ME/NA Travels

[cbd2cai 0]

I have another mobile that I took over on my last trip and got switched so I can use it in Egypt. It will get charged up when I get there next Sunday. It is much cheaper to use that mobile while I am in Egypt . . . even to make international calls if I need to. I do leave my U.S. based one turned on in case someone from home needs to call me . . oh, and txt msgs from ppl in various locations that have that number.

[brnidokiegurl 0]

on Cingular did you sign up for the additional plan for calling back to here, i have the plan TO call there but they told me my style phone wouldnt work from there to call back home so i didnt take it. I just used the internet, told one and they told the rest or sent emails. If home needed to call me they had his cell phone number.

[~Jackie~ 30]

Mr. Stubborn wasn't going to notify his charge cards and thanks to this thread---he will call on his day off and let them know.

To keep in touch back here, we will go to a cafe I hope at least every 2 days. I can email the kids and check for email from work. I need a few minutes to come to VJ and get my fix. I get homesick when I am there and will need to read and type english. I think one of his sisters has a computer at the house.

The closer it gets, the more nervous I am.

Jackie

[amal 4]

it will be ok jackie. if you go to a cafe in irbid, dotcom2 is the old click(noors business) if u go, tell him you liked the old style better lol

[cbd2cai 0]

I have an American Express that I use and have never had a problem using it overseas . . . I guess because they get to see my travel bills for many years . . . I've bought things in England, Scotland, France, Australia, Turkey, Mexico, Egypt, Egypt, Egypt, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Canada . . . lol, it is a well travelled card!!

I opened an account at CitiBank which has branches around Cairo (and everywhere in the States it seems) . . . but I've never been to any of their ATMs, hehe, but it works just as well at various other Banks ATMs (Citi does charge an xchange rate fee now).

[~Jackie~ 30]

We plan on going to the 'old click' and also Mohammed's old cafe, Ram3 which I think kept the name. He heard they fixed it up and I know seeing it will be bittersweet for him.

Catherine---we leave the same day! What time is your flight? I think we leave Ohare at 9pm. I plan on being tired and taking a tylenol PM about 11pm and sleep a few hours. OMG my blood pressure rises when I think about this trip.

Jackie

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I have an American Express that I use and have never had a problem using it overseas . . . I guess because they get to see my travel bills for many years . . . I've bought things in England, Scotland, France, Australia, Turkey, Mexico, Egypt, Egypt, Egypt, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Canada . . . lol, it is a well travelled card!!

I opened an account at CitiBank which has branches around Cairo (and everywhere in the States it seems) . . . but I've never been to any of their ATMs, hehe, but it works just as well at various other Banks ATMs (Citi does charge an xchange rate fee now).

Amex is a great card to use for travel. I've had mine since 1981 and it's served me well in every country I've visited.

[kerewin21 2]

I second the idea of calling your credit/bank cards ahead of time. I once had my ATM card disabled when I was abroad, it was a major pain in the neck to get it fixed!

I recommend travel insurance as well. It's usually not that expensive and covers medical stuff, lost luggage, etc. Hopefully you won't need it but it will cover you if something awful happens and you need to get airlifted out of there. Or if something less awful happens, like losing your luggage, it's nice to be covered because a lot of the airlines will only cover a small amount of stuff and you have to keep receipts (which tend to be hard to get in ME/NA countries).

[sereia 0]

but also a lot of health insurance in america cover you abroad. mine does.

some credit cards do even (i've heard...)

i'd check with those before i bought travel insurance.

Edited February 18, 2007 by abdounjen

[wildroze22 0]

im going to see my SO for pesach! im so excited. i was just there in january, so it nearly feels like no time has passed. and i hate flying.. but the things we do...

as for phones... i dont know, but i always rent a phone. israeli phone companies have generally good deals, with cheap calls to the united states.

[doodlebug 3]

insuremytrip.com is what I always use. My health insurance doesn't cover me overseas, which is why I haven't added my husband to my plan yet since it would be useless.

If you rent a phone what are the rates you all are getting? The rate that Usama pays to call me is almost the same as the rate I would pay via my own cellphone so I didn't bother.

[limah 1]

For communication, Ill be using my husbands computer at home. I have set it all up so my daughter and sister can just call his house or cell if they need me. Vonage works wonders, for me anyway. We'll be using the webcam just like I do with Abdel. I wish my father used his computer a little more. This way, I could talk to him while Im over there.

I hate flying, too. I get nervous just being in the airport. PERIOD. When I went the first time, I kinda held up the line before stepping on the plane. I just couldn't do it. So I started to let people go in front of me. My daughter was looking at me like I was crazy, which is what I was thinking.... What the hell are we doing here??!! I also agree... "the things we do" And Im doing it again. This time by myself??? OMG!!!!!!

I was thinking about taking some snacks this time. My husband works from 7p to 7a, 6 days a week, so I will have a lot of time at the house. He's taking some time off, yes. Not the whole 5 weeks I'll be there. Can I do that? Im not talking about "Ravioli" in a can or anything like that.

Any suggestions?

Limah

[wildroze22 0]

I was thinking about taking some snacks this time. My husband works from 7p to 7a, 6 days a week, so I will have a lot of time at the house. He's taking some time off, yes. Not the whole 5 weeks I'll be there. Can I do that? Im not talking about "Ravioli" in a can or anything like that.

Any suggestions?

Limah

i dont know about going that way.. but when my SO comes to the states, he always brings me this chocolate cereal that i CRAVE. i know it sounds wierd. and ive brought his mothers homade rugalachback with me. and usually i bring cookies with me. ive never had a problem. i would just avoid fruits and general liquids and prob metal cans.

ive held up the line before to. the sad thing is that i fly at least every three months. and in the past year ive flown there.. this will be my 4th time.. and 3 of those times ive done it alone. no fun! my best advice is to get a portable dvd player, if you can... it worked wonders for me!

[cbd2cai 0]

We plan on going to the 'old click' and also Mohammed's old cafe, Ram3 which I think kept the name. He heard they fixed it up and I know seeing it will be bittersweet for him.

Catherine---we leave the same day! What time is your flight? I think we leave Ohare at 9pm. I plan on being tired and taking a tylenol PM about 11pm and sleep a few hours. OMG my blood pressure rises when I think about this trip.

Jackie

My departure Itinerary:

24FEB LH439 Dallas, TX (DFW) 16:20 - Frankfurt (FRA) 09:05

25FEB LH584 Frankfurt (FRA) 13:30 - Cairo (CAI) 18:30

I have a bit more of a layover than I used to have . . . I think they were cutting it close and changed the flights a bit. Are you going thru Frankfurt? I opted to pay a bit more so I wouldn't have an extra stop which usually means going thru Chicago for Lufthansa. I can't sleep on flights anyway, so I have to be prepared for reading and music listening, etc. Loading the music players while I do anything things.

I am trying to not be stressed about it . . . the flights I took to Hong Kong this year were longer from LAX to HK so you'd think I'd be an old hand . . . 4 international trips within the last 12 months, LOL!! But no matter how much travel I do, it is always something different when going to Cairo.

Edited February 18, 2007 by cbd2cai

[hollyw 0]

don't they charge a fee to use it outside the usa? kind of like cell phones?

I know that when I was living in France I was charged $5 everytime I took money out of my bank account. When I got home, I called my bank and asked if there was something they could do about the charges (since it was hundredssss of dollars in charges)... unfortunately, they could not, but they did give me the name of the "sister bank" in France that would not charge the $5 fee and said that there is a "sister bank" in every country... perhaps if you call your bank, they will be able to give you the name of a bank that has partnered with yours so that you aren't charged.

I have also used my Visa card all over the world and never been charged. But that might differ from card to card.

What do you all do as far as keeping in touch with everyone back home while you're overseas?

What I do, since I spend a lot of time in France, is I keep an unblocked cell phone with me when I travel. Since you have cingular, it would be super easy to unblock (meaning you can use any service, not just the cingular service)... it's pretty expensive to get cell phones unblocked in the US, but if you bring it to Egypt with you, I'm sure your husband can do it really quick and really cheap. Then you are able to buy a prepaid Egyptian SIM card and use it with your phone to call home. It also means that you have your own phone number in Egypt (which my family thought was a HUGE relief.. they knew they could contact ME anytime they needed to... even though they never actually called). I found that when I was in Algeria it was much cheaper to do this than call from a TaxiPhone or phone cabin usign a calling card. It cost me about 18 cents a minute and just a couple cents to text.