After three trips to the Egyptian Embassy in Bangkok, we finally secured an Egyptian Visa for Oud. Jan, a beloved lifelong friend from the states would always join us when we traveled and this time would meet us at Cairo Airport. A rash of car bombings in Cairo around this time and a warning from her son "Do not go to Egypt" scared her and she backed out of the trip. The purchase of International air tickets from Bangkok to Cairo, Egypt could not be put off any longer and reservations had to be made for the planned trip.
​
Like a Bolt Out of the Blue!
A Gift from the Gods
Three months of research and planning had already gone into this
trip. A 7-day cruise on the Nile was to be the centerpiece that all other
parts of the itinerary had to be built around. The cost of a one-week cruise down the Nile varied widely from $300 per standard cabin to over $5,000 per standard cabin and trust me you don't want to be on the $300 per cabin boat. Oberoi Philae Cruise ship was the top of the line. Unlimited Gourmet cuisine served ala carte from a menu - no buffets, beautiful cabins with balconies, Edwardian wicker with overstuffed cushions, Mercede's tour vans for guided shore excursions - no buses, beautiful Mahogany paneling, no flashy gaudy decor, dancing pyramids, smiling sphinxes, bouncing beach balls or screaming kids. I browsed through their online brochure for hours -- but there was no way we could do it. It was out of our class and far out of our budget. Besides,
I would have to book 2 standard cabins for the 3 of us at a cost of $10,000.
I was sorry I had looked at this cruise because nothing else could even come close and it made it difficult to settle on something else.
I opened the computer to book one of the mid-priced cruises when I came across this travel club website. With all my previous searching, why hadn't I come across this site before? This small travel club was located in the middle of Cairo. I clicked to open it and scrolled through a couple of pages. It was a very amateurish site consisting of the different tour and group meet-up offerings. I was about to click out when a flashing message appeared on the page concerning late leftover inventory for the Oberoi Philae Nile Cruiser. The message instructed to call for dates and a special price.
What a Coincidence! The Synchronicity of It!
A real shot in the dark for sure but I decided to call the club in Cairo and inquire anyway.
"Synchronicity"
​
“Chance and chance alone has a message for us. Everything that occurs out of necessity, everything expected, repeated day in and day out, is mute. Only chance can speak to us. It's our response that determines whether we benefit or not..."
Milan Kundera
"The unbearable lightness of being"
A woman answered and I inquired about the cruise. "The dates are very limited. What month are you interested in?", she asked. "September", I replied. She told me that there was only one week available in all of September and October. The week available was at the end of September into October and there were only two standard cabins available at a price of $1,250, inclusive of all meals, WiFi, and shore excursions. She told me it was a phenomenal price if I could fit that week into my plans. Phenomenal - I guess!
It just about knocked me off my chair! This was just too good to be true!
The date of the cruise would take the whole trip well into October. We always traveled in September - a slow time for our cafe in Thailand and always opened on Oct 1, ready for the start of the busy tourist season. We'll work around it, I thought. This was just too good to pass up.
I told her to book the two standard cabins for me. Can I help you with any
of your other plans while in Egypt?", she asked. I inquired about the
"Mena House", originally a hunting lodge turned into a 5*hotel, where I intended to book a 3-night stay due to the location on the edge of the Gisa Plateau close to the pyramids. The best price I could come up with was $140 a night for a standard room w/brk. She came back with $80 a night for a deluxe room with a pyramid view and breakfast. Sooo, I quickly grabbed my
planned itinerary and went over everything with her. She ended up booking
it all through the travel club at huge discounts: It was really hard to believe.
​
1) "Meet and Greet" @ the airport
2) "Mena House"-3-nights
3) "Sunset Safari" around the pyramids w/guide
4) "Luxor Museum & exclusive Mummy Room" w/egyptologist guide
5) "Overnight train to Aswan (First Class Sleeping Cabin)"
6) "Roundtrip air Aswan- Abu Simbel"
7) "Tour of Abu Simbel" w/guide
8) "Movenpick Aswan" -1-night
9) "Oberoi Philae Cruise"-6-nights-2 standard cabins (Aswan to Luxor)
10) "Mercure Luxor Karnak"-3-nights-after the cruise
11) "One-way Flight Luxor-Cairo"
12) "Le Meridien Cairo Airport"-1-night
She gave me the total cost and I quickly agreed. I was getting my credit card out ready to pay when she said, "I can only hold these reservations for 72 hours and you have to pay in full and fax us a copy of your credit card - front and back before I can send the final confirmation". I didn't like the idea of faxing both sides of my credit card but I did. The next day, I received an email from her saying they could not read the fax to please send it again. I faxed it again. Once again they emailed they could not make out all the information on the credit card. So I called Cairo and told her I would give the information over the phone and she could charge my card. She explained they had to have a signed fax with all the information before a charge could be initiated. Finally,
she said, "Look don't worry about it when the guide meets you at the airport she will bring you to our office first and you can pay in full and pick up all your tickets and final confirmations." Reluctantly I agreed.
Flying to Cairo without any other confirmed reservations in hand did not sit well with me. My red flags were up - way up! Yes, they had my credit card number and pin. I was sure of that. I had nothing but a promise to be met at the airport on arrival. Was I really talking to a representative from a small travel club in the middle of Cairo? Those quoted prices were way beyond - "too good to be true". Was this a scam? Egypt is well known for scamming. The only thing that kept me from blocking my card and making other reservations was the amazing coincidence and synchronicity of stumbling upon this website, just as I was about to book a different mid-priced cruise. So for once, I decided to just let go and trust. The day of the trip arrived. We landed in Cairo. Ralph and Oud knew nothing about my concern. We deboarded, passed through immigration, and picked up our luggage. I held my breath as we walked into the arrivals hall and there standing smiling was a beautiful Egyptian girl with long black hair holding a sign - "Welcome Mr. John Newton & Party". She took us to the travel club office and I paid the invoice. Then she transferred us to the magnificent Mena House and we checked into our room with a view of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
​
Around the Mena House
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |