My family brought me to Logan International Airport in Boston around 5:00pm on Thursday, January 24. We ate dinner at one of the restaraunts and we parted ways before I went through the security checkpoint. The first flight went pretty well. Flew via British Airways at 8:20pm to London. I wanted to keep to my sleeping schedule so I didn't sleep on the plane and instead watched movies and read. The flight was pleasant enough, and I arrived at Heathrow Airport around 7:15am local time.
I didn't want to leave the airport because there wasn't much I could do in my layover, and I would have had to go through customs anyway. So after passing through another security checkpoint, I walked around the airport for awhile. I was only in Terminal 5 and it that took several minutes to traverse, because it was so large. After that I found a waiting seat and tried my best to sleep for a few hours - I think 5 hours. I decided to get some British pounds (I had never owned one before) and got some food. Despite the size of the airport with all its shops, there really weren't any good places to eat, so I got some snacks at one of the general shops. I had these British pastries similar to Hot Pockets, and just as terrible. After that I met a girl who was going to AUC also, and after we found out at which gate the flight was boarding, we headed over there.
The plane to Cairo was smaller, and there were probably about 100 passengers or less. At least half of them appeared to be American students, most of them also studying at AUC. I slept a little bit on the plane but it even still felt like a long flight.
The Cairo International Airport was very much like I expected, plain-looking but clean. I proceeded to exchange $100 USD for 553 L.E. at one of the currency booths. I passed through the passport control without any problem and retrieved my luggage. After that, a sharply-dressed man came up to me an offered to take me to wherever I was going, the Novotel. It soon turned out that he was part of a travel agency and I knew I had made a mistake. I was expecting a Novotel shuttle bus, and I saw a bunch of buses outside, but I wasn't sure where any of them were going and I didn't bother to ask. This agency man dropped off my bag with another man, who led me around the parking lot and back into the airport. He proceeded to give it to another man, who led me around the parking lot, met up with another man, and went back into the airport. Then the same man took me into the parking garage and then into his taxi. I'm not sure if he thought I was stupid or if it was part of a big show, but I wasn't amused.
Finally we drove away in his taxi at a very high speed. The hotel was not far at all from the airport, less than 8 minutes drive. Security guards had to inspect the car with mirrors before we entered the hotel parking lot, which surprised me a little. When he dropped me off, he demanded 60 LE in addition to the $5 USD that I already gave him for parking fee. I only had 100 and 50 LE notes, and I didn't even want to give him 50 LE. I argued with him for awhile, and frustrated I just gave him the 50 LE and a US dollar or two. That's about a $17 cab ride, which was a complete rip-off, but I knew that was going to happen anyway. I just wanted to get to the hotel.
The hotel check-in was easy. I handed the concierge my papers and passport, and he handed me my key and a form to fill out. A bellboy took my bag and brought me to my room and stayed to answer many of my questions. He complimented my Arabic although I'm sure he was just saying it to be polite.
The hotel room is pretty good. I arrived just past midnight and there was a band playing downstairs. Strangely enough I heard them play "The First Noel" followed by "Cotton Eyed Joe." I got to open my window from my room. The weather is pleasant and the room is quiet.
Novotel room:
View of Cairo Airport from my window:
Overall, it was a good arrival. I regret agreeing to let the travel agency take me to the hotel, but if that's the worst that happened so far, it won't be that bad. Tomorrow I'll be calling Nate and heading to Doqqi via cab, and I'm going to make sure we agree on the price beforehand.
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