Giving some tongue

Locals are always appreciative of foreign visitors taking the time to learn a few of the common phrases in the local language (especially in Egypt, from what I understand). I have found a free MP3 online that has a basic vocabulary lesson, as well as site that lists these English to Arabic expressions (which I have printed out). So hopefully during my 11 hour plane ride I can master some of these local phrases and wow my friends.

Here is the language lesson download I found:
http://journals.worldnomads.com/language-guides/post/10395.aspx

Here is a page that lists many of the common phrases:
http://www.touregypt.net/translat.htm

tesbah ala kheir

Planning My Departure

Since I live in Hoboken, I usually fly in/out of Newark Airport (EWR), but our flight to Cairo will be leaving from JFK. Living near a plethora of mass transit, this is not a big deal. Instead of taking a $60 car service, I will be taking the trains. After taking the PATH to 33rd St. in Manhattan, I will walk a couple of blocks to Penn Station, then take a 20 minute LIRR train to the Jamaica station (no, not the tropical, sandy, 'sippin a Pina Colada' Jamaica, this one is in Queens, NY). Then there is the JFK AirTrain which will take you to your Terminal of choice. In my case it is Terminal 4, as we are flying Egypt Air (I wonder how the stewardesses will be dressed?). BTW, if you do check out Egypt Air's web site, and your a nerd like me, you may notice it is implemented using ASP.Net (go Egypt), oh and so is Hooters Air (are they still in business?). Total travel time to JFK airport (just under an hour), cost: $12.75 (nice). We have a direct flight, leaving at 6:30pm and arriving at 12:30pm (Cairo time). Ouch that's an 11 hour flight, good thing I am bringing a book :).

Local time in Cairo:

The currency in Egypt is the Egyptian Pound (EGP), currently at 5.34867 per 1 USD. Darryl converted some USD for all of us, so we conduct some local commerce ;)

Well I am off to enjoy a farewell dinner (chicken parm, my favorite) with my lovely g.f.. I will check in tomorrow, when the adventure begins!

Gadgets Need Juice

Obviously, I will be bringing my digital camera on this trip (Canon PowerShot SD400 5.0 MP). I am also bringing an old laptop for offloading pictures, checking email, and blogging whenever possible (both hotels we are staying at have Internet access).

I love the Windows Live Writer application, which I am using to publish this blog. If you do any blogging at all, and run Windows, definitely check it out.

I did some research and learned more about international plug types and electricity, than most people need to. Each country has its own plug type(s) and electricity standard (Voltage/Frequency). Here in the United States, we have 120 Volts at 60 Hz, and the plug types are called A & B. Egypt has 220 Volts at 50 Hz (plug type C). You can get details on the different countries here: Electricity Around the World.

Most device power supplies, will handle various frequencies and voltages (generally 110-240 Volts, and 50-60 Hz, if not more). Therefore, all that is needed for this trip (and pretty much most modern countries around the world), is a plug adapter to handle the connection from your power supply to the female sockets in these countries. You can get individual plug adapters for certain plug types/countries. But if you plan on visiting more than one country, a universal plug adapter is generally a good investment.

I decided to go with the APC Universal Plug Adapter, due to its global coverage, compactness, and great reviews. I picked this up from J&R (downtown Manhattan) for $19.99 +tax. For more information on plug types used around the world, check out this Wikipedia Page

 

 

 

 

I will be traveling as light as possible, but I need a laptop, and this old Inspiron 8100 is my only option, since I do not want to have to worry about bring my new laptop. So this 7.9 lb 'notebook' will by the heaviest item I have to bring.

Going To Egypt

Back in 1995/96 I had my first consulting project with LILCO (Long Island Lighting Company). The team that I had the fortune of working with, and also becoming friends with, and I have managed to keep in touch ever since.

At the end of December, 2007 we got together for a dinner party at Peppercorns, in Hicksville, NY (near the office we used to work at). What a great night, recalling funny stories and characters from when we all worked together. Part of the fun was Ed telling us his recent travel stories. Since I had worked with Ed, he has retired, gotten divorced, and is traveling the world. Many of his trips are with his brother-in-law, Darryl (a retired NYC cop). Ed mentioned he was going to Egypt in May 2008, and I told him I would be interested in going, if there was room for me. Soon after, I emailed Ed, and now Ed, Darryl and I are flying to Cairo on May 1! I am so excited for this trip, Ed and Darryl should make excellent traveling partners, and I have never been to Egypt, nor the continent of Africa.

They had booked the trip with Gate 1 Travel, which they had used  before, for a trip to Thailand, and had a wonderful experience. Gate 1 seems to have a wide selection of organized trips all over the world, at reasonable prices. Adding me to the booking was not too much of a problem, but since most accommodations are based on double occupancy, we had to book an extra room to cover the 3 of us, so I guess if one of us gets lucky we can get the 'alone room' ;) (see my next Blog, Gettin' Lucky In Egypt).

Here is a link to our itinerary: 8 Day Egypt Super Saver with 3 Day Nile Cruise

We will be in Egypt from May 1 - 8, the weather should be hot, but not too bad, averaging in the high 80's / low 90's Egypt Weather