We left the Sonesta St George at about 7am with a taxi driver we met the day before. We arranged to pay 40 Pounds LE for the taxi to the airport.

The taxis in Luxor are a lot better than in Cairo.

We got the airport which was also very nice and clean and waited for our flight. We were booked on the 8:30am flight to Cairo flying Business Class. From memory it was only a few dollars more expensive than economy.

Our previous flights we have flown economy and the business class was no different in regards to seating than the economy seats. Those flights were called Egypt Air Express so that may be the reason.

We had large spacious seats but pity it was only for a 1 hour flight, they gave us a welcome drink - Apple Juice, Guava Juice, or Water.

During the flight they gave us a breakfast (did not need it since we ate at Sonesta) which comprised of a bread roll, a croissant, some cheese, some jam, butter and a rice pudding. The rice pudding was the best.

When we arrived at Cairo airport we asked about a private car to drive us to Ismailia - some guy "tout" was trying to offer something for 350 pounds - we thought we should be able to get something for 200 max.

We found a guy for 200 and went to look at this car, it was a BMW - 2 door. Pam was not too happy with this so we told him no - he pointed us to another guy. Haggling time again -  in the end the guy accepted 180 pounds.

When we go to Ismailia he gave us his card in case we wanted him for the return journey. He then tried to demand 220 pounds. As always I stick to my guns and say no - 180 was agreed. He got pissed off and asked for his card back.

When we checked in I asked about a car to take us back to Cairo and the guy said it would be expensive - 150 Pounds.

We have agreed to take this 150 pound ride back to Cairo on Thursday - today is Tuesday.

Pam went to do some shopping and I went back to my room, I was looking for the remote control and walked past the bed hitting the corner of the bed with my boot.

I heard a ripping sound and I found that the bed had a nail sticking out, it ripped open my boot.

I telephoned the reception and told them the problem that had happened and they sent up the Assistant Manager of House Keeping.

We did some talking for a long time and in the end we decided we wanted a free nights accommodation as a payment for the now damaged shoes.

The house keeping manager could not offer this, he tried to offer us a room upgrade to a junior suite (The junior suite was 700USD / night) but it was quite drab, although quite big, so we declined.

We said we wanted to see the hotel manager - apparently he was having the day off - it was Sunday but he came in to work and came up to our room.

In the end we got a free meal, and 1 nights accommodation taken off our bill.

We decided to eat in a Japanese restaurant in the hotel, the food was nice, but quite salty.

We later found out due to DRY HORRORS that the saltiness was probably MSG. And not use a little bit but a HUGE amount. I have felt unwell until lunchtime today - about 36 hours, Pam was also not feeling good but not as bad as me.

Chris did not get to see the west bank as he was not feeling well and had to stay on the cruise boat.

It is hard to see but the ships to the top left and the top (but not the middle) are in the Suez Canal - click the picture for a larger version.

This is the view from our room over the Nile from the Sonesta St George hotel.