Light of Alexandria

Travel costs can be cut drastically if you are more interested in having fun than living in the lap of luxury.  We travel on vacations for two basic reasons, to escape our daily lives, or to do something different.  If you are more interested in a luxury hotel than doing exciting things, then spend your money that way.  However, if you really, really wanna have some fun in the sun, doing things like scuba diving, hiking along active volcanic rims, zip-lining over lush rain forests, or whatever else interests you and your travel mates, save your money for the funner things in life.

If you can live with staying in cheaper accommodations, and forego your 5-star hotel’s luxurious rooms and the extra staff, all of whom expect tips for over-priced goods and services, you can stay at a cheaper, 2-star hotel and use the savings to have loads of fun!

In order to make up for some of the hardships of staying in a sub-primma donna hotel, You could bring your own 1,000 thread count, Egyption cotton bed sheets with you, in order to keep up the finer part of sleeping, which makes staying at a cheaper hotel, or, yes, even a motel.  Hopefully, if the weather helps out and the stars align with Venus, you will not be spending much more time in your room than to sleep, eat, shower and change anyways.

Sure, it’s nice to stay at the Waldorf, but sometimes it’s better to stay at a Howard Johnson’s, and use the saved money for deep-sea fishing excursions, whale watching, scuba diving, jeep or motorcycle rentals and whatever else is popular for where you are vacationing.  While you are in the savings mood, there are other ways to cut travel costs without cutting fun, more savings to be made to have even more money for the funner things in life.

If you have already decided that a rental vehicle will be required for your vacation, whether as the means of getting to your destination, or for use while at your destination, like Hawaii, you can rent an older, cheaper vehicle.  Hey, if it breaks down, you get a replacement anyways, right?  You can buy a map, a compass and use your phone’s GPS application to map out a great hike, as opposed to hiring a guide, or taking the dreaded guided tour.

Having more fun while traveling can be accomplished near home as well, with a camping trip to a nearby State or Provincial Park, private campground, or at that backwoods spot your grandparents used to camp at.  For the cost of a cruise, or a week at Disney World, you could rent an RV and travel the country, from the Rockies to the Grand Canyon, or even down to Central America.  Instead of flying over America, you get to live it.

When the idea is to have fun while vacationing, not to travel halfway around the world just to stay in a fancy hotel and stay there for the whole vacation, sometimes that means having to stay in less fancy hotels, eating in cheaper restaurants and fast-food joints, renting wrecks and spending your vacation money on where you have fun, not where you sleep.

Have fun.  Travel safe, travel informed.

After breakfast, we visit an orphanage, walking through what had become the familiar scene of crowded narrow alleys and the usual mixture of butchers, bakers and the like. Not for want of looking, I was unable to spot a candlestick maker. Crossed a railway line on foot. No barriers to stop anyone from walking on the track, nothing to prevent even children getting close to the frequent trains!

The orphanage was busy today with other visitors, as it is ‘orphanage day’. Orphans here are generally regarded as a lower class of humanity, since knowing who your father is, is regarded to be of utmost importance. However, the orphanage was clean and seemed a happy place, though how much was a matter of window dressing, is impossible to say. Met some of the children, and tried to give as many of them as possible, a few moments of individual attention. 

Perhaps the saddest thing to note was that in one room where out of about 7 or 8 cots, 4 were for boys. In these cots, the only toy was a plastic gun. These boys were about 18 months old. We can only pray that their future will be one of peace.

Egypt is a long way to go for a haircut, but, mine needs looking at. Didn’t have time before my coming to get it done. Our host was very keen that we met a few of the friends he has made while being here. One was a hairdresser. So off we guys go to the ‘salon!’ This is not the kind of place that is my usual choice for a haircut, but I must have felt equal to the challenge. 

To show the kind of style I wanted my hair to be, and not being sure how much english he spoke, I showed him my passport photo. Actually his language skills were rather good. He insisted that my hair be washed both before and after the cut! But this turned out to be the only challenge I had to contend with.

He said that my hair was a little more grey than appeared in the photo. Cheeky man! He also said that my hair ‘was like Egyptian hair’. Knowing very little about hair, I took it as a complement, and left the shop with a lighter load on my head and a rather empty feeling in my pockets. The whole experience cost me the equivalent of about £2. The cheapest cut I’ve had for many years!

We all visited a family who lived just 2 minutes from the salon. Very hospitable people. We guys were made to sit at the table and to eat the large spread of food that was waiting for us. While we were digging in, we were shown some family photos, and talked about work, clocks, and pieces of life. They made such an effort to make us welcome. We felt like honoured guests. 

Back to base, pizza and back again, to the Hotel where we slept our last but one night in Egypt.

Article by Stan Mayo

Big swimming pool surrounded by sun balconies leading right down to the beach. Private Beach spot, Outlets, games area and also leisure facilities. Health club with sauna, Jacuzzi, steam bath and gym. Royal Savoy Lounge with dedicated check-in & check-out, continental breakfast, beverages and snacks, newspapers and also books, internet connection. Fruit basket plus flowers inside the room on arrival DVD library Total use of all services at Savoy Holiday resort as well as SOHO square.

Restaurants and BarsTotal use of the restaurants at the Savoy as well as in Soho Square Morgana is the Savoy’s Steakhouse along with Grill alfresco restaurant that overlooks the private sands of the White Knight Seaside. Serving a selection of bites and nibbles including spring rolls, chicken wings and different mezze, refreshing seafood is also supplied as well as the display of meat cuts all offered with baked potato, Chips or perhaps rice.

EEST Restaurant. Harmonious alfresco Pan Asian dining amongst tropical gardens and waters, EEST restaurant delivers a ‘walk via Asia’ food experience. The comprehensive and thrilling food selection at this restaurant features an array of well known cooking styles plus signature plates associated with Asia including wok, teppanyaki, tempura, sashimi, sushi, noodle as well as oriental rice dinners Seafood Island Located by way of the beachfront along with a direct look at Tiran Island, Seafood Island is the ideal area to enjoy a wide selection of seafood caught directly from the actual Red Sea and Mediterranean. Freshly prepared and directly grilled upon the open charcoal grill, the seafood at this restaurant will tantalise your palette whilst the scenic views astonish you. Tirana restaurant is the Savoy’s main dining-room serving ?-la-carte and international buffet delicacies. At this kind of restaurant you can like superb services as well as astonishing views of Tiran Island. Tirana delivers alfresco dining Rosamarino Restaurant offers exciting surroundings, lavish interiors as well as gourmet food complemented by the staff’s genuine attention to details and very good hospitality. Sumptuous Italian food at its best: Make a lavish start along with a Zuppa di Pesce, followed by the well-known Lasagna with veal plus organic mushrooms. For that great finish, go for a yummy soft ice cream on the outdoor terrace.

Cave Bar – An unique location for an early or late evening drink, the Cave Bar comes with a cascading down waterfall creating the best soothing atmosphere enhanced by live oriental tunes. A number of cocktails and light treats are available as is the classic shisha waterpipe.

Holiday accommodationThe Royal Savoy wing features 56 bedrooms and suites & 9 villas thirty four Side Sea View rooms and 4 Executive Suites, services include Mini-bar, Safe deposit box, Telephone set with voice mail, individual heating and air treatment management, one TV set with international channels, hairdryer and wi-fi connection.Athletics and HealthA state-of-the-art gym equipped along with the most current physical fitness devices is furnished for the visitors.

Personal health and fitness training is also on hand to put you through your paces should you desire.Diving scuba and snorkelling enthusiasts may get the maximum happiness in plunging into the deep blue water of the Red Sea to check out the underwater sweetness of the world-renowned Ras Mohammed National Park.

Parasailing, windsurfing, water-skiing together with hire of canoes and paddleboats in addition to a whole number of other aquatic sports may also be available from the beach situated at the Sun ‘n’ Fun centre.

Article by Michael Deluca

In a perfect world everybody would get to have month long holidays, but in the real world, often seven days is probably the most we can do. So is seven days enough to make an effect on a getaway like Egypt ? Stuart Cheese, UK Director of Operations for One World Tours affirms yes it is and informs you how to greatest spend your time.

Day 1. Based upon where you’ve flown in from, it may be a great idea to just take the rest of the day to acclimatise you to the pace of things in Cairo

Day 2 Cairo – The Pyramids are absolutely essential. You need to stand next to the pyramids to truly appreciate the enormity of them. The sphinx can also be an awesome masterpiece to behold. Books and Tv pictures cannot capture the pure magnitude of the stunning structure which has endured the elements and time.

That evening we recommend taking an overnight train to Aswan. Waking early in the morning, if you can, and peering from the train, you will a lot more than likely be welcomed by a wonderful sunrise, mist swirling from the river and locals harvesting their simple crops.

Day 3. Aswan (and Elephantine Island) will also make a lasting impression on you. Even though the sound and light show on the Philae island in the evening is in no way the most spectacular of the sound and light shows in Egypt, it’s still a breathtaking experience. Day 4 Aswan / Abu Simbel / Luxor. There are the two temples at Abu Simbel and in my judgment they’re probably the most magnificent monuments you may have the great fortune to witness. Not everybody is aware prior to their visit, that they happen to be removed and reconstructed, which when you stand in front of them, it’s difficult to understand how some thing of such magnitude could happen to be moved, let alone built in the first place. For the record, the monument was threatened with being submerged below water when the high dam was built and this really is why it needed to be dismantled and removed.

Day 5 Luxor. It’s an amazingly beautiful spot to be and offers a gentler pace than cities like Cairo. In Luxor, the Valley of the Kings provides up all of its ancient secrets and opens you up to your own personal travel backwards in time. It’s easy to get lost in the magical symbols that are the timeless communications from a time long went by. You cannot help but be motivated to conjure up images of how life must have been all of those years ago.

Day 6. Luxor. The temple of Luxor with its court of Amenhotep III is in the middle of a double row of columns. Be sure to look up at these columns during a sound and light show in the evening and if you’re there in the right time of the dat, certainly you may simply see the breathtaking evening sky and Orions’ belt framed by the towering structures. The temple is located on the east bank of the Nile and is really a magnificent view to behold day or evening.

Tonight we recommend getting an overnight train back to Cairo.

Day 7 Back in Cairo again. If you have time, the Khan el Khalili Bazaar is a delightful experience, exactly where you can haggle with the locals to get a great bargain to take home with you; a great reminder for you of the magical stay in the mystical country of Egypt.

Article by Brent

The internet and high speed broadband continue to open parts of the world which has previously been closed to a lot of people. One of these parts has been the world of food and restaurants. Before the internet, people mainly had to rely on the word of others to recommend a restaurant. This was especially true if you were headed to a city that you had never visited before. Today, however, this has all been changed as the internet has given way to a new generation of foodies that has never been seen before. Today, it is possible increase your knowledge of food from around the world by a few simple clicks online. Now, we can easily find out about restaurants serving food from Egypt, Morocco, Italy, China and just about any other country on the planet. This is true for restaurants in your hometown as well as those located in a city that you may be visiting in the next few weeks. Most restaurants now have their menu, wine selection and anything else you need to know about them on a website. In addition, you can get directions and even have them downloaded into your phone or tablet, so you never have to worry about getting lost. Websites are also a good way of getting a feel for a restaurant to see if it is more casual or high class and whether or not it will fit your individual tastes. The internet has also led to a feeling of empowerment when it comes to restaurants. There is now a wealth of blogs and review sites online to visit and get an intimate feel for a restaurant before ever setting foot in it. For example, you can find out when it opens, how the service is or just about anything else. This has forced restaurants to up their game as a bad experience for one customer has the chance of being forwarded onto to millions of other people thanks to a blog or review site. Thanks to the internet, we can also entertain at home more. Before, we had to rely on our staple of cookbooks, but now every recipe imaginable is available for downloading off the internet. In addition, thanks to smartphones and tablets, we can even look up a recipe or get an idea for dinner while standing in the middle of the grocery store. No longer do we have to go armed with a list beforehand as we can look into what interests us while in the middle of our shopping. The internet also makes it possible for us to watch a video of others making a dish so we make sure we get it right and we can even order special utensils or kitchen appliances to make the process easier. In addition, the internet makes it easier for those on diets or certain food restrictions to count calories and see exactly what their meal is made of. There is a website for just about every diet out there and just as many calorie counting websites that those looking to lose weight can easily find what they are looking for. The internet has changed our perception of food and restaurants and will continue to do so as it continues to expand.