Day 3 - First day of Cairo trip
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On advise of the holiday rep we asked the hotel for a lunchbox and refreshments for the six hours or so trip to Cairo from Nuweiba. The airconditioned luxurious coach picked us up at 4AM on the dot - exactly as was agreed. Yet another bit of perfect service from Longwood :tup.

The long journey to Cairo was broken up by a 30 minute or so stop prior to the entrance the Suez Canal tunnel. We had the breakfast that was provided by Swisscare. The 52 seater bus had only 28 passengers on, so there was ample space to crash out and have a little nap, made even more comfortable with the pillows we took out of our rooms.

Cairo was soon in our sights. Our first and only stop for the day was the Egyptian Museum (no pictures and cameras allowed inside). We were joined by an Egyptiologist who not only was very entertaining but very knowledgeable about Egypt and its rich history. We spend about 3 hours in the museum and took in a wealth of information on the history of the country and in preparation of the visit to the Pyramids the following day.

The night was spent in the 5 star Sofitel hotel overlooking the pyramids. A buffet dinner which was of a good standard was included in the price of the trip.

The evening was rounded off with some drinks in the bar. Prices were more dearer than the Swisscare which only shows the excellent deal you have when staying there.

Day 4 - Second day of Cairo trip
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The day started off with a buffet breakfast at the Sofitel (included in the price of the trip) and bang on the agreed time the bus set off for the 15 minute or so trip to the three Pyramids situated on the outskirts of Cairo.

The three Pyramids:



What struck us most was the size of these wonders. There were quite a few locals trying to sell their wares and services but some firm choice Arabic words saw them soon off. We were proud of this. We managed to not get the hassle others seem to have.... or so we thought.... a member of the tourist police with his mate offered to take a picture of the both of us in front of the pyramid. Thinking this would be "safe" we agreed and were quite surprised that he demanded a payment for this service. Just about to tell him to go forth, I spotted out of the corner of my eye that his mate was carrying a machine gun. Needless to say, money exchanged hands fairly quickly
The visit to the second pyramid enabled us to go inside and look at the coffin of the king buried in it. It was hot outside and I was looking forward to being in the cool of the pyramid. Well I thought wrong. It was like a sweatbox inside the pyramid, not helped by the fact that it took a great amount of physical effort to get inside

A 10 minute of so trip on the nice and cool bus brought us to the Sphynx.

The Sphynx guarding the pyramids:



Once again the Egyptiologist gave us a better understanding of the history behind these statues.

Lunchtime was approaching and just before having lunch (included in the price - buffet style and of acceptable quality) we were taken to a place selling Egyptian perfume. This was not planned on the itinerary and was nothing more than a sales pitch in order for us to purchase perfume.

After lunch we stopped off in the centre of Cairo for a visit to the local market. What an experience that was. Del Boy Trotter would have been proud of some of the English phrases used by some of the vendors
The group was to meet up at a cafe bordering the market and as we did the most comical scene greeted us. The cafe we were meeting at was in a line of about ten and a cat-fight between the staff of each cafe over the custom of our group began. It was comical in the sense that no fist were used, but a lot of pushing and shoving with very loud noises made us giggle.

The long journey back to Cairo was soon upon us. We were to stop at a supermarket first so we could buy refreshments. So in we pulled into a petrol station were some 5 other coaches were already parked up. Into the shop to buy two cans of coke, a family pack of crisps and a packet of biscuits. We were a bit surprised that none of the merchandise was priced and we soon found out why. At the "till" the boss seemed to make up his non negotiable prices. £ 9.00 he wanted for the items we bought. Just about to tell him to get stuffed, I noticed the missus already paying the stuff. Highway robbery at its best

The journey back to Nuweiba was long and tyring and we arrived back at about midnight greeted by the staff who left us some fresh sandwiches in the room.

Days 5 and 6 - What is that noise
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The last two remaining full days at the Swisscare were spent by more relaxing and unwinding. The hotel is ideally suited for this kind of "activity". There is no music round the pool or on the beach, with the only music being played in the "Friends" bar. Music that was not to our tastes and an effort by the missus to swap Alvin's MP3 player that was connected to the speakers to hers with a "better" taste of music was to no avail - much to the disappointment of some of the staff who listened to our kind of music earlier in the week.

The beach is very peaceful with the occasional camel walking past.



until the last full day when a loud noise was hear overhead. Looking up I saw what appeared to be a military helicopter flying overhead:





For a minute I thought that matey of the pyramids wasn't too happy with the amount of money we gave him for taking our picture, but thankfully it flew past and disappeared soon towards Taba.

Day 7 - Goodbyes
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It was time for us to start packing the suitcases and enjoy the last of the sunshine. We checked out of our room at 14:45 so we were ready in time for the 15:10 pick up to Taba airport.

We bid Alvin and his staff farewell, and at 15:10 promptly the coach arrived. We got on a made a couple of stops at the "posh" hotels in Taba Heights on the way.

Check in at Taba Airport was the quickest we ever had. Off the coach, scan the bags and then get the boarding card took no more than 5 minutes.

The plane departed ahead of schedule.

So, there you have it. We had a great trip to Egypt and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Swisscare.

We will definitely be back.

Mark

What a fantastic report

Glad you had such a brilliant holiday!!!!!!! Can't believe that this time in 3 weeks we'll be there

Great photos!

Great stuff, Mark

Got any more pics of the swisscare?

Is my mate little Wahlid still serving at the beach bar?

Got plenty more pics.... will upload them to the photo album later on today.

Little Willy is still there... we only seen him for a couple of days as he just returned from holiday.

The staff are all fantastic. It is difficult to single out one person, but to us Osama made us very welcome.

Alvin must be proud of his staff - they are a real asset to the hotel.

Mark

Great stuff,

I`ll look out for those pictures when they are done.

I totally agree about the staff at the Swisscare.

Great report, wonderful pictures and you got the feel of the holiday while reading and looking. Well done Mark.

Wilson

I couldnt stop looking at the photos Mark only 2 weeks on monday before Pippy and i plus family go...my stomache keeps doing somersaults.

Lovely report Mark and the photos set the scene well

The music coming out of the sound system in the "Friends" pub is very much 60s and 70s oriented. We prefer the more modern music, but each to their own. It certainly did not spoil our holiday

Mark

None of that at the Swisscare and I'm sure Alvin wouldn't allow it in any case.

That is just the beauty of the hotel - total relaxation to get away from the hectic life we all live in our Western society.

You'll enjoy it Nette and the relatively long journey is certainly worth it.

Mark

Great report Mark! We only had one night there this Easter but we found it so relaxing and talk about returning all the time! Plans in hand for August 2008!

Glad you got home safely Mark and Karen !

And many thanks for a swell write - up !

Great stuff, Mark! Even greater is the fact that you are now hooked on Egypt as a holiday destination.
I have a "million" pictures of Swiss' hotel and surroundings, but isn't it strange that someone elses photos always catch your interest more? Only two weeks now until we experience a fortnight of pampered relaxation at Swisscare, but even then, theres an HT moderator paying a visit to keep an eye on us! Talk about "Big Brother"!

Or "Big Sister"!

Glad you had a great time Mark. I expect it got even better when someone went to Cairo. You could do what you want, eat what you want & listen to what you want.

Out of interest, did those tips I gave you work? You know the ones, how to entice camels onto the beach for lunch.

Everest wrote:

Glad you had a great time Mark. I expect it got even better when someone went to Cairo. You could do what you want, eat what you want & listen to what you want.

His staff are very loyal. If only we had taken the MP3 player to the pub these two evenings.

Everest wrote:

Out of interest, did those tips I gave you work? You know the ones, how to entice camels onto the beach for lunch.

It did work - it was on the menu in the evening on our last day

Mark

Excellent report Mark.

I'm of to Sharm El Sheikh tomorrow...but only for an hour...and then its a 5 hour flight back again. My job can be quite a tease!