi ,

I am sure you will enjoy your holiday in Egypt . If you want any advice or help i am here for you . i am Mena , 23 years male ,i was born in cairo , i lived in Aswan , Alexandria , Luxor and cairo of course :-)
i used to work as a D.J in a hotel bar and computer teacher and i am also an optician and computer technician .
i have friends from all over the world and i help them around when they come to visit me in Egypt . if you need any thing just let me know , before you are here or while you are in Egypt . i like to make new friends and help my friends around here to avoid hussle and advise them for the best of real egypt not just the tousists areas ,if you want to know anything or contact any of my friends in uk or Belguim or Germany or .... etc let me know and you can contact them yourself :-)

waiting to hear from you soon ,
Take care ,
Mena Melad

Re: Jewel of Egypt

Hello, I've made the same tour in February and it was absolutly fantastic. I've put the (about 200) best of my fotos on my homepage. You'll find them here:

[url=http://www.beepworld.de/members67/onyx007/egypt.htm]http://www.beepworld.de/members67/onyx007/egypt.htm[/url]

Re: Jewel of Egypt

[quote]Originally posted by Kim26mar:
[b] Hi, I am travelling on the 26 March tour and wondering if anyone else is travelling on this date. Nervous about travelling solo but looking forward to the adventure. Arriving two days before tour starts and wondering what to expect being single female for these two days. [/b][/quote]Hi
Im the other person that Zoe was talking about, the other Australian.

Getting very excited now!
Just to let you know that the Hydrofoil over the Red sea has shut down and we have to take a 12 hour bus ride over the top of Egypt.... but i guess someone has told you that. I kicked up a fuss, but it cant be helped. I just hope that the rest of the tour isnt damaged.
Also bring a towel/ beach towel.

Del

Re: Jewel of Egypt

I did the 12 hour bus trip, and it was really good actually. You have to get up early, but you are in a big bus, and you will have at least 2 seats to yourself. Heaps of room to sleep. And when you do wake up, there's great scenes out the window. I actually really enjoyed the bus trip.
Let me know if there's any other questions.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

[quote]Originally posted by nicky13:
[b] I did the 12 hour bus trip, and it was really good actually. You have to get up early, but you are in a big bus, and you will have at least 2 seats to yourself. Heaps of room to sleep. And when you do wake up, there's great scenes out the window. I actually really enjoyed the bus trip.
Let me know if there's any other questions. [/b][/quote]Did you miss out on climbing Mt Sinai? I heard that happened to a group because they had to do the bus ride.

Re: Jewel of Egypt

I went on the Jewels of Egypt at the end of Feb/start of Mar and we managed to get on the hydrofoil and we climbed Mt Sinai for sunset.