Egypt Days 1 and 2

After having our flight cancelled Saturday morning, the snow finally stopped and the temperature climbed up above freezing. Our apartment complex even threw together some homemade snow shovels and sent a crew out to clear the sidewalks.








We headed back to the airport Saturday afternoon and were told that our flight would depart around 9:00 that night. We were skeptical though as we had been told for five hours the night before that we were second in line for de-icing. Things went according to plan this time and we were finally on our way to Doha, Qatar. The only catch was that there were no scheduled flights from Doha to Cairo so we would have to fly to Alexandria and then take a bus to Cairo.

We landed in Doha at 3:30 Sunday morning. Our travel agent had made arrangements for us to stay at a hotel there until our flight to Alexandria. The only thing was that by the time we got thru immigration and passport control and caught the bus to the hotel, it was already 6:00AM and we had to be back at the airport by 10:00. Still, it was a nice hotel (the Movenpick Tower - Swiss owned) and we got to nap for an hour or so and get a hot shower and something to eat. Unfortunately, our bags were still on the plane - where they had been since Friday night - so we couldn't change clothes but we had learned from Friday' s experience and had packed some necessities in our carry on bags this time.


Doha is an impressive place. I don't know if I've ever seen skies so blue or air so clear in a big city. The view with the sun rising over the Persian Gulf was fantastic and as we crashed in the hotel, we couldn't resist opening the curtains and taking it in even as we were trying to sleep. Doha is a fraction of the size of Shanghai but it can probably give it a run for its money when it come to construction. Everywhere you looked there was another hotel or shopping mall going up. Part of our infatuation with this city might have been due to the fact that we haven't seen the sun in weeks and even on a good day, the smog lays thick over Shangahi.

Here's an interesting fact I read about Qatar in the in-flight magazine. The country is almost completely flat with the highest point a mere 40 meters above sea level. If global warming ever kicks in and the polar ice caps melt as predicted, there is a good chance that all these new hotels will all be under water.










We left Doha around noon Sunday and arrived in Alexandria at 3:30PM. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great around 330 B.C. In its day, it was one of the key cultural centers of the world. It was the birthplace of geometry and home to the greatest library of the ancient world. The Alexandria of today (at least the part that we saw) is largely a dirty slum. But still, the people of the city seemed really happy to see us, with taxis pulling along side our bus to give us a big wave.

















We pulled out of Alexandria and headed south for the four hour ride to Cairo. At this point our tour guides were trying to get us back on schedule after missing an entire day due to the cancelled flight so instead of going directly to the hotel, they took is to a big tent party at the Sakkara Country Club. This was a traditional Egyptian festival, complete with food, music, and hookahs. They even had a dancer who performed the Whirling Dervish, which was pertty impressive. It was really nice and would have been a lot of fun if everyone hadn't been so tired but at this point we had been traveling for more than 24 hours and were still wearing the same clothes we left Shanghai in. The band worked hard to get everyone dancing and clapping and had some success but most were content to just sit and watch. We finally wrapped things up and headed for the hotel, arriving around 11:00PM.


Some pictures from this part of the trip can be found here http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/EgyptDays1And2

And a video of the Whirling Dervish can be viewed here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQbT5wANszA

Well, that didn't work!

For those who may not be aware, we have a trip to Egypt planned this week. Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating as it started snowing again Friday afternoon. By the time we got to the airport Friday night, we were getting a pretty good accumulation. The airline (Qatar Airways) kept telling us that everything was fine and that the flight would go as planned. We boarded the plane at 11:00 Friday night but never pulled away from the gate. Finally at 5:00 Saturday morning, they canceled the flight. We made it home around 7:30 (without our luggage, still on the plane), got a few hours sleep, and now we're waiting to hear what the latest plan is. We're planning to head back to the airport in a couple of hours and are hopeful that we will be out of here by this evening. So if you don't hear anything out of us for a few days, you can assume that we made it to Egypt (or at least somewhere other than Shanghai).

I don't know if it's being reported on the news back in the US but the snow here has practically crippled this country. From what I understand, this is a "once in fifty years" event. That means that many of the people here in Shanghai have never seen this much snow and they are not prepared to handle it. For example, the airport we're trying to fly out of has only one de-icing truck. And when we left the airport this morning, they were clearing the roads with shovels and brooms - literally a line of men going down the road pushing the snow to the shoulder.

Gotta go get ready to head back to the airport. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, we'll be seeing sand dunes instead of snow drifts. Wish us luck.