Blogs from Cairo, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 93

The most impressive feature in Cairo is crowd - its noise, movements and purposefulness, dirty rags, dusty roads, innovative vehicles, bright smiles, suspicious glances. We would just get out of agency buss after some tour and get lost in the masses. A fellow passenger once asked us “seriously, what you do when you leave the group?” Enjoying the freedom to roam on our own was not something any of them understood. Especially after the warning we got that even crossing the street was easier done by taking taxi then trying ourselves, unless we rely only on eye contact and sound of horns. We were told that between 20 and 25 million people reside in Cairo and that daily oscillations including commuters result in 30 million people. Luckily we had very competent guides because we came completely ... read more

Ooops we did it again,,,, Yip, we missed the bloody ferry to Sharm El Shreik on the Sinai Peninsula. This was due to the fact that we had enough booze in our systems to take out a small elephant. We went to this awesome beach club, whose name evades me but we danced the night away until 5am when the sun was up and the club was closing. It was a bit disappointing but there is always next time. We spent the next day either sitting or laying down wondering why nothing in our surroundings would keep still. The next day we went scuba diving by these two incredible coral reefs in the Red Sea. I have never seen anything quite like it in all my life. The marine life was superb. The colours of the ... read more

Today, we lounged around and didn't roll out of bed until 9:30 am for a leisurely breakfast on the balcony of our hotel, which sits on the 12th floor of a downtown building. The view would have been breathtaking if the city were not so run down and dirty. Nothing like having an alfresco breakfast while breathing in the amazing pollution. According to our guidebook, Cairo outpollutes L.A. every day of the week; breathing the atmosphere downtown is reputedly akin to smoking 30 cigarettes a day! The population of Cairo is estimated at around 18 million; hard to believe so many people can be packed into such a small area. However, despite the overcrowding, the poverty, and the pollution, Shane and I have been amazed at the sheer friendliness and hospitality of the people here. It ... read more

Holy Cairo, Lloyd and I arrived in Cairo bright and early at 2am. We were very unprepared for perhaps the scariest taxi ride of out lives. Speeding through the city at speeds reaching 80 mph, we tried to grab for the seat belts but were felt with a terrible sinking feeling after realising there were non. Our driver Mustafa could only laugh as he saw the terror in our faces. I think driving would be a lot safer if A. People actually drove with their lights on B. They had traffic lanes. C. Drivers weren't completely insane Unfortunately we could not check into our hotel until 5, so we decided to explore the Nile, and after an hour we passed out on the floor. Nice use of the facilities. We missed breakfast but don't worry room ... read more

HEY HEY Back in action and rearing to go. Alright, so I am in Cairo, Egypt right now. The city of 21 million people that sleep a lot. This town is wicked! Really crazy to say the least, actually it would be better to say "f*****g insane". No really, we arrived from Istanbul at 2 am in the morning to be greeted by a sign at the passport control that said " We welcome you to Egypt. We would like to tell you that in accordance with UN resolution 233 that it is illegal to possess drugs in Egypt. Any foreigner or Egyptian caught in possession will face a life imprisonment and possible death by hanging. We hope you have a nice stay in Egypt" Good thing I left all that cocaine back in Turkey, it ... read more