Random observations and thoughts
Trip Start
Oct 30, 2007
1
12
15
Trip End
Nov 18, 2007
Aqaba,
Jordan
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
1) Donkeys - they are the hardest working animal in all of Egypt. Everywhere there are donkeys. I don't think there is anything funnier looking than a grown man riding a donkey - legs hanging down to where they almost touch the ground - and you see it everywhere in Egypt. I feel sorry for the donkeys - most of them appear to have a rough life.
2) Cats and Dogs - Cats are everywhere in Egypt, just everywhere. Very hard for me to not pet them, but except for the ones at our beach camp which were in good health and very friendly, I stay away. You rarely see dogs. I expected to see them all over the place just as we had in Peru, but evidently they are not popular animals with Muslims so you don't come across them too often.
3) Housing in Egypt - when you are in the Nile Valley, you see all of these unfinished houses. Basically, concrete with metal rods sticking out of the top like they are still working on building the home and have another level to go... but, they don't really have another level to go. See, in Egypt, you don't pay taxes on your home until it is finished, so to get around paying taxes, no one ever completely finishes building their home.
4) Corporate America has not completely overtaken the world - we have not seen a single Starbucks since we left London. But, we did just come across a Gloria Jean's coffee in Jordan.
5) Hotel door locks - one of our biggest frustrations has been the locks on all of our hotel rooms. They are the most annoyingly finicky things. At each new place, you have to figure out just the right touch to get the damn door to lock or unlock. It becomes quite comical.
6) Laundry - one of the greatest joys when traveling for any length of time is when you get to do laundry. It is also one of your greatest fears as you are always uncertain as to what condition your clothes will be when you get them back from the hotel. Well, up to last night, we have had god luck in all of our travels with laundry... but, this time one of my shirts came back with a big hole in the middle of it. Oh well. I never bring anything to wear that I would be heartbroken if it got destroyed, so it's not the end of the world, but I was ticked.
7) Money - small denominations in Egypt are hard to come by and must be hoarded as much as possible. It seems that no one can make change for anything more than 10 pounds (about $2), and that is if you are lucky.
8) Aussie - We are being transformed into Australians. I now say torch instead of flashlight and biscuits instead of cookies. Our Aussie trip mates were spouting off some Aussie language to see if we knew what it was and of course we had no clue, so I tried to stump them on something American which is extremely hard to do since they get all of our tv shows and movies, but I was able to stump them with "Smore."
9) Sheesha - water pipes are very popular in Egypt. Haven't seem them so much yet in Jordan but I'm sure they are popular as well.
10) Toilets - bring your own toilet paper. It is rare that a bathroom has it, and when it does you will need to pay a pound to get some and use the toilet. Also, don't flush the tp, you put it in the trash can next to the toilet as the sewer system has a hard time handling it.
11) Egyptian cars - using headlights appears to be optional in Egypt as maybe only 1/3 of the cars actually use them in Cairo at least. It makes crossing the street at night extra fun. And, the cars in Egypt are not traded in everywhere couple of years. These things are run into the ground and then repaired and run into the ground again, again. Car parts shops were everywhere.
12) Flies - Whatever species of fly that exists in Egypt, it is certainly the most persistent and peskiest of any I have ever come across. And, they seem to come in large quantities.
Ok, well, that's it for now. We head out for Wadi Rum today (Lawrence of Arabia fame) and a night in the desert. Tomorrow is Petra, we can't wait!! Will write again soon.
