I woke up around 1:00pm and I called the front desk asking them when is late check out, they told me its 2:00pm so I went back to sleep until 2:00pm and then I got up to shower and pack. My friends were laughing at how lazy I was being but I was exhausted after the long day/night the day before.
The driver to the airport was ready and so I was almost done with everything in the room. I was dragging myself from the room to the lobby to check out, I looked at the bill and went over everything they charged for. Then I was saying goodbye to the guys in the lobby, and I headed out. My flight was at 6:30pm and I left the hotel at 3:35pm, my friend told me it would take 30-40mins to get to the airport, no less then 30 minutes. I thought let me see if I can get there faster, I told the driver I don’t care how he drives just get me there in less then 30 minutes.
After that statement the driver turned and asked me if I would be scared, I told him to do his worst and his worst he did. He was driving like a maniac, and it felt like a roller coaster. I have no one to blame but myself, and it was very entertaining, he was splitting lanes, flying past buses, sliding a few times during turns, and we arrived in 21 minutes.
This time on the way out I found out there is a VIP service that you pay $100 to sit in a lounge while they check in your bags and stamp your passport while you sit and wait in a somewhat comfortable area. While everything was done I went straight to the business lounge and I passed out on the couch from 4:15 until 5:30pm, then the guy woke me up to board the plane. I boarded the plane and went to sleep before take off, I was lucky I did that since the plane was 45 minutes late. This time I was lucky we had a more experienced pilot, and the flight was mostly filled with business men, so no screaming kids.
Kuwait airport was something else though, they couldn’t land the plane at a gate since it seemed there were too many planes. So that meant a long wait for bags, which turned into a 20 minute wait to get our bags, and I didn’t get mine until 25 minutes after that so that was another 45 minutes, at peak efficiency! I was happy to get into my Landcruiser and drive home on the open roads of Kuwait.
I think the title speaks for itself, one thing everyone should know from day one! The taxi cabs in Egypt don’t care if they hit you and if they do they make the biggest scene in the world making it seem like it is the end of the world. I feel really sorry for the person who decided to draw any lines on any of the roads in Egypt, they mean nothing to anyone in Egypt! Another note most of the Taxi Cabs are either Fiats or Peugeots from the 60s and 70s, and they are made of complete steel which makes them invulnerable to 21st century vehicles.
Honking is second nature to everyone who drives there, and they always cut each other off, its complete insanity. The funniest thing I saw was when a police officer pointed at two different lanes to go forward at the same time which resulted it 4 car accident, nobody was hurt but it was funny nobody slowed down for the other person coming in the direction to their left, nobody backs away in Egypt.
There are currently three mobile providers in Egypt, I was using my MTC cell phone from Kuwait. There was one issue I was having and I kept switching between the three cell phone providers but it still didn’t solve my problem. For some reason I couldn’t send text messages, it just kept getting rejected I wasn’t sure why.
Providers:
- Etisalat
- Vodaphone
- Mobinil
Previously if you buy a temporary line it becomes inactive after 2 months of no use even if it has credit on it, but Etisalat has changed that and you can buy a line and keep it permanently yours for just 25 Egyptian Pounds. Currently the best service providers is Etisalat then Vodaphone, and Mobinil is currently the worst in service strength in Egypt.
The past couple of days I have been running around with a few of my friends in Cairo to different parts and meeting his wife to be for the first time. I have to say that I think I left a lasting impression on her and her great family. It was funny, two of us were always tagging along with the guy for all the errands he had to run and adjusting all the details before the engagement party.
All I said to him was that I would look better then him in a suit guaranteed, so keep your girl close to you! It was four of us who are good friends from California all meeting up for his engagement in Egypt, and the wedding is supposed to take place in the end of December which is going to be insane. We were staying at the Four Seasons Nile in Cairo for the whole time, and everything in Cairo is 10-15 minutes away, its only because of traffic that you would be late.
The first day was fun I met up with the guys later in the night while I was reading through some paperwork for work. Then we went out at night and we hung out until 6am, then we went to the pool for a couple of hours the next day and relaxed. Then we went out to dinner with his bride and her friends which was a lot of fun. The next day we were relaxing since the engagement party was going to take place at around 9pm, so we were relaxing next to the pool for most of the time before getting ready. All I had to do was shower, shave, and put the suit on which took about 20 minutes at most since I was taking my time.
Everything went really quick, but it was nice seeing my friend really happy and seeing a few of my friends who I’m planning to join up with in the states in a couple of months.
I decided to get something quick to eat at Pizza Expressbefore getting on the plane since I was really hungry, and so I had the cream chicken pizza which was pretty good. There was a decnet amount of people at the airport.
If you can, AVOID flying Kuwait Airways! The staff was very unprofessional except for one person, the plane feels really old in the inside and I think a bunch of kids were having a scream-a-thon in between the cabins. I was lucky I managed to go to sleep, I didn’t think it would be a good thing to eat anything they were offering either.
At one point the pilot warned us to put our seat belts on once every three minutes, it made no sense even the older gentlemen next to me was getting annoyed with him. As we were getting close I didn’t think you could do what this pilot did with this plane. At one point the plane was pointing up, and descending then suddenly he hit the brakes real hard making the plane tilt forward so then at that point the plane is pointing downward and he lowered the gear while the plane is really high up. When it came to the landing, the plane was pointing to the left during the landing so it jolted around when it landed. This pilot had no clue what he was doing, and when there was turbulance he made it feel like we were inside a blender.
The only thing I can say about Cairo Airport is that it reminded me the Friday Market with more people shouting for their bags, it was total insanity.
I’m taking the usual steps when I travel to make sure I have everything with me that I need. My flight is in the afternoon so in the morning I went to the office to finish up a few things. Then I went for a haircut at 9:00am, and I came back to my house to pack my bags since I didn’t pack anything the other nights.
- Laptop
- Business Cards
- Ticket & Hotel Bookings
- Camera
- MP3 Player + New Songs
- Suit, Shirt, Tie, & Shoes
- Very Light Clothing (Its Hot in Egypt)
- Magazines + Book
- Dropping off my car for service
- Bathroom Things
- My Moleskin Pad
- Wallet
- Egyptian Cash
- Chargers (3)
The only airline I could take is Kuwait Airways so I’m hoping that I won’t be delayed too much, they seem to be having strikes these days. If I could I would have avoided flying Kuwait Airways but at this point, I have no choice so I’m crossing my fingers.
Comp U Me is one the computer stores inside Mall of the Emirates, I was drawn to it as I was walking by. When I walked in I was scanning the horizon because there were so many products available.
They had every manufacturer such as HP, Dell, Acer, Logitech, Belkin, SMC, Linksys, Netgear, Buffalo, Sony, Western Digital, Maxtor, Onkyo, LG, Denon, Wharfedale, and a whole lot more.
I could tell that prices were sometimes significantly more then online prices, and sometimes they were relatively close, but the one thing that I like was the variety. Even if there was a difference in price I would have bought a few of the products if I had a bag to carry them such as the Logitech diNovo Edge and Alto. When a consumer has a large selection of products, and presented in a accessible manner then the consumer would want to get a few essential items and pick up other items on the way out. Variety and presentation is key, it isn’t always about the bargain. They even had an alienware computer which was surprising.
I was walking around in Mall of the Emirates when I stumbled upon Borders as I was walking to the Electronics wing of the mall. I was in total shock and I couldn’t believe what I saw in front of me. I felt like a kid who just discovered the biggest toy store in the world staring right in front of him. The first thing I thought is that now I have a reason to visit Dubai more often. I went straight in and all I wanted to do was buy books and other things, but I had to hold off since I only had a carry on! It was fantastic, I really wanted to just stay there the rest of the day! I was so happy, I just going from section to section checking out the books, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it may be fake and they bought the name without the quality books but I was happily wrong! They had all the books I was looking for and more! I felt I was in my zone, there was a book for every person. So much to see and so little time! It has been open for 6 months, and the last time I visited was July of 06. They have a very large selection of books, and very well presented, its worth a visit.
There is more at Mall of the Emirates then a little Window shopping, there is something for everyone to see in this mall. It is a large mall and my feet were killing me from walking around so much, but whats great is the variety of stores available to each consumer. After my first visit to the mall in 2006 I still remember where to go and what shops I liked, they are all in one branch instead of stretched out in different parts of the mall. It seems to be seperated into clothing, jewelery, high-end consumer goods, hobby items, consumer electronics, food, and a few other parts.
I had a few shops I wanted to check out, and I wanted to go to the movies so I made sure I went there all in the perfect time based on the movie. I love walking around there, but you get the feeling that you really are not in the Middle East. I ended up helping an American couple pick out a wireless router for their new home as well as talking to some other people about a new shop. Whats nice is that a lot of people are very approachable when you want to ask something. I don’t think I even managed to cover half of the mall during the time I was there.
I haven’t flown Emirates Airlines in a while so its a new experience, overall I liked it but I think there are other airlines better then it for short haul flights. The service and staff were helpful and nice during check-in and on the plane. The plane was only 30 minutes late which isn’t too bad since this has turned into the norm. The food was nothing special on the plane, but you do have a very large selection of entertainment to choose from their “ICE” (entertainment) system. The planes at this point are looking a bit old and are need of an update.
The only problem I had was that Dubai International Airport was so large that my arms got tired carrying the briefcase for so long, the airport is huge and with the expansion its supposed to be even bigger.
