It has been a few weeks now since Wayne from California experienced Egypt with Zoom fellow travelers. Wayne shared with us his experiences about this country that has remained as fascinating as ever.
Wayne is no stranger to Zoom Vacations, and we see him often on our SeaDream gay group yacht. But this time he decided to take advantage of his love for cruising and visit to an ancient civilization.
So, Wayne what are your initial thoughts after coming back from Egypt.
Wayne: I think about it all the time! In fact, something happened just this morning at 2:38am. I blinked awake and had the trip and the Egypt Zoomers on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about this trip. Maybe I had been having a dream about Egypt or something, but there I was, at the crack of dawn thinking about the Zoom Egypt trip.
Zoom: Did you have a realization during the dream?
Wayne: Yes. That the amazing guys I had the pleasure of visiting Egypt with are each amazing and wonderful people and I was glad to meet each one of them. It would be sad if we never got the opportunity to meet again. We are now bonded. I miss each of them and the laughs/chats we all shared during the trip.
Zoom: What surprised you most about Egypt?
Wayne: There is so much amazement to me in Ancient Egypt and seeing the things we saw blew my mind. I was so glad I had nights on that amazing Nile River cruise to just THINK and to process what I had seen earlier in the day. Sometimes my brain was so full I found it hard to react. In retrospect, I may even have come off as aloof at those times, but it was probably because I was just in deep thought. Egypt taught me that the history of human achievement is remarkable—I mean, how can these things STILL be where they are nearly 5000 years after they were conceived?
Zoom: Did traveling with Zoom add to the experience?
Wayne: I am glad I had Zoom (Joel Cabrera!) there to handle things for me. When I needed, he “held my hand” during the times I was nervous. Like many of you, I had heard erroneous reports that traveling to Egypt after its recent history could be dicey. NOT AT ALL! And having Zoom there only helped assure me that I was fine. For example, having Mohammed meet me at Immigration and walk me personally through the airport arrival process was a huge RELIEF. And having Mohammed our Egyptologist with us 24/7 to help us understand the sights we were seeing was tremendously beneficial. I was glad that he challenged our thinking and that he questioned what we thought we knew. I didn’t always agree with him, but that is what good intellectual thought involves–the give and take of ideas. I can’t imagine how the trip would have been if I hadn’t had Zoom choose the amazing hotels we stayed at and the amazing privately chartered Nile boat we enjoyed for four nights.
Zoom: What was it like sailing on the Nile?
Wayne: For me, it was the highlight. The chartered boat was exquisitely furnished, and the staff was amazingly attentive. And can we talk about the food?!! OMG! I wish I could appreciate just ONE MORE meal from Hassan, our Nile boat chef. Oh, and the traditional galabeya “party” was a treat. I do have a question, though…”What does one do with a galabeya now that I’m home?” LOL!
Zoom: Is there anything you would want to tell someone wanting to travel to a historical place like Egypt or Morocco
Wayne: Looking at the pictures doesn’t do justice to the amazing history we experienced. I also want to assure everyone that I felt comfortable, safe, and secure the entire time. Put aside any notion that Egypt isn’t safe. This couldn’t be further from the truth!
Zoom: Anything else?
Wayne: The Nile God owes me a pair of Prada Sunglasses! It’s a long story. LOL.
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