On 14 Jan, just before going to sleep, I suddenly had a thought of visiting Egypt, a country which is never in my plan.
I did a little research online the next day. Everything seems to be feasible. Expenses will not be high, and it's just the right moment before the weather gets hot!
I shared such a thought with my husband after he came back from work. He did not have any objection. Then I bought a Flynas flight ticket (SAR 540) departing a week later.
Backpacking seems to have been so far away from me, for at least 4 years! 2020 is a year that I plan to travel as much as I can. Few countries in Europe, China, Pakistan, Mongolia etc. Due to being "dormant" for many years, I was a bit worried if I could take on a long-term solo trip. I see this only-3-week Egypt-and-Sudan trip as a warm-up for myself.
I started to look for CouchSurfing hosts. As usual, I received many invitations. On second thought, I decided to stay at a hostel in downtown for the sake of convenience. However, I'd still like to make time to meet with some CouchSurfers, as that's always the best way to get to know a place and country.
In short, I've met with 2 Cairo CouchSurfers. One is Ayman, a retired Egyptian Air Force, even he's only 40s. He picked me from the airport, showed me the Khalili Market for a few hours, then we met again on my 3rd day in Cairo.
Another CouchSurfer, Hosny, showed me and Ling (an Australian girl I met at the hostel) Saqqarah and Giza. It was a pretty happy day for all of us. The following video provides a good elaboration of the day.
My Egypt trip started well in the capital city, Cairo. Honestly, I've heard a lot of bad things about Egypt (especially Giza), therefore I did not go there with high hope. However, my experience was totally the opposite.
As a Malaysian, I received a 15-day visa on arrival. For this short period, I did not plan to visit many places. It will just be along the Nile including Alexandria, Cairo,Minya (finally skipped as I couldn't get a train ticket), Luxor, and Aswan. After 2 weeks in Egypt, when my visa is due, I will cross the border into Sudan, and spend another week there, before heading back to Riyadh.
I did a little research online the next day. Everything seems to be feasible. Expenses will not be high, and it's just the right moment before the weather gets hot!
I shared such a thought with my husband after he came back from work. He did not have any objection. Then I bought a Flynas flight ticket (SAR 540) departing a week later.
Backpacking seems to have been so far away from me, for at least 4 years! 2020 is a year that I plan to travel as much as I can. Few countries in Europe, China, Pakistan, Mongolia etc. Due to being "dormant" for many years, I was a bit worried if I could take on a long-term solo trip. I see this only-3-week Egypt-and-Sudan trip as a warm-up for myself.
I started to look for CouchSurfing hosts. As usual, I received many invitations. On second thought, I decided to stay at a hostel in downtown for the sake of convenience. However, I'd still like to make time to meet with some CouchSurfers, as that's always the best way to get to know a place and country.
In short, I've met with 2 Cairo CouchSurfers. One is Ayman, a retired Egyptian Air Force, even he's only 40s. He picked me from the airport, showed me the Khalili Market for a few hours, then we met again on my 3rd day in Cairo.
Another CouchSurfer, Hosny, showed me and Ling (an Australian girl I met at the hostel) Saqqarah and Giza. It was a pretty happy day for all of us. The following video provides a good elaboration of the day.
My Egypt trip started well in the capital city, Cairo. Honestly, I've heard a lot of bad things about Egypt (especially Giza), therefore I did not go there with high hope. However, my experience was totally the opposite.
As a Malaysian, I received a 15-day visa on arrival. For this short period, I did not plan to visit many places. It will just be along the Nile including Alexandria, Cairo,
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