Blogs from Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 110

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

To say that Cairo is chaotic and overwhelming is an understatement. Noisy, crowded, dirty, aggressive, claustrophobic, and intrusive all apply to this city that's home to 20 million people--1/3 of Egypt's entire population. From the moment we stepped out of our hostel on the first day, we felt as if we'd entered a different world. Here the streets are shared by taxis, pedestrians, stray cats, donkey carts, motorcycles, and tour buses. Most everything is written in Arabic, so finding something as simple as a cafe proves tricky. Policemen in crisp white uniforms stand around with big guns at gates and bridges; just what they're guarding is never quite clear. Garbage and rubble lines the sidewalks, which is largely ignored by the population. The buildings are tall, all brick and concrete and the color of the desert, ... read more

Pada tanggal 25 September 2005, sehabis Misa Bersama KDKJB, diadakan pertemuan terakhir bagi para peserta Holyland dengan pihak Galileo. Dalam pertemuan itu diceritakan apa saja yang perlu dibawa, apa yang tidak boleh dibawa, tempat-tempat yang akan dikunjungi dsb. Pada waktu disinggung tour ke Mesir, saya bertanya apakah saya dengan istri (Johanes - Evie) dapat diuruskan perpanjangan tinggal di Cairo 2 hari, sebab saya ada teman dan mau jalan-jalan di Mesir, antara lain mau berlayar di Sungai Nil, sebab di paket wistata tidak ada Nile Cruise. Pihak Galileo bilang perpanjangan susah dan sebaiknya pergi bersama, pulang bersama juga. Ya sudahlah apa boleh buat, saya harus meninggalan keinginan berlayar di sungai Nil seperti dalam buku Agatha Cristie. Sebenarnya ingin sekali tidak, tetapi sayang juga sudah di depan mata tidak terlaksana, kapan lagi akan berkunjung ke Mesir. Ya sudahla ... read more