Dec 26th Pics

Now were are running half an hour behind. The Business Class line was the longest, so my agent moved me over to First Class, which took forever. It literally would have been quicker to check-in with economy. I walk up to the immigration area and the guy tells my I have to check my carry-on. Great. I haven't packed it properly for checking. I get it x-ray-ed, take out my computer, and send it one it's own way. Good bye, luggage.

Some how, I got in the right immigration line. Compared to the other lines, it went pretty quick. Now, onto security check. Fortunately, that was short. We start boarding in a few minutes. I watched 'I, Robot' starring Will Smith. My monitor kept going out, but my neighbor had it on his monitor, too. That was nice of him. The monitor also show the front view of the place and a downward view, which is pretty cool.

• Appetizers
  • Thai Minced Lamb Salad
  • Dhokla Chaat
• Main Course
  • Fish Meuniere
  • Chicken Makhani
  • Vegetable Biryani
• Desserts
  • Kesar Rice Kheer
• Cheese
  • Selection of Cheese
• Fruit
  • Seasonal Fruits

I had the lamb appetizer and the fish for the main course. Pretty good. No cheese, which I would have liked. It's a pretty short flight, just 3 hours to Dubai, then a 3 hour layover. Not at much alcohol as Thai Air. Half a hot beer, a small glass of wine, then a shot of Drambuei. We pasted over the mountains in Afghanistan, which were very interesting.

The Dubai International Airport is brand new and nice. I waited in the Business Lounge, surfed the internet, had a drink and relaxed. It's probably the nice airport I have every been in.

The flight to Cairo was pretty uneventful. Here's the dinner menu:

• Appetizers
  • Gulf Prawns
  • Arabic Mezze
• Salad
  • Seasonal Salad
• Main Courses
  • Roasted Lamb Loin
  • Grilled Chicken Breast
  • Baked Hammour
• Desserts
  • Genoise Torte
• Cheeses
  • International Cheeseboard
• Fruit
  • Seasonal Fruit

I had the prawns and chicken. Pretty good meal. We about an hour from Cairo. I'm pretty tired and ready to get to the hotel. I hope it is a nice room.

The drive to the hotel was OK. At the hotel, the entry personnel have mirrors to see if you have any bombs underneath the car. I'm more than happy to let them check. The hotel is very nice. Four restaurants,  one of them is a Tex-Mex. I'll check it out later.

I'm on the second floor, in a small room, and there are 3 palm trees in front of the one pyramid I can see. And the internet connection doesn't work. Oh, well. There are worse things in life. I went downstairs to book my tour for tomorrow. I will go an a full-day tour of the Giza Pyramids and go to Memphis. While I was at the concierge desk, I informed him that my internet connection wasn't working. I'm pretty sure it is just a bad cable. No big deal. He said he would take care of it.

I decided to have a beer and about 5 minutes later the Assistant Manager came up and asked if I was having problems. I told him that I thought the cable was bad and needed to be replaced. He asked me why I needed the internet, so I showed him a bunch of my pictures and told him about my trip. He asked how I liked the room. I told him it was OK.

At this point, I want to say something. No, Ty, I didn't not complain. Yes, Becky, I am the luckiest guy you know. He said he would find me another room. I thanked him a lot. He said it would take about 30 minutes to get the room ready and I was to join him at his table. He bought me another beer and we talked for quite some time. He is a very nice guy.

He said the room was ready and for me to follow him. He upgraded me to the Royal Club level and gave me a view that was amazing! You couldn't ask for better. The room was much nicer and I could eat my breakfast in the Royal Club lounge and have free drinks in the afternoon. Sweet! I am the luckiest guy I know.

Here's a picture of the pyramids at night and my room

After leaving India, a totally wonderful day with a great ending.

Dec 26th Pics

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