Egypt/Jordan Trip Over

Hey,

Just got back from Egypt/Jordan and I thought I would share some info:

My trip was Cairo-Mt. Sinai-Tarabin-Aquaba-Wadi Musa-Tarabin-Cairo

It was no problem getting a visa at the airport (I am Canadian). You just go to one of the money changers right in the arrivals hall before customs and buy it from them. It should be no more than $15. They give you the visa and you stick it in yourself.

The walkway to the car park at Terminal 2 is closed as the airport is under construction. There are constant free buses that say Car Park that take you to, you guessed it, the car park where you can get the bus into town.

I stayed at the Lialy Hostel, which is a decent place, good location, staff are great, although Mustafa the owner/manager is a bit of hustler and tries to pressure you into taking a tour, which are over priced. Overall I would stay there again, talking to other travellers they said that there was more people staying there then at other places, although I heard that Mermes was nice and cheaper.

Cairo is hot in the summer.

Good luck getting a taxi to take you somewhere downtown for 5 pounds. I only managed to get that price once, although it is the correct fare.

Turgoman station is a fairly easy 30 minute walk from Midan Talaat Harb, although you may lose about 5 kg walking it in the summer.

Mt. Sinai is well worth the climb. It was awesome seeing the sunrise. However, I think it makes more sense to go to Dahab and then take one of the cheaper tours to the mountain. I got a bus there from Cairo and climbed up at 2:30 in the morning, but it was hard to get a ride out the next day and ended up taking an expensive cab. Unless you want to chill out there for a few days, there is not much in the town to do. If you stay Fox Desert Camp, don't talk about religion unless you want a 3 hour lecture on the subject.

Against all the recommendations of everyone on this site, I went to Nuweiba to relax for a week. And while the port and town are a bit crap, Tarabin was great. Soft Beach camp was very beautiful, pretty much had the beach to myself, besides a couple of Czech and Slovak girls and a guy from New York. If you want some more nightlife then Dahab is probably better, but if you want to relax on some real sand then I would recommend Tarabin or one of the places between Nuweiba and Taba.

The ferry to Aquaba is pretty straightforward, although don't plan on getting from Egypt to Jordan in an hour. I made a bet with a guy that by taking the 2 o'clock fast ferry we would be through customs in Jordan by 7. It was 8, I lost. They take your passport on the boat and then give it back to you at the ferry terminal in Aquaba, but they only call out a few people at a time and of course they did all the Canadian passports, i.e. Me, last.

There is not much to see in Wadi Musa. Petra I guess.

They are much less organized on the ferry coming back to Egypt. At the ferry terminal, first go pay your departure tax on the main floor, then go upstairs to book your ticket, go across the hall to pay for the ticket at the money changers, then go back to the other desk to get your ticket, then go through customs further down the hall. Make sure when you get on the boat that you surrender your passport to Egpytian Customs officals because they put the arrival stamp in your passport. My bright red hair and pale pink skin helped me to blend in with the locals and they did not take my passport from me. When I was leaving the boat an Egyptian Offical took my passport and would not give it back. Then I went to the money changers near the arrival hall and bought my visa and then went to immigration to get my passport but it was nowhere to be found. 3 hours later, a well dressed man asked me why I had not gone through customs, barked some orders at several people, my passport arrived in five minutes, he walked me over to get a stamp, and then I was through customs. The normal process is very straigthforward, every one else's passports were waiting for them. If you have bright red hair and pale pink skin be warned, they may think that you are local.

I hope someone finds this info useful. Overall, it was a awesome trip. Thanks for everyone that gave me any advice, for sure I will go back to the Middle East, but hopefully for a much longer trip next time.

steve dave