Solar Boat Museum

While visiting EZ Storage, I told one of the very nice ladies who runs the place about the incredible Solar Boat Museum. I told her how big the boat was, what it was made of and the history of it. Then, I tried to show it to her from my blog and found out to my disbelief, I never posted a picture of it on it. So, this is for her.

Here's my story about the solar boat. I arrived a day early into Cairo, Egypt so, I'd have time to recover from the long (10 hours 45 minutes) flight from New York City as well as get adjusted to the local time. I'd learned the hard way during my Globus Scandanavia tour that this could make a big difference at the beginning of the tour.

The Avalon Waterways people were waiting for me at Cairo International and patiently guided me through the process of getting my Egyptian visa. After that, they got my travel friend Harvey and I in a van which drove us to our extremely nice hotel the MENA House Oberoi. It was there that we met of the finest tour guides I've ever had Sami Hassan.

Once I was checked in, I met with Sami and, he asked if Harvey and I wanted to do something with our free time. As we were in reasonably good shape, we said sure. It turned out there were 8 or 9 us that flew in early. All of us were game and, Sami took us to the pyramid complex where we paid the 100 Egyptian Pounds to get in then led us to the Solar Boat Museum which cost us another 50 Egyptian Pounds.

The Solar Boat Museum is a museum that holds a special boat that was built for the Pharoah Cheops (also known as Khufu) to be used supposedly in the after life as the pharoah sailed round the world. It was approximately 70 feet long, made of Lebanon cedar which were apparently floated down to Egypt in rafts and was held together by special grass ropes. The boat didn't have ANY nails in it to hold it together. The boat's special grass ropes were woven through the specially drilled boards in a way that would hold the boat together. What was special about the ropes is that the grass would contract when it was watered causing the ropes to pull the boards of the boat together forming a water tight seal. The boat was buried in a special crypt/pit right next to Cheops's pyramid in pieces in a precise order so that it could easily be put back together in the afterlife. The boat was discovered in 1954. After much study, the boat was put together and displayed in the Solar Boat Museum. It is an absolutely incredible boat. Seeing this ancient boat was one of the highlights of my tour of Egypt and an unexpected bonus I wouldn't gotten to do were it not for my flying out a day early as well as for the great tour director Sami Hassan. I would heartily recommend folks check out this incredible museum. It's in the pyramid complex and behind the Great Pyramid. Here is a link to a webpage that tells more of the history of the boat: http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/the-solar-boat-museum/

Egypt Travel Stories

Recently, I finished my travel stories on Egypt for the http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/ website. I wanted to let people know what to expect on the Avalon Waterways Grand Tour of Egypt. The Globus tour website gives nice basic information but, it doesn't go into great detail about some of the sights and, it isn't impartial. While I like Globus, I won't hesitate to say if something stinks in my opinion. If I like something, I'll say why I like it and maybe give examples. One thing I did on my Egypt stories was praised the tour guide Sami Hassan. He really was outstanding. Why was he outstanding? I showed a number of examples where he watched out for his group. A vendor tried to gouge us at the Alabaster Mosque and, Sami wouldn't let him get away with it. He told everyone not to buy the booties we had to buy so we wouldn't have to take our shoes off when we went inside the mosque. Another time he told me of something that would help settle my stomach when I caught some unknown bug during the tour. His remedy worked (coffee and lime juice) but, it tasted god awful. I was really sorry to say good-bye to Sami at the end of the tour. He was always cheerful and, he knew so much about Egypt. If I ever visit Egypt again, I hope to have him as my tour guide again.

After posting my stories, I had to wait for the site editors to rate them. I don't know why they do or what their criteria is. It can be a little frustrating at times. I confess I like getting a high standard rating on my stories but, I don't know what THEY think makes and high standard story. For some reason, they didn't like my Luxor story but, they loved my stories on Edfu and lunacy on the Nile. I wondered how they were going to like those as I said point blank I wasn't impressed with the horse drawn carriages in Edfu. They looked very rickety. I believe one bunch in our group had a wheel come off their carriage enroute to the Edfu Temple! In regards to lunacy on the Nile, I told of the crazy salesmen who tried to sell stuff to people on our cruise ship from ROWBOATS. It was ridiculous. The salesmen were real characters. Still, I guess they make money doing it. I doubt any in our group could have driven a better bargain than they could. They've been doing it all their lives. Plus, their living depends on it.

Overall, I was delighted that most of my stories got high standard ratings. Also, I'm glad I got them done before I start my next adventures with Globus. I'm impatiently counting the days down till I get to go on the back-to-back tours I'll get to do with them. I can't wait to go. I'm big time burned out at the Post Office. I'll earn overtime this week and next. I think out of the last 12 weeks I've worked at the Post Office, I've earned overtime 9 of them. The money is great but, it really wears you out. I'll be glad to get away from there and do some exciting travel again. Stay tuned for some interesting travel stories. Cheers all!

Adventures Log

Now that I'm back from my Egypt trip, I can start telling you my readers more fully about it. Here goes.

I arrived in Cairo a day early. I wanted time to recover from the long flight and ensure I was well rested before the important first group meeting. I haven't forgotten falling asleep sporadically at the group meeting at the beginning of the Scandanavia tour I did. Through my travel agent Joel, I made sure Globus/Avalon Waterways would have someone to meet me at the airport. I very much wanted someone there who knew their way around there and spoke the language. I visited Cairo before in March 2001 but, I wasn't any expert on the ropes there. I would be very glad to see a person from Avalon waiting for me when I arrived.

I stepped off the plane in Cairo and boarded a bus that took me to the arrivals terminal. I walked in there and to my surprise, I saw a sign saying Globus/Avalon Waterways. I hadn't passed through Egyptian immigration yet. I walked up to the representative, told him my name and he checked his list and confirmed that I was one of the people who was supposed to pick up. Then, he had me rush to the MISR Bank counter to buy my Egyptian visa which you had to have to get into Egypt. It cost $15. I expected some kind of form to fill out but there wasn't one to my astonishment. I paid my money and they gave me a sticker to put in my passport that was my visa. The man who met me at the gate took the sticker, put it in my passport, checked what I'd filled in on arrivals card I had to fill out and got me through the immigration line. Another man took over from there.

The man who took over from there would later be called Bob. His real name is something like Sopi. However you say his name, he was super nice and made sure the tour got off to a good start. He was the one who called Samy, my tour's guide and arranged for me to meet him at the hotel I would be staying at. I was a little perplexed why Bob would want me to meet Samy so soon but, I figured whatever. I do remember him saying Samy was outstanding. It turned out, he was right.

Bob herded me and a friend to the van and driver that would take me to the MENA House Oberoi Hotel in Giza. I don't know the driver's name but, he did a fine job getting me to the hotel. I was surprised how far it was from the hotel. As we drove along, I looked at the van windows to see some of the sights of Cairo. Some of the sights were surprising. I saw run down dirty multi-storied apartment building that appalled me. I saw people driving carts pulled by donkeys in the city. Traffic was a madhouse. Drivers drove where ever there was an opening on the road. Cairo sprawled for miles and looked like it had been built haphazardly. There was also a lot of new construction going on. I don't remember what it was for.

After over 30 minutes driving at least, I arrived at the hotel. I'd stayed at the hotel during my first visit in 2001. I had fond memories of it. It is an outstanding hotel and, the perfect place to visit the pyramids from. It's just minutes walking from them. The hotel staff were very prompt in helping me check in. I expected to stay in one of the rooms to the back of the hotel. To my surprise, I got a room the palace part of the hotel. The palace part of the hotel is I believe part of the older original hotel. It's considered more luxurious and has better views. I was knocked for six when I looked out my bedroom window and saw Cheops pyramid. Another advantage of rooms in the palace part of the hotel is you are closer to the hotel's various restaurants including the bar where I would meet Samy.

Bob had helped set up my first meeting with Samy. I'd heard about him on one of the few Egypt stories on Globus's exchange travel stories website. The reviewer said he was great but didn't give any real reasons why. I was surprised to be meeting the tour's guide so soon. But, I figured it would be worthwhiled as I could find out how the tour was going to run.

The first thing you get to see about Samy Hassaan is his warm and cordial smile. You would get to see it a lot during the trip. The second was his very professional manner. Samy got me and my friend our complimentary welcome drink and then, we sat down and got answers to questions like when could we sign up and pay for the tour's optional excursions and how was the first group meeting going to go the next day. To my delight, I was able to pay at once for all the excursions I wanted to take. This would enable me to avoid a hefty charge card bill when I got back to the U.S. Second, to my surprise, I found out Samy was going to take a few people to a museum next to the pyramids that we wouldn't get to see during the tour. It's the solar boat museum. The solar boat is a boat that was built for Pharoah Cheops (Khufu) that would simulate the boat he would use in the afterlife. It was never intended to be used. Surprisingly, it wasn't found until 1954. Samy said it was worth seeing. The same group afterwards was going to see the Royal mummies collection at the museum of antiquities. As I hadn't planned to do anything that day barring the group meeting, I willing to go so I agreed to join the group that Samy would take to the solar boat museum.

After my first meeting with Samy was concluded, we made our way over to a closeby ATM where I was able to get some Egyptian pounds. I withdrew 1,000 of them. Then, it was time for dinner. The MENA House Oberoi hotel has 4 or 5 restaurants. The Khan El Khalili restaurant is open 24 hours I believe. My friend and I decided to eat there. We'd have a nice meal there and discuss our upcoming adventures. There was going to be a LOT of things to see and do within the next 2 weeks. Continued in Adventures Log - Part II.

I'm Back!

I made it back to the good old USA but, I'm not home yet. I had to be up at 5 a.m. with my bags out at 5:30 in Cairo. The Avalon Waterways (MISR Travel) shuttle that would take me to Cairo International was waiting for me. It took me to the airport where I had a mis-adventure when the person at the check-in counter gave me the wrong boarding pass. I managed to get that fixed. Then, I had to endure a 12 hour flight to New York JFK Airport. That royally sucked. Finally, I arrived there and had to sit and twiddle my thumbs for almost 4 hours. I finally get to board the plane for Dulles International and, we find out the plane is overweight. They end up kicking a passenger off the plane. I bet she wasn't happy. Neither were the rest of us as we sat in the plane for over 35 minutes waiting for them to get that sorted out. My plane ended up leaving over an hour late.

By the time I arrived at Dulles, I know I'm not in any shape to drive home. No problem, I'll stay at Embassy Suites again right, WRONG! First, I miss their shuttle. I figure, they'll send another one in 15 or 30 minutes. WRONG! After waiting over 40 minutes with the time past 11 p.m., I go back into the airport and look up their number. I call them on my cell phone which it turned out had a very low battery so, I wondered if the call would disconnect because it ran out of juice. Thankfully, it didn't. The driver for the hotel shuttle shows up and takes me to the Embassy Suites where my car. I inform the person at the reception that I need a room. To my astonishment, he informs me they are fully booked! Luckily, there is a Homewood Suites next door and, they had some rooms available. So, later today (now), I'll finally drive home and conclude my Egypt adventure.

The tour itself was awesome barring me getting sick. I'm still taking antibiotics for that. I hope the bug I caught will be gone permanently when I finish the antibiotics. We'll see. I plan to post more indepth blogs about the trip some time in the coming days. I got to see a lot of neat stuff though I also saw some very sad stuff. The poverty in Egypt is appalling. So, stay tuned for more updates.

Tour Update

I found out Internet access is affordable at the Maritim Jolie Ville Hotel. Our group will be staying here one night. Tomorrow, we'll transfer to our boat. I actually got see it briefly as we drove to our hotel. Sami our guide assured us we get VIP treatment on the boat. We'll see.

Concerning the tour, we got started shortly after 8 a.m. I was sorry that it was time to check out of the MENA House Oberoi Hotel. My stay there had been really nice. If I ever return to Egypt, I'll definitely stay at that hotel again.

Our first stop was the famous step-pyramid at Saqqara. Sami took us to a museum dedicated to its architect Imhotep. The museum showed some of the artifacts recovered in the area and explained some of the unique aspects of the pyramids. After that, we visited the mastaba (tomb) of an Egyptian prince. The tomb was very impressive with carved figures in the wall showing how life was during those times. Some of the figures still have some of the color they'd been painted with. The tomb must've been very impressive when it was first built. Next was the funerary temple which had stone columns shaped like bundles of reeds. Every stall reportedly held a statue though it isn't know with certainty what the statues were in the stalls.

After that, there was a vast courtyard in the rear of the pyramid. It was built so the pharaoh could complete certain tasks in the afterlife. The step-pyramid itself was impressive though not as much as the 3 great pyramids that came after it.

From there, we went to Memphis which was the first capital of ancient Egypt. Sadly, there isn't anything remaining of the buildings from that time. They were built of mud brick according to Sami and would've been destroyed when the Nile river flooded. It was only due to a number of statues being found at the small museum we visited that archaeologists were able to determine that had to be where Memphis had been located.

Next lunch, lunch ironically was at the same restaurant I ate at when I visited in 2001. My visit this time was less pleasant as they changed the prices of the sodas when it came time to pay the bill and they pushed hard for a tip. They didn't get one from me.

Last, we visited a carpet factory. I remembered the carpet factory from my 2001 visit and decided to skip this. I wasn't going to buy a carpet that could cost as much as a used car.

From there, we drove to the Cairo airport where we said good-bye to our driver. He'd done a good job and, I made sure I gave him a nice tip. Sami was helpful in getting my United Airline frequent flier number added to my ticket so I could earn some airmiles on the flight. The flight itself lasted 1 hour and was uneventful. I hadn't slept great the night before and ended sleeping most of the flight.

Our driver was waiting for us at Luxor airport. We had a pleasant drive through the city and saw the Luxor temple as we passed by. It looked impressive. After checking it, it was time for dinner. The hotel had a buffet that was phenomenal. I piled my plate only to find out there even more entrees available. I decided to limit myself to 1 plate. I've already got a big enough gut.

So, tomorrow we see the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut's temple. Then, we board our river cruise ship where we have our first meal on board. Stay tuned for further updates. Cheers all!

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt with a population of 8 million. The city was founded by Alexander the Great though there was an important Egyptian village on the site of the future city. For my tour group, we would visit Alexandria to see the city, its museum, its catacombs and Pompey's pillar.

The city's museum was nice though not super big. It's housed in a former U.S. consulate and consists of 3 floors. The basement holds the Egyptian history exhibit though much of what's exhibited there isn't from Alexandria. The first floor holds the Greco-Roman period and includes some new artifacts that were recovered from the sea floor by French divers. The second floor hold Islamic and Coptic exhibits and more modern items. I checked out the first floor and found it interesting. Like the Egyptian museum in Cairo, I found items mis-spelled and mis-labelled. Also, the museum had a very lacklustre gift shop.

The catacombs were discovered purely by accident in 1900. 238 people were buried in them though all the bodies have since been removed. Still, it was interesting and a little spooky to visit them. A spiral staircase took you down in subterranean chambers were the various burial cells were located. There was also a small temple that showed the Egyptian God Anubis mummifying a body. Lastly at this site, we saw a burial temple that was recovered and showed a mix of Roman and Egyptian beliefs.

Pompey's Column is actually a column dedicated in honor of Roman Emperor Diocletian. The rest of the site has the remains of 4 temples as well as some statues left in Alexandria by various Egyptian Pharaohs. I thought it interesting.

After visiting Pompey's column, we drove along the coast to the hotel were Avalon Waterways treated us to lunch. The hotel was nice and the lunch was good. We had pleasant views of a small harbor and beach. Interestingly, the hotel is located next to the former Royal palace and now Presidential mansion. The mansion was a stunning building. Just a little ways down from the mansion was the mansion that held the last Egyptian King's harem. That was interesting.

Overall, the trip was a very nice one though it did involve a drive of 3 hours each way. The drive was an experience as Egyptians don't pay any attention to road markings and I suspect speed limits. After seeing how they drive here, I know I wouldn't want to. At times, it is pure chaos. My respect for our bus driver as well as the driver who picked me up at the Cairo airport has been very high.

That's all for now. Tomorrow, I get to see Old Memphis and the step-pyramid at Saqqara. After that, we fly to Luxor where we have a free evening and stay overnight in a hotel. I hope to post another update but, that'll depend on how much they charge at the hotel to access the Internet. Stay tuned.

5 March Update

Per my last post, I attended the Pyramids sound and light show. It was interesting and yet boring too. At times, I nearly fell asleep. Thankfully, it only lasted an hour and 15 minutes. Our guide Sami was waiting for us when the show was done.

Then, I bought one of the items that was at the top of my list to buy - a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. Ok, I know that is a little ridiculous but, I really like collecting the things. It turned out the Cairo cafe has a small shop that sells merchandise only. I looked over what they had and decided to get just a t-shirt.

Next, Sami took us to a shop where we could get supposedly (how would I know) good prices on Egyptian cotton clothes. It was there that I bought a ghabeliyah (I undoubtedly mis-spelled that). A ghabeliyah is sort of like a super long night shirt that Egyptian men were during the daytime. You'll see every once in a while a man wearing one. Sami said we're going to have a party during the river cruise where the men have to wear a ghabeliyah and properly Egyptian. So, I bought one of those and a head scarf. I looked at myself in a mirror at the store and laughed. I was a sight. I'm definitely going to get a picture taken at the party.

I also bought a copy of night t-shirts which cleaned me out Egyptian pounds wise. I'll have to pick up some more this morning dang it.

Last, we drove back to the hotel. It was around 9 p.m. and we have an early start for Alexandria this morning so I skipped dinner. I plan to make up for it by hitting the hotel breakfast buffet hard. I know very little about Alexandria so today will be a big learning experience. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned for more updates. Cheers all!

Quick Note

I have to post a quick note as I'll be leaving in 30 minutes for the sound and light show at the pyramids. It's been a hectic first full day of the tour. We started at 8 a.m. and drove to the nearby pyramids. I climbed inside Cheops pyramid like I did back in 2001. The long low narrow passageway hasn't changed or the confined spaces inside the pyramid. I enjoyed the adventure but, I was glad to be back outside the pyramid.

After that, we had the chance to ride a camel for 50 Egyptian pounds. I had a better ride than in Australia but, I didn't like dealing with the Egyptian who led my camel.

Then, we visited the famous Sphinx. We learned about the 2 temples that would be built with a pyramid. One would be the funerary temple which was right next to the pyramid and, the other was the mummification temple where the body was mummified. We got to see what remains of the mummification temple for Pharoah Khefren (Cheops son). It was interesting. Afterwards, we took pictures of the Sphinx.

Lunch was next with a restaurant closeby. They had a fixed price lunch which was reasonable and good. I got to eat some good traditional Egyptian food.

Last, we visited the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities to see the King Tutankamun treasures. The treasures haven't lost any of their ability to awe. It's incredible to see what we buried with a boy king who only ruled for 9 years. The horde that would've been buried with a great pharaoah like Rameses II must have been truly mind boggling.

That's all for now. I have the sound and light show to go to and then, I have to grab a quick dinner. After that, I'll be hitting the sack quickly as we have an early start tomorrow morning for Alexandria. Stay tuned for further updates.

Made It

I arrived in Cairo this morning. The flight was long as expected. Egyptair was surprisingly decent. The main meal they offered was pretty good plus, they offered a choice of beef, chicken or fish.

Avalon Waterways came through too. There was a 2-man team waiting at the arrivals section at the Cairo airport. The first man showed me where to get my visa and got me quickly in line so I could get through immigration quickly. Note: Getting my Egyptian visa turned out to be ridiculously easy at the airport. I definitely wouldn't bother getting it at the Egyptian consulate in the states.

The second man helped me get my suitcase and directed me to where the driver was. He also contacted the tour guide who met with me later. The tour guide was fantastic. Because of him, I'll get to see the boat museum next to the pyramids tomorrow and the royal mummy section of the Egyptian museum of antiquities. It should be a serious blast.

Lastly, my room at the Mena House Oberoi absolutely rocks. I can look out my bedroom window and see Cheops pyramid. It's unreal.

So, my Egyptian adventure is going well. Stay tuned for further updates as I can post them. Cheers all!