Luxor4u

An American newspaper says that Luxor is experiencing a tourism ‘boomlet’. Their source is the General Manager of the airport and their evidence is the increase in international flights:

“The Japanese came back first with four direct flights a month from Osaka,” said Luxor International Airport General Manager Hesam Elhonsy. “The Germans were next with five direct flights a week. By October, both London Heathrow and Gatwick will have nonstop Luxor flights, and this is sure to boost the number of visitors coming from the USA.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... ebound-as/

Is anyone noticing a change on the ground?

After the Russian flights to the coast were stopped was their an attempt to attract them to Luxor? It might not be the Red Sea but there is sun and pools.

Well that's certainly booming all problems solved.
Shame its not quite correct.
Yes 4 a month sounds better than 1 a week that only comes inbound on the way to Cairo.
Yes five direct flights that continue to the Red Sea where iirc they cannot go so have also stopped.
And a Gatwick flight that's not Due until October 2017.

The change that's noticeable is the town is as dead as I can remember it is much worse than last summer.

Change that's noticeable in dinning out options:

Joan's Closed
Casablanca Closed
7 Days 7 Ways/Royal Oak Closed
Oasis Cafe Closed
Metropolitan Closed
Kabadgy Closed
Smileys Closed
Bombay Closed
Regal Lounge Closed
The Fortune Cookie Closed
Puddleduck Closed
Bon Appetit Closed
Sinohe Closed
Tut Disco Closed
Deans Bistro Closed (may be opening later)
Tutti Fruitti Closed (may be opening later)
Jems Restaurant Closed
The Grand I think has closed at the moment

The Russians have an Egypt wide ban not just the coast.

So - is the message don't believe everything your are told by an Egyptian public official?

Silly me. Silly American newspaper:)

My pal just booked Easyjet for the New Year and it was cheaper than a train ticket from Glasgow to London....

And one of the big German tour companies here have had little to no business all year, no bookings I believe until the end of this year, so do not know where they get the figures from, unless the BS pile is still diggable.

Dusak wrote:And one of the big German tour companies here have had little to no business all year, no bookings I believe until the end of this year, so do not know where they get the figures from, unless the BS pile is still diggable.

Yes the German flights go on to Taba or Sharm both still of limits to Germans so no Luxor flights until on of those opens up.

Who2 wrote:My pal just booked Easyjet for the New Year and it was cheaper than a train ticket from Glasgow to London....

Yep....so cheap over the winter.

Unfortunately I need to pop over to London in August....sleazy Jet want about 500 quid out of me...and that's just one way!!

I might try Egyptair.

Newcastle - Egyptair - do tell us your experiences. They must have lost all confidence so they are not going to be even third rate for a few years. Why does the government need to own them?

Its not on point but I once flew Sudan Air. Segregated men and women with young boys with their mothers. No Alcohol but lots of nice karkaday. None of this bothered me. What did bother me was Khartoum where the plane was parked in 50C degree heat with the air conditioning off. After they turned the AC off the pilots went to a hanger and prayed for 20 minutes, in the shade, whilst we broiled/cooked in the metal machine. It was an old 707 but that didn't stop the government being proud about owning this piece of malmanaged s**t. Government ownership of airlines is a bit like this generally.

When I tried to get out of Khartoum by air I found that the very new President had commandeered the 707 to fly to Saudi for military and economic support. I spent 4 days at the airport waiting for the plane to return to civilian routes. I was so mean I would not pay the extra for the enticing Air France flight to Cairo. Stupid me. But I did eventually get my, pre-paid, Air Sudan fully segregated flight to Cairo. They didn't kill me. I got there. It was better than the train trip to Wadi Haifa.I should be grateful.

There was more, or less, to Air Sudan but that is another story, off topic, and for another date. State owned airlines - the story is always the same - not even Air France is what it used to be. Egypt is obviously exempt from the international and universal rule about government ownership of airlines.

Is there anyone else on this site who has 'flown' Air Sudan. Their recollections would be of interest to me.

What a list of closed places Bombay, I fear that most of them will never open again, and ?I do not blame them either. No body starts a fire with hard cash.

Hafiz wrote:
Is there anyone else on this site who has 'flown' Air Sudan. Their recollections would be of interest to me.

Are you tripping or what, Hafiz ?

Even in the old days when you would take the boat, ( I use that word very loosely ) down to Wadi Halfa you always needed one bottle of Scotch for the river journey, and two more for the road afterwards, at least if you were to die, you was going happy. .

Tourists from Europe these days, have no idea how to ruff it,..........though I'm told the Aussis have still got b*ll*cks. .

Tourists from Europe these days, have no idea how to ruff it

Horus wrote:

Tourists from Europe these days, have no idea how to ruff it

For Christ sake Horus some of us still talk in the old street term. It seems to me that even if you ever had a stiff in your life, ...............you never enjoyed it.

For once in your life, get real, for God sake. .

P.S. Ruff, not rough is a bit street cred. I really must go down the local conservative club in South East England one day, even if it's only for the cheap booze. .

newcastle wrote:

Who2 wrote:My pal just booked Easyjet for the New Year and it was cheaper than a train ticket from Glasgow to London....

Yep....so cheap over the winter.

Unfortunately I need to pop over to London in August....sleazy Jet want about 500 quid out of me...and that's just one way!!

I might try Egyptair.

I find Easyjet really expensive, especially if you have to book hold luggage. I think the only way to get a cheap flight with them is if you know your dates and can book the day the dates are launched.

Angela wrote:

newcastle wrote:

Who2 wrote:My pal just booked Easyjet for the New Year and it was cheaper than a train ticket from Glasgow to London....

Yep....so cheap over the winter.

Unfortunately I need to pop over to London in August....sleazy Jet want about 500 quid out of me...and that's just one way!!

I might try Egyptair.

I find Easyjet really expensive, especially if you have to book hold luggage. I think the only way to get a cheap flight with them is if you know your dates and can book the day the dates are launched.

I only ever have hand luggage. Egyptair is looking like 300GBP one way. Depends whether I can bear the extra hassle...change at Cairo etc.....to save 200GBP. Knowing me, I'll probably just swallow Easyjet's rip-off price.

A-Four wrote:

Horus wrote:

Tourists from Europe these days, have no idea how to ruff it

For Christ sake Horus some of us still talk in the old street term. It seems to me that even if you ever had a stiff in your life, ...............you never enjoyed it.

For once in your life, get real, for God sake. .

P.S. Ruff, not rough is a bit street cred. I really must go down the local conservative club in South East England one day, even if it's only for the cheap booze. .

Just how old are you A4, 75?
I only ask because you always come across as some sort of old colonialist who has lost the empire.
I am laughing at yet another of your ludicrous statements when as usual you try to make out that you are the seasoned traveller and the fount of all wisdom, but that everyone else is just a day tripper, what a deluded fool you are. I was up to my arse in crocodiles wandering around Africa while you were buying your whiskey for your train trips. So you are trying to say that only you have some sort of ‘street cred’ that it is only you that is ‘savvy’ and ‘street smart’? What exactly made you so more seasoned than the rest of us to make such blanket statements? Did you travel by camel into the Sudan? Or did you take the other alternative travel arrangements for Africa which typically used to be either a dodgy state run airline, or a similarly unreliable rail system or indeed a car or lorry trip along an unmade Laterite road? But then again you won’t recall that most of these places used to have better transport than can be found today, you have probably never been any further than Wadi Halfa by the sound of things.

Now would that be ‘stiff’ as in a dead body? ‘stiff’ as in a hard drink? Or ‘stiff’ as in an erection? As usual your language is so archaic that it is hard to follow.
All I can say is that I have had plenty of the latter (and still do)
Not had as many of the second as you obviously have, we don’t all live in a bottle.
As to the first, well you have beat me there, the only dead body I have had dealings with recently is the dead horse you keep flogging in an attempt to impress the rest of us.
As to your local Conservative club, I assume that they don’t vet their members anymore?

Don't yer just love it when Horus falls out of the wrong side of the bed, and spits out a load of venom on here. .

A-Four wrote:Don't yer just love it when Horus falls out of the wrong side of the bed, and spits out a load of venom on here. .

“Some enchanted evening someone may be laughing
You may hear them laughing across a crowded room
And night after night as strange as it seems
The sound of their laughter will sing in your dreams”

Each time I have read the word 'ruff' in this thread I have seen an altogether unsuitable piece of clothing for the traveller of any ilk. I have visualised the collar of varying intricacy as favoured by the well dressed Elizabethan.



I did also recall there was a bird named a ruff (altogether a different creature to a 'rough bird' ;-) ) and it would appear from the images that have found one such bird likes to show off a rough collar too. I'm not sure if that makes it a ruff ruff!





Of course, there is another ruff, but being a skin disease it also comes with long words in it's title that elude me at the moment.

You are probably thinking of Psoriasis Hepzi, as that is 'Ruff' skin, or as the better educated would say "Rough skin"
Always found the skill required by any artist to paint such a realistic ruff (as shown in your paintings) truly amazing.

Horus wrote:You are probably thinking of Psoriasis Hepzi, as that is 'Ruff' skin, or as the better educated would say "Rough skin"
Always found the skill required by any artist to paint such a realistic ruff (as shown in your paintings) truly amazing.

Seborrheic Keratoses Ruff those are the words I was searching for. I'll leave it to the reader to search for images if they wish to.

I agree with you about the artistic skill require to paint the ruff. The imagination of the creator takes some beating, not to mention the skill of the maker. As for the laundry maid's job...I have seen some ruffs, and the special wooden spokes (for want of a better word) that were used to retain the shape when drying a ruff, in National Trust or similar type properties. How such an intricate (and impractical) piece of attire came about I cannot imagine.