Hurghada - Makadi Oasis - September 2007
	They say the beginning of any vacation or trip begins as soon  as you step out of the door of your house, not necessarily when you reach the destination.   It makes things more exciting and you are better able to manage anything that unexpectedly  comes up.  This vacation/experience would be no different.  We booked the vacation from a  German travel agency TUI, who not only books travel vacations but are an airline as well.   Needless to day, Anne, Lea and myself arrived 3-4 hours prior to departure in plenty of  enough time to comfortably park and check-in.  As we entered the queue an attendant asked me  where I was flying to...answering Hurghada, she waved me through.  After waiting 2 hours in  the check-in line, making friends with the other baby's apparently going to the same location  as we were.  After getting up to the counter, we find out that we were flying with Condor airlines and not TUI airlines.  Both  airlines had a flight leaving to the same place within 30 minutes of each other.  We rushed  embarrassedly to the other/correct terminal and were freighted to see the long line waiting  for check-in.  Barely making the check-in deadline, we rushed again through the  security, through the passport control and to the gate finally making it onto the plane. After landing, purchasing the entry visa and waiting in line for customs clearance was a long experience,  especially with a 15 month old who had a dirty diaper and rash.  Lea was great though, she  ran back and forth up and down the lines, Anne following closely behind her.  It made other  people happy as well as myself seeing her in such a good mood in this hot and steamy place.  Once we  cleared customs we picked up our bags (avoiding the trolley guy because he wanted a tip for  standing in front of them, but he confronted me and was tipped), hopped on a bus (tipping the  baggage guy for moving our bags from the curb to the trunk) and arrived at the Madinat Makadi  Oasis hotel early in the evening (tipping the driver for a safe trip and the bag guy for  moving my bags from the trunk to the curb).  Check in was fast and furious and liked that.  We were  escorted to our room, shortly after our bags arrived (tipping the bag boys for carrying our  bags from the golf cart they were loaded on to our door). Having just gotten over the repercussions of standing in the wrong line at the airport, I decided to lock and bolt  the front door in our room.  Upon leaving we decided to leave out the back door which locks automatically and has no place for a key.   When we returned to the room...oh no...we can't get in.  I walked up to reception and asked  for help in opening my door, seems like it happens often since I didn't even finish my  sentence before he was on the phone with the facilities personnel.  He popped it open in  matter of seconds and popped open his hand for a tip.  Looking at the back door in more  detail there was a sign in 7 different languages saying 'EXIT FROM THE FRONT DOOR ONLY!!'  what a first day. Anne had read in advance that if you tip the room cleaner they will make you a nice swan on the bed   from a towel.  So we tipped on the first day and sure enough we got one.  Small but nice.   The one Anne saw on the internet was very large so we increased the amount of tip on the next  day...nothing.  On the third day, tipped...nothing.  So we stopped.  On our last day we got 2  free Sprites and a big thank you.  That was nice and left him another tip on the last day. The facilities were clean and very acceptable.  This was a hotel for families with children  and there were activities each day for the kids.  In the morning Anne and Lea would go to a  baby group and paint each other or sing or play with toys, but not before 1 - 2 hours playing in the  pool with Ben.  Lea really enjoyed it.  Towards the end of our vacation Lea was almost able to walk  alone in the water from end to end, had we stayed another week, she would have been running  across. Lea was kind enough to take a nap from 1-3 in the afternoon each day allowing Anne and  I to chat, eat, drink and plan the afternoon activities. In the afternoons, after Lea had rested and eaten we were off to the beach on the Red Sea.   Knowing that Religion is a foundation of my existence, swimming in the Red Sea that was  mentioned in religious history was a moment that made me think deeply.  Moses parted it, yes?   Anne, Lea and I played in the sand, I would build a small castle and Lea would enjoy  knocking it down, I enjoyed it too.  We laughed together, all 3 of us. We'd return from the beach a few hours before dinner.  Getting dressed up and cleaned up from  rolling and playing in the sand. The food was ok, nothing fantastic.  I did get XXXXXX from it.  It lasted for about a week  after I returned home.  The waiters were very nice, playing with Lea and being very nice to  us.  Almost too nice at some points, but I believed they were sincere. The highlight of the day was the baby disco.  Lea loved this.  Around 7:30 in the evening all  the young children < 5 years old would gather and the staff would play children's music and  lead the dancing.  It lasted for about an hour and a half.  I think Anne and I enjoyed  watching her interact with the other kids and watching her dance as much as she enjoyed being  part of it.  Watching how your children interact with other children and visa-versa is an  enlightening and nerving experience. We would pretty much follow that routine each day excluding our 1-day visit to Cairo. I arranged a private tour over the internet for a one-day tour in Cairo, round-trip  transportation to and from the airport from our hotel and booked the round-trip air tickets  from Hurghada to Cairo on Expedia.de.  It was on the expensive side, but no way we  were going to, 1. visit Egypt and not see the Pyramids and 2. Take an 8-9 hour bus trip from Hurghada to  Cairo.  It was a good decision and we enjoyed it. The flight was on EgyptAir at 8 AM, it took 55 minutes and went perfectly well.  Arriving at  the Cairo airport the tour guide was there waiting for us holding a sign with BEN on it.  I  was happy to see them there after some communication trouble on the phone.  The mini-bus was  waiting just outside the door, we jumped in and there we were....stuck in traffic. Our first stop was a view of the Pyramids from the side, showing green grass and palm trees.   It was nice, but very far away and couldn't really get a good picture of them.  We drove  around to the other side and were at the Pyramids.  The feeling was similar to the one I had  when we saw the Taj Mahal, I mean you hear about it and you see it on television, but when  you are actually there and can touch and feel it, it seems like a fantasy world almost.  It's  also similar to the feeling I get when I meet famous people, I might add.  But anyway, the  guide told us the stories (will spare them since you can find all that information on many  other websites) and legends surrounding the history and theories of the Pyramids.  It was  after lunchtime and Lea needed to get some sleep so the tour guide took Anne and I one by one  to see the Sphinx.  Lea slept for her normal 2-3 hours in the air-conditioned mini-bus as we  proceeded to the Egyptian Museum, making a short stop at a very nice souvenir store along the  way.  I went to shop while Anne stayed in the mini-bus with Lea. Before we entered the Museum we sat in the garden and gave Lea some nice food and crackers.   The tour guide explained the national flower of Egypt, the Lotus (water lily).  He explained  how they would open showing it's flower and then closing depending on the time of day.  Very  interesting those flowers.  The Egyptian Museum is not air-conditioned.  It was hot and towards  the end I was starting to get a little ill.  Overall it was awesome, seeing Tutankhamun (King Tut), the  mummies and all the ancient artifacts.  We finished at around 3:00 PM. We had scheduled to go to the Egyptian Bazaar (Khan el-Khalili) but the tour guide said it  was not worth a visit plus the traffic between our current location and the airport would  keep us from catching our plane that was scheduled for 4 and a half hours later.  We  suggested to try and see if we can make it, 20 minutes later the tour guide said no way and  we proceeded to the airport.  I kind of think he and the driver just wanted to get home, I  wish we could have at least seen it instead of spending 2 and a half hours in the airport  terminal.  They dropped us off (after tipping them) and they were on there way.  It was a  temporary terminal, therefore there was nothing to do in it, but Lea again had a fun time  running around and amusing everyone including Anne and I. The flight back was punctual and the taxi was there waiting for us when we returned.  Lea was  very tired and was having a difficult time in the taxi ride.  It was very nice that the  driver had a cat meow and a baby cry on his mobile, which when Lea heard it, stopped crying  and returned to her normal wonderful self.  We were back in our room at about 9:00 PM, it was  a busy day, but I am sure you will agree, it is a must do, must see. On our second to last day we decided to go shopping for some souvenirs and things to take  back with us.  We were warned that prices were high and no price is a final price.  It was  not very fun.  The people at the shops would grab you and ask where you are from, etc.  I  politely said 'La Shukra' - No Thanks and passed on by.  We did go in to buy a few things and  were naively convinced that a store owner wanted to chat with us about friends he had in  Europe and America.  We signed his visitor book, read it a little, had some tea, but then the  sales pitch started coming and coming hard.  It was a perfume shop and he was going through  his family tree history with regards to perfume manufacturing.  I just stood up and said 'La Shukra' and we began to walk out.  He was not happy about it, I did make a fast move, but he  started..., not yelling, but with a very firm voice stating that I was not nice and that I was  not respectful.  He even followed us out of the store saying those things.  I need to read  some on current Egyptian culture and make sure I didn't inadvertently do something.  I can't  think of anything that was extreme.  We should have known after our experience in Istanbul  that when you get Tea and some time from them, they want you to buy.  We bought our stuff and  went back to the room as fast as possible.  Spending way too much for just a few cheap  memoirs. On our departure day I called the reception to come pick up our bags (tipping the guy for  carrying my bags from our door to the golf cart).  (Tipping again the guy who moved our bags  from the curb to the bus trunk) (Tipping again the driver for a safe drive to the airport),  but something strange happened to me at the airport, I stopped tipping.  I decided to not tip  the guy who took my bags from the bus and put them on the curb and I decided not to tip the  guy who helped me put my bag on the security screening belt.  I was done with my tipping at point.   Reflecting back, unfortunately we avoided interaction a lot with the locals which could have resulted in a  deeper connection with the culture because of the concerns of needing to pay for the  information. It was, however, so wonderful to visit the last remaining 7 wonders of the ancient world, but  it was more wonderful to spend extended quality time with my daughter, whom I love so very  much, we really made some good connections.