From: nabil@cae.wisc.edu (Nabil Ayoub)
Subject: Re: Travel to Cairo and Amsterdam
Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering
Date: 29 Dec 92 17:51:13 CST
Summary: Includes "AREA SPECIALISTS" FILE (V.1.1 REVISED 24 DECEMBER 1992)

In article <1992Dec26.234501.17517@Bang.UUCP> bam%bang@trout.nosc.mil writes:
>bbarnes@peg.pegasus.oz.au wrote:
>: 
>: 
>: I'm off to Egypt next March for a short holiday en-route to
>: Europe.  I would appreciate some useful advice and tips about
>: Cairo and Egypt in general - such as the best places to cash
>: travellers' cheques; what to avoid (besides the water); and
>: any interesting things to do or see apart from the usual
>: tourist traps.
>
>
>Egypt is work. I'll share a few hints from my recent trip.
>
>You will be required to change money at the airport.  Change the *least*
>that they will let you.  EVERYWHERE ELSE is a better deal.  Best deal is
>on the street, black market money changers are on every corner.  Just
>don't carry everything in your wallet.

Not necessarily. After the last series of economic reforms,  the  difference
between what you would get in a bank and what do you get in the black market
when  exchanging currency  is  neglegible and is not worthed the risk.  I do
recommend using the banks over the black market.

[ Taxi stories deleted ]

Indeed taxis can be quite an adventure for a foreigner. The best thing is
to agree on the fare at the beginning.

I recommend getting any. travel guide from your local bookstore about Egypt.
I also found out from  bit.listserv.travel-l,  that there  are volunteers in
various  places in the world to  help answer people's  travel questions. The
person to ask about Egypt is :

Egypt           Hatem Dowidar (tomy_ace@egaucacs.bitnet)

at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Here is the entire posting :

----- Begin included file -----

Article: 4694 of bit.listserv.travel-l
Date:         Thu, 24 Dec 92 14:55:00 EST
From:         nd26 <Nancy_R_DEUEL@UMAIL.UMD.EDU>
Subject:      File of area specialists
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.travel-l

"AREA SPECIALISTS" FILE (V.1.1 REVISED 24 DECEMBER 1992)
     This is a file of TRAVEL-L subscribers who have volunteered to serve as
amateur sources of travel and tourist information concerning a few places
around the world.
     Please do some basic research on the area of interest FIRST before you
contact them. Guidebooks and professional travel agents will give you the
background you need on transportation and lodging--seek it there.
     Once you are ready for a more personal perspective and have developed
some specific questions (advice on things to see, night life, special events,
local customs and food, opinions on what you should not miss, spots to avoid,
etc.) please contact the person(s) listed directly via their personal email
address listed. Post summaries of your research, or post-travel reports, to the
general TRAVEL-L list--IF they are of *general interest*.
     Please contact me (Nancy Deuel, email address nd26@umail.umd.edu) if you
find that this file is in error (sorry, I lost a couple of posts I received on
this!) or you would like to be added/deleted from later editions of this file.
<<I am NOT the list owner or coordinator!!>>
<<I disclaim any responsibility for content/errors and of course I did not do
this on company time or equipment!>>

***North American Continent***
---Northeast USA/CAN---
*Rhode Island
Andy Shaindlin (resident)(andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
*Connecticut
Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
*Massachusetts
Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
*Massachusetts/Boston
Nancy Deuel (nd26@umail.umd.edu)
*New Hampshire
Nancy Deuel (nd26@umail.umd.edu)
*New York City
Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
Lloyd Dennington (ldenning@athena.cair.du.edu)
*Nova Scotia/Halifax, Ontario/Toronto
Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
---Mid-Atlantic USA---
*Maryland
Nancy Deuel (resident) (nd26@umail.umd.edu)
*Washington, DC
Nancy Deuel (resident) (nd26@umail.umd.edu)
*North Carolina/Outer banks
Anne Suggs (resident) (cisuggs@ecuvm.cis.ecu.edu)
---Midwest USA/CAN---
*Minnesota
Randy Cadwell (rcadwell@ndsuext.nodak.edu)
*North Dakota
Randy Cadwell (ND resident)(rcadwell@ndsuext.nodak.edu)
---Rockies USA/CAN---
*Colorado
Lloyd Dennington (Denver resident)(ldenning@athena.cair.du.edu)
Laurene Farley (lfarley@wsc.colorado.edu)
---Southeast/Deep South USA---
*Atlanta, Georgia
Lloyd Dennington (ldenning@athena.cair.du.edu)
*Louisiana/New Orleans
Louis Crispino (devblgctcstco.bitnet@pucc.princeton.edu)
James Baker (baker@dfwdsr.sinet.slb.com)
*Alabama
Jaroslaw Haftek (ehaftek@ua1vm.bitnet)
---Southwest/South Central USA---
*Tucson, Arizona
Lloyd Dennington (ldenning@athena.cair.du.edu)
*New Mexico/Santa Fe, Albuquerque
Charlie DiBella (resident)(omega@triton.unm.edu)
*Texas (north/east regions)
James Baker (Dallas resident)(baker@dfwdsr.sinet.slb.com)
---West Coast USA/CAN---
*San Diego, California
Lloyd Dennington (ldenning@athena.cair.du.edu)
Nancy Deuel (nd26@umail.umd.edu)
*San Francisco Bay California area
Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
---Mexico---
---Central America---
*Belize
Randy Cadwell (rcadwell@ndsuext.nodak.edu)

***South America***
Colombia        Pedro Godoy (Address lost--Travel-L member)
                Resident

***Great Britain***
Scotland        Jim Thompson (thompson@ucrac1.ucr.edu)
England         Guy Pickering (g.pickering@bham.ac.uk)
                Birmingham (resident), Southeast area (Gatwick airport,
                Brighton, Sussex)

***Western Europe***
Brussels        Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindline@brown.edu)
Germany         Hans Steiner
                (resident)(hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bitnet@vm.gmd.de)
                Hatem Dowidar (tomy_ace@egaucacs.bitnet)
Italy           Hans Steiner (hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bitnet@vm.gmd.de)
Spain           Hans Steiner (hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bitnet@vm.gmd.de)
Switzerland     Hans Steiner (hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bitnet@vm.gmd.de)
Austria         Hans Steiner (hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bitnet@vm.gmd.de)

***Eastern Europe***
Greece          Avner Haran (cfavner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il)
                Athens, Paros, Santorini
Poland          Refal Konopka (rafalk@parallel.park.uga.edu)
                (former resident)

***Middle East/North Africa***
Israel          Avner Haran (cfavner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il)
                Most of country (Rehovot resident)
Tunisia         Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
Egypt           Hatem Dowidar (tomy_ace@egaucacs.bitnet)
                Cairo resident

***Asia***
EX-USSR         Andy Shaindlin (andrew_shaindlin@brown.edu)
                (Kiev, Ukraine)
                Ruth Radetsky (vpmath1@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu)
                (Tashkent, Central Asia, far eastern areas)
India           Avner Haran (cfavner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il)
                (Delhi, Agra, Khajuraho, Varanassi, Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur,
                Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Ajanta, Ellora, Bombay, Colva/Goa)
                Ruth Radetsky (vpmath@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu)
                (Amritsar, Indian-occupied Kashmir)
Nepal           Avner Haran (cfavner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il)
                (Kathmanu, Pokhara, Around Annapurna Trek)
Thailand        Avner Haran (cfavner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il)
                (Bangkok, Chiang-Mai, Koh-Samui)
                Hans Steiner (hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bitnet@vm.gmd.de)
Pakistan        Fahim Shafi (acdfsr@saupmoo.bitnet) Most of country
                Ruth Radetsky (vpmath1@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu)
                (northern/Punjab/Peshawer)
China           Ruth Radetsky (vpmath1@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu)
                (Xinjiang)
Singapore       Avner Haran (cfavner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il)

***Australia/Oceania***
Sydney          [Name?] (resident) (tmne@archsci.arch.su.edu.au)
Australia       Fay Sudweeks (Sydney resident) fays@archsci.arch.su.edu.au)
                Hans Steiner (hsteiner1.377926e-231srin.bittnet@vm.gmd.de)

----- end included file -----

I apologize for the bandwidth, but I thought it might be of help to
several other people.

Have a great trip to Egypt,

Nabil

          .-------------------------------------------------------------.
         /  Nabil Ayoub                        ____/   __  /    ____/  /
        /  Engine Research Center             /       /   /    /      /
       /  Dept. of Mechanical Engineering    ___/    __  /    /      /
      /  University of Wisconsin-Madison    /       /   |    /      /
     /  Email:ayoub@erctitan.me.wisc.edu  _____/ __/   _|  _____/  /
    '-------------------------------------------------------------'