Egypt, Day 1 – Arrival
Nov 18th 2006sarahAfrica & Egypt
Day 1 – Wednesday, November, 2006
Our flight arrived, around 6pm Egyptian time, what I think was on time,
and we made our way through customs and the like. We had to buy our
visa when we landed. It’s a stamp, literally, and not the self adhesive
kind. We bought that, then got in the queue to be let into the country.
With our passports stamped, we made our way out to the baggage claim
area and waited for our bags. And waited…and waited… Ours was
nearly the last one off, but that was ok. I think I embarrassed Paul a
bit, with my wide eyed blatant tourist actions, but I attracted a lot
of attention. People were smiling at me, so I didn’t see any reason why
I shouldn’t smile and stare back.
Got to the bus, got on and started the journey to the hotel. I’ve
never seen anything like it, and I’m certainly glad my first few
moments in the country were on a bus, where I could gawk with no
repercussions. And gawk I did. While the woman (our tour operator
guide) was giving her talk, I was busy looking out the window. And, I
have to say, it made me feel better that Paul was too. On our way to
the hotel, we saw this group of men trying to break down a rock that
was bigger than the lot of them. In the middle of a dusty road. And
then we saw some gardeners, and everything looked dusty and hot – even
though everyone was covered, with long sleeves, even when they had
Western wear on. Paul and I had a chuckle, it was so great.
I really had that feeling again, that I was in a different culture and
way of life. It felt really good.
Not knowing what to expect on arrival at the hotel, and we were
welcomed in by a bunch of musicians. Well, three – four men with
instruments. We checked in, and leaving our bag (yes, only 1) with a porter ( 
We’d never done that before! How posh!) We had a bit of a relax in the
room, wondering if our bag would ever arrive, and then we decided to
have a wander. Looked around a bit, but
because it was soooo dark, (and yes, I was wondering what exactly was
out there, really) we decided to spend the vouchers we received
for the Crocodile Bar.
Fairly early night after a couple local beers, something called Stella, and the excitement really began the next day!
