Traveling to Egypt - a primer of sorts

Greetings from Hurghada, where Allison, my intrepid friend from Michigan, and I are spending the next five days. It was a long day, filled with adventures, and a few lessons learned. In the spirit of sharing equals caring, here is my list of memorable moments.

1. The airport in Amsterdam now boasts several Starbucks. Those among you who are disdainful of the homogenization of the global culture can pretty much suck balls right now because my first Dutch-made Chai Tea Latte was freaking delicious. Sorry for the crass language mom.


2. When booking a package tour in a non-English speaking country, be prepared to not hear English spoken on your journey. This is especially true if you are on a charter flight, as we were. Transavia is a Dutch airline, but surely all instructions are given in English as well as Dutch, right? Nee, danke u wel

I managed to muddle through the ordering of the prosecco and Pringles without too much problem, and was feeling fairly cocky about my comprehensive abilities when the plane landed and some people disembarked.

3. When half the plane is staying in their seats (keep in mind that these are Dutch people staying in their seats - a people not famous for orderly mass exits), AND all announcements are made in a (still) unfamiliar language, it is a good idea to ask a flight attendant what is going on instead of joining the group and exiting the aircraft.

4. When the man looking at your itinerary in the airport says, "You got off the plane too soon. This is Marsa Alan, not Hurghada," I recommend reacting like Allison did: "You're kidding, right?" That made everybody laugh! And no, they weren't kidding. Who knew the plane made multiple stops? Clearly not the non-Dutch speaking kids!

5. Get a ride back to the plane in a beat up pick-up with a very nice airport employee. Talk about a walk of shame down the aisle! All those stoic faces staring at us and our former seats were taken by people who were not about to give them back so we had to pass everyone before we found two seats together in the back. We did play the self-mocking card as we ran the gauntlet and I think a few people actually smiled. Once we sat, the stewardess very nicely said, "Now that the two passengers who got off in the wrong place have got back on the plane, we can take off." But we didn't know she said that until Allison noticed that people were pointing and laughing at us and asked for a translation. Because her derision was in Dutch. Well played tulip girl. Well played.

6. We got off the plane at the next stop - Hurghada and followed the sheep through all the necessary steps to get our visas, get stamped, get money, get luggage, get to the correct hotel shuttle, tip the guys who handle the bags (we should have brought handfuls of 50 euro cent coins for tipping) before arriving at the Hotel Aladdin (pronounced "aladeen." It seems great - an all-inclusive paradise of food, drinks, shisha bars, cushy lounge chairs, beach, pools and 80+ degrees. We are here and already having a fab (and memorable) time.