It was getting a little tiring – several long road trips, loads of eating and walking, and even more passive smoking. In addition, some incredible history – stories, paintings, sculptures, and monuments just blow your mind. They take you back a few thousand years and put you in awe of how it all could have been built and then how it all survived. There was … Continue reading Day 9, 10: Saving the best for last – Saqqara and the Museum
There was finally a much-needed slow day on the trip. We had a late morning flight to Cairo and the morning, after a stroll outside, was spent packing and getting to the airport. The airport was a much better experience than the one in Cairo – there was a departure area with food and water. It was a short flight and soon we were haggling … Continue reading Day 7-8: Cairo and a road trip to Alexandria
The hotel was just by the Nile and after not liking the first room I was given, I was moved to a spectacular room with a wonderful river view. Luxor as a modern city is a massive upgrade over Aswan. The Steigenberger Hotel had multiple restaurants and a fully stocked bar. The city had many restaurants and places to eat outside the hotel – we … Continue reading Day 5,6: Luxor – an open-air museum!
The drive to Luxor was slower than expected, though it did include some amazing history. Our driver from the trip to Abu Simbel had agreed to drive us to Luxor while stopping at most of the historic sites in Aswan on the way. He had also promised to include a meal in my fixed price. Little did I know that he would want to include … Continue reading Day 4: The drive to Luxor!
Why was our guide calling what I thought was the Nile, Lake Nasser? This question hounded me for a long time before I made the starting discovery that the Nile flows South to North. In addition, the High Dam (in Aswan) creates a massive reservoir that spreads across southern Egypt and Sudan -this is Lake Nasser. My first domestic flight in Egypt was an interesting … Continue reading Day 2,3: Abu Simbel and the River before the Nile
I landed at 6 am in Cairo after a lovely day in Mumbai and a relatively sleepless 6.5-hour red-eye. We had landed in Mumbai just after noon on Saturday, the day before Christmas. We checked into a hotel right next to the airport just to avoid spending travel time before a 3 am flight. The day was spent meeting a friend over a fabulous lunch … Continue reading Day 1: Arrival and the Pyramids of Giza
An Egypt trip had been in the planning for the last several years. It was fully booked when the pandemic stuck and everything had to be canceled. I wasn’t sure if this was too soon, but Egypt seemed to be the country with the least post-covid hangups or delays and I was craving to see all that history. Given about 3 years of research in … Continue reading Egypt – Tombs, Temples, and Thugs
It is never over till its over. I thought I had eaten enough in 2 days to suffice for the week. Some of the best food was still to be had. Every morning started with dreams of some better food than the prior day. Our last morning in Amritsar started with a long walk and then a little bit of scurrying to be ready in … Continue reading Amritsar: More food – the grand finale
We woke up early with one unified objective – to eat some good food. There was a list of good places that had been circulating amongst us and there were many options for lunches and dinners, but only two for breakfast. We had only two breakfasts to be had – so we picked up Kanha Sweets to start day 2. Located about a 10-minute drive … Continue reading Amritsar: Food and Atari, on Day 2
It has been twenty-two years since I went on my first food visit – a cheap trip to Agra. We went on a local train where I was left hanging outside the door of a packed train for a large part of the journey. We ate 5 meals a day, each picked by a local friend as a specialty of the city. Two days later, … Continue reading Amritsar – Food and culture with a pinch of Nationalism
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