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.
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.
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.
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. - UPDATE 2010: An Egyptian construction company has taken over construction of the Ryugyong Hotel and it is on its way to completion in 2012 or 2013!
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.
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