Our Egypt Trip continued…..Days 7 – 15
Day Seven – Flight from Aswan to Cairo
We had another early morning – up at 6:00, taxi at 7:00. However, we are learning that “Egyptian time” is not quite the same as real time! Our taxi was an experience – the passenger door on one side would not open and Barb had to hold onto the seat on her side because the door on that side would not close. The seat was so narrow that even I had to sit sideways, and though ramshackle, the inside of the cab was all covered with a matching navy and gold middle eastern pattern-what a contrast it was.
The security at the airport was amazing, probably because of the recent terrorist attacks as well as the critical importance of the dam to this whole country. At the first stop about half a mile away, the driver had to relinquish two different IDs and then pay a small tax to enter. At the next checkpoint, he had to give up another form of ID, all to be picked up on his departure. When we got to the terminal, we were met by men in blue and yellow uniforms who nearly fought over taking our bags. We tipped them. Then when the bags were inside the airport building, another crew took over until we got through security, and we had to tip them. After that another man took the bags to the check-in station and he wanted a tip, and finally, the man who put the tags on the bags asked for another tip – all in all, it cost us $10 in singles to get our bags on the plane (we hope!) Working here must be a plumb job!
