The cheapest way to see Egypt is travelling by train.i love life quotes

Believe me it is an experience that no seasoned or would-be-traveller should miss.

First of all it is cheap, yes, take my word for it second class is only $5 and first class, wait for it,only $9!!

These are the prices to travel from bustling Cairo to what the locals call a "sleepy backwater town!" Alexandria.

Well if you can call a town with it's 6 million inhabitants a "sleepy backwater town" then, what is a town with only a million people be called?

When and if you take the train take the El-Torbini (Express) a it is the "fastest" train linking the two cities.

When I took the train...ooohhh about 46 years ago, it was hardly a picnic as in them days everybody and everything was allowed inside the carriages, humans, goats, chickens,etc,etc,.

Of course now these days, things have changed but, just, specially if you are going to travel in third class!

Yeah...them were the good old days, but for a journey that takes just over 2 hours I am sure that not only you will enjoy it but it will be one of the few memorable journeys by train that you will remember for a long time to come.

As you travel up North through the Nile delta and it's numerous canals (to see them sit at the left hand side of the carriage)you will appreciate how the Nile is so precious to the people of Egypt.

As you get closer to the Mediterranean coast, the weather gets to cool and you will see the distinct difference between the desert weather and the coastal one.
The breeze will flow through your hairs, the sun will splash your face with it's warmth and along the way, the people will wave at you remind you of their hospitality and warmth.

Alexandria, this historical city with it's 17Km coastal promenade is something that you should see.
The beaches one one side and the magnificent villas and houses overlooking the turquoise sea is something that no-one should miss as it reminds us, of the days
gone by, how the the rich and the famous, made a sizeable real-estate investment to have the best location (now full of hotels,apartments and boarding
houses) in this jewel called Alexandria.

Cornish

I enjoyed so much that I wanted to get drunk with joy and happiness, so as I was sitting on one of the numerous gracious European-style cafes, a man in his usual Fellahin (local dress) attire accosted me to sell me a bottle of Johny Walker Red
whiskey for a ridiculous price of one Egyption pounds (0.185 US cents in todays exchange rate) being completely green and wet behind the ears, I paid the man
and grabbed the bottle, thinking that I had made the killing of my life!

As I left to go back to my boarding house, I was overjoyed with the thought of having a whiskey on the rocks, from my balcony overlooking the sea.

Having made myself confortable and holding my ice filled glass, I went on
to uncork and open the bottle.

After a few seconds I was pouring the contents into my ice filled glass and as I sipped the 'whiskey' I realised that Iwas conned, as the contents, far from being whisky turned-out to be TEA!!!

Yes folks, they had sucked the real whiskey from the bottle by inserting a syringe through the cork and had replaced the whiskey with similar coloured tea!

Boy oh boy! Was that a wake-up call for me!!!

Anyway, back to the today's trains.
There are three types of train operating between Cairo and Alexandria: turbo, express and ordinary. The superfast, non-stop so-called "French", "Spanish" or torbini trains (French and Spanish refer to the countries where the trains were built or overhauled), have air-conditioned first and second classes and a refreshments service. The express services also have good first and second class services but are a bit slower. The total cheapo, the all-stops ordinary trains, have no first class, air-con in second class only on request, and third-class is considered a no-go zone for even the tightest foreigner.

Aerial view of Cornish

If you can't get a first-class ticket, second class is perfectly suitable, with airline-style seats, a food and beverage service, and big, though heavily finger-printed, windows which don't open,(in my days you couldn't closed them even if you tried) so photos are out of the picture. Large luggage is locked away in a compartment at the end of each carriage by a porter,(in my old days the luggage be it big or small travelled with you in the carriage, in the above-head compartments) who unlocks it as you pull into your destination.

In the old days, we had a man clonking a tea glass to it's saucer, to alert the passengers that you could have tea if you ever wanted one.

Now these days,The tea man walks the aisles through the trains, offering tea, instant coffee, pastries and water. Amazingly, he remembers everything you had, and presents the bill just before you pull in to the station. This is no paper cup misery: tea comes in a glass with a metal spoon and even a saucer lined with a napkin to steady it against the knocks and bangs of the train, which is for the most part very smooth.

Now for the downside of things.
It would be advisable for you to do your toilet business BEFORE you board the train, as the hygiene and the smell of the train toilets, will not entice you to even enter them, let alone do your business!

But if you must, buy scented (lemon preferably), tissues.
Also, have plenty of change for unexpected transactions, as if you don't give the exact amount, you are not likely to get your change.

Try to travel at the off-peak days (mondays to Thursdays) as from Thursday onwards, the locals tend to get-away for the week-end( Friday is considered a holiday).

If you are travelling solo, then, do not despair, there are plenty of Egyptians who would want to share addresses with you and tell you, in their own way and english, their stories!

All in all, it will be an unforgetable trip, that will linger in your memory for a long time to come and will make n interesting anecdote of travel to tell your children and relatives.

You can find the train schedules here:

happy and safe travels to you.

Harry