The vacation that wasn't

Political turmoil in Egypt has finally come to an end. Hundreds of thousands of people on the street. Situation was very volatile. The president has finally resigned and the army has taken over. We could have been right there in the middle of it all. Thankfully we were not.

Of all the places we could have gone to for our fifth anniversary, we had picked Egypt. We were supposed to land on Cairo exactly four days after it all started, when you don't know how it will all pan out. Of course we did not know this two months ago when we actually planned the trip. Dreaming of the pyramids, the mummies, the old temples, a cruise in the Nile, delicious middle eastern food and warm weather, we had booked an eight day vacation in Egypt through a tour company. Borrowed the Lonely Planet Guide on Egypt from the library and read all about the places we were going to see. Packed all our clothes and ready to leave on Saturday 29 Jan.

Then the reports started trickling in. The demonstrations started on Tuesday. "Not a big deal, these things happen all the time" I thought. They continued on Wednesday. A friend texted me to enquire if we are still going. "Yes, of course" I thought. Feeling a little bit queasy, called the tour company, who assured me things are just fine in Egypt. I blamed it all on the 24 hour news channels and their sensationalism and went on with my life.

Thursday was relatively calm, but on Friday all hell broke loose. Things looked rather bleak on TV. The tour company still planned to go ahead with it. Wife was not very sure. I called our bank with whom we had the travel insurance to find out if there is any way to get the money back. Unsurprisingly political turmoil is not covered by the insurance. If the tour company cancels the tour, they are liable to give us the money back. "That explains it all" I thought. But still the British Foreign Office's travel advisory did not stop travel to Egypt. For me, that's a strong enough reason to go. If the Americans and Brits are so cool, why does a desi bother?

The few friends we talked to all were against us going ahead. Family was worried and they were calling and texting us. Wife and I had a long discussion on Friday night. Wife argued that if things take a turn for the worse, we will be stuck in the hotel for days or weeks before we can get out. Plus there will be thugs on the street trying to make the most of the situation and foreigners are an easy target. There is a slim chance that it will all die down and things will be back to normal in a couple of days and we will look like idiots with all our packed suitcases laughing at us. But that ain't going to happen. She convinced me and we made the call not to go.

As we were watching TV, curfew was announced all over Egypt and the Foreign office announced not to travel to Egypt. That's great news! There is no way the tour company can go ahead with the tour. We talked to them the next day and they offered to refund our money, which we gladly accepted.

It's been two weeks since and things have just calmed down. The protesters have won and there is a new government out there. In hindsight, I think I should have been more ready to swallow the loss and decide not to go much much earlier. That's fine - it's just one more lesson learnt. Dumb as I am, I've got friends and family who care and a wise, far sighted wife who will not let it happen. As for Egypt, that has to wait for another anniversary.