Budget and Safety tips on Solo Self-guided Traveling Egypt

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

biking the luxor's west bank

Walked like Egyptian probably was the most challenging and rewarding travel in 15 countries I have visited so far. Before I give some insights regarding this trip, let me show-off first my condition before and during the travel period. 

1. I almost considered this trip as cancelled due to my work as it is hard to file an exit permit as an expat government employee though it is holiday on the entire trip duration. This is the main reason why I did not somehow research for the missing links and just booked the plane tickets at most 3 weeks before the departure and walk-in train seats.

2. The entire travel period (Oct. 25-29, 2012) is a holiday celebration for a Muslim country, thus, a very very peak season.  Plane ticket price is almost thrice the regular, a really expensive trip.

3. My outbound flight fare is a gamble due to the risk it had. I have to wait at least 30 minutes before the departing time to make sure I have a sure seat.

4. Egypt just recently experienced revolution for ousting Mubarak and had the national election this year. Thus, peace and order is somehow at stake.

budget and itinerary print-outs

Biking the Luxor's West Bank

fearless 4.5 days DIY solo backpacking Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

luxor temple & museum (luxor's east bank)

Bike rental is located just exactly outside the West Bank port and Bus terminal, around 100 meters away. I rented for 3 hours that costs only 15 EGP. Since I already mapped-out my planned destinations the day before during my van tour to major landmarks, I know somehow where to go.

Photography is allowed to all, and strolling can be enough at most 3 hours.

Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat) are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years (since 1350 BC) they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossi_of_Memnon



biking the luxor's west bank



Luxor Temple & Museum (East Bank)

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt
october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

magnificent karnak temple (luxor's east bank)

Luxor temple has also this great numbers of huge columns located along the corniche and just at the Luxor downtown.

How to go to Luxor temple;
From Luxor Railway Station, just walk straight to corniche at around 300 meters away. Entrance fee costs 55 EGP, opens daily from 0800H to 1800H.
Photography is allowed inside, and strolling can be enough at least 1 hour.

Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was founded in 1400 BCE. For centuries Thebes was once known as the capital of the known world. Known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or "the southern sanctuary." In Luxor there are six great temples, the four on the left bank are known to travellers and readers of travels as Goornah, Deir-el-Bahri, the Ramesseum, and Medinet Habu; and the two temples on the right bank are known as the Karnak and Luxor.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_Temple

luxor temple

Magnificent Karnak Temple (East Bank)

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

hatshepsut and ramessium temple (luxor's west bank)
 
Probably the most fantastic temple I have ever seen in my entire backpacking because of its 134 huge columns which is the largest accounted in the world.

How to go here;
Starting from corniche in east bank, walk or hire a carriage (costs 5EGP) going straight at approximate 3 km. Entrance fee is 65 EGP, opens daily from 0800H-1800H.

Photography is allowed inside, and strolling can be enough at most 1 hour.

The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak, comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes. The Karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, modern village of el-Karnak, some 2.5 km north of Luxor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak

karnak temple

Hatshepsut and Ramessium Temple (West Bank)

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt
october 25-29, 2012
thursday to monday

valley of the kings & queens (luxor's west bank)

Hatshepsut temple is my next destination after finishing the tour in Valley of the Kings.

How to go to Hatshepsut Temple;
From Valley of the Kings, plan your itinerary next ideally to this place as this is the next nearest important tourist landmark on this valley. Entrance costs only 30 EGP only with 2 EGP charge for the mini-train inside.

Photography is allowed inside, and strolling can be enough at most 1 hour.

The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, "Holy of Holies", is located beneath the cliffs at Deir el Bahari on the west bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The mortuary temple is dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra and is located next to the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, which served both as an inspiration, and later, a quarry. It is considered one of the "incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt." The temple was the site of the massacre of 62 people, mostly tourists, by Islamist extremists that took place on 17 November 1997
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortuary_Temple_of_Hatshepsut

hatshepsut temple

Valley of the Kings & Queens (Luxor's West Bank)

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012

thursday to monday 

collosal abu simbel temples (ramesses & nefertari)

Valley of the Kings is the major tourist landmark of West Bank. Separate entrance fees are charge inside of every tomb especially the famous ones (Ramesses and Tutankhamun) aside from the general entrance fee for the compound.

How to go to Valley of the Kings;
It is cheaper to hire the public microbus (van) rather than a taxi in touring major spots of West Bank. As for what I did, I hired a van which is exclusively for me as only passenger during my ENTIRE tour, the local driver is considerate enough not to hitchhike possible passengers along the way. I negotiated to a fixed price of 80 EGP ($13) starting from west bank port to valley of the king and queens, hatchepsut and ramessium temple (1230H-1700H). Compared to taxi, they will charged around more than 100 EGP ($16) depending upon the places to visit.

So we started the round to the Valley of the Kings which is the farthest one, I think its around 12km from the port. Local touts have been roaming around since the start of my journey here in Luxor so be prepared how to avoid or leave them away politely. Entrance fee for this valley is 80 EGP with 4 EGP charge for a round trip mini-train inside.

inside valley of the kings

Collosal Abu Simbel Temples (Ramesses and Nefertari)

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt
october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

train travel from cairo to aswan

Abu Simbel temples are one of the best tourist spot in Southern Egypt. This temples are for Ramesses and Nefertari (King and Queens, husband and wife).

how to go here;
from Abu simbel downtown, the distance to the Abu Simbel temples is around 4 km. There is a minimal tricycles roaming around but I still prefer walking to feel the place. Just go straight on the main road until you find a huge billboard fo the temples. Entrance fee totals 95 EGP that includes the 80 EGP for the entrance on Rameses and Nefertari temples, 13 EGP for guide fee (which I did not experience to have) and 2 EGP for environmental fee. Opens daily from 0800H to 1800H.

abu simbel (ramesses temple)

Train Travel from Cairo to Aswan

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

a dream come true on pyramids of giza

After finishing the major landmarks of Cairo, I went back to Ramsis Railway Station for an impromptu booking to Aswan, southern part of Egypt. I was told day before that sleeper trains are fully booked up to 1st week of November. If I really want to pursue my preferred schedule, just ride the train and find my luck there as chance passenger. Aswan train travel time from Cairo will took 14 hours, probably my longest train escapade since I've been to this kind of transportation.

It is important to book train ticket in advance, at most 2 weeks before the preferred date.
For train booking for ordinary passenger is via ....
https://enr.gov.eg/ticketing/public/smartSearch.jsf

For sleeper couch usually for tourist is via ....
http://www.wataniasleepingtrains.com/Watania/Price_list_%26_Schedule.html

Ramsis railway station has a lobby that looks like you are somewhere in France, with small pyramid in the center and inverted on the ceiling. Platforms that serve northern part (alexandria, etc) are on #1-7 which is on the left side of the lobby while for the southern part (luxor, aswan) is straight ahead, platforms #8-11. Ticketing office is on the side of platform #11, entering through underpass from platform #8.

ramsis railway station main lobby

A Dream Come True in Pyramids of Giza

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

sightseeing above the cairo tower at night

One of the most controversial landmark by early civilizations of all time, and the only man-made ancient wonder of the world that still standing... Pyramids of Giza has been always talk-about how it was done and why it was like that. Because of this curiosity and an avid fan of Ancient Aliens TV Series, a dream came true for me to witness, amaze and walk on the sands within its vicinity, unimaginable but reality as it is. I am very much thankful to our God Almighty for having this trip.

Photography is not allowed inside the pyramids, and strolling can be enough at 2 hours. 

how to go here;
Starting from Giza station of metro line 2 (1 EGP), go towards to the road crossing the metro. Since bus destination names are absolutely in Arabic even the numbers, Asking the locals is an important task. They told me that most of the bus cross the intersection to way to Pyramids. All I have to do is ask the driver first and request to drop-off (1 EGP). Upon drop-off, Pyramid of Khufu is already visible.

inside the Pyramids of Giza compound (Khufu)

Sightseeing above the Cairo Tower at Night

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

strolling the modern egyptian museum

From Modern Egyptian Museum, I just walked towards this tower for about more than a kilometer crossing the Nile river and seeing the Tahrir Square on my way.

How to go here;
Starting from Sadat station, just crossed the Tahrir Square going the Nile river. The tower is seen already while walking on the streets, follow its visibility. Entrance fee costs 70 EGP for adults and 35 EGP for students. Opens daily from 0900H to 0000H.

Photography is allowed on the viewing deck, and strolling can be enough at most 1 hour.

The Cairo Tower, also known as Borg Al-Qāhira, is a free-standing concrete tower located in Cairo, Egypt. At 187 m (614 ft), it has been the tallest structure in Egypt and North Africa for 50 years. It was the tallest structure in Africa for 10 years, until 1971 when it was surpassed by Hillbrow Tower in South Africa. One of Cairo's well-known landmarks, it stands in the Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the River Nile, close to Downtown Cairo.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Tower

sightseeing above the cairo tower at night

Strolling the Modern Egyptian Museum

fearless 4.5 days DIY eid season solo trip to Egypt

october 25-29, 2012 thursday to monday

go back to main post

Exactly beside the Egyptian museum is the burn-out building which was known as the main headquarters of Mubarak. It was burned by the Egyptian opposition protestors during last year's revolution. 

how to go here; 
Starting from mubarak metro station, where the ramsis train station is nearby located, for only 1 EGP going to Sadat metro station. Egyptian Museum has an entrance fee of 60 EGP for all adult and foreign tourist and 30 EGP for students. Opens daily from 0900H to 1800H. Egyptian museum is just around 50 meters away from Tahrir Square, this area is called also the Downtown Cairo.

Photography is not allowed inside and strolling can be enough at 2 hours.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms. On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Museum

modern egyptian museum in cairo

How to Appy for Egypt Tourist Visa as Philippine Passport Holder

an adventure of Pinoy backpacker in processing travel documents

general info:

* Tourist visa is valid for 6 months upon issuance.
* maximum duration of stay is 1 month.
* single entry only.

Egypt tourist visa stamp valid for 6 months on single entry only

APPLYING FOR EGYPT TOURIST VISA AS ORDINARY CITIZEN IN THE PHILIPPINES  

visa fee:

php1,050 only

requirements:

1. Application form (page 4 and 5 only)
2. 2x2 picture
3. passport valid for 6 months
4. Employment certificate with compensation
5. Approved leave of absence from the employer
6. Income Tax Return Certificate
7. Bank certificate
8. Roundtrip air ticket or booking certificate from airline
9. Guarantee letter from the travel agency stating that you really booked a tour with them and you will be back to manila after the said tour or

10. itinerary if do-it-yourself

5 Days EID Season DIY Solo Trip to Egypt

conquering the mankind's early accounted civilization

October 25-29, 2012 Thursday to Monday

"I am Osymandias, King of Kings. If anyone would know how great I am, let him surpass one of my works." - Ramesses

My 15th country on-hand, 20th solo backpacking trip, 2nd visa application for tourism on entire single page, 1st winter get-away this 2012, 1st country to visit in African continent and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself itinerary from arrival to departure.

Egypt is perhaps best known as the home of the ancient Egyptian civilization, with its temples, hieroglyphs, mummies, and - visible above all - its pyramids. Less well-known is Egypt's medieval heritage, courtesy of Coptic Christianity and Islam - ancient churches, monasteries and mosques punctuate the Egyptian landscape. As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus stated: "Egypt is the gift of the Nile", probably one of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide.

source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Egypt

Khufu pyramid with souvenirs bought inside