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Published: June 12th 2007
i don't think i can describe Cairo, u have to see it for yourself, this city is crazy! i arrived wednesday morning, was so glad to see my friend we talked all night so i managed 50h without sleep. i was knackered. it was quite hot but not as much as i thought. they all said i brought the london weather with me.
i had to sleep all day then we went for a nice and very very cheap meal in a italian restaurant. i know i should be ashamed but it was so cheap and so good.
we then went to the Hard Rock Cafe at the haytt hotel for a drink but it wasn't busy so we left.
the next day i went to visit Islamic Cairo all my myself while my friend was at work. people told me to take a taxi and not the public transport but i didn't listen to them, i just love when i'm the only foreigner in a bus. people were all staring, not in a bad way, they were just curious and couldn't get the fact that i was travelling on my own let alone being a woman alone. i was the only white and also the only woman with my head not covered. the area is called Islamic Cairo simply because this is where all the ancient and most beautiful mosques are.
i went to um tulun mosque, this is the oldest and one of the most sacred. this is when i noticed that someone from the local bus was following me. it went on like that for 3 hours until i took another bus. this is quite common here, locals are mesmerized by foreigners but i don't think they would go further than that. i found Egyptians on my 1st day very nice and warm, ok they can be quite annoying but compared to some places in Asia, it's not too bad. they always make an effort to speak english or any other language and not necesseraly to sell something. kids are out of control, trying to get their picture taken then they get all shy. that day i got 2 wedding proposals, i could have gotten 10000 camels,i told the guy that wasn't enough so i got 15000. if u're tired of single life, come to Cairo and u can get married in no time!!
life is really cheap here, u take the bus for about 5p and can have a really good meal for 5 pounds, maybe less.
on the other side, and Jacky if you read this,this message is for you, if u're scared of cars, noise or lots of people this is not for you!! don't think it's worse than KL but it's definitely the same kind of city. and it's so polluted. if you go on the mountains on the outskirts of the city, you can see a massive cloud and it's even hard to see anything.
after my first day we decided to go on a weekend at the Red Sea with my friend and a friend of hers, in Arabic countries, weekend is friday and saturday. so on thursday night we took the night coach for 8h and we arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh. it got bombed about 2 years ago but that didn't put people off as it was really busy and it's not even the high season. i had an idea how it would be but it;s so touristic it's mad. if you don't look at the souvenir shops you wouldn't know if u're in Spain, Turkey or even England. it's full of english girls getting drunk dressed like in london with high heels and short dresses. Egyptians guys are wild, looking at girls behaving so badly, i think some tourists tend to forget it's still a muslim county, that's why they think we are easy girls. there's a KFC, pizza hut and the rest. there's even a ministry of sound. it's such a shame cos the area is so nice.
our hotel is cool, it's got a pool that the first think i do after we check in the morning. i haven't swim since last summer. we decided to go to Ras Mohammed national park. but first there's a problem of finding a taxi who's not going to rip us off. is it possible? no. we're european so we've obviously got money, that's how they think. thanks for my friend who speaks arabic so we get a good deal, it took 1/2h but it's worth it.
the national park is really nice, with lots of different small beaches, all deserted. i still can't realise i'm here, this country's got everything, history, the last wonder of the world left, big cities, different culture and the Red Sea.
we then went to party that night until 4am, they had the smoove party at the ministry, the same rnb hip hop night than in London, but they were charging double money than london. so i just danced on the street, even heard my song wifey. the streets are lined with restaurant, shops and bars, it's very lively but very overpriced.
next day we went to the beach and did a tour with a glass bottom boat. i don't normally like it as it's a big tourist trap but it was cool. we saw some corals but not great ones, i bet they were dead but we saw some really nice fish. i then snorkelled for 5 mins, saw lots of fish but nothing much.
i'm now in Dahab, i completely fell in love with this place, this is exactly what travelling is all about. i read that this is the Koh Samui of the Middle East and it;s true. you can watch movies while eating on the beach with lots of cushions and have a beer for 60p. it's also the best place to dive or snorkel and meet fellow travellers. i feel like i'm back in Thailand or Bali. will tell u next time.
i'm going back to Cairo now, leaving in 2h for a night bus, full of locals. don't know if i will be able to sleep, haven't slept last night as i climbed the Mount Sinai at night, the best thing i ever seen, i'm so proud of myself for doing it!! tomorrow is pyramids day. can't hardly wait. and i leave again on thursday night for a weekend in Luxor.
pictures will come soon, inshalaa!! xx
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Nadine
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wow
Gosh I´m so jealous girl!! It all sounds really great!! wish I could travell again as well... enjoy ur time!!! miss ya xo