The worlds capital of Dirtyness?
Trip Start
May 30, 2009
1
5
37
Trip End
Aug 04, 2009
Cairo,
Egypt
Thursday, June 11, 2009
I got in at a very good 7am - I slept ok on the bus and although a little bit dazed I was kind of ready - Not ready enough though, the taxi onslaught was more than I was prepared for. I beat through them to get my bag and then beat through them again to get out of the terminal building. Only to realise I had no clue where I was and I was cetrtainly not in the terminal I expected to arive in. So I beat my way back through the taxi drivers to get to some other tourists and eventually shared a taxi with 2 newlyweds to downtown. They got dropped off at their place and I was unceremoniously dumped somewhere in the area of mine as I refused to pay more than the agreed price. I found the hostel recommended - full, and then went downstairs and managed to get a bed there. A nice place with big windows.
Pyramids
I spent the day sleeping and reading and wondering around a bit I had a nice haircut. Well it was nice untill he tried to charge me $20 afterwards! So I had the usual shit where I bargain for a lower price which only comes slightly, then I threaten to walk out, then I do walk out and then we come to a fair price - well - still a crazy price but one I am prepared to pay.
I ate some nice Kebabs and had a nice chat with the owner.
Today has been an interesting day (8/6/09), I have been trying, unsuccessfully all day to get a fake student ID card. You recieve a 50% discout everywhere in Egypt with it so I really could do with one. I have been seeking out the people I am usually trying to avoid, being dragged around perfume shops and dealing with a whole load of crappy conversation but eventually I keep getting dragged back to the same guy - I guess he is some underworld boss but he cant help me so I still dont have one - It has certainly been interesting though!
So, although its been a good time its been a wasteful time as well - tomorrow I will actually do something touristy - maybe got to Islamic Cairo
Pyramids
. I should have a couple of friends here by then anyway.Well, no luck on the fake student ID front. I have been actively seeking those guys I am normal going out of my way to avoid. This has lead to many crappy conversations, many cups of tea and cigarettes, even more waiting and all just to come up with the same response that a form of proof of being a student is completely necessary.
So – I tried faking it! I went online, stole the icon of the university of Gloucestershire, and went to the office with a print out I was quite pleased with…… She wasn't! She said I needed to go to my embassy to get a stamp to make it valid. So off I went to the embassy – ive got nothing else to do today! This was a bit rubbish as well, I waited in the queue to the sob stories of English dudes who cant get any money and are off on tours etc etc. On my turn I was told I needed to go the education building in another part – this was the moment I knew I was beaten, the system was actually very good and I gave up.
This was only my intro to Cairo though – I love it here. The people, even the con men are so friendly
Pyramids
. It takes 10 mins to cross any road and then you still nearly get hit when darting across. Its fantastic – such a cool place. Not a cool place to get things done though….. My 3 buddies, Zeya, Russ and Lucas arrived in the morning and left me a note so I changed hostels to share a room with them. All 3 are very cool guys, Russ and Lucas have been traveling for the past 11 months together which is very impressive as they are both such strong characters and Zeya has been out in the middle east for a couple of months and is a bit stuck here as his jaunt to Israel was just that, he couldn’t get in for some or another reason and as they gave him a stamp to say he had tried most of the Arab world will now not let him into their countries – If there were no such things as Planes and boats Zeya would be stranded here for ever!
So we had a great 1st day together the 4 of us. We went out to Islamic Cairo. We chatted to everyone we could. Got a kind of a guided tour by a local who was just exceptionally friendly and wanted nothing from us. We walked up to one of the mosques in the area – up a large minaret – wow, one of the best views ever! We also had the cheapest meal between us – less tan a dollar to feed us all! And it was V good, nice falafels in the local bread
Pyramids
. My camera broke – the only sour note for my day. The LCD broke so I spent the last 2 hours of the day trying to get this fixed – unsuccessful, and a hell of a lot of hassle – see, not a good place to get things done. I went back and played chess all night against Alan, an American dude from our hostel with copious beers and it was a really nice atmosphere with all my friends around and about.
Another day in Cairo another amazing experience. This time the Egyptian museum. The 4 of us cruised over for half a day and it was so huge we just couldn’t take it in. It was stunning and I don’t regret a second but to be honest the only things that really stuck were the mummies in one room which had an additional entrance fee more than the whole museum, it was worth it though. The hair still on the mummy’s bodies and their looks of agony or peace depending on the position in the tomb are quite incredible – and a bit unsettling. The other great part of the museum was the contents of Tuttan Kamun’s tomb – it was a huge room and the detail on the sarcophaguses the Pharaoh himself was entombed in – Vultures and birds of prey on the designs and well, it really blows your mind, any further description would not do it justice
Pyramids
. We saw his Head masque – maybe the most important image for Egypt and then after a couple of hours had to get out of there- it was way to much history to take in – as Russ said these things are designed to astound and impress but when you are seeing one after another they don’t – too much.Outside we all gave an interview for a local TV channel which was interesting! Just a 5 minute chat about our trips and experiences as we went – a bit surreal after our last couple of hours.
I then tried once again unsuccessfully to get my camera fixed and now I realize it isn’t going to happen – I need a new one. I spent the rest of the day cowering from the sun like most people and played chess for a chunk – Alan isn’t bad at all.
The 4 of us had an excellent evening this evening walking around at night, buying a beer and drinking it into a park which had an excellent view over the Nile and central Cairo – very memorable – the conversation was excellent as well, all 4 of us have a fair bit in common.
I told you every day brings something new and amazing, today it is just the PYRAMIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pyramids
! We walked out of the front door and there was a taxi offering us a very reasonable price to Giza – so we hopped in and arrived so early nothing was open! So we got some breakfast of Full (a bean based snack in pita), falafels (chick pea based in Pita) and a nice cup of tea (tea leaves and hot water – of course!). We walked in after the usual hassle which really isn’t all that bad. As soon as you get in there you are confronted with the Sphinx which is astounding although smaller than you would expect – and she has the backdrop of the 2 largest Pyramids – very impressive. We went over to an insignificant pyramid waiting for the main one to open which involved clambering down a Shute into a tomb – it was cool as there was just the 4 of us there and we just hung out in there for a little to get out of the 40oC heat. After a while we went into the big Pyramid. It is amazing. Up a big ramp to the top of the Pyramid which takes a little time to get there. Once in the tomb the acoustics are amazing. We did the usual shouts and screams and then while relaxing we must have really freaked out when we started singing barber shop quartet songs randomly – Mr Sandman was the best – it sounded brilliant!We then walked over to the 2nd largest Pyramid and tried to get in but when we were refused we offered a bit of a money, this was also refused so we tried singing them a song to many crazy looks and then walked off – it must have been one of the strangest experiences these guys ever had at work
Pyramids
! I chilled outside the 2nd Pyramid while the guys all went off on camels to a view point I hate camels – really hate them so I declined. I checked out the 3rd Pyramid a bit and then met them to walk to another viewpoint before evacuating the complex – awesome is the only word that comes close.After a slow day of chilling, drinking, chess and cards it was time for Russ and Lucas to leave for Europe – I was sad to see them go. Zeya and I have also decided to move on so after a day in which after a fair bit of walking I bought a nice little cannon camera we got our tickets and got out of Cairo – what a fantastic city! We are both going to miss it.
![[11] Camel and Pyramids](http://images.travelpod.com/users/el_condor/thumbnail.asia_2005.1143747660.picture_032.jpg)