Pharaonic Perfection

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My 13 hour train ride was alright, just a problem with my seat position, right next to the carriage entrance. So EVERY person who walks through it doesn’t close it. It only took 30 minutes for me to move seats.

Ramses station was my welcome point for the big city. I always come into town with a few choices to stay without reservation. My first choice was full, my second choice didn’t have change of a 10 Egyptian pound note (10p) and didn’t trust me paying my bill later. My 3rd choice was ok though. Smack bang in the middle of town, The Lilay hostel. By luck there was a Indian guy who knew where the Indian consulate was, he said it was just up the main street 5 minutes walk away. 5 minutes walk in a town of 16 million people? Blimey, double luck! It was too late to apply for my visa that day, but I picked up the necessary forms and give them in tomorrow.

Cairo is a nuts place, but I like it, a lot. Plenty of tourists here but too many Egyptians doing their own thing to worry about the likes of us. That’s a major relief after the crapness of Luxor and Aswan. Time for some catch up on the net. A few steps away from my hostel is 2 internet café’s side by side, both offering high speed, air conditioning, cheap drinks and surf time. I said I would toss a coin to decide, but Egypt has no coins in its currency so I threw a Egyptian Pound note in the air “Arabic or English?” Arabic won so I picked the one on the left, all the things they promised were delivered. A 9/10 internet café, all that was missing was firefox!

In the afternoon I went to the Egyptian museum. It took around 30 minutes to get through security. Once in it was well worth my 20 Egyptian pounds student entrance fee! It could have been a bit more labeled up, but it had more Egyptian stuff in it than the British Museum, hard to believe I know! In the evening I took a walk along the busy Nile and then relaxed in a coffee shop with a sheesha and a few cups of tea.

Up early to sort out my India visa, in no worries. Then left with not much else to do today, so I went to the American University and had a look in there book shop. I am after some Lonely Planet guides for my next few destinations. I have already looked in a few bookshops in town but with no success. Here they have a almost full selection, at a price though. I hope I can get a student discount with these! I get the out of date (now) India and a China guide too, no Nepal ones here. I ask the till jockey if I can get a discount it was a big fat patronizing American “No, ha ha” Wanker. Oh well, opposite the university there is a newspaper stand, it had today UK Guardian, chances like that can’t be missed so I grab a copy for 5 Egyptian pounds (50p), cheaper than back home as well for some reason.

Back to the hostel to have a catch up with things back home with my paper. In my dorm was a well traveled Kiwi, he did pretty much the same route as me from Istanbul, but after Egypt it’s Sudan and Ethiopia. He was up for a beer later if we could find anywhere, which is always a good thing. Also in my room was a West County girl who is going back home the next day for the first time in over a year, a American teacher and a Danish girl studying Arabic. I was going to ask her if she knew what bar I met another Danish girl in Prague in 2002. But at least she knew who John Jensen was! We searched the down town area for a bar, no luck. So we ended up drinking in the Nile Hilton at 1.80 a bottle, cheaper than back in Europe or America, but still worth a moan about with each other!

I had to get up early the next morning for my very special tour of the Pyramids and surrounding areas. It was a expensive tour but I had my own tour guide and taxi driver and its not every day you see a wonder of the world is it? First stop was a camel stable for a camel ride up to the desert hills around the Pyramid. It sounded cheesy, but climbing up a hill on the back of a camel just before sunrise was not going to be forgotten easy. Once on our hill of choice 3 huge pointy things split through the air for the sunrise. They were much bigger than I thought they would be, plus they are 4500 years old, that makes them even more amazing. Back down to the stable for some breakfast and then onto the pyramid site with my guide. They are even more impressive close up, I went into the second pyramid all there is inside is a empty room and a load of claustrophobic tourists, but it’s a freaking pyramid!! Around to the Sphinx and then off to the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. It’s just as spectacular as it is sitting on a hill and all you can see on the horizon is pyramids north, south, east and west. Afterwards it was a (obvious) stop at a papyrus factory. My very nice and very flirty shop assistant showed my how it was made blue peter style, and then I had to look at all the pretty pictures. The flirting stopped as soon as I said I didn’t want to buy one. Then we went next door to a souvenir shop, Tatunkamun I would have called it, any everyday object was egyptified badly. Then we went off to Memphis, and some more huge Ramses II statues. Another shop stop, this time at a carpet shop, all very nice but only worth it for the free drink and use of the facilities.

Then a drive back to Cairo, it was a Friday so hardly any traffic around, so I was telling everyone at the hostel how amazing the pyramids were in no time.

The next day I was off to Islamic Cairo, most of it already is, but this area is full of mosques and souqs. For some reason, most of it is closed, don’t know why, maybe they have realized all the tourists don’t want a sheesha to take home and closed up shop to do some work for a living. The mosques are all open though and I am stuck in one during a noon prayer. Rows and rows of men from all walks of life in prayer. I felt a little out of place so I carried on walking south towards the Citadel. The Citadel is on top of a hill looking over Cairo, it’s worth the admission alone for the views of the city with them big old pyramids standing behind it all. I had a sit down in the Turkish style Mohammed Ali Mosque. Nothing to do with the boxer, just a old Egyptian ruler. Didn’t look too special on the outside but inside it was pretty good. Trying to find the way out of the Citadel I found the Egyptian Military Museum, this was, for some reason, funded by the North Korean government, and that meant some huge PRK style paintings of Egypt’s finest military moments.

I got a taxi back to the downtown for a few Egyptian quid and went into the internet café to watch Arsenal, draw 0-0 with West Ham, Arrrrgh.

On the Sunday I went searching for a match ticket for the all Egypt clash in the semis of the African Champions League. It’s between the 2 major Cairo sides Al-Ahly and Al-Zamalek. Easier said than done, I got 3 trams to the outskirts of town where the match was being played, just a big wall with no entrance. There are plenty of other people here all trying to get hold of tickets, none of them have a clue either! I give up and decide to watch the match with the locals in a coffee shop back downtown. Al-Ahly won 2-1 if you are interested. That kept the glory hunting Egyptians happy (They have won 30 league titles).

Monday was visa sort out day, at last. I got at the Indian consulate to hand in my passport at 9.00, “Come back at 13.30”. I waited around at my hostel and went back to collect it, pretty visa it is too! On the way back I got something else I had been looking for since Turkey, a tripod for my camera. After going into countless shops for 5 weeks 2 were next door to each other, both were ideal, winner. I didn’t do too much else that day apart from meet up with another Paul from Middlesbrough, he has been to India so I got a few tips off him for my next destination.

My last full day in Egypt was going to be in Alexandria, a 3 hour train ride away from Cairo. I really wanted to spend a few nights here but couldn’t due to waiting around for my visa back in Cairo. I’m glad I didn’t, more cars and nothing good open due to post summer refurbishment. I didn’t hang around long, enough for a Pepsi and a walk along the Corniche. A afternoon train back to the capital just in time to see a political demonstration outside my hostel. There was more police than protestors. I decided to do what most guidebooks say and stay away and I did that by having a sheesha and a tea around the back streets. In the evening I tried to watch the Arsenal Champions League match on the net like the previous match, off the net. But I managed to break 2 internet café’s trying. I did the best thing and forgot about it. I found out via texts that we won 2-1. Nice.

I got up late the next day to leave as little time as possible to get to the airport. I still got there 3 hours before take off. I took the local bus there, which only cost 20p. Cairo International is a typical crappy airport. Expensive food and drink, bored people waiting around. As the Qatar Airways flight to Doha gets announced it’s like a opening day at a new Ikea. Why? Everyone has a seat, and you only have to wait for me to get on (I make a habit of always being the last on a plane for that exact reason.).

See ya Egypt. Some parts were bad, some parts were very very good. Cairo is a superb place, don’t turn into a Aswan or Luxor please.

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Photos

First Sighting
Bloody hell, who put them there?!

Pointy Thing and Cat with Funny Face
Amazing

F.A.O Rick
Proof there is a Pizza Hut AND a KFC. Unreal.

Child Labour Day
Stop smiling and get making them carpets!

Ramses II
Another king laid to rest in a town called Memphis

Step By Step
Ooh baby. Saqqara Pyramid.

What Do We Want?
I don't know, but it looks like fun

That's When Good Neighbours...
Can someone tell me where Lassiters is?

Cairo
The very big city on the Nile

Alexandria
Proof that I was there, not that you can tell.

Good Night Egypt
Some good times had here, but not great.