We had arranged to be picked up from Le Meridien at 10am this morning but have to wait now until 12.30 due to a lost in translation moment. That's okay because we have got very used to just hanging out in the lobby or wandering around chatting to staff and other tourists. Can't say our Egyptian is getting better though. We have a grand total of 6 phrases we use ... I'm better at learning them than Tony though.
The staff were setting up for yet another wedding today but have just started dismantling everything. It must have been cancelled. There has been a least one wedding each day we have been here even with the curfew. They start after midday prayers and everyone is gone by 6pm. Tony was told the cost of a wedding in the hotel is about LE30 - 45,000 which is $7,000 - 10,000 which is pretty cheap compared to NZ weddings. I guess with the hotel's occupancy rate dropping from 95 - 100% prior to the 2011 revolution to around 8% currently the wedding are the main source of income. It must be disappointing when weddings are cancelled.
So if you are heading to Cairo and don't want to rough it at the Mudgway's I highly recommend Le Meriden.
Finally made it to Maadi Hotel yesterday. We are having probs with the wi-fi so will continue the blog as soon as wi-fi sorted.
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