Goals for Egypt

I have no idea why I felt that a trip to Egypt, a mere four months after the trip to China, might be a good idea.  It’s even more indefensible when you consider that the trip to China happened four months after the trip to Spain and Italy.  What is it about a really cheap airfare that knocks me senseless?

I am packed and ready to go though.  It seems like each time we travel, the airlines conspire to make progressively more unreasonable demands about our carry-on luggage limitations.  I long for the days of yore…Alaska Air and 23 inches x 10 inches, Delta with about the same.  No weight limit. Instead we hit Ryan Air in April with a 22 pound limit and 21x15x7.8 on the dimensions plus one small additional carryon.  And I did it.  It was fine.  And so the airlines felt compelled to push me further and demanded I pack in a single bag with no additional tiny little travel purse.  And then, just in case I felt cocky enough to take it on, Egypt Air decreed that my one and only bag weigh under 17 pounds and be 21x15x7.8.  I don’t know what they’ll ask of me next time but they’re cutting off their nose to spite their face here at some point as Ron addressed these stringent packing limitations by choosing to bring only TWO pairs of underwear for a 12 day trip.

I remember what most of you said when I announced the China trip – mild curiosity and a few questions about “Why China” (see conversation above about cheap airfare).  The Egypt trip has resulted in far more curiosity/moderate alarm and many comments to “Be careful”.  But we’ve done our research and feel that travel to Egypt is no more perilous than travel to anywhere else these days although we do not plan to venture out on our own much.  The financial crisis in Egypt has enabled us to travel in greater comfort than normal (compare to trip I planned around the southern US where my lodging budget was under $50 per night) and so you’ll find us at the Four Seasons in Cairo and we have hired a private guide to tour us around the various cities.

Hopefully we will stand out less this way and Ron has promised not to wear his “zip off” REI shorts (although I think this means he’ll instead be wearing the same shorts with the legs “zipped on”) and he will be leaving the fluorescent walking shoes home.  As long as no one is tipped off by the purple Torrey Pines golf course shirt, we should be set.

My main goal for this trip is to prevent Ron from waving around his credit card in random gift shops.  Many of you (curious?  malevolent? ) have asked if Ron plans to make another major purchase in the vein of the Terra Cotta Warrior purchase from China.  It pains me to think about it.  It seems similar to the promise I extracted from him not to purchase a car without my presence two years ago – he still somehow came home with that Audi.  When confronted, he makes very vague retired  hospital administrator jokes/demurrals about Sphinxes.  So I dunno.  I’m worried.  Anything he plans on carting home in that luggage, though, will definitely require that he pitch the two pairs of underwear and a few other items.

I’ll talk to you all from Cairo.