The Disco Ball Traveler

So, here’s some of the more random tips and tricks, some may be repeats from previous posts, but better safe than sorry, disco-ballers!

• Alcohol:
  • Egypt Air is a dry airline
    • As mentioned, if you like a beer or glass of wine to help you sleep, buy this at the airport after you pass security.
  • Other airlines should include alcohol, but best to check.
  • Muslims don’t really drink alcohol, their vice is smoking, or hookas that they use when they hang out.
  • Hotels made great cocktails, good wine, most bartenders knew how to make a drink.
  • There was no ice on our river cruise. We survived.
  • The river cruise was rough – The wine was just okay. Red, white, rose. The beer was the best value (Sakara), and the cocktails were just expensive, warm and bad. Maybe other ships are better?
• Casinos
  • There were surprisingly a lot of casinos around? And they all only take USD? With our tour, we stayed at both the Cairo Marriott and the Cairo Heliopolis which both had them.
  • Small, smokey but free drinks!
  • Only USD accepted. On the last day, we figured out that we could go to the cashier & get USD using our US bank or credit cards for a very small fee (2%).
  • We played roulette & blackjack. Roulette was standard table w/ 0 and 00. $5 chip min which was a bit steep for us (it was Friday night, easier to calculate odds).
    • They will call “no more bets” but people will run in a throw $100 bills and call out numbers – There’s a pit boss at each table to track this. Crazy to watch and be a part of.
  • Blackjack was $10 min. Dealer pulls their second card after all is dealt, not in the beginning. I don’t love this, but when in Cairo lol. People behind you can add bets to your hand.
    • The pit boss tracks this, but it is stressful playing a hand for you and two other people. Crazy but fun! Great people, very welcoming & helpful with side bets, etc.
  • Slots – Only about 10? Also 3 card poker & Let it Ride I think. Craps table, but wasn’t open.

• SHOPPING!
  • Barter Barter Barter!
    • It’s all about the negotiation.
    • Generally, you should take about 30-40% off the asking price. If the vendor says $10, you should really pay about $6-$7.
    • It’s okay to say no and walk away
    • It’s also okay to say “no thank you” when approached by vendors
  • Most of the items are the same and are available everywhere.
  • Our Tour Group had organized demos and shopping at these types of sites:
    • Carpet school (Silk, handwoven)
    • Essential Oils & glassblowing
    • Papyrus making
    • Alabaster vases
  • We also visited Khan el-Khalili shopping area:
    • Clothes, dresses, tshirts, hats
    • Lanterns
    • Spices (7 spice is popular)
    • Typical tourist stuff, keychains, etc made in China
    • Scarves, shawls
• Security
  • I never felt unsafe, but one of the positives of doing a tour is that they arrange Tourism Police to accompany you most everywhere.
  • The guard rides on the bus & walks with you through temples, etc. They are armed and take very good pictures lol. They are responsible to report back to Tourism Police when they leave hotel, arrive at a site, leave a site, so you are always tracked. They take tourism seriously. I never felt unsafe. We tipped them a few bucks each day.
• Each site you visit always has these components: A historical site/temple, a restroom, shopping stalls and a cafe with coffee and snacks.
• Restrooms sometimes require payment, only a dollar or two (I think I mentioned this before?)

What does everyone think? Sound good so far? Ready to book and plan that trip? Next up is a more detailed review of the Nile River Cruise portion of our adventure!