Cruising on the Nile and Dubai here we come
Monday evening 7 July
We had a couple of hours rest, did most of our packing and showered, changed and were ready to be chauffeured to our boat for the dinner cruise. David wasn't feeling 100%, but thought he'd be ok.
We met Mohammed in the lobby at 6.45 and Steve was back with the van and it's bright yellow faux fur seat covers!
Another trip along the highway besides the Nile
and Steve dropped the three of us off by the dock.
There was a huge boat tied up there, for a moment I thought...... but no we walked through this boat as a passage to our more appropriate boat.
We were one of the first there and Mohammed introduced us to the Captain and crew and we were shown to our table, Mohammed didn't join us but he wasn't far away. The whole of the deck was the dining area, tables were set up and there was a space for the music to be played in the centre. At the far end the buffet was laid out with all the food for three courses. We had drinks already sitting on the table, one a murky brown colour and one bright pink. They both tasted nice and we were told what they were, but I can't remember, quite different to any other drink I have tasted.
Gradually more people came in, many families and couples, apparently after the sun goes down the first meal is a celebration. We had already been asked if we would like to go up to the buffet and start our meal, but we said we'd wait, can you imagine how awkward it would have been to select our food and walk back to our table and start eating it while all around us people are waiting for sundown! While we were waiting we were listening to a direct feed from the mosque of a call to prayer from the Mullah, it was a bit of a change from what we were used to, and it was rather long and loud, but we respected their customs and once it was over there was a bell and it was time to eat.
It would have been so helpful if we had had a menu of some sort, or even a description of the food in the heated trays, but it all looked appetising and I just followed the person in front of me and had a bit of everything! It all tasted very nice, some of it was quite spicy, which I like, but not too hot. I could taste cumin and garlic in most dishes, but there were a lot more spices than that which I couldn't pick. There was plenty of rice and salads, also macaroni cheese. There were two types of soup, they seem to be keen on soup, and of course delicious looking small cakes, which were like syrup cakes and a dish like bread and butter pudding. I tried a bit of this and that and enjoyed it all. We had another glass of the pink and brown stuff, no alcohol of course. We probably could have ordered some, but it seemed disrespectful.
It was only after I had finished my meal that I spotted Mohammed and he took me around the buffet and told me what I had eaten.
We had started sailing up the Nile during our meal, so when we finished we went outside to take a look at the lights on the buildings on the banks of the river. The Nile is such a huge river.
Wikipedia: "The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is 6,853 km long.
The Nile is an "international" river as its water resources are shared by eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and the northern Sudan."
When we returned there was a trio playing Arabic music, they had an electronic harp, a mandolin and a bongo. Mohammed told us on the way back that they were very good musicians and the music they were playing was very traditional and popular with Arabs young and old.
The boat docked at about 10.00pm and we wandered back up to the street and Steve was there to pick us up and take us back to our hotel.
We had an early start in the morning, we were being picked up at 7.00am.
Tuesday 8 July - Cairo to Dubai
We got up at 5.30am, had a shower and went down to breakfast. We organised for our cases to be brought down, settled the bill and met Mohammed and were off in the van to the airport. With Steve's formula 1 driving skills we arrived ahead of time.
Mohammed helped us with our luggage and we went to find where we checked in only to discover that the flight had been put back 2 hours to 12.40! Surprise... thanks Egypt Air. Fortunately Mohammed was able to use a bit of influence and we were allowed to check in early, we said our goodbyes to Mohammed. He had been very attentive and we had been chaperoned the whole time, we never felt anxious or threatened at all and we would useTempo Tours again.
The flight went well, just over three hours long, the crew were so much better than the last lot, more mature and everything went to plan.
We arrived on time, went through customs and immigration
and headed out to find someone with a board with 'Lonsdale' on it. By this time we knew just how much two tall obviously European people stand out in a crowd like this, so it was only minutes before we were claimed.
We were taken to a shiny black limousine, the driver put the luggage in the boot and we stepped out of the 40deg heat into air conditioned luxury, along with two bottles of water. We drove sedately out of the airport and onto the smooth and manicured motorway where the other cars kept in lane and presented no challenge!
The contrast with Cairo was almost too much to handle! Already on the drive to the hotel we were taking in the wonderful high rises, each building looked so different from the rest, no ordinary blocks here, in fact it was almost de rigueur to have a straight side.
We were staying at the Fairmont Palms, the same hotel chain as in Cairo, by this time we were both feeling a bit under the weather, so when the receptionist suggested we upgrade to a room overlooking the ocean, we agreed. The room was wonderful, very large, big bed and a great balcony overlooking the beach, the ocean and the skyline of Dubai.
Wikipedia: "The Palm Jumeirah consists of a tree trunk, a crown with 16 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometer-long breakwater. The island itself is five kilometers by five kilometers. It adds 78 kilometers to the Dubai coastline.
The Palm Jumeirah seen from the International Space Station.
Residents began moving into Palm Jumeirah properties at the end of 2006, five years after land reclamation began.
A Monorail opened in 2009, but is not connected to other public transport."
It took a while to absorb all the info from the hotel book, they had about four restaurants, but only one was open for breakfast and lunch through the month of Ramadan. David needed a rest anyway, and later we went to find somewhere for dinner, one of the concierge crew showed us around and told us about dining in the hotel, but David couldn't really face a big meal so we ended up in our room with a room service sandwich! It was nice going out on the balcony to look at the beach, but could only stay for a few minutes because it was so hot!
By this time I was also feeling a bit crook, so we had an early night and had fingers crossed we would feel better by the morning. Why did we drink tap water in Cairo.... you'd think we were travel rookies!!
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