Egypt and Jordan
Local Foreigner clients kick-started 2020 with a trip to Jordan and Egypt. While Jordan wasn’t exactly all they’d hoped it would be, they may have shed a few (happy) tears when leaving Egypt. Follow along to learn all about their Middle Eastern adventure.
You spent the first three days of your trip in Jordan. Tell us about your experience.
Jordan was really cool. We’re happy we went. We got to see Petra, which was awesome, we did an incredible six mile hike to the Place of High Sacrifice (and had the trail to ourselves!), and we got to float in the Dead Sea. But to be perfectly honest, Jordan felt a little underwhelming compared to Egypt. The tourism infrastructure in Jordan just isn’t on par with Egypt’s, and in our opinion the magnitude of historical sites isn’t as impressive. We’re glad we went, but don’t think we’d ever go back.
That’s really insightful feedback. How did things change when you arrived in Egypt?
Well for starters, the arrival process was seamless. We arrived at the airport in Cairo and were greeted by a Nubia representative, who was waiting for us with flowers and our Egyptian visas. We breezed through customs and headed to Luxor to board the Oberoi Philae.
How was the boat?
The Oberoi Philae exceeded our expectations. Our cabin was gorgeous, and it was amazing to sit in our room with the window open and watch everything go by. Everything about the boat impressed us — the staff, the food — it was awesome. But our guide was the one who really made our experience memorable. He was un-be-liev-able. When the cruise was over, we both got a little teary eyed leaving him. He was an amazing, amazing person — just up for anything, super informative, a really, genuinely nice guy.
*Editor’s Note: The couple had a private guide from Nubia Tours throughout their tim
Tell us about your days on the Nile.
Our itinerary had a really nice cadence. I think in the beginning we were worried that we were going to have a lot of down time, but you forget how tired you feel when you’re going from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm every day. We visited Abydos, which was awesome, we did the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, we saw the Tomb of Nefertiti, and went to the Nubian Museum. Contrary to every other person that’s been to Egypt, we weren’t floored by Abu Simbel. It’s a bit of a trek and to us it didn’t feel necessary after five days of temple visits, but we’re still glad we did it.
Did any experience really stand out?
As crazy as it sounds, our favorite experience was a night spent with our guide in Luxor. We went to some random kebab spot in the market and we L-O-V-E-D it. We got to enjoy some really local cuisine, including some uniquely prepared pigeon, and a whole assortment of kebabs. It’s definitely not for everybody, but we were super, super pumped about it.
Do you have advice for other travelers heading to Egypt?
A lot of Americans have misconceptions about Egypt. There’s this overarching idea that it isn’t safe or that security is challenging. But we didn’t find that to be the case at all. Safety and security were not a issue whatsoever. I feel like we’re now the biggest proponents of visiting Egypt. We’d be happy to talk to anyone who’s thinking about going.
Where are you headed next?
Japan for the Tokyo Olympics!
*Editor’s Note: This trip has since been postponed due to COVID-19.
