Day 187 - Luxor - Cairo - Ali’s Birthday
Sunday, January 6th, 2019.
Gregory and I got up early, maybe because it's a travel day and I'm always nervous. Nothing to worry about: we had arranged a ride to the airport before we even arrived. We got ready, had breakfast, and Gregory went to look for food for the plane. He found fresh chicken and falafel sandwiches but my mom still preferred her homemade sandwich.
We left our beautiful apartment (with a view of the Nile and the Luxor temple) at 11:30 and headed to the airport which is kind of far away (we had to cross the bridge in the car, which adds at least 20 minutes to any drive). We made it to the airport and we checked our luggage. We went through 2 or 3 security checks and for the first time since we left home, Sunshine and I had to go to the secondary inspection with our backpacks. We both had a small Swiss Army knife that no one had bothered to notice before. I honestly didn’t even know I had it there. I was ready to leave it with the guard but Gregory went to check them in. He came back and said that needed a bag where to put the knives in, since you can't just throw a Swiss Army knife into the cargo hold. We gave him Ali’s big red bag.
I’m glad we got to the airport with plenty of time because that took a while. When Gregory came back, we all walked to our gate and noticed that there was a cafe with lots of food. Luckily we had our lunch with us because it was expensive. My mom got her Diet Coke and sent Ali to buy a beer for Gregory who couldn't bring himself to pay $5 for a $0.50 beer! I am trying to learn spending habits from her [Gregory's note: if I die first, she's welcome to spend the savings if there are any left. But in the words of one of Freud's patients, Darling, said the husband to his wife, if one of us should die before the other, I shall move to Paris.]
After eating our lunch, it was time to board. First, we had to take the bus to the plane and when we made it to the plane, I saw one of our suitcases set aside. I was immediately worried, trying to think if had packed something that I shouldn’t have. When we got out of the bus, we walked directly to the staff and asked what was wrong. He apologized and pointed out that they had broken the zipper. Ironically, we had just fixed my suitcase at Luxor, the same pocket!
When we landed in Cairo, Gregory filed a claim. I really doubt we'll see anything but no one knows. We picked up our luggage and walked toward the exit. I started to worry because I hate when Gregory negotiates with the taxi drivers. He says he doesn’t get mad but it really looks like he does, and we are getting ripped off, but that’s how it is here and I just wanted to get my mom to her hotel fast because it was freezing. Really, I’m not exaggerating, the wind was blowing hard and cold and we were waiting outside while Gregory kept saying no to the taxi drivers. He wanted to get Uber for them but I reminded him last time we arrived, we had to find the pick-up spot. They can’t pick you up at the front door of the terminal.
My mom just kept saying that she didn’t care how much a taxi would charge her. I just got so frustrated that I told Gregory that I would negotiate with the taxi driver. We agree on his price when I asked my mom if she was ok with it. They charged 150EGP to take her to her hotel which was only 8 kilometers away. We paid the same amount with Uber to drive us 5 times as far.
Yes, the taxi drivers rip you off but it is convenient and if you convert to dollars it really only is around 8 or 9 dollars, which is not a lot for us. I’m really trying not to affect me but it does!
[Gregory's note: Uber was actually just as fast and convenient. The Uber pickup spot is right next to the taxi stand, since taxis are not allowed to pull up to the door, either. So why take Uber? Uber offers HUGE savings, payment by credit card, clean cars, polite drivers -- but aside from that, there's no real difference. The only people that waste money on taxis are ignorant or suckers.]
Anyway, the taxi driver took my mom, Ali, and Sunshine to their hotel. He also made them pay the airport exit fee, on top of his price. Sunshine wanted to go with them because it was Ali’s birthday. We allowed it.
I was praying that our apartment was in a nice area or at least a nice neighborhood. I felt responsible because I’m the one who is been complaining the most about the places we had stayed. I decided to take action and help Gregory find apartments but I also learned how hard it is when you don’t know the country, nor the city. Plus we want to look for a place near restaurants and a supermarket. [Gregory's note: yes, Lili is still fixated with the American concept of the supermarket. Some day she'll notice that they charge more and the food isn't as fresh or tasty as the actual markets. Or maybe she won't. Gotta love the concept of convenience that's been peddled in the US!]
Surprise, surprise! Our apartment is awesome! It is close to the American University in Cairo, which is about an hour from downtown and 2 hours from the pyramids, which is fine because we don't plan on going back there. This neighborhood is new and fancy and clean, and there's a park in the street with grass and trees. Also, there is no traffic since we're away from the main street! The apartment is big, fancy, and has heat which is great because we have been freezing since we got to our second apartment in Cairo.
We [Lili, her mother, and Ali] just hang around with our winter jackets inside. In Luxor, my poor mother slept with her down jacket and her scarf! Later they brought us a heater which was more like an illusion but they did bring us more blankets!
I was happy to hear that my mom’s hotel was fancy and warm. They were settled. Even if I couldn’t do much for them, I felt a big responsibility for her well being. We settled at home and called Uber to go to the grocery store. We paid 50 cents to get there, that's how close the market was. It had everything, thank God, and I felt like we were in a civilized country again. Even if we were close to home, we called Uber because it was very cold and windy. We had soup for dinner. We were happy in our new place except for the fact that we don’t have Internet! It is a crisis for all! I texted the host and he promised to take care of it tomorrow.
Gregory and I got up early, maybe because it's a travel day and I'm always nervous. Nothing to worry about: we had arranged a ride to the airport before we even arrived. We got ready, had breakfast, and Gregory went to look for food for the plane. He found fresh chicken and falafel sandwiches but my mom still preferred her homemade sandwich.
We left our beautiful apartment (with a view of the Nile and the Luxor temple) at 11:30 and headed to the airport which is kind of far away (we had to cross the bridge in the car, which adds at least 20 minutes to any drive). We made it to the airport and we checked our luggage. We went through 2 or 3 security checks and for the first time since we left home, Sunshine and I had to go to the secondary inspection with our backpacks. We both had a small Swiss Army knife that no one had bothered to notice before. I honestly didn’t even know I had it there. I was ready to leave it with the guard but Gregory went to check them in. He came back and said that needed a bag where to put the knives in, since you can't just throw a Swiss Army knife into the cargo hold. We gave him Ali’s big red bag.
I’m glad we got to the airport with plenty of time because that took a while. When Gregory came back, we all walked to our gate and noticed that there was a cafe with lots of food. Luckily we had our lunch with us because it was expensive. My mom got her Diet Coke and sent Ali to buy a beer for Gregory who couldn't bring himself to pay $5 for a $0.50 beer! I am trying to learn spending habits from her [Gregory's note: if I die first, she's welcome to spend the savings if there are any left. But in the words of one of Freud's patients, Darling, said the husband to his wife, if one of us should die before the other, I shall move to Paris.]
After eating our lunch, it was time to board. First, we had to take the bus to the plane and when we made it to the plane, I saw one of our suitcases set aside. I was immediately worried, trying to think if had packed something that I shouldn’t have. When we got out of the bus, we walked directly to the staff and asked what was wrong. He apologized and pointed out that they had broken the zipper. Ironically, we had just fixed my suitcase at Luxor, the same pocket!
When we landed in Cairo, Gregory filed a claim. I really doubt we'll see anything but no one knows. We picked up our luggage and walked toward the exit. I started to worry because I hate when Gregory negotiates with the taxi drivers. He says he doesn’t get mad but it really looks like he does, and we are getting ripped off, but that’s how it is here and I just wanted to get my mom to her hotel fast because it was freezing. Really, I’m not exaggerating, the wind was blowing hard and cold and we were waiting outside while Gregory kept saying no to the taxi drivers. He wanted to get Uber for them but I reminded him last time we arrived, we had to find the pick-up spot. They can’t pick you up at the front door of the terminal.
My mom just kept saying that she didn’t care how much a taxi would charge her. I just got so frustrated that I told Gregory that I would negotiate with the taxi driver. We agree on his price when I asked my mom if she was ok with it. They charged 150EGP to take her to her hotel which was only 8 kilometers away. We paid the same amount with Uber to drive us 5 times as far.
Yes, the taxi drivers rip you off but it is convenient and if you convert to dollars it really only is around 8 or 9 dollars, which is not a lot for us. I’m really trying not to affect me but it does!
[Gregory's note: Uber was actually just as fast and convenient. The Uber pickup spot is right next to the taxi stand, since taxis are not allowed to pull up to the door, either. So why take Uber? Uber offers HUGE savings, payment by credit card, clean cars, polite drivers -- but aside from that, there's no real difference. The only people that waste money on taxis are ignorant or suckers.]
Anyway, the taxi driver took my mom, Ali, and Sunshine to their hotel. He also made them pay the airport exit fee, on top of his price. Sunshine wanted to go with them because it was Ali’s birthday. We allowed it.
I was praying that our apartment was in a nice area or at least a nice neighborhood. I felt responsible because I’m the one who is been complaining the most about the places we had stayed. I decided to take action and help Gregory find apartments but I also learned how hard it is when you don’t know the country, nor the city. Plus we want to look for a place near restaurants and a supermarket. [Gregory's note: yes, Lili is still fixated with the American concept of the supermarket. Some day she'll notice that they charge more and the food isn't as fresh or tasty as the actual markets. Or maybe she won't. Gotta love the concept of convenience that's been peddled in the US!]
Surprise, surprise! Our apartment is awesome! It is close to the American University in Cairo, which is about an hour from downtown and 2 hours from the pyramids, which is fine because we don't plan on going back there. This neighborhood is new and fancy and clean, and there's a park in the street with grass and trees. Also, there is no traffic since we're away from the main street! The apartment is big, fancy, and has heat which is great because we have been freezing since we got to our second apartment in Cairo.
We [Lili, her mother, and Ali] just hang around with our winter jackets inside. In Luxor, my poor mother slept with her down jacket and her scarf! Later they brought us a heater which was more like an illusion but they did bring us more blankets!
I was happy to hear that my mom’s hotel was fancy and warm. They were settled. Even if I couldn’t do much for them, I felt a big responsibility for her well being. We settled at home and called Uber to go to the grocery store. We paid 50 cents to get there, that's how close the market was. It had everything, thank God, and I felt like we were in a civilized country again. Even if we were close to home, we called Uber because it was very cold and windy. We had soup for dinner. We were happy in our new place except for the fact that we don’t have Internet! It is a crisis for all! I texted the host and he promised to take care of it tomorrow.
No pictures today!
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