Oh, I asked my wife - her advice is inside
Posted by
Roger More (aka RogerMore)
Apr 14 '10, 08:41
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LP things I did (and they should, they�re all good and worthwhile):
Memphis and Saqqara
Alexandria (but I didn�t go there, no time, but I know it�s worthwhile).
Old Cairo - Coptic Cairo, Hanging Church, Ben Ezra, etc. (there is ALWAYS a tour going through there, but of course you can get more out of it if someone is explaining it than just wandering in yourself, plus there are guards with machine guns around the entrance there and I�m not sure if I was �allowed� to go in without a tour (I don�t think so) but I saw a small crowd of people and just joined them; it turned out to be a tour and at least in French so I understood. So I got to see it free, with guided explanations, and got into that section.
Giza etc. ride camel around. Good times
Night show totally worthwhile and cheesy and exactly like on James Bond
The museum/khan el khalili where I had that great experience being told I was a tight-fisted Indian who didn�t keep to my promise to buy crap.
Non-LP/sort of LP but done one my own/by accident
I was walking around town and a guy in a chariot asked if I wanted a ride and said he would take me wherever I wanted to go; so I hopped on and listed a bunch of sites and he took me to those places; he let me drive the chariot too. I think he was a random guy who happened to take people for touristic rides if they want. He also asked if I was married and wanted to hold my hand. But I got a great tour of every single mosque, and typical site (e.g. tower, etc.) for about $5 for the whole trip
They should also go up to those sketchy dudes on the Nile and give them some money with extra baksheesh for a ride around. I�m not even sure the guy I went with was actually giving rides, he was kind of random, but whatever. The ride was long and relaxing. Also, he asked me out for a mint tea after, so that was nice
Strange as it seems, the Marriot has some really good ideas for places to go � you can go with them or see the tours they offer for ideas and then go DIY b/c it�s cheaper � like when I saw they were giving tours to the perfume and rug places south of Cairo, I rented a cab for a really cheap price (maybe 10 for the whole day) and we drove south for a couple of hours to some of the locations. They were these small villages that happened to have rugs or perfumes, so you meet some local people.
Fayyoum; again same deal as above.
Basically, they can just rent a taxi and they�ll take them anywhere they want to go for really cheap, for the whole day. They REALLY want your money.
Does this person speak Arabic, or is used to travelling in places where they really don�t speak English? Because DIY is all well and good there, but if you are going out of Cairo to a non-touristy spot and want to get the most out of it, you probably need to know some Arabic. Of course, if they are a white person, people will think they�re rich and make an effort to speak English or take their money or whatever. It�s sort of like that.
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