Yesterday marked five weeks until departure for Africa. Of course, no trip could go off without a hitch and this certainly is one of those.....
While in Vermont and stuck in traffic due to an accident in the middle of a covered bridge hunt, my phone rang. Of course, I realized it to late and it went to voicemail. I retrieved the voicemail quickly and got a surprise. It was United Airlines calling to tell me that Ethiopian Airlines has decided not to operate my CAI-ADD (Cairo to Addis Ababa) segment on the day I had booked, September 16, but was operating it on September 17th. They had me booked on the 17th and wanted me to confirm that it was okay. It's pretty obvious that it wouldn't be since I needed to be in Johannesburg on the evening of the 16th to take my flight home.
Fortunately, the traffic jam was in an area where I got a good data signal (an occurrence that wasn't all common throughout the weekend). I did a quick online search for award seats and found that there was nothing that would allow me to leave Cairo early on the 16th and be in Johannesburg when I needed to be. I did see a non-stop flight on the 15th that arrived early in the morning on the 16th but needed to do more research.
After arriving home, I got online solely to check the available flights and make any necessary changes. It struck me as odd that only the CAI-ADD segment got rescheduled and not the whole CAI-ADD-JNB leg. When I pulled up availability, the only thing available that would give me the maximum amount of time in Cairo and get me to Johannesburg when I needed to be there was a non-stop flight on Egyptair CAI-JNB which leaves Cairo at 11:00 PM and arrives in Johannesburg at 7:05 AM on the 16th. Unfortunately, it was only available in Economy but it's what I needed so I booked it.
This also meant that I needed to change my Cairo tour. I would be deleting one activity. I decided that I didn't need to do the Nile Cruise and e-mailed my tour guide notifying him of the change and my suggestion. He came back with a proposed tour that skipped the cruise and went straight to the market. It's a bit cheaper but it gets me all that I want to do.
Hopefully, there will be no more modifications to the schedule. I will, however, now need a day room in Johannesburg since I have 14 hours to kill not 8.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Egyptian Excitement
One of my "secrets" is that ever since I saw the original tour of The Treasures of Tutankhamen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in the late 70's, I've been enthralled by the thoughts of a trip to Egypt. It's not something that I've really ever told anyone largely because I wasn't sure how to arrange such a trip.
Imagine my surprise as I was researching the possibilities for my second week in Africa that a flight to Cairo popped up as I was researching another location and it was definitely doable. After that, it became a focal point for me to make a stop, no matter how short, in Cairo so I could see the pyramids.
Once the flights were booked, exactly how this was going to happen became my big concern. I did some research and followed a link from Lonely Planet which led me to a tour which seemed okay from Viator but it didn't consume my whole time in Egypt. I wanted to be able to see as much as I could. I started looking on TripAdvisor for some reviews of the company but had some trouble finding them in the Cairo list.
As I perused the list, I found many tour companies to be highly rated. The one that caught my eye was Egypt Tailor Made Day Tours. All the reviews were positive with high ratings for contact by e-mail. I sent off an e-mail that evening and when I woke up the next morning, I had a response. Basically, I gave Walid my arrival and departure times in Cairo and asked him to put together an itinerary. After a little bit of back and forth, we came to an agreement. In addition, the price was only a few dollars more than what I had originally seen from Viator.
My Cairo itinerary is as follows:
1:30 AM Pickup at Cairo International Airport and drop off at Conrad Cairo
9:00 AM Pickup at Conrad Cairo then drive to the three Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, Islamic Cairo, lunch, and Coptic Cairo
4:00 PM Egyptian Museum
7:30 PM Nile River Cruise with dinner, belly dancer show, and tanura show
9:30 PM Kah el Kalili Market
11:00 PM Leave for Cairo International
12:00 AM Arrive at Cairo International
This gives me the opportunity to see as much of Cairo as I possibly can in a very short time. I'm very excited and feel that the price is more than fair. Based on the reviews, I expect to have a fantastic time. I can't wait to share it with everyone.
Imagine my surprise as I was researching the possibilities for my second week in Africa that a flight to Cairo popped up as I was researching another location and it was definitely doable. After that, it became a focal point for me to make a stop, no matter how short, in Cairo so I could see the pyramids.
Once the flights were booked, exactly how this was going to happen became my big concern. I did some research and followed a link from Lonely Planet which led me to a tour which seemed okay from Viator but it didn't consume my whole time in Egypt. I wanted to be able to see as much as I could. I started looking on TripAdvisor for some reviews of the company but had some trouble finding them in the Cairo list.
As I perused the list, I found many tour companies to be highly rated. The one that caught my eye was Egypt Tailor Made Day Tours. All the reviews were positive with high ratings for contact by e-mail. I sent off an e-mail that evening and when I woke up the next morning, I had a response. Basically, I gave Walid my arrival and departure times in Cairo and asked him to put together an itinerary. After a little bit of back and forth, we came to an agreement. In addition, the price was only a few dollars more than what I had originally seen from Viator.
My Cairo itinerary is as follows:
1:30 AM Pickup at Cairo International Airport and drop off at Conrad Cairo
9:00 AM Pickup at Conrad Cairo then drive to the three Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, Islamic Cairo, lunch, and Coptic Cairo
4:00 PM Egyptian Museum
7:30 PM Nile River Cruise with dinner, belly dancer show, and tanura show
9:30 PM Kah el Kalili Market
11:00 PM Leave for Cairo International
12:00 AM Arrive at Cairo International
This gives me the opportunity to see as much of Cairo as I possibly can in a very short time. I'm very excited and feel that the price is more than fair. Based on the reviews, I expect to have a fantastic time. I can't wait to share it with everyone.
Accommodations Set, For the Most Part
It's been almost a month since my last update. Once the airline tickets were all fully booked, the next thing in line has been the hotel rooms. It's been a bit of a trial figuring out how to do all of it as I had intended on trying to book as many rooms using my Hilton HHonors points as possible. Unfortunately, Hiltons don't exist in some of the cities (Livingstone and Gaborone) and in other cases I really only needed a day room (Dubai and Seychelles).
The first hotel booked was in Livingstone. I'll be staying at Chanters Lodge in Livingstone. The place looks pretty decent and transfer to and from the airport is included in the price. I'll be paying 69 USD (and will have to carry more overall than I normally do which is very little). I found the place on TripAdvisor and it seemed to get good reviews. It's also close to the falls and their contact with me initially was very quick.
The next hotel I need (notice the tense) to book is in Gaborone. There don't appear to be any chain hotels. My research has told me that taxis aren't usually waiting at the airport for flights so I've been trying to book at a hotel which can arrange an airport transfer. There also doesn't appear to be any chain hotels. My first choice, the Cresta President has been unbookable through their website. They also haven't answered any e-mails either. I like their location because it's in the middle of everything that I plan to see. My alternate, The Gaborone Hotel, is not that far from the Cresta President. It's located between the bus and rail stations so it's probably a bit busier. It's also one third the cost.
For Dar Es Salaam, I've got a room booked at the Doubletree Dar Es Salaam - Oyster Bay. It looks to be a nice waterfront hotel away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Dar Es Salaam. That's also the drawback. It will be a bit of an effort to get down to the port to take the ferry to Zanzibar then come back to the hotel to pick up luggage before heading out to the airport again.
In Dubai, I'm booked into the Hilton Dubai Creek. They've arranged the transfer from the airport to the hotel for me. As it appears, the hotel's not that far from a stop on the Dubai Hop-On Hop-Off bus. I'm planning on using the bus to give me a general feel for the city then taking the metro to get the additional photos I want to take.
In the Seychelles, it's the day room at the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa. This will be my kick back and relax day. I'm only at the hotel for about 8 hours but plan to soak up as much sun as I can. I can sleep on the plane.
The Conrad Cairo is the last hotel booked. I've got a Nile View Room. My plans for Cairo have turned out to be better than I could ever expect. I'll talk about that in the next post. I've paid for this room as the rates were incredibly cheap, especially since I still made the purchase while Hilton was having an advance purchase sale. I could be spending more money on the hotel room in Gaborone!
After leaving Cairo, I will return to Johannesburg to pick up the flight home. I have about eight hours to kill before my flight to New York takes off. I don't know if it's enough time to visit the city or if I will be booking a day room at a hotel. Still need to make that decision....
The first hotel booked was in Livingstone. I'll be staying at Chanters Lodge in Livingstone. The place looks pretty decent and transfer to and from the airport is included in the price. I'll be paying 69 USD (and will have to carry more overall than I normally do which is very little). I found the place on TripAdvisor and it seemed to get good reviews. It's also close to the falls and their contact with me initially was very quick.
The next hotel I need (notice the tense) to book is in Gaborone. There don't appear to be any chain hotels. My research has told me that taxis aren't usually waiting at the airport for flights so I've been trying to book at a hotel which can arrange an airport transfer. There also doesn't appear to be any chain hotels. My first choice, the Cresta President has been unbookable through their website. They also haven't answered any e-mails either. I like their location because it's in the middle of everything that I plan to see. My alternate, The Gaborone Hotel, is not that far from the Cresta President. It's located between the bus and rail stations so it's probably a bit busier. It's also one third the cost.
For Dar Es Salaam, I've got a room booked at the Doubletree Dar Es Salaam - Oyster Bay. It looks to be a nice waterfront hotel away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Dar Es Salaam. That's also the drawback. It will be a bit of an effort to get down to the port to take the ferry to Zanzibar then come back to the hotel to pick up luggage before heading out to the airport again.
In Dubai, I'm booked into the Hilton Dubai Creek. They've arranged the transfer from the airport to the hotel for me. As it appears, the hotel's not that far from a stop on the Dubai Hop-On Hop-Off bus. I'm planning on using the bus to give me a general feel for the city then taking the metro to get the additional photos I want to take.
In the Seychelles, it's the day room at the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa. This will be my kick back and relax day. I'm only at the hotel for about 8 hours but plan to soak up as much sun as I can. I can sleep on the plane.
The Conrad Cairo is the last hotel booked. I've got a Nile View Room. My plans for Cairo have turned out to be better than I could ever expect. I'll talk about that in the next post. I've paid for this room as the rates were incredibly cheap, especially since I still made the purchase while Hilton was having an advance purchase sale. I could be spending more money on the hotel room in Gaborone!
After leaving Cairo, I will return to Johannesburg to pick up the flight home. I have about eight hours to kill before my flight to New York takes off. I don't know if it's enough time to visit the city or if I will be booking a day room at a hotel. Still need to make that decision....
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