peek for this week's episode.
think Hyrule should be on everyone's bucket list.
And I'm Melissa. And we are the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoy it as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our first-hand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on Earth. In this week's episode, we are starting to plan a trip to Cairo, Egypt later this year. Egypt is a destination that we've been wanting to visit for a long time, that we've been wanting but to visit for a long time, we haven't done any research yet. but we haven't done any research yet. Fortunately, we know someone who's been there and we're excited to learn what we need to know before going. Join us as we discover what to do, what to expect, and where to stay while in Cairo. Pack your bags and get ready
in the recording studio. You know, we did a lot of work leading up to our trip, but now we're back here and recording again. And, you know, we had a great time with our family as we traveled to Europe and got to experience the eyes of travel through young kids and family. So it was just a really good trip.
Yeah, it really was amazing. I'm so thankful that they asked us to, you know, come along. And, you know, a lot of it is just to help navigate. That would be it would be a lot to to do you that, with young know, kids you and, rental know, cars and trains and all that But I stuff. think everybody did. Everybody did phenomenal. I really think that the kids did maybe exponentially better than I thought that they would. They just really rose to the occasion. And what's funny is that here we are. We are 22 hours or so traveling home, three flights. And the two-year-old is like, I want to get on another airplane. We're just like, we want to go to bed. He was, you know, we're going to go. And he'd had some, you know, sleep on the plane. But I would just say to anybody, if you ever have the opportunity to do this, I mean, it doesn't matter if it's to Disney World or if it's a cruise or if it's something to Europe like we did or whatever. If you have the opportunity to take a trip with your family, then do it. Make it happen. Because I think those memories, when I think about those memories and then also other trips that we have done. That is some of the best memories that we have. And so stay tuned because in the episodes to come, we are definitely going to share more and then share some more tips. We've already started writing out some content and some blog content where we really started thinking about what were some of the things that we did on this trip to, you know, help it be a success. So we'll share that really soon. Yeah, we
a lot of content coming up. So I don't
I don't
about you, but I can't believe that we're almost in May already.
Yeah, I can't either. I mean, thinking about, you know, it seems like, oh, April just started, but I mean, now we're halfway through. And so, yeah, it'll be May and we'll be talking about summer destinations and, you know, everybody will be on their summer travels. And our daughter said, man, then the summer seems to slip by and you're just like, wait, back up. Like it hasn't even started yet, but it really does seem to go fast. And so just, you know, as you plan that, and one thing I try to do on the trip is just take a deep breath and just say, oh my gosh, like, be in the moment and savor the moment. Here we are in London and just taking all that in, because that is something that we had wanted to do with the kids. The kids had read little storybooks about the London Eye and stuff. They've been talking about
talking about the London Eye since they could talk.
Right. They have. And so just thinking about like we're actually here, we're actually on the London Eye. We are in Germany, you know, with the exchange family that you've known forever. And thinking about the little one roads being the same age as when we took Carrie the first time and just taking a pause and just soaking that in. And so when you travel, just taking the time to do that and then just thinking we're in Greece and we're in these beautiful places and just taking some time to just be present in the moment.
I think I'm going to have to cut you off because those are future episodes for us. off because those are future episodes for us. And so to bring it back in, you know, before we left, we talked about booking our travel and going to Africa for a safari later this year. And one of the things that we did is we booked a trip to Cairo as kind of our positioning to get into Africa. as kind of our positioning to get into Africa. So we today, want to talk a little bit about Cairo. you this is something we don't But, really know, have any experience with this. As we
what you know about Cairo. and Yes, actually, this came about because we're actually talking with our guest today on another trip that we were on. You were on a trip for work that I got to come along on. And just in some downtime and some free time, she was talking about going to Cairo. And so she is someone who has been to tons of places. You mentioned somewhere and she was like, oh, yeah, we went there. And as you'll learn here, it was actually part of a bigger trip for her as well. And so I have a couple of other things as right before we jump into this that I wanted to say. You mentioned in the intro that this is somewhere that had been on our bucket list. I think that Cairo is one of those places that is just on your bucket list. I don't know that it was on our listed bucket list where we have it, where we took off. Would you agree? I don't think that Egypt or Cairo is on there, but I think that Cairo is one of those places where it's just like, that is on your list, right? Because that's one of the things that you want to see.
I'm trying to think back. We're going to have to pull up the picture of our chalkboard wall, and I'm trying to remember if Egypt was on there in the pyramids, because I think you're right. Everybody's like, oh yeah, I'd love to see the pyramids. Yeah. Right?
And I don't know. Second thing is, I don't know if we have talked about this, how this booking this Cairo part came about.
we talked about this? Yeah, we talked about it in the travel hack.
Okay. So you'll have to go listen to the travel hack to see why in the world then we're going to Cairo.
let's get started and jump straight into the interview with Tanya. Today, we are joined by a friend of ours and my coworker, Tanya. I didn't realize that Tanya was such an avid traveler until one Monday we were sitting around talking, and she made a trip to Spain or somewhere like that over the weekend for a quick celebration. And so that's when I knew that Tanya was definitely a traveler. Welcome to the show,
Do you remember
conversation that we were having?
Yeah, I do remember that conversation.
where it was you had gone? Because I was like, you don't just go there for the weekend.
Spain is one of my favorite places, especially Barcelona and Malaga. Both of those places in Spain are my favorites. So I do frequent those places a lot.
we love Barcelona ourselves.
Yeah, we love Spain. So we wanted
to talk to you because you've been to a location that's on our bucket list, which is Cairo, Egypt.
Well, let's back up for a second. So, Tanya, you have traveled a lot. You have been to a lot of places. And as we have spent time together, we've talked about a lot of those places. You had given us some recommendations for Aruba, and we had specifically asked you, should we go to the Flamingo Beach? And so we were just chatting and said, you know what? We need to have you on the podcast. You have traveled to so many places. And we kind of said, okay, where do you want to talk about? We had sort of thrown around the idea of Southeast Asia. And then I guess probably the next day is when all of a sudden, instead of going to Morocco, when we go on the safari, here we are out of the blue going to Egypt. And when we spent time together, I guess back last fall, you had told me all about your trip to Egypt. And when we spent time together, I guess, back last fall, you had said, you had told me all about your trip to Egypt. And so I was like, oh, we've got to get some more details from Tanya specifically about Egypt. So that's kind of how this particular conversation came about. Yes.
So that's exactly how it unfolded, Melissa. Because you were like, have you been to Asia? And I told you about so korea singapore phuket like those places that i have been and then uh then you mentioned egypt you mentioned cairo and i was like oh but there too yeah and then i told you about we have been in in that region oh you're exactly right
this something that was on your bucket list or did you just you know it's one of those trips where you're kind of in the region and so you decided
to pop into Cairo, 25 years. So they have been high school sweethearts and they have kids and family and things like that. And they wanted to renew their vows in Cairo. And so we're like, oh, yeah, oh, we'll be there. Like, we were excited to be a part of the celebration and things like that. So it was to celebrate them, and it was also to check it
our list. We got to get better friends, Melissa. Ours only invite us down to Savannah.
true. That is really cool like first of all i've never heard of anybody like saying we're gonna go to to cairo to to do this and yeah we get to go along that is really awesome
so they they toured other places other regions and things like that in egypt but so we only like majority of the friends came on the Cairo part and then celebrated with them, renewed the vows. We had the renewal at the hotel that they selected. And then they went on to tour other parts of that region. And then we extended the trip to go to other places and that's that's how we landed in uh casablanca and marrakesh after we left each after we left cairo sounds
that you travel like we do yeah
I'm not going to spend that much time on the plane and not go and explore other places. Like I'm not going to do it.
true. And that's exactly how, I mean, most people would be like, wait a minute, you're going on African safari, but you're going to go to Egypt first? Like it's not just African safari enough. So here we are. So yes, that sounds very much like us well
several times when we were in lisbon the one time we were at the rock of gibraltar right and i just said it's right there let's just go across
the way Egypt is as well. It's just right there.
Yeah.
on getting
was for us to come from Atlanta to go to JFK. JFK. So the first stop was Tel Aviv. We're going to go to Tel Aviv, and Tel Aviv has this beat scene that's supposed to be like Miami, and everybody was enjoying it and things like that. And this travel season was, well, when that happened, when was it? The year before last. It was a heavy travel season. So literally, we were at JFK. Our flight was to Tel Aviv to meet our friends. It was not supposed to leave out to like 11 PM or something like that. It's a late flight going out of JFK. And the plane came and we were boarding and stuff like that. The plane came and we were boarding and stuff like that. And the aircraft crew said they were tired and they didn't want to fly anymore.
wow. Oh, What
They were done. They were like, no, we're not, we're not doing
are you flying by chance? That was
That was her.
Okay. All right.
her.
explains a lot.
to deplane. We were on the flight.
Oh, wow.
At JFK.
So, so we had to deplane which we did and we were waiting for our bags and things like that and then because it was so late we tried to find a hotel we didn't and we were waiting for our bags. We spent
night in the
night in the airport. The hotels were booked and things like that. So this is not the first time like JFK and that region didn't have any rooms. So we had to change our flight. So we ended up, I don't know, I realized I had with one of my credit cards, I realized I had like going to one of the, I don't even know what you call those things. Lounges? Yeah, one of the lounges was one of my credit cards. So we did that and we so we got our bags, went to one of the lounges and went out the next day but we end up going to Athens instead of Tel Aviv so we didn't make it to Tel Aviv so Tel Aviv was supposed to be a day for us to like just hang out at the beach and and like enjoy ourselves and stuff like that so we didn So we missed that part. And so Tel Aviv was also on my bucket list.
Yeah.
I didn't get to do that. But our friends did because of how we decided to travel. We didn't get to do Tel Aviv. So we went through Athens, which we had already been to, but I love it. Food is great. Oh, my God. The time we spent in Greece is amazing. So I wasn't opposed.
actually spent a day or so there on the way then still? Yeah.
So we had to change our flights to Greece and spent the night in Greece. So we only had one day. And then we met up with everyone in Cairo.
And then
so you know, I just read recently that Virgin is announcing flights from the UK to Israel for 28,000 round trip, 28,000 miles. If you can get over to Europe, 28,000 miles on Virgin.
You can go
can go to Israel.
I've never traveled on Virgin. Have you, wise?
Yeah, we fly Virgin often. We fly Virgin often. We're going to the UK. We're going to the UK. So we're going to London. So we're
So we're going to London. So we're going to London. It'll be a Delta but it'll flight, it'll be, well, be purchased like, sorry, on but it'll actually
It'll be a Delta but it'll flight, it'll be, well, be purchased like, sorry, on but it'll actually Delta, end up being a Virgin flight. Yeah.
end up being a Virgin flight. Yeah.
Like your plans
exactly. Yes, Virgin is very nice. It's a very good experience. Yeah. If you have an opportunity to do that.
let's talk a little bit about Cairo. And what should we do while we're in Cairo?
So in Cairo itself, I think probably three days is enough.
Okay. And I think that's pretty much what we are going to have. I think it's like five nights, but one of them is really we won't get there till the next morning. So I think that's what we are gonna
nights, but one of them is
five nights but one of them is really we won't get there till the next morning so i think that's what we have
perfect so it's not beautiful that's one but when i when i think about beauty i think about the structure and the architecture and so i'm a such a nerd i I do tech and I like architecture. So I was going to do either or. So I was either going to do what I do, which is tech, or I was going to be an
Interesting. Yeah. And
did you know that you were actually going to be a technical architect then?
So I'm a technical architect,
be a technical architect then so i'm a technical architect apparently so cairo is not oh it's so beautiful oh it's so this is no it is oh my god where have i landed okay that's good to know yeah
seen those
So it's when you land in and we had a handler or whatever Cairo, you want to call them. driver, I don't even know the correct name to say. In the we did our visas and things like that. airport, And so they helped us with that. And I can give you his name. His name is Adam. I Actually, was on WhatsApp with him this week. And so you have to have a visa. So he helped out with that process. And he was our driver and things like that. And then I realized once we got once we exited the airport, I realized why we had needed that. This is not somewhere you want to drive, rent a car and have someone who like and try to maneuver yourself. This is something you want to have a handler or a driver, whatever they call themselves. And so is
of like landing in India? I haven't been
been to India, but probably yeah. So then when you get out of the airport and you see the streets and it's camels, it's poverty, and it's not good. And then like half of the building is blown away and half of the building is people are living in it. And it's despair. So you see all of that. And you're like, oh, my. That part of it. But then you see the glory of what you envisioned as far as the history of the place. And it's magical. And when you check into your hotel, I mean, they have heavy security check-ins into the hotels. They have heavy security anywhere tourists are going to go. So it has to be for a reason, right? And not to make us feel important, but I'm thinking it has to be for a reason, right? And not to make us feel important, but I'm thinking it has to be for a reason. So, and that's the part of the region that people don't tell you about, that you need someone to, when you're going and coming, that knows the area to take you back and forth because it's really not a safe city but it's beautiful if that makes sense
absolutely so you really see the juxtaposition i guess you know in the travel experience but then also just knowing i mean it was one of the things that we talked about when we did our episode on Morocco. Ashlyn, the young lady that we interviewed, really said the same thing, is that they felt more comfortable. They traveled a lot throughout the country, that they just felt more comfortable having that driver, that handler to just be there to help them, to teach them about the culture. So I guess that's really one thing too, is then that you have somebody to ask questions of and to really learn more about than you would if you were on your own. Would you agree with that?
I would agree with that, but I'm going to just say that I don't think I would have felt safe if we didn't have
Okay.
That is good to know.
And Marrakesh as well. I felt safe
I mean, I can tell you from traveling to India many times myself, it was always better when we had a local with us and someone who was there as our guide and kind of looking after us and understanding. And then, you know, the times where we kind of ventured out on our own, we kind of wished we had a local
Yeah. So the person that you're talking about, that may be somebody that we want to, if you could share that information with us, we've had one, another person who has shared a couple of people, but of course they may be tied up just so that we can, you know, have a contact. No,
actually I went on WhatsApp and I, I pinged him and told him that you all were coming over with your family. And I told him that I was recommending him. His name is Adam. It's probably American name, but his English was great. He talked about places that typically people want to hit that's on their bucket list. But he also was open to, hey, what do you guys want to do? What have you researched? And things like that? So he was great in that aspect. So it wasn't about, hey, I'm going to take you to the typical places. It was, I want to take you to the typical places and that's the pyramids and tombs and all that kind of stuff. But it was also, do you want to go on a nile do you want to do this do you want to do that and and so he catered it to us like i said i'm such a nerd so we end up going to the so in cairo and i don't know how to pronounce it the type pipist paper the art uh the paper that they
the art uh the paper that they do their iris pot yeah pyrus so he took us to a place that shows you how to to how they make it the paper and they put the art on there and the ink and stuff like that and and some of the ink glows in the dark it depends so i like brought we brought artwork back and i don't have it in the background now because i haven't got frames for it and if you can travel with it on your journey and stuff like that and i did and i brought it home so like different stuff so we went to that museum and the artwork was so beautiful oh god yeah
to know yeah and that's good that you know you see the things that you know you kind of are there to see but then to have some other suggestions and recommendations yeah let's talk about
and recommendations yeah let's talk about what are those things that you're there to see. So, you know, you kind of mentioned the pyramids and the tombs, but tell us a little bit more about that, because I think most people, when they think Egypt, that's what they're thinking about. And they want to hear about that experience.
yeah. So we probably, so like I said, we were there, I think three days and two whatever nights, we had dinner and stuff like that. But going and going to see the pyramids. of So, they course, have tourist You can stuff. like go there by chariot. You can ride camelback, which I didn't do. I was like, I'm not getting ready to get on the camel's back with those little ankles i'm not i was not getting ready to have that camel take me up the road to the yeah i didn't do that part and so i did go by chariot but oh wow well to the pyramids and chariot but oh wow well to the pyramids and so the pyramids were beautiful and they they tell you about the history of each pyramid and i'm not going to so i don't know if i tell you too much and then you already know so there's a history you got to give
to give us enough to make people want to go.
to go. So there's a history around the size of the pyramids. That's what I'm going to say. Okay. Without saying.
Oh, this is probably exactly the conversation my son-in-law and I were having this past weekend about how it's just amazing that these, the blocks in the pyramid are like within millimeters of you know being identical to one another like how did they do this without modern equipment and tooling and stuff like that oh
like how did
my god my hands so there's a history around the sizes so i'll i'll leave that and i won't say why. We went into tombs on some of the sites where we literally had to like crawl into. And then when you get into that and then the strips on the wall tell the story about what happened. And the hieroglyphics and the colors and things like that. and the hieroglyphics and the colors and things like that. And they talk as you about, can see oh, it was war. here, They were trying to survive for and food, they killed the animal.
It was an entire story written on the wall. It was magical.
Were you not though, afraid, that something would attach to you and go back home with you? That's why I'm afraid to go to haunted houses. I'm afraid something's...
Actually, I have a ghost. No, I do. And it turns on lights and everything and open up drawers and I'm like, what is going on? But he's friendly, so I'm not going to talk about that on this podcast.
So did it come back with you from Cairo?
Oh, Scott.
moving.
into these spaces and things like that and you look at what was what's chiseled on these walls as far as hieroglyphics and stuff like that and art and stuff like we consider art where they're literally telling their story and oh my god it's amazing it's it's
my god
let me tell you that so what what time of the year
did you go
okay so this
will be the end of september early october so kind of well it was not the same as on the opposite end of when you went maybe i don't know
listen when i say it it's hot don't even try to be cute try to be comfortable it's the thing and i'll i'll say i've
already warned her tanya i was like, you get two outfits for
Yeah.
I had on my Banana I don't even Republic, know what they call these pants and shirts and try to be lightweight and I want to be cute. I was all sweated Like, out.
I had my hat on and
was hot. It was hot. So we definitely went in Africa summer, Egypt summer. Yeah. And, but going into these places, like it was, I don't know, like, like I said, I keep saying that I'm such a nerd. So I kept having these magical and spiritual
when the people would tell the stories of the hieroglyphics on the wall, and they were like, don't touch it. We couldn't touch it or anything like that. But we could take pictures. And probably everything was probably in three colors but the detail of what was notated in these tombs and things like that was amazing it was it was beyond my expectations bucket list doesn't pay like everyone should experience egypt and the tombs and the pyramids and the sphinx and everything i
for us we we just honestly cannot comprehend how old you know these places are and and what they what they did in in that time period i think for us it's just it's hard to fathom let me ask you this is, so when you go to these places, do they already have like the tours are set up? So like you plan to visit,
it's just
then they already have tours that go through that tell you about them or how does that work?
Yeah, so pretty much our, the guy who picked us up from the airport who did help us with our reasons and stuff like that. He was our guide the entire time. So he had a van that would come and pick us up and do all that stuff. But he was not the storyteller. The people there was the storyteller. And so when we would visit these places, kind of like take us down and and go through everything
it's like it was in ecuador that you had to have you know a certified yeah naturist or or whatever naturalist or whatever or the certified tour guides and so like the guy driving you he's just he knows where to take you he knows how to get you around he knows how to keep you out
of trouble
trouble yeah
yeah but
when you get into these historic places they're going to have somebody you know like at the remember at the equator museum that we went to and
we went
had the students there that were studying to be certified tour guides or whatever right and so i bet you it's something similar
to that okay it is similar scott then he leaves it to the people who
and so did did adam so did he organize like tickets for you to get in and like take care of all that stuff for you? Or is that something you had to book ahead of time or?
Or is that something you had to book ahead of time or? No. So he just told us like how much money. So we did that before we even left, like how much we're going to need today, like and pay already ahead of time. So we didn't have to do that at the exhibit or at the place we were going to he was like okay it's the number and this is the cost and and we would go in so we never had to do that at the place okay we already knew the cost ahead of time.
So good question. And we always wonder this when traveling is, so Adam, can you like, you know, I don't want to say Venmo, maybe they don't have Venmo, but you know, something like that, or do you need to have cash? What do you need to do when you have these guides like this?
So no, they take modern payments, whether it's Cash App or Zelle and stuff like that. So we never had to do cash. The only time we gave him cash is at the end of our visit collectively, 2, 4, 6, 8, it was 10 of us. And we wanted to tip him at the end of our trip.
of our
did that at cash. We made sure that that was his money. And we did that at cash. Like whatever we had left over, plus some, we tipped him.
Yeah.
So tell
tell us a little bit about how did you plan the activities that you wanted to do? You know, before you left to go over there, what were some of the resources that you used to kind of plan your trip out?
Yep. So, like I said, we were there for a vow of renewal. So they did it at a hotel. Then we had pictures. And then we had dinner. I think I sent you all the hotel for the marriott that's the hotel
hotel we booked
my god it's so the grounds are amazing so i don't did i send you the picture with the pyramids like in our backdrop and everything so it's beautiful. And I want
for you guys. So we did book a pyramids view room.
they do at night is apply the pyramids. They have really monetized the experience for people and the pyramids. So they've put modern technology around the pyramids so you can see them at night. So when you have that pyramid view, you're going to have a view of the pyramids and it's going to be uplit. Oh, nice. Oh, my God. So when you walk out on your terrace, you're going to
we'll Well, get to the hotel
Oh, okay.
You were going over there. You're planning the trip. You're trying
So we also did what we haven't gotten to outside of the pyramid. So we did the Nile. We did boat tour of the Nile, but it was a small piece of the Nile. It was like a dinner cruise or something like that. And whereas the, like I said, the people that were renewing their vows they stay they had a nile trip planned or whatever it goes as long as that what we experienced experienced on our dinner cruise so we did do the dinner cruise on now i would say the the food was okay but they had entertainment and the on the Santa Cruz was everything. One of my friends participated and she was dressed up and spinning and doing her thing. And so we were in full participation. So what we do, like whatever we do, we participate. I love that. Yeah. So when they call, when they like, hey, who's going to come up or who's going to join? We're those people.
when they
So you guys maybe that. Yeah.
you guys maybe that. Yeah. So Melissa, does that mean that you're going to belly dance then on the cruise?
Definitely going to be the person. Yeah. I guess I'm going to be the person. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, so like I said, we, we only did three days and it was definitely enough. So you don't want to spend much time in Cairo because it's not beautiful, but you want to get out of Cairo, what you want to get out of Cairo. And then you want to leave because it's, it's kind of, you have like kids asking you for money. It's very destitute.
It's very
Like it's dirty and gringy and it feels kind of unsafe. So you want to do what you want to do and get out of there, which we did. Yeah. So I was glad that it was a short part of our trip. So I was glad that it was a short part of our trip. But going down the Nile was nostalgic for me personally. And but it was just a portion of it. But they do have. So we did it in a cruise only. But they do have like Nile boat cruises and stuff like that that last longer. Seven,
ten days. Right right where you can spend the night and really visit yeah yeah where you
visit yeah yeah where you can spend a night and stuff like that so we didn't do that so we only did a dinner cruise because we were only there for a limited amount of time but the dinner cruise was so entertaining and what they had to offer was everything but don't expect like i said the food to be great or none so the food was good there but not on this boat okay so just
but really for the experience so you would say definitely
definitely it was about being on an aisle and just cruising and that type of thing but i i wouldn't say that i wouldn't well maybe i would raise this hand but as far as far as like the experience it was a 10 because i like for people to put on a show and show us, like, what do you guys do in Cairo? And they showed us. We had entertainment and stuff like that on the boat. And it was dancing and it was music and it was food and it was drinks and it was that type of thing.
So you get to experience a little bit of the culture, even though it's obviously put on for, you know, tourists, but it's. Yes. Yes. It was definitely
Yes. Yes. It was definitely put on for us, but I appreciate it. I loved it.
I was researching the other night, sunset cruises are very popular on the night.
So you can
you can do an all sunset cruise.
Yes. Yes. Okay. popular
Yes. Yes. Okay. popular on
can do an all sunset cruise yes yes okay so what we did and it was enough it was okay yeah
okay yeah
you want other places yeah
the papyrus museum we have the pyramids and the sphinx we need to do the sunset cruise the dinner cruise and so then so then what else should be on the list?
Oh, we didn't even get to the food. Outside of, which was not like on the tourist list, we asked them, we were like, so they're, funny enough, being where they are in Africa, you would think there are not big meat eaters and things like that, but they are. So they have restaurants that are authentic and the food is really good where you can go. It was actually outside of the pyramids. And he's like, this is not on the list of places to go. I was like, well, we're hungry. We want some good food. And we went to this restaurant that was definitely probably mom and pop and not beautiful but the food was delicious i don't even want to think about how they prepared it okay like you don't want to you don't want to know what they were doing in
i do know that egypt is one of those places where i've read people are like be very careful in what you eat don't don't eat like lettuce and stuff like that that's been washed with the water
been washed with the water no no yeah and
that's the
india as
washing the water so. And that's
the way it is in India as well. Yeah. Nothing washing the water. So I guess that's probably why we had a lot of meat and like all of the other sides and that accompanied the.
Baba Ganesh.
I didn't eat anything that had been washed in water because I know better. Being traveled, I don't even do it in any other region in Africa. So I would definitely do it in Egypt. So don't do that. And when you see things are wet and have been washed and served in like, we're girls. We like, oh, we're going to do a salad. No, don't do a salad.
No.
Yeah. For sure. Don't. The vegetables. No, no, no. Don't do it. Don't do it. Because, yeah, you're definitely going to be sick because they've washed it in the water. That is coming out of. Yeah.
Don't do it. Yeah. That's that's really good to know that's that's a great tip so now when you say this wasn't on the list meaning like y'all saw it and you're like we're hungry we're gonna go here and like it wasn't even on his radar
or no so so we were like don't don't take us to the tourist place we We were probably, so we were like, where do you go to eat? Don't take us to the tourist places. He was like, oh, I'll take you where I go to eat. And he took us where he goes to eat.
Okay. So this was a place that he was familiar with. But yeah, that's what we like to do too. Like, where do you, where is it that you go? To the tourist
yeah, that's what we like to do too. Like, where do you, where is it that you go? To the tourist place. we want Like, some good with but food. yeah that's what we like to do too like where do you where is it that you go to a tourist place like we want like we want some good food like we want to see mama cooking in the kitchen awesome yeah we do have
to be a little bit careful there melissa because you don't want to miss the safari no that's
that's true yeah yeah so tell us a
bit about the hotel because you evidently you stayed at the hotel where we're going to be staying. And it was funny because I looked on your list that you had sent us, I don't know, several weeks ago or something like that. And that hotel didn't stand out to me at the time because we weren't looking at Cairo. But then all of a sudden I saw the Marriott Minnehouse. And that is where we have booked our room for while we're staying in Cairo.
pictures of that hotel, even on their site, does it no justice.
love to hear that. The
grounds are beautiful. Like when I went on their website and looked, I'm like it's more beautiful than what they're presenting which
right?
like I should post their pictures from our trip oh my god the grounds are amazing the hotel is good like the rooms are amazing. The hotel is good. so Like, the rooms are a typical hotel, but as a hotel in its entirety
not staying there because the restaurants are great. The food is great at the hotel. You have terrific
have terrific views from what I can see. They
They have great views. I'm not sure why. When I look at the hotel pictures, I'm like, oh, yes, guys, I'm going to like this. They're going to be like, why are you recommending this place?
you know, it was funny because we were looking at, because we knew that we were going to use points to stay in Cairo. We got
in Cairo. We got Marriott
Marriott points. And we were looking at Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, right? In downtown Cairo. And quite honestly, we were almost like, well, this isn't a good redemption of points because you could book the room for a couple hundred dollars. But then all of a sudden this Marriott, the rooms are like, you know, five, six, $800 a night. And it's like, whoa, wait a minute. You know, what's the difference here?
So the Marriott Mena was everything, but I don't, I don't know why they don't have better pictures. Like, I really don't know why they don't have better pictures. I really don't know.
want you to really have that wow factor once you get there. Maybe
that's what I can do for them.
I'm even hesitant to send you all that because I didn't want you guys to go, really, Tanya? That's what you're sending me? When I was looking at the pictures that they had on the website, I'm like, Oh, Ooh, Oh, it's ugly. Like, but it is so beautiful
I think Melissa's sister had actually
even recommended it to us as well. And I showed Melissa, Oh, this was on Tanya's list. Yeah. Oh, I'm telling
you like is everything, but the picture, it doesn't did the pictures that they put on the website. Does it know Jess's like I have better pictures of the hotel than what's on there. That's interesting. Cause yeah, I recommend that. So going in now you have to definitely go past security. So like I said, whether you do the driver that I'll command or a driver, they have to get security checked. Everyone has to get security checked and clearance coming in and out, which I love. So you feel safe because, like I said, outside of the hotel, you don't feel safe. But it is more beautiful than a pictures could ever describe. And it was good.
would you say was your most memorable experience out of this trip? Crawling
into the tombs and getting soaked because i'm a i'm a nerd and just looking at the the hieroglyphics on the wall and it telling its story so and and that's me because that's me remember i either wanted to be an architect or I wanted to be in tech.
And I like what you said about it being. Yeah, I got my
And I like
I got my feel for when you guys go and I'm pausing here. I probably should be on video because I'm like literally. So when you guys go and to think that someone hand carved those things, like literally it was like, it was spiritual. It was emotional. It was, it invoked so many feelings in me to think about that in a time where we didn't have anything. Yeah.
We didn't have, you couldn't carve those things you in the attention to detail like i could stand there and i did stand there for like 10-15 minutes like oh my god look at this so i had so many oh my god look at this. So I had so many, oh my God, look
To the
let's let's go to the next one. Like, get, like, And I'm like, you guys don't know. This is so, like, I was the person who was taking it all in. And I'm like, someone with their hands and a chisel and hammer and they they did this yeah so it was magical to me so those that melissa that was me that was it for me so i just like oh let's take a selfie oh let's take a picture like I literally was like what was this person thinking at this time how artistic did you have to be to do this and it's so beautiful and like I could never do this like I was thinking so many things yeah
both were
were the best parts for me whether I had to crawl whether I had to walk down whether I had had to stand, like whatever the artifact was, it was amazing to me. And it's not made up. It's something that definitely took place during that time. And I was just overwhelmed by the how. Because I don't have it now I could like I type on a keyboard all day so I could barely write these days right imagine someone be able to chisel that into some stone it was it like I'm like oh my god this is amazing it's interesting
I feel like even though our technology has evolved so far our artistry and our craftsmanship and being able to do things like that by hand it just it doesn't exist anymore oh God.
oh God. I'm so glad this is on you guys' list. Like it is everything. Oh my God.
I'm like literally feeling it now and thinking back and getting but emotional, it is everything.
I imagine it's one of those places where you're there and you it's almost like it's just, surreal. Like you just, I can't believe that I'm actually here. Right. Because like, even, even from the time when you're a little kid, right, you see pictures of the pyramids and, you know, you see Egypt and stuff like that. I'm sure.
actually here.
Egypt and stuff
you have the people saying, telling you how to post pictures so you can get your pictures and stuff like that. So I have the picture jumping up. I have the picture like I'm picking up the pyramid and all that stuff because I know, I don't know, but to be in the prices. Oh my God.
Yeah, you have to get those. And it's so interesting that the way you described it too is that this is how they've recorded the history too, right? Like whatever was happening a war was happening
don't want to ruin it for you guys because you need to experience yourself but it definitely everything that's on those logs tells a story about what happened and your guide will tell you what happened and what that meant and it's amazing no
think that's good though to know like to have a little preface right like here's what you have to look forward to do some research read some stuff but then to actually go and and see that instead of just going into it and say, okay, what are we seeing? I
Hyrule should be shown every once in a while. That's
a pretty good recommendation. Yeah. Well, I don't think we captured, like, how many days do we really need for the pyramids and the Sphinx?
So you would recommend
recommend going back to the pyramids for three days? Going back to the pyramids
Yeah. Yeah. Like three is enough because I was definitely ready to go after the third day.
Probably two to three days then. But one trip out to the pyramids
to the pyramids
is not going to be sufficient.
No, because then there's other tombs and stuff that you need to see and you need to do the nile we can't go to egypt without the nile scott
yeah yeah
so you have to think about that part that's why i say at at a minimum three but i don't think i would have wanted to stay there longer than that and then we took a short flight into uh casablanca after we left there but we were there three days and i was ready to go okay
we're gonna have some time to spend at this beautiful hotel that she's talked so much
my god the grounds are so beautiful. Which
be good. Yeah. And
And the food was delicious at the hotel. Like, and I'm not typically a hotel. I'm not excited about Marriott hotel food. Well, we don't, we aren't
don't, we aren't either, but we usually talk about how it's a, it's usually a different experience, especially when you go out of the country you know when you're out of the u.s the hotel food is typically an experience yeah on
u.s the hotel food is typically
alarms um and i can't see you off those pictures i forgot i had those in my phone too and the food was delicious there that
be awesome yeah yeah yeah that would be great we would love to yeah We would love to. Yeah, we'd love to have those and be able to share those when we.
Yeah. But that's it. Like I was, I was like, okay, like where are we going next?
that's a great question because we like to end every interview with asking the same three questions.
So first,
what is the favorite place that you've ever visited?
Greece.
particular in Greece?
Yeah, Athens.
See, I felt the same way about Athens. So we're
Tanya. I'm an urban architecture person so Athens is city center it gives me the urban vibe vibe spray paint graffiti and stuff like that so I'm okay with Athens and so people like like Nika Noves and Ser Sarantini and all those, they're beautiful, don't get me wrong. But you asked me what I like in this Athens.
Athens. I've
I've taken, yeah, so flying to Athens and take a short flight to Mykonos and take the ferry to the other islands and stuff like that. I like Athens.
like We like that. Okay. Ashen. Okay. And then what are the top spots that are on your bucket list? So places you haven't been yet. So things are still there.
are still there. Yeah. And Japan is one of my places. Australia is another one of my places. So those are the two.
Two places that, yeah, on ours too, and two places that we have not been. And it seems like everybody is making
Two places that,
for Japan last year, this year as well.
Yeah. So those are my two places.
you been to Antarctica yet?
Oh, wait. I haven't been to Antarctica.? Oh, wait. I haven't been to Antarctica. I forgot about Antarctica.
So in 2026, we're planning a listener's trip to go to Antarctica. So you'll have to join us on that.
Scott, send me the details.
Well, we've got to start planning. We know that we really wanted to do it next year, but with us doing the safari in the fall, there just wasn't enough time in between doing the safari. And then, because usually you need to do those in like January, February, March, that timeframe. And so there just wasn't enough time for us to get that pulled together. So what we're looking at is that early part of So there just wasn't enough 2026. time for us to get that pulled together. So what we're looking at is that early part of 2026. So you can you saving
up, make sure you can go with us on that trip. Yeah. So this is we're hyping it up. our, yeah, This is our hype phase. And probably what I need to do is I need to go on our website and have a little thing where people can say, you know, I might be interested in going and everybody, you know, put in their email list or put in their email and so I can, you know, keep everybody updated. So we will definitely, you're on the list.
Melissa, and I don't know how it's going to look with me and Scott out at the same time.
Yeah, we'll cross that bridge.
I am there for sure okay well we're we're gonna save you a spot on there and then so our last question
going next i don't have a plan so
you plans you need plans please
please give me some plans so i don't have any plans for this year because you guys know my personal situation so last year i finalized my my divorce so i wasn't focusing on that because divorce is huge and a big financial thing yeah well, well, talk
us. Because I think... Let me know.
Let me know. I'll make it happen. Because I am... I cook at home, so I'm very frugal in my day-to-day because I would rather spend money on vacations, if that makes sense. Absolutely. But I don't have anything planned this year for that reason. Like I'm like, okay, I'm just recovering from this.
I think we can give you some ideas that fit within all kinds of ranges. So yeah,
it's not, yeah, it's not that I can't go. It's just that it wasn't on my mind for this year to travel.
Well, what I would say is go to sunshinetravelers.com. Look at all the
can, you know, give you the information that you need to go on any of those trips.
well, let me ask you a question real quick. So do you follow like some of the cheap flight alerts and things like that? And to where if you're just like okay now it's time i've got i've got to go somewhere i can you know book something cheap last minute so
i'm like oh my god but i
in the probably last eight to nine months haven't done so i haven't't been anywhere. It's kind of silly. Like, I've been working. Yeah, I've been working. Well, I've been working.
Well, keep saving up for Antarctica then. Yeah.
Okay. Well, thank you, Tanya. Can I just say something? I am almost certain that aliens built the pyramids. I wonder if we're going to find out the truth when we get there.
Why would you say that?
did they get these blocks to within millimeters of each other without modern equipment? And those hieroglyphics, I don't think they invented those. Those look like some kind of extraterrestrial language to me.
Maybe. And sometimes I wonder if all of our technology actually makes us less smart. Like that they were so smart because that they had to be right. They had to figure this out. So I don't know.
Well, we'll see. We'll see when we get there what they tell us.
I think we have a good start on planning this part of the trip. We do need to find a guide that can be our handler during this part of the trip. And I actually messaged one today that we've been talking to back and forth a little bit. He was recommended by our guest, John from Trippiamo that we interviewed in episode 47. John has literally been around the world and he highly recommended him, said he was the best guy that he has ever had. So I'm hoping that we can work that out.
me too. I mean, we tried to get in touch with him while we were traveling down in Aruba, and it just didn't work out. So I think now that we're back, and I think you found a way to find him on some, you know, WhatsApp or WhatsApp or whatever the name of those applications are, right, that we can get those conversations going. One of the things that I want to just point out is the reason that we really need a guide here, and this is true in lots of parts of the world. It's not just because we're going to Egypt, but there are certain parts of the world where it's just extremely helpful to have a local, someone that can help you navigate around the city, someone that can help you understand a very diverse culture, something that's completely different than ours, and then someone that can take you to all the places that you want to go to. And those pieces just make it beneficial to have someone help you. And so I don't think we would try to do this trip without a local. I don't think I would recommend to someone that you do it without a guide either. Yeah,
I think it's going to be so much more enjoyable for us, but also educational for us as well.
Yeah, I think this is going to pay off dividends. And, you know, quite honestly, our view is that no matter where you're visiting the world, you need to exercise situational awareness. So, you know, Tanya talked a little bit about that it was kind of scary. Well, I bet you could find that in lots of places in the U.S. as well. But I do think, though, that when you're traveling internationally, we're going to stick out as tourists. There's nothing that you and I can really do to totally blend in and not look like tourists. And so, therefore, we just need to always exercise that situational awareness, be aware of our surroundings, and not put ourselves into any harm's way. Yeah. And
I think you're right. I think that's true. I mean, that's true anywhere in lots of cities and things like that. But I think especially here, I think we'll get so much more out of the experience as well. And can I just
say one last thing on this? I did a lot of reading in the last few days about people, you know, oh, you're traveling into, you know, right in the middle of a conflict area. Remember when we went to Slovakia? Yes. I mean, we were 100 miles away from Ukraine or less than 100 miles from Ukraine, right? Just because you're going to an area that's in the region, I don't think you should just say that it's going to be a bad place. There are warnings, but those warnings are true no matter when you visit there.
Yeah, that's probably true. And of course, we will need to keep an eye on it and see how things, I mean, it's still a good ways away. But yeah, that's absolutely true. And when we visited Slovakia, the conflict in Ukraine had not been going on, you know, nearly as long as it has been now.
in a four or five star right? hotel, With lots of security. So I feel confident. And then add on top of that, that we're going to have a local guide, someone that's been vetted out by, you know, like John himself. And so I feel very comfortable in this. But one of the things that I have done a little bit of research on is what we're going to need to wear in Egypt. Now, I've already told you, you're very limited in what you can take from what I'm reading. They're very stringent on the weight of the bags when we get onto the safari part of the trip and you get in those little small planes where we go from one preserve to another. And so we've got to make sure that we're watching the weight of our bags so we can't take a lot of extra clothes. and I will Well, say that already both of the trips that we've got to make sure that we're watching the weight of our bags so we can't take a lot of extra clothes.
Well, and I will say that already both of the trips that we've done this year, I've still taken too much stuff and wished I had had less. That's definitely my goal.
All right. Well, we're going to talk about it later, but we have a packing list for the safari and I'm going to hold you to it. Sounds good. All right. So we're actually going to be going and visiting Cairo during the cooler part of their year. Tanya talked about how hot it was. And while I believe it'll still be warm, the average temperatures are like 55 overnight up to 90 degrees during the day. And that's going to be hot. So I think layers, you know, light layers that you can wear and then, you know, pants, that's going to serve us well. And one of the things that I saw is that it's not culturally normal to wear shorts outside of like beach resorts and stuff. So you're going to see most people wearing pants and then shirts, you know, guys, you can wear short sleeve shirts or long sleeve. You might want to wear the long sleeve for the sun protection. But, you know, that's the norm.
So, and you also have told me about when visiting religious sites, you need to be prepared or I need to be prepared to wear pants, long sleeves, blouses, and then probably take a scarf in the event that I need to cover my head. And then we're also going to want to definitely have a hat and sunglasses to keep the sun out of our eyes, but we'll need that for the safari as
well. Yeah. And, you know, I don't know yet what kind of potential religious sites or whatever we might be going to, but, you know, it's good to have that and be prepared. And these are things that won't take up a lot of room in your bag. And then I think if you do it smartly, these are things that
on the safari. Yeah, you could definitely use those as multi-purpose. So since it's going to be cooler, then I can try to be cute.
I also read a recommendation to keep small bills handy for things, you know, like tipping, which is greatly appreciated in Egypt. On one site that I read, I think the annual income for some of these tourist-type jobs, hotels, restaurants, things like that, somewhere between $800 to $3,000 per year. So, I mean, it's not a lot of money. And tipping is actually, in Egypt, it's part of their culture. And so, we just need to be prepared to have that available. Now, listen, I'm going to tell you, there's a lot of information out there on tipping in Egypt that I've been reading. Some places say they take the U.S. dollars. Matter of fact, on the Visit Cairo website that I went to, they talked about the U.S. dollars widely accepted across the country. But someone had posted that dollar bills are hard for them to exchange. And so, the minimum that they can exchange is $5. Now I read another site that said they, you know, someone was there just now and said they love the
$1 bill.
So, you know, I think the safe way is just to have small amounts of local Egyptian pounds available for tipping. And here are some guidelines that I had read. So for a tour guide, expect about $15 to $30 per day. And that would be someone who's with you like a handler all day long. It would be $15 to $30. Restaurants will normally include a service charge, but if they don't, 10 to 15%, it's greatly appreciated. The cleaning staff at hotels, honestly, I think this is one where we kind of fall down a little bit. But the equivalent of about two U.S. dollars per night in those Egyptian pounds is what is recommended. And then like bellhops, things like that, two to three dollars in Egyptian pounds. So the equivalent of two to three dollars. And that's
something that in our preparation and our pre-meetings with our tour guide, we can ask some of those questions as well, just so that we'll
Yeah. Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted throughout the country. And if you don't have a card that has no foreign transaction fees, go to sunshinetravelers.com. And we've got a couple of recommendations on there where you can look at a card that would meet your needs, but that doesn't have those foreign transaction fees. However, you should be aware that many businesses are going to add a 3% to 5% credit transaction fee to the total. So if you're trying to use a credit card, you know, at a restaurant or a shop or something like that, be prepared that they may add that three to five percent.
you read that specific to Egypt or is it just that's becoming a little more common? I read
specifically to Egypt. OK. But I, you know, we see it even here. So I don't I think that's kind of becoming common as credit card fees continue to grow. You know, businesses need to offset that.
So also all U.S. citizens and many global visitors will be required to obtain a tourist visa when entering the country. So they do have an e-visa that can and should be applied for before traveling. So we'll have to definitely look into that. But a lot of those are pretty straightforward.
Yeah, usually your airline will, you know, send you something ahead of time on how to apply for that. You just go online. Matter of fact, I saw it on one of the websites I was at. It's just a link. You click, you fill out the information. I think it said like 72 hours, allow 72 hours for processing. So I don't think I would wait till the night before. You know, it doesn't seem to be that hard to do. I saw the UK was on there. I saw a lot of South American countries. I didn't see like Germany. So I don't know if it's like one of those things where some of the Schengen countries are not required to have that or what the difference is.
So we'll put a link then so that you can check that out for your travels.
One last fun fact I learned that you should avoid having your feet point at someone. That's a sign of disrespect. Now, don't ask me how you accomplish that, because I would think that your feet are going to be pointing at someone at all times. But it's one of those fun facts.
That's interesting.
sure to keep you updated as we continue our preparation for this trip. If you have any suggestions of must-do activities in Cairo, please drop me a note, scott at sunshinetravelers.com. We always love hearing your tips and recommendations. We hope you enjoyed this episode and will find some inspiration to help you with your travel journeys. Please consider going on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. The more five-star reviews we have, the more likely we are to be featured and discovered by others. Make sure to follow or subscribe to our podcast to be notified of the new episodes as they are released. You can now also find all of our episodes on YouTube. You can also find us on Instagram as Sunshine Travelers Podcast. Remember, that is Travelers with one L. Most importantly, share it with your friends to help them catch the travel bug. You never know, they may become your greatest travel companion.
