This video is based on the 2nd day of my Mauritius trip. Watch this video to know about the Indian culture in Mauritius. This video also speaks about the condition of Hindi in Mauritius, Vegetarian food, etc.
This is the second video of my Mauritius trip. In this video, you will see me travelling from the airport to my hotel in Mauritius. While travelling I have shared information on how to travel from airport to the Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. If you are looking for public transport or bus from the airport to Port Louis, then watch this video for sure.
My hotel in Mauritius
This also includes a bit of information on various topics like buses in Mauritius, Aapravasi Ghat, Indian history in Mauritius, Mauritius Metro, etc. Watch this video if you are searching for luxury hotels in Mauritius. I stayed in Hotel Zilwa Attitude in the north of the small country.
How I reached Mauritius from India
My Mauritius trip: Flights, Visa for Indians, Immigration, etc.
This is the first video of my Mauritius trip. I visited Mauritius in July 2018. In this video, you will see me sharing information about Mumbai Airport, Immigration formalities in India before going to Mauritius, Mauritius Visa for Indians, and other Important documents and formalities. I have also shared about my experience with Air Mauritius. The flight duration from Mumbai to Mauritius was around 6 hours.
My Hitchhiking map: USA
Here are all the videos of my Hitchhiking trip in USA, released till now on YouTube. During this month-long trip, I travelled almost 10,000 kilometres.
Refer the route map I took during this exciting journey.
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Video 1
While travelling in Egypt, I got a chance to travel on a train between Luxor and Cairo. This video is based on that journey. I have shared a few important information in the ‘Egypt Train guide’ which may be useful for people planning to travel in Egyptian trains.
Type of trains in Egypt
In general, there are Airconditioned and Non-Airconditioned trains in Egypt. The non-airconditioned trains are the ordinary trains which do not have a provision of reserved seats. Whereas, the airconditioned trains can be categorised as –
1. VIP trains
All the coaches are chair cars. They can be further classified into 1st and 2nd class. The first class coaches have 3 seats in a row, where 2 are joint and an aisle separates the third one. The 2nd class coach has 4 seats in a row. 2 seats on either side.
2. Non-VIP trains
Like VIP trains, all the coaches are chair cars, but they are not premium as the VIP trains are. These trains also have 1st and 2nd class coaches.
3. Sleeping trains
Egypt’s ‘Sleeping trains’ are airconditioned and have sleeper berths. They are the most premium trains in Egypt. Berths can be booked online as well as over the counter for Sleeping trains.
4. Ordinary train
In India, such trains are called ‘Passenger’ trains. They are non-airconditioned and do not have reserved seats. So the seats are available on first come first serve bases.
Egypt train fare
Train fare in the non-airconditioned trains is the cheapest. Then comes the Non-VIP train’s 2nd class seats. The 1st class fare of Non-VIP trains and 2nd class of Non-VIP trains are almost similar. The 1st class of VIP trains are the costliest in the chair car segment. If you are looking for more comfort, then a berth in a sleeping train is the most expensive of the lot.
Ordinary trains are the cheapest way to travel in Egypt
How to book train tickets in Egypt
- The tickets can be booked at the railway station counters.
- Tickets can also be booked online through the official website of Egyptian National Railways
- You can also use the Kiosks at various railway stations to book the train tickets, though they were not working when I tried to use them at Ramses station in Cairo and Luxor train station.
Egypt train apps
There are many travel apps for getting help to understand the Egyptian train system. I used two apps (‘Rail Egypt’ and ‘Egypt trains’) during my trip. Please check the video for a demonstration of using the train applications and further details.
This video is based on the experiences I had on my first day in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. I went to the Ramses railway station to buy tickets to Luxor. There are a lot of trains to Luxor from Cairo. Though getting a train ticket in Egypt is a task. This is what I experienced, and hence I decided to go by bus.
Cairo to Luxor: Bus or Train!
A local Egyptian helped me to understand the basics of Egyptian railways. I also tried to get a train ticket from the ticket vending machine at the Ramses train station, but it was not working. Thereafter, the local friend took me to the nearby bus station operated by Superjet bus. I bought a bus ticket to Luxor. Cairo to Luxor bus ticket costs 140 LE.
Khane Khalili market
Thereafter, I went to Khane Khalili market. Saw the local art and crafts. Relished Pancakes. While coming back to my hostel, I also visited the Zakariya Ahmed street which is near Ataba metro station, another happening place in Cairo.
Travel apps
In this video, I have shared tips to use Google Maps and Google trips, two very helpful mobile applications for travellers. I searched for a restaurant and things to do in Cairo by using Google Trips app.
My experience at Giza Pyramids
It was not that difficult to find vegetarian food in Egypt as it was in most of the South-East Asian countries. In these two videos, I have shared information about vegetarian food, how to get a mobile sim in Egypt, Local transportation in Giza and hassles which a tourist may face in Egypt.
Vegetarian food in Egypt
I was served Egyptian fool beans during my flight between Jeddah to Alexandria. I liked it so much that most of the time during my week-long trip in Egypt, I had fool beans with the traditional bread/roti called Aish. There are a lot of other options for vegetarians. E.g., Koshari, which is also said to be the national dish of Egypt can also be made without non-vegetarian ingredients. Falafel is another vegetarian dish which is also quite popular in many other countries. Watch for more videos which will show you what I ate in other places in Egypt.
According to the information provided by the hostel staff, there are a few Indian restaurants in Cairo, Giza and major tourist destinations like Alexandria & Luxor.
Cost of vegetarian food in Giza
I went to a local restaurant called El Gizawy. There are a lot of other restaurants near the Giza Pyramids. I had a few Aish, Falafel, Fool and two other vegetarian dishes for 15 LE which is equivalent to 55 Indian Rupees. The quantity was much so I had the same meal two times.
Tourist Sim in Egypt
Talking about the best mobile network in Egypt, I chose to buy Vodafone as suggested by many locals. The sim cost me 150 LE. There are other mobile networks like Etisalat, Orange (formerly Mobinil) and We (Government owned).
- Sim Cost – 150 LE
- Validity – 1 month
- Internet data – 3.5 GB
- Talktime – 25 minutes
Documents required to get a mobile sim in Egypt
I was not asked any document to purchase a mobile sim in Egypt. The shopkeeper just asked for money, and he gave me a pre-activated prepaid mobile sim.
Local transport in Giza
Public buses are the cheapest mode of transportation in Cairo and Giza. As per the fellow local passengers the bus fare range from 1 to 5 LE. Minibuses are also another option. Giza and Cairo are also connected with an underground Metro train. Apart from the regular taxis, you can book Uber cabs in Cairo, Giza and other major cities of Egypt.
Check this video to know how to get from Alexandria airport to the city and then Alexandria to Cairo! For me, It took 4 hours to reach Giza from the Alexandria airport. I took Uber cab from the airport to the bus terminal and after that a Volvo bus for Giza. Check my previous video to know how I got a return flight ticket from India to Egypt in just 17,000 Rupees and how was my overall experience of the journey.
Alexandria airport to the city
I took Uber cab from Alexandria airport to the city bus terminal. The taxi fare from Borg El Arab airport to the city bus terminal was around 200-250 LE (LE = Egyptian Pounds) whereas the Uber cost me 160 LE. The total distance from the Alexandria airport to the bus terminal is 45 kilometres. It took me slightly around 50 minutes to reach my destination.
Alexandria airport to the city bus – There is no public bus service between Alexandria airport to the downtown area. The only options are cabs or blue taxis.
1 Egyptian Pound = 3.6 Indian Rupees (as on 7 April 2018)
Alexandria bus terminal looks so Indian!
The bus terminal at Alexandria has basic facilities. To me, it was like another bus terminal of a Tier-3 Indian city. Everything looked haphazard. Most of the information is displayed in Arabic. The restaurants were playing loud music, the toilet was untidy and the biggest problem for me was, most of the people did not understand English. It was not easy to make the bus ticket officials understand that I need a seat in the front row. I could not have a proper food because I could not explain vegetarian food to the restaurants. Still, there were a few passersby who helped me.
Egypt Tourist Visa: How to get it?
Alexandria to Cairo by bus
Unknowingly, I took a bus ticket for Cairo, whereas I had to go to Giza. Cairo and Giza are twin cities like Hyderabad and Secunderabad and are well inter-connected. There are a lot of direct buses from Alexandria to Cairo and Giza. I took Superjet bus for Giza which offered me a non-stop service. It took 2.5 hours to reached Giza from Alexandria.
Alexandria to Cairo bus fares
‘West & Mid Delta’ bus ticket cost 60 LE from Alexandria to Cairo. It is one of the popular bus operators in Egypt. I paid 60 LE for a direct bus service from Alexandria to Giza.
Alexandria to Giza distance – 220 kilometres
Alexandria to Giza Bus fare – 60 LE
Popular Buses in Egypt: GoBus, SuperJet, East Delta, West & Mid Delta, Upper Egypt
Still looking for ‘Habibi Shahrukh Khan’! Then watch this video which is about my experience of travelling from the Alexandria airport to Giza via Alexandria bus terminal where I met fans of Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan ;)
Thanks to the travel portals like Skyscanner, Kayak, Momondo & this tool which helped me to find a cheap flight from India to Egypt. I paid 17,000 Indian Rupees for a flight ticket from Delhi to Alexandria and back.
Why Alexandria, Not Cairo!
I have given a reason in the video for not choosing Cairo, the capital city of Egypt as my destination airport. Despite there are more flight operations from Cairo than Alexandria, I decided to opt for Alexandria, because of the itinerary suggested by the travel portals.
Read : How to get Cheap flights from India to anywhere in the world
Jeddah Airport Review
My itinerary had a long layover at Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia. So for me travelling from India to Egypt via Saudi Arabia was cheaper. However, my experience was not good at the Jeddah airport. No wifi, no free water, less charging points, less comfortable recliner seats, filthy toilets and over-crowded airport were disappointing. Though there are some hacks available, which I have suggested in the video.
Read : How to get Egypt's Visa in India
Flights from India to anywhere
In this video, you will see us visiting Tuirihiau and Vantawng waterfalls which were one of the best parts of our 7-days trip to Mizoram. After our stay at Hmuifang tourist resort on the previous day, we stayed in Thenzawl tourist lodge, which was the best stay on our entire trip. Enjoy the beauty of Tuirihiau waterfalls which can be seen from behind. Vantawng waterfalls reminded me of my visit to Cherrapunji in Meghalaya where I came across many similar beautiful waterfalls.
How to reach Thenzawl
Aizawl to Thenzawl Bus: There are regular bus services between Aizawl and Thenzawl operated by the state road transport corporation of Mizoram government. Buses going to Lunglei also pass from Thenzawl. Travelling by bus is the cheapest way to reach Thenzawl.
Aizawl to Thenzawl Sumo: A lot of shared Tata Sumo taxis are available between Aizawl & Thenzawl. They take less time than the buses but quite uncomfortable as they are stuffed with passengers. Still, they are the most preferred way to travel across north-east Indian states.
