Egypt Revolution and Evacuation

The 2011 Egyptian Revolution which also called ‘25 January Revolution’ and ‘Revolution of the Youth’ took place following the uprising that began on 25 January 2011. The campaign took place in Cairo, Alexandria and in other cities in Egypt including my place, Zagazig. On 28^th January, protest began. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Cairo and other Egyptian cities after Friday Prayers especially at Tahrir Square (Liberation Square). There were reports of looting and prison were opened and burned down causing prison inmates to escape in what was believed was an attempt to terrorize protesters. On week after that, the military presence increased and a curfew was declared but protests increased. Also, small but violent clashes began between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak groups make the situation even worse. On 11^th February (Friday of Departure), following weeks of protest and pressure, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Hosni Mubarak would stepping down as president and turning power over to the Military Forces after his 30 years reign, the longest serving President in Egypt’s history. This demonstration in Egypt, along with Tunisian events has influenced demonstration in other Arab countries including Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Libya.

For Malaysian student in Egyptian cities, we were told to stay at home during the curfew, between 6 pm to 6 am. The evacuation operation which codenamed, ‘Ops Piramid’ was helped by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Malaysian Airlines and budget airline, AirAsia. In Zagazig, evacuation process starts on 3^rd February, which we were brought by about 6 buses to Abbasiah Malaysian Hall in Cairo while waiting for our flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On 5^th February, our group were called to go to the Cairo International Airport for the flight. At the airport were real mess, many students and other foreigner waiting for flight to be evacuated. But after about a day we waited we were called at night to board onto the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Charlie C-130 aircraft to be brought to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was an amazing opportunity that we got the chance to board on a military aircraft. Arrived in Jeddah, we all were transit in Tabung Haji Complex (Madinatul Hujjaj), a complex which often place person who perform pilgrimage, Hajji. We had to wait and live there for about 5 days for our flight to Malaysia. Then we were brought home to KLIA by Malaysian Airlines. It was a huge relief for the students and families who were worried about the turmoil situation in Egypt. Over 7000 Malaysians have returned home safely in the operation.

Egypt traveling tips

Traveling can be rough thing to plan, even if you’re only leaving for a weekend. When it comes to traveling to a whole different country located in a distinct area of the globe with a unique culture can be a scary thing and very difficult to prepare to. Egypt as a tourist cannot be compared with other countries. Prepare yourself for a culture shock. Many seasoned travelers are amazed when they first visit Egypt and find that it is unlikely any other country that they have previously visited. Some travelers will be pressured and tension with the culture here especially that the people here really like to take tourist’s money. That’s why I’ve tried to address these concern when you’re on budget and independent travel around Egypt as I am a foreign student here and until now, about half of the most famous tourists places here I visited, so I would like to share some tips about it to help the first time traveler. Hope these tips will help you guys if you’re planning to spend your holiday here.

1. First of all note the currency is Egyptian pound (referred to LE – Livre Egyptienne) and it is divided to 100 piaster. In Arabic it is called ‘geneh’. Here you will find 25 and 50 piaster notes and various sized of coins down to 5 piaster. Don’t change your dollars or euro until you arrive in Egypt, the conversion rate is much better here. And please don’t bring Malaysian Ringgits (MYR) or other not-widely-used-currency here as they are not accepted here.

2. The electricity plug here uses round-pronged plugs (as European countries). If you’re coming from Malaysia or UK, you will need an adapter for your plugs.

3. Do not feel those 5 stars hotels are always the best. There are many 3 or 2 stars hotels that are Egyptian owned and run that offer the same facilities with a lot cheaper rate.

4. Public transports in Egypt are very cheap but try avoiding it if you can. You will only put yourself into awkward position having locals staring and talking about you. But if you extreme enough to get around Egyptian, it is good because the cost is very cheap and you can stop wherever you needed along the way.

5. Taxis are not expensive, so use these for traveling around town. Discuss and agree the total price with the driver, do remember to haggle it down until it is the good prices.

6. The method to avoid confrontation with the drivers is to have correct amount of money you agreed at first, pass the money, get out and walk away.

7. It is not recommended take a cab with meter on especially when you didn’t familiar with the roads here. The driver might use a long way to reach your destination to get more money. Unless you’re familiar and know for sure the road only you take the meter’s cab.

8. When taking a cab, if you’re alone (especially women) take a seat on the back. If you’re a group with a male member, let the man to take the front seat (to avoid sexual harassment of the driver).

9. Sometime if you’re alone taxi passenger, the driver might stop to hire other passengers on the way so that he can make more money with a single journey. So, don’t be shocked and prepare for this culture.

10. In Egypt, they drive on the right, be careful when crossing roads. Take special care in Cairo and Alexandria, where traffic is a lot busier than in other Egyptian cities. (Malaysian, UK, etc. should be extra careful as you will be used to traffic driving on the left).

11. If you’re traveling alone, or in a couple, and wish to organize everything yourself, please let the hotel know your plans before you leave. Take a note of the Hotel’s name and telephone number in case you do get lost.

12. Do not be scared of being part of a group for your trip. These groups have leaders (a tour guide) who will help with problems and explain about the site you are visiting, arrange transport etc. Things would be difficult if you tried it alone.

13. When you pay for group-trip, the price includes everything except tips and sometimes admission prices also not included. This included transport, a driver, a tour guide, tolls etc. You can get cheaper package if you’re willing to join the group of Egyptian as their locals know better with good prices.

14. Be prepared for delays when entering some sites. Because of the threat of terrorism, you will have your personal belongings searched before gaining admittance. Although this is annoying, it is for your safety.

15. Wear sensible footwear when visiting the various sites. High heels and open toes shoes are not advisable. The floors of most sites are mostly sand or roughly-cut, uneven stone.

16. Ladies, if you intend visiting one of the pyramids, please wear trousers or jeans. You may have to ascend/descend (climb) big rocks. For the same reasons, I would advise men to avoid wearing short trousers.

17. Egypt is a Muslim country, so please respect our faith. Many things that you (non-Muslims travelers) take as normal such as, kissing your partner in public, wearing revealing clothing etc. are displeasure here. So try be more conservative in your attitude.

18. You will find that many tours (especially dessert sites) are done either in early morning or late afternoon. The reason is because of the heat in the middle of the day. So try avoiding the midday sun.

19. Buy and drink plenty of water. It is very easy to become dehydrated if you don’t.

20. Never drink the tap water. It is okay to wash, shower and clean your teeth but not advised to drink. Bottled water is cheap and plentiful. Use it instead.

21. Admission to all sites is payable in LE, so make sure that you carry enough with you. Try and plan each day in advance, calculate how much you will need for admissions and keep this money separate from your spending money.

22. Avoid having your pictures taken by ‘approaching-tourist-guides’ (especially at Pyramids). They actually unemployed, in other word are freelances. They will always ask tips from you. Unless you are really want, just give them a small note and walk away.

23. When you have paid your entry into the Egyptian museum, a ‘guide’ offering his services will approach you. These ‘guides’ are not employed by the museum, they are freelance. It is up to you if you want to employ one of these ‘guides’, if you decided to do so, make sure you haggle for a good and low price. So if he is useless, you have not wasted much money. You could even try and form a group of visitors to share the cost.

24. Do not buy anything from the traders inside the Giza Plateau. The items they are trying to sell you can buy a lot cheaper at places like Khan El-Khalili Market.

25. When shopping for bargains, keeps your own currency and credit cards out of sight and separate from your L.E. It is easier to haggle over a price if you can show that have only a few L.E. in your possession.

26. When you’re bargaining for souvenirs, don’t be afraid to make a low offer (haggle). Usually, the trader will put initial prices of multiple higher than the ‘real’ prices. Try haggle for low prices as sometime you could buy it up to 70% off from the initial prices.

27. Don’t start haggling unless you are really interested in an item. You should never haggle for practice or fun. You will get yourself pushed by the trader then. If you feel that someone (traders) is being too pushy, let a member of the Tourist Police know.

28. Remember you can always walk away. Don’t feel under pressure and accept a price that you are not happy with. Say that you need to think about it and walking out of the shop can often lead to great prices reductions. If it doesn’t, you can always come back later.

29. It would be easier for you if you can learn or memorize a little bit of basic Arabic as Egyptian people really doesn’t know to speak other than their language. So, it will help you to have conversation or asking for help or especially haggling in shopping.

30. Remember that Egypt is a 3rd world country and has many poor people who think that all tourists are rich. Learn the phrase ‘La’ Syukran’ (no, thank you) and don’t be afraid to say it to anyone who tries to sell you anything or asking for tips. Don’t get abusive to them, they are only trying to feed his family.

Hurghada short trip

2 days off per week was quiet enough to spend our weekend in somewhere far outside from this little town. I thought that maybe we could ran away from the coldness in Zagazig because Hurghada is about 600km south to it. Well, it’s a little bit warm but the sea-water still cold.

Okay, it begin on Thursday’s night, we went to Cairo, Ramsis Station to be specific, where the bus stop to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh located. From there, we bought our ticket and got a bus at 2 a.m. in the morning. So, while waiting, we spent our time in McDonalds to fill our stomach. The journey took about 7 hours of driving by bus. Arriving at Hurghada, we took a cab to the Empire Hotel where located a lot of budget-hotel for the backpackers. We stayed a night in a ‘Luxor Hotel’ at El Dahar Downtown. After check-in, we took a walk around the downtown and in the evening we went to swimming at the beach. The water was quiet cold. But that doesn’t give us trouble because the water was really deep, I can’t even touch the seabed, so we kept swimming as long as we’re in the water and that’s gives our body heat. After swimming, at night, we went out for dinner at El-Mina Seafood Restaurant. Then, we went to Marina Boulevard and Nawarra Canter, where their nightlife took places.

In the next morning, after having our breakfast, we took a walk around the beach and the town. In the afternoon, we took our bus back to Cairo. We didn’t have the chances to do snorkel or riding motor in desert due to short in time. And that’s how our weekend goes. Overall, Hurghada is different from other tourist places for snorkelling or diving the Red Sea because it has a large town with a quiet large of population. So, with a lot of locals (Egyptian) behaviour, the town is not entirely clean, it full of mess and waste around the city, especially in the Sekalla. But there is exception for Marina Boulevard and Nawarra Canter where they are really taking care of the cleanliness for tourist attraction.

Trip to Sharm

This trip is because of my cousin, Dira or Along which we’ve been called her since came here visiting us (my sister and I) in Egypt. So, besides her exploring Cairo and Alexandria, she asked us to join her to go to Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor, Aswan or Hurghada. We were late in making decision and what left in choice from the tour agent was Sharm El Sheikh Trip. So, that’s how we decided to go there.

Okay, it’s started in Alexandria which we went there by bus. The journey took about 12 hours of driving from 12 a.m. until 12 p.m. in Sharm. Firstly, we got to the ‘Desert View Hotel’ but we can’t check-in because it’s not 3p.m. yet. So, we took a walk around ‘El Mercato Mall’ just 15 minutes walks from the hotel. During the day, the mall was quiet, only a few people there, that makes sense because people a lot go to the beach/sea during the day. So, we took the opportunity of the offer made by a Chinese restaurant to take a lunch there. After ate, we went back to the hotel, but unluckily somehow the hotel management couldn’t get us a 3-single bed room which we were paid for as in the package. So, that took a little augment with the tour agent. After about 2 hours, we got a room in another hotel, ‘Dolphin Club’ and that where we were staying.

At the evening, we went to the ‘Old Market’ to buy some souvenir. The locals said that’s the place where tourist could get the cheapest price in Sharm. But compare to Hussein’s Market, the price were quiet more expensive. Well, it’s Sharm El Sheikh. Egyptian took a lot opportunity to take the outsider’s money. After Old Market, we went back to hotel for dinner, the buffet was really great. After filled our stomach, we went to ‘Naama Bay’ where their nightlife take place, there has a lot of club, bars, cafe and a lot more place for the people who like to go out night.

The next day, we went to the beach to get on a ‘glass-boat’, a boat which made with a glass on the floor to let tourist to see what inside the sea. We saw the corals and fishes. It was really nice. After that we took a ride on ATV, a four-tyre motor vehicle, something like that in a desert called ‘Safari’. It was really awesome! About 2 and half hour we got the opportunity to ride the things.

On the third day, we fulfilled our day on boat. From the morning until evening we were on the boat to snorkel in the centre of red sea. It also was really awesome. The first and best snorkelling I’ve ever experienced. We could see a lot of beautiful corals and colourful fishes. Along the journey on the boat, we got 3 rounds of snorkel. Lunch is included in the middle of the day. But in the end of 3^rd round, I think I saw a group of swordfish, so I quickly swam to the steps (ladder) on the back of the boat and that’s it, I don’t want snorkel anymore. Also, a week after this day, I read a news from ‘TheStar’ that said there was a shark attack in one of beach in Sharm El Sheikh. And that made me feel really shocked and lucky the shark didn’t came when we were there. Thank God.

On the last day, on the way back to Alexandria, we stopped at ‘Pharaoh’s Cave’, where they said that it is the place used by the old pharaoh to do their ‘asceticism’ or something like that. There also got a really great beach and a little pool where hot water comes up from underground. After that, we continue our journey back. We arrived at Alexandria at about.

As my opinion to Sharm El Sheikh, it is not very too ‘sin city’ as I expect and heard from a lot of people. I think the nightlife is only full of Egyptian relaxing or ‘lepak’ doing ‘sheesha’. The tourist (non-Muslims) just had their night with beers and little dance. Because most of them were there in Sharm to have the experience of snorkeling and diving in the famous Red Sea. They also know Egypt is an Islamic country and they are really respect us, so they didn’t do much the dirty thing or wear topless to the beach.

Ramadhan '10

Happy Fasting everyone! It’s almost about 3 weeks of Ramadhan has passed. Hope that you all fulfill the month well with tadarus, tarawikh and a lots more goods. This is the first time that I ‘berbuka puasa’ in Kuwait while transit on journey back home from Egypt. My flight was delayed in Kuwait for 14 hours, so I got the ‘berbuka’ and ‘sahur’ meal with a hotel room. The service is not so bad actually, I got grilled chicken, fried rice, korma meat and a lots more:) That is the experience on the first 2 days of fasting on journey back home. Okay, the most interesting part when we’re in Ramadhan is the ‘Berbuka’ time. At home, everyday my mom cooks like there are 10 people in the house. I think although I’m fasting, but my weight is keep moving up the scale. And everyday I got ‘rambang mata’ which menus should I eat first. Oh, glad my dad just bought a treadmill machine, so that we could burn our excess calories in our body. And as usual Ramadhan like in the passed years, we still praying in the Masjid Uniten, well, they got air-cond and free ‘berbuka’ and ‘moreh’ everyday :) And it is full of activities, and the most fun part is that one of the activities is the’ Pertandingan Mengurangkan Berat Badan’. My dad joined it, he says they got to measure every contestant weight before and after Ramadhan. Hope my dad got a prize with the help of his new treadmill machine. Um, what else, oh, a few days ago, I’m really glad that I invited to the ‘Majlis berbuka Puasa Alumni Abim ‘97’, I met with my old classmate in the primary school. In the childhood, we’re all just a kids but now, wow, they’ve grown ups with their matured faces.

And that’s all I could write for this Ramadhan, so, just a weeks to go to Hari Raya, so, here I would like to wish you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin. Drive safely on the road :)