New Balance Shoe and Apparel Sale

New Balance Shoe and Apparel Sale

Mohamed Mukhtar, Well, our experience with your organization and staff went well without any difficulties. I have appreciated your very prompt responses to all my questions. I also want to inform you that we were entirely pleased with Mahmoud, and also with Hussein. Both were always attentive, pleasant, and professional. The buses and van used were most comfortable, and were safely driven by very competent drivers. They CLAIM that they can cater to your needs and requests but really, you are just a pawn in a chess game where they move you around from place to place. And you pay lots for them to do this! We booked a 3 night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor and added an extra night in Aswan for a day trip to Abu Simbel. We got to Aswan by sleeper train which was clean and efficient. Prior to our train trip, a representative from Memphis, Tamer Gouda, met us to give us our train tickets and collect the balance by credit card. We were also provided a cell phone but we requested the airtime credits instead. When he returned with the airtime card, he immediately grabbed our cell phone to supposedly put in the credits. Upon receiving my phone back, there was no text message indicating my new balance. When I asked him for the airtime card so that I could reenter the numbers, he brusquely stated that it would not work. But when I entered the numbers and pressed send, it immediately gave me a text with my new balance. He was trying to STEAL the 10 Egyptian Pound airtime credit!We started with one guide in Aswan and the company ended up changing our guides 2 more times (3 different guides?) Honestly, one was not better than the other. The Royal Viking ship was luxurious and they had a food that was good quality and variety. Don't expect any Egyptian food, just the European/Continental variety. No matter what company you take, the itinerary and procedures will be the same. They shuttle you to the sites, lecture you on the basic information and give you very LITTLE time to actually see the sites. At KomOmbo, we had a total of 10 minutes to walk around the huge temple! If you have already read about Egyptian civilization or even watched a National Geographic program on it, the information they give you (if even accurate) doesn't enhance the experience. They have a SCRIPT that they regurgitate to tourists. At the Valley of the Kings, we rushed through 5 tombs in a matter of 1 hour. It's just not enough time to take in the grandeur or the beauty of these monuments.

They also don't encourage you to visit other sites such as the AMAZING Valley of the Nobles on the West Bank of Luxor. In fact, instead they offer to take you to an alabaster factory where they try to sell you objects at inflated tourist prices! We had to take the time one afternoon to do it ourselves and there were hardly any other tourists there. Independent and seasoned travelers: take the train to Aswan or Luxor, hire a driver to take you to the sites in between, and take a lovely felucca ride to experience the beautiful Nile. And if you have the cash, rent out a dahabiyaa (traditional sailing boat) and take your time to soak in the amazing ancient Egyptian culture!

1 flights set off Air NZ stampede

Air New Zealand sparked an online buying frenzy yesterday when it advertised its cheapest domestic fares for $1 the price of one of its inflight biscuits.

The flights were offered to celebrate the first anniversary of the airline's discounted online airfare website grabaseat, which offers a range of low domestic and international fares. Prices include HamiltonPalmerston North for $29 one way and AucklandLos Angeles for $498 return.

They were advertised on the website at various times between midnight on Monday and 6.30pm last night.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said yesterday at least 500 discounted seats had been offered.

She would not say if the offer would be repeated.

"At this stage it was a oneoff celebrating the first anniversary. It's the lowest domestic fare we have ever offered."

She declined to say how much the discount cost the airline in terms of subsidies and what resources were put into the promotion.

"The quickest sellout was 20 minutes from Auckland to Wellington. The website slowed down because of the number of hits but it was still working. The frenzy wasn't surprising because it was such an amazing offer.

"Customers jumped in and got what they wanted."

Air New Zealand general manager (internet) Nicki Garraway said the response to grabaseat had been exceptional. The average fare for domestic routes was about $50.

A Flight Centre spokeswoman said yesterday it wasn't clear if this was a sign of things to come for New Zealand.