The Sleeper Train Experience

If you are touring Egypt with a local tour group, you will undoubtedly be using the sleeper train at some point. Don't get me wrong here - sleeper trains are an excellent way to travel if you are on a tight budget, although they are not necessarily cheap by Egyptian standards. As of now, the cost for 1 way sleeper train for double occupancy bound for Luxor/Aswan is $60 USD. This is about half the cost of flying, which is about $105/$135 USD one way to Luxor/Aswan. Flying takes about 1.5 hours, whereas sleeper trains take 12+ hours. However, because you are sleeping (or attempting to sleep) for the majority of the time, you end up saving on extra hotel accomodation.

Sleeper train cabins are small, and can almost feel like a jail cell due to a water basin being available in the cabin. Two "bunk-beds" are available, which the train attendent will gladly convert for you after having your dinner. The beds are very clean, which means you have one less thing to worry about. Being 6 feet tall, the bed was just about long enough for me. If I were a few inches taller, however, this may prove to be very uncomfortable experience. The toilets, on the other hand, can be questionable but is otherwise cleaner than any public toilets that are available.

The train cabins are supposed to be air conditioned, although the air conditioning for my cabin wasn't working for one of my trip. It was still a bit warm at night even though it is November, so I can't imagine what would happen in July if I were in the same cabin.

The meals on the sleeper trains are edible, but by no means gormet food. Breakfast usually consists of a variety of breads with butter/jam/cheese. If you have been pampered with continental breakfast at your hotel, then you will likely be disappointed. Dinner is usually rice with fish and another type of meat. I ate a rather delicious mystery meat that some of my friends claimed was fish, while others thought it was chicken. Personally, I thought it was chicken.

The movement of the train can be very wild at times, and the train seems to come to an abrupt stop very frequently during the middle of the night. I never really understood why this was the case. After hearing stories about train crashes in Egypt recently, I was no doubtedly worried each time we came to a stop. This also made it quite difficult to sleep at night, which will likely leave you drained and exhausted the next day.

So the moral of the story is, if you can afford the extra plane ticket + hotel accomodation + transportation to/from airport, then by all means go for that. You will have a much better night of sleeping. However if you don't mind an occational bump here and there and want to save some money, then the sleeper train service is a passable way of getting from point A to point B.

If you are a foreigner, prepare to be harassed

If you look like a foreigner, chances are you will be harassed at some point in your trip. Harassment can come in all forms from pushy salesman wanting to sell you scarves, felucca & horse-drawn carriage operators wanting you to take a ride, or even taxi drivers pulling up near you offering to take you places. In other words, you cannot possibly walk down a street without being offered a service you don't need, or an item you never intend on purchasing.

Case in point: while walking down the street next to our hotel, my friend and I were approached by a plain-clothed person carrying a gun. He explained to us that he was a policeman and showed us his gun in the holster. Fair enough. He further explained to us that a market is nearby that is "very good". We thanked him and kept walking. He proceeded to follow us and said "I protect you". At this point, he started pointing out all the dangers of the road, from uneven pavement, to exposed screws in the ground due to a removed street light. He even pointed out approaching cars when we were crossing a small alley, in his attempt to escort us to safety.

My friend and I stopped by a convenient store at a gas station, while the policeman explained that he will wait outside for us. At this point, I realized that the policeman wanted baksheesh (tips) from us for his "services" that he kindly imposed on us. After we left the convenient store after a few minutes, the policeman resumed his "services" as we made our trip back to the hotel. He stuck out his hand, repeating the phrase "1 dollar". I waved my hands at him and said "no, thank you" each time he asked for money. I was determined not to give him any money since he imposed his services. My friend, who was a girl, was worried at this point on how the situation might unfold and was about to tip the policeman. But after my insistence, the policeman finally realized that I will not be tipping him and stopped offering his "services".

If you are Asian like me, you will constantly be greeted in either Mandarin or Japanese as you walk down the street. If you are a Canadianized or an Americanized Asian, then good luck explaining your nationality to the Egyptians. They do not seem to think that Asians can be Canadians or Americans and they insist on knowing your actual roots. Whenever I tried explaining to people that I'm Canadian, they would shake their heads and say "I don't think so". I would then have to explain that I'm from Taiwan but lived in Canada for most of my life. Eventually I learned to just "play along" and respond in whatever language they greeted me in, whether it be English, Mandarin or Japanese. Just for kicks I would sometimes throw in Korean for good mix, but I'm sure they can't tell the difference.

At the end of the day, you'll be glad to return to your hotel room where no more services are imposed on you.

Water - the essence of life

We all know the importance of water. This is especially true when you are wondering about in the desert in 30 degree weather.

From what I've been reading, tap water and ice are a "no-no". Tap water is heavily chlorinated and will make you have upset stomach, while ice is likely made from tap water instead of bottled water. I felt okay using tap water to brush my teeth while I was there, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about ingesting a bit of tap water. Moreover, dishes and utensils at restaurants are likely washed with tap water (or a bucket of reused water... *shudders*) so there is no way to totally avoid it.

Bottled water, on the other hand, is not as difficult to come by as you'd think. All hotels sell bottled water at outrageous prices. A 1.5 litre bottle of Nestle Life can cost around 20 LE, which is around $4 USD. Drinking a few bottles of hotel water will surely make you go broke quickly.

The first thing we did when we arrived at our hotel, Le Meridien Pyramids, is finding a decent source for water. We asked the hotel reception where the closest "shop" was and we were told that one was available just a block away. Indeed, there was a "shop" there... but it looked more like a shack with random non-perishable items for sale... all without pricetags.

By this time the reader can guess what happened next. Being our first night in Egypt, we naturally asked for the price of water. We were told that the 1.5 litre of water is 5 LE, which is around $1 USD. Seeing that it is much cheaper than the hotel water, we immediately bought 4 bottles (there were four of us traveling) thinking that we are getting a "good" deal. Surely the readers can tell that we were getting ripped off...

Eventually we learned that water prices can and should be bargained. A 1.5 litre bottle of Dasani, Nestle, or Aquafina should cost no more than 2 to 2.5 LE at the small shops around the city. Do not listen to them when they tell you that Dasani is "the number 1 water" and hence should cost more than other brands. Upon visiting Spinneys (the equivalent of Safeway in Egypt) did we realize that the "retail" price of a 1.5 litre bottle is 1.75 LE across the board for the different brands of water.

When buying bottled water, always make sure that there are plastic wrappers around the bottle cap, and that the cap itself is sealed. I've heard stories about people filling up empty bottles with tap water and reselling those bottles of water. I haven't personally come across an unsealed bottle of water while I was there, so I think it should be okay.

As for the brand of water to buy, I would stick to imported brands such as Nestle Pure Life, Dasani, and Aquafina. I've seen some tourists buy "local" water as well, such as the Baraka brand. I didn't ask them if they ran into any problems with it, but I would be a little hesitant to drink those brands of water just because I don't know what kind of quality control they go through. I would also check the plastic wrapper around the bottle itself (where you find the label brand) and make sure that it is legit. It might be possible for them to replace the wrapper for a local water brand with an imported brand. Better safe than sorry.

So the moral of the story is to bargain for water whenever you can. Throw in multiple bottle purchases in an attempt to lower the price of water. For example, asking for 5 bottles of water for 10 LE will likely lead to rejection. Follow up by asking for 4 bottles instead and the shop owner will likely agree with you.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog about my trip to Egypt. After I returned from the trip I realized that I wanted to share some information with future Egypt travelers. I've scoured the internet before making my trip to Egypt but I must say that I was still not prepared for what I saw and experienced during the 12 days there. Hang on to your hats boys and girls... this will be a blast!