Lunch with Mohammed El Decken and Yehia El Decken of Holiday Tours


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Egypt Travel Diary 2007- Joan's and Ken's Egypt Revealed Tour

Itinerary | Preparation | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21

Egypt 2007 Diary - Depart for Dubai, Singapore Stopover and Melbourne

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Day 21 - Cairo : Lunch with Holiday Tours Owner, Departure to Dubai, Singapore, Melbourne


Today we went to the airport to leave, but there was still one or two
pleasant surprises to this wonder filled trip. The driver took us to a
seafood restaurant in downtown Cairo to meet Mr. Mohammed El Decken and Yehia El Decken for lunch.

Mr. Mohammed, as I call him, is the founder of the Holiday Tours travel agency and one of the early pioneers of Egyptian travel agencies, Yehia is his son. Together they coordinated this trip for me. Mr. Mohammed had planned a trip for me earlier, but I was forced to cancel. At that time, I had already sent the money via Western Union, we were that close to leaving when we had to call it off. Mr. Mohammed asked for a short period of time to close down all the reservations and call in the deposits and then sent the entire amount, less only the transfer fee, back to me via Western
Union. I then knew that if I ever got another chance to come, Mr. Mohammed and Holdiay Tours would handle the trip. I certainly wasn't disappointed!

It was an honor meeting with them and the lunch and conversation was good, too.

Cairo silver shop - marble work over the entrance

After lunch the driver took us to the airport via a "tour" of the old
business section of Cairo. I have to say this part of Cairo was new to me and it struck me that it would be very interesting to stay in the "city" sometimes and wander the shops and stores. So maybe if I get to go again, I will spend more time in Cairo itself.

Fabulous mansion across the highway from the site for the Grand Egyptian Museum
Click here for an enlarged view of this ornate mansion.

The airport is very minimalist. The entry section is just seats to wait and security stations. Once inside you go to the airline desks for ticket check in and then you proceed past the money changers to exchange your Egyptian pounds and into a food hall with a few stores. Be sure to keep a few Egyptian pounds for the toilet attendants, but otherwise, most currencies will do in the food hall. It was the Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed that day, which is Mother's day in Egypt. So the check in stewardess gave me a red rose. I assume that my grey hair qualified me as a "Mother". All through Cairo as we went to the airport we saw displays in the windows of dolls in elaborate dresses and beautiful boxes. These are the traditional gifts of the day. The boxes are filled with special sweets.

Anyway, on the plane and back to Dubai to fly on to Singapore.

Glittering column at Dubai Airport

The Dubai airport transit/duty free was filled with people trying to catch a little sleep before their plane. We just found a seat and waited. Next morning, about noon, we arrived at Singapore to stay for a couple of day at the Swissotel Stamford.

SINGAPORE STOPOVER

We stopped in Singapore on our way back home to Melbourne, Australia. The contrast between Cairo and Singapore could not be more dramatic. We landed in a monsoon downpour of rain at Changi Airport, and took a taxi through tropical greenery to one of our all-time-favorite hotels - Swissotel The Stamford. It was once the tallest hotel in the world (when it was called the Westin Stamford, prior to the re-branding in 2002), and it is still the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia. We thought it might be a little long in the tooth by now, but it is actually better than ever, which is saying a lot!

Here's an interesting historical note: The construction of the Westin Stamford in Singapore (by a South Korean company) prompted the North Korea government to begin construction of the gigantic and expensive Ryugyong Hotel from 1987 to 1992. However, it was never finished, and never occupied, and has been a white elephant and blight on the landscape ever since.

We had a very pleasant stopover in the immaculate, beautiful city of Singapore.

An uneventful flight home, to Melbourne. I recommend Emirates Airlines. New Planes and good service.

Egypt Travel Diary 2007- Joan's and Ken's Egypt Revealed Tour

Itinerary | Preparation | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21

 

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