help and advice from egypt veterans
Jul 28th, 2010, 07:44 AM
#1
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help and advice from egypt veterans
my wife and i are on our 4th trip to egypt this year we have been all over this beautifull country from luxor to aswan,cairo,alexandria,sharm,rosetta,memphis,saqua rra and more any body needing advice or recommendations of guides , cruises etc we will do our best to help.
Jul 28th, 2010, 10:30 AM
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Dave - you already have a thread going JUST like this one and it has some outstanding questions on it that people are waiting for your answers to. Why don't you just keep that one going and answer those first?
Jul 28th, 2010, 06:05 PM
#4
Yes , it is Cairo and not cairo
No I am not being picky !
No I am not being picky !
Jul 30th, 2010, 07:38 AM
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Casual_Cairo we only started this new thread 'cos we could not see our last one, due to being out of action on the computer. The bane of internet at times virus. Think it's ready for a service.
Take care!
Take care!
Jul 30th, 2010, 05:14 PM
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Dave, im confused a little. Is your posts not just creating a sub forum within a forum but without any paragraphs
Wouldnt it be better to just answer people's questions in each of their individual posts like em eh a forum??
Sorry, but if you answer peoples questions all in the one posting it can become confusing and also shows how many times you mention the same travel agent / guide in the one posting.
I counted quite a few just in your first sub forum for the same person. You have to be careful that your bumping of your subforum is not seen as just for advertising your friends agency? Just a thought.
I know you are extremely helpful on here and that you have some excellent answers for people but just watch that you dont get your posts deleted for continually bumping your post with your a's etc and your mentionning of the company so many times in one post.
We all have our favourite agents Dave - you know I have recommended one myself a few times, but your sub forum is just full of blatant advertising for your fav.
Just a thought - now I will hush ma mouth
Scotsgirl
Wouldnt it be better to just answer people's questions in each of their individual posts like em eh a forum??
Sorry, but if you answer peoples questions all in the one posting it can become confusing and also shows how many times you mention the same travel agent / guide in the one posting.
I counted quite a few just in your first sub forum for the same person. You have to be careful that your bumping of your subforum is not seen as just for advertising your friends agency? Just a thought.
I know you are extremely helpful on here and that you have some excellent answers for people but just watch that you dont get your posts deleted for continually bumping your post with your a's etc and your mentionning of the company so many times in one post.
We all have our favourite agents Dave - you know I have recommended one myself a few times, but your sub forum is just full of blatant advertising for your fav.
Just a thought - now I will hush ma mouth
Scotsgirl
Jul 31st, 2010, 10:57 AM
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Scotsgirl
Never even occured to me that I was advertising. I just know that GOOD GUIDES are few and far between in Cairo. To be honest we have had some crap ones there. Whilst on the cruises the caliber of guide has been much better compared to alot in Cairo. When you find something that you trust and fulfills the criteria a tourist needs then you go with it. I would never recommend otherwise.
Never even occured to me that I was advertising. I just know that GOOD GUIDES are few and far between in Cairo. To be honest we have had some crap ones there. Whilst on the cruises the caliber of guide has been much better compared to alot in Cairo. When you find something that you trust and fulfills the criteria a tourist needs then you go with it. I would never recommend otherwise.
Aug 1st, 2010, 01:58 AM
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Dave, OK, we all get it that you aren't advertising for your guide buddy here, although more than one link to alaatour7's website BY YOU in one thread gets a bit excessive. If Gcrxx or Percy or anyone else ONLY over and over put in a link to my site on the same thread, wouldn't you think that was over the top?
The thing is, you didn't address the other main concern of Scottsgirls post about starting a forum within a forum. Did you understand that? I think she is right. You have valid information, but this is a forum for everyone to ask questions and for anyone to answer or give advise. For you to start a "sub forum" within the Fodors Egypt forum tends to be a bit odd. I guess you can do it, but it does lend itself to others not answering the peoples questions because that is "Dave's" thread. (A bit like someone butting in on Dear Abby's advice if she had a forum) I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way. People have posted questions and you haven't been back for months to answer them and then when you did come back, all you did was the trick to bump the thread to the top again. Awkward! Answering the outstanding questions would have had the same effect.
Here's a suggestion - why don't you make your email address more available and if people want only your opinion on a subject, they can write to you about it? Otherwise, join in with everyone elses advise when a question is asked that you feel you have information to offer. The way it is, you are being asked questions you don't know the answers to and those people are not getting answers.
Am I wrong?
The thing is, you didn't address the other main concern of Scottsgirls post about starting a forum within a forum. Did you understand that? I think she is right. You have valid information, but this is a forum for everyone to ask questions and for anyone to answer or give advise. For you to start a "sub forum" within the Fodors Egypt forum tends to be a bit odd. I guess you can do it, but it does lend itself to others not answering the peoples questions because that is "Dave's" thread. (A bit like someone butting in on Dear Abby's advice if she had a forum) I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way. People have posted questions and you haven't been back for months to answer them and then when you did come back, all you did was the trick to bump the thread to the top again. Awkward! Answering the outstanding questions would have had the same effect.
Here's a suggestion - why don't you make your email address more available and if people want only your opinion on a subject, they can write to you about it? Otherwise, join in with everyone elses advise when a question is asked that you feel you have information to offer. The way it is, you are being asked questions you don't know the answers to and those people are not getting answers.
Am I wrong?
Aug 5th, 2010, 05:08 PM
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No you are right casual cairo
Dave, I understand that you just want to share what you have learned from the hard way but have a wee visit back over your thread and count how many times you put that email address in or you correct it etc. I think you will be surprised yourself.
Also if you dont have great internet access then people shouldnt be waiting for info back from you, some people need an answer back quickly and so if they post their own message then they will be answered by whomever is in or around at that time.
May I suggest that perhaps you start your own blog or something? You have a lot of good information that might be of use in a blog type scenario, that way you could have the focus on your thoughts without any delay to anyone's questions
Dave, I understand that you just want to share what you have learned from the hard way but have a wee visit back over your thread and count how many times you put that email address in or you correct it etc. I think you will be surprised yourself.
Also if you dont have great internet access then people shouldnt be waiting for info back from you, some people need an answer back quickly and so if they post their own message then they will be answered by whomever is in or around at that time.
May I suggest that perhaps you start your own blog or something? You have a lot of good information that might be of use in a blog type scenario, that way you could have the focus on your thoughts without any delay to anyone's questions
Aug 5th, 2010, 05:13 PM
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Also Dave, you say that good guides in Cairo are few and far between. How many did you try before you went with the one that you recommend? and if they were bad perhaps it would be good for everyone if you let us know who they were so that new people to Fodors know whom to avoid.
Aug 6th, 2010, 09:27 PM
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I just want to say that good and bad guides is a very subjective thing. I have a number of Egyptologists that work for me, and in my mind they were all hand picked and are all exceptional, but there are some that people don't click with and didn't like. But, for everyone that didn't like one, I can show you probably 3-5+ emails from people that LOVED him. If you say a guide is not good, please explain why you didn't like the guide. Was his English no good or knowledge questionable? Was he disinterested in you and what you wanted to see? Were you frightened of him, or was he pushy? If you can give us some more to go on than just saying he wasn't a good guide, that will help quite a bit. I do my best, when I have the choice to put a guide with a client that I think will click for what ever reason, and I get very lucky most of the time, but if personalities don't click it can be less fun.
Aug 7th, 2010, 11:59 AM
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<<Are shorts for women or men to the knee acceptable... if not what is... will be in Egypt in early November. tks>>
Only on the Nile cruises and at the beach resorts. For other locations.....
Women/girls - cover shoulders, chest, and knees. Long loose pants or flow-y skirts and loose, comfortable tops are best.
Men/boys - long pants are best.
My DH and sons liked the kind of pants that zipped off at the knee. That way - they could zip-off/zip-on as needed. My sons would wear the long pants to the Cairo airport and zip off the bottoms as soon as we were in the air. On the return trip, they would wear the shorts and zip-on the bottoms just before landing in Cairo.
Remember, even in November it can be quite warm/hot during the day. But at night the temps do drop, so a lightweight sweater or shawl is handy.
Only on the Nile cruises and at the beach resorts. For other locations.....
Women/girls - cover shoulders, chest, and knees. Long loose pants or flow-y skirts and loose, comfortable tops are best.
Men/boys - long pants are best.
My DH and sons liked the kind of pants that zipped off at the knee. That way - they could zip-off/zip-on as needed. My sons would wear the long pants to the Cairo airport and zip off the bottoms as soon as we were in the air. On the return trip, they would wear the shorts and zip-on the bottoms just before landing in Cairo.
Remember, even in November it can be quite warm/hot during the day. But at night the temps do drop, so a lightweight sweater or shawl is handy.
Aug 7th, 2010, 01:07 PM
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Men in the middle east do not wear shorts - to them it is like wearing underwear. Even young boys do not wear shorts.
Will you see men wearing shorts? Of course. Just like you will see women in tank tops and short skirts. But it is not considered appropriate, especially in Cairo. However, as I stated above, on the Nile cruises and at the beach resorts, shorts are fine.
Will you see men wearing shorts? Of course. Just like you will see women in tank tops and short skirts. But it is not considered appropriate, especially in Cairo. However, as I stated above, on the Nile cruises and at the beach resorts, shorts are fine.
Aug 8th, 2010, 04:46 AM
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tks Grcxx3 now all I have to do is find some light cotton slack for myself, & My husband is on his own. I don't have a clue where to shop for such things. I'm outside of Philadelphia, Pa. I almost stop some ladies at Walmart the other day that where from the middle east dressed in the pants and tops that i wish I could find. Next ladies I see I will ask them where they shop... Egypt will be exciting But Europe is so much easier... again thanks
