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Published: November 23rd 2010
Why did I come to Egypt? Well I wanted to see the pyramids and the Nile. That's pretty much what everyone wants to see ... but I can tell you there's so much more to this place. And for someone like me who lives in a fairly well-off western country it's way too much of a culture shock. I am glad I came and saw what I wanted to, but I can tell you I never want to come back here (and I've never really said that about anywhere else).
The most important point to make is about the people. They are very nice and friendly and will help you whenever you ask. There are always the ones trying to sell you things as you walk by but that is harmless ... you never get any aggro and it's sometimes funny. You see families all around doing the everyday things we do at home ... except for sitting on the side of the road hoping to be given money or a family of four on a two-seat motorbike riding down the motorway. The people give you a warm smile if you give one first.
When I got to
Cairo it was manic. The taxi I got from the airport took about an hour and even though I don't go on rides at the Show there was no escaping this one. For the outsider there doesn't appear to be any road rules, but I've decided to call it organised chaos. Even though there are lanes marked (someone thought it was a good idea) no one uses them. You drive wherever you like if there is a gap to get into... and judging by the number of scrapes on the sides of cars those gaps haven't quite been big enough. Every so often on a five-lane road (hey, at least that's what they painted) you would pass a cart being pulled by a horse. Add to that the pedestrians (again, family of four or five) crossing the road with no apparent care ... I think it is just a natural skill they've learnt. And there are no traffic lights that I saw at any time I was there. Now, I have a theory on why there aren't many more accidents (I don't have stats, and I did hear and see some ambulances, but if you saw what I did you'd
A common site in Cairo
The Tourism and Antiquities Police were there to make sure the tourists weren't harrassed.agree). There is something to be said for taking away people's decison-making. In a organised place like ours we all rely on lights for us to stop and go and lanes to make sure we don't bump into each other. We drive along thinking everyone else will stick to there own path and give us plenty of warning if anything changes. Here you have to be constantly alert... no daydreaming allowed.
The amount of rubbish on the streets is astounding. I guess with 17 million people in a city it's hard to give everyone a wheelie bin, but after a while it gets quite depressing. You wonder why people don't take pride in where they live but with so little space to yourself you really only look after what you have. I'm sure it was much cleaner inside people's homes but the streets were like something I've never seen before.
So you probably want to know about the pyramids. Well they are as big as I thought and the stones they are made of are enormous. One of the two we saw (I was told the names many times but still can't remember) had a hole gouged in
one side, apparently from some dynamite explosion. This lets you see the depth and number of stones used and it really is impressive. You were able to walk into one and view a tomb ... it's a 60 metre passage that you walk down crouched over with just enough room to pass each other. I was ready to have a look but after two metres I nearly freaked out and did a quick u-turn... I'm told I'm not the first to do that. The Sphinx is not as big as you think, but it also a lot lower than the pyramids (they are on a higher plateau) and therefore gets covered in sand ... every year they have to dig it away. We got to do the tourist pics of kissing the Sphinx and touching the tip of the pyramid, so it was a bit of fun.
I got my first bit of local food after we visited the pyramids when we stopped at a roadside takeaway shop and I bought a falafel. I was the only one who tried it but the taste was okay. We then went to a papyrus factory, which is just really an art
Towel Animal
The river cruise boat staff would make animals from the room towels. gallery of typical Egyptian drawings all done on papyrus paper. I think it was the standard trick of bringing by the tourist goup for some guarenteed sales although I did get some to bring home.
I should mention that the water quality in Egypt is not the best so unless you're a local, drinking tap water is not the done thing. You can buy bottled water everywhere and it's pretty cheap (I got two 1 litre bottles for less than $1 at one place). It took some effort not to automatically drink the water while having a shower or cleaning my teeth. And I tried to stay well clear of any food that wasn't hot when served so didn't touch the salads or the "orange juice" (really just Tang ... using tap water I'm sure).
The overnight train from Cairo to Luxor was murderous. I ended up sharing the cabin with a Chinese man called Mohammed... he spoke much better Chinese and Arabic than he did English so I think all our conversations added up to maybe 15 minutes for the whole 14 hour train trip. He had met another Australian last year on a desert trek and
Towel Animal
The only crocodile I saw on the Nile. was told that in Australia it is government policy to work five years then take one year off to travel. The poor guy looked heartbroken when I told him he was fed a joke. I picked the top bunk and had almost my worst night's sleep ever. The train obviously rocked and swayed, but there were lots of creaks from the plastic walls and metal fixtures. Dopey Nick forgot to put his ear plugs in!
It was interesting to wake in the morning and see the Nile going by with all the farmland and animals as well. Our rooms weren't ready at our hotel in Aswan so we went to Philae Temple. It's one of the temples they rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser that was created when the High Dam was built in the 1960's. The temple was rebuilt on a little island in the middle of the Nile and tourists got there by getting on one of about 50 boats... our outboard motor konked out so we ended up being towed. The fumes from all the motors was way too much, and with the heat and me starting to get a tummy bug I couldn't
keep up with the others.
I haven't really got much to say about the next four days. I ended up having chills and a fever for about a day, then hardly eating anything for the next three. I thought I was being really careful with what I ate and also with using hand disinfectant gel. I'm putting my gastro down to the falafel I ate on the first day in Cairo. I haven't been sick like that for many years so I felt really terrible. We got a cruise boat from Aswan to Luxor (60 rooms on three decks, housekeeping and ensuite just like a hotel... flasher than I expected) then I went to a pharmacist and bought some medication. It seems like the stuff they give you here is what you would probably need a prescription for at home. Maybe it's because tummy upsets are so common here that the stuff I got usually does the trick.
All up though being sick and not enjoying what is around me has had an effect. I've decided to finish my trip early and come home, skipping London, Argentina and Antarctica. I figure being away for five weeks is plenty of time and I overestimated what I could do. Yes you could say I'm homesick ... I miss the sound of the Mina birds on my patio. I miss drinking water from the tap and safely buying whatever food I want from the shop. I miss people at home. I miss riding my bike along the river. I miss my car (until I get a new one, someday) and driving on the proper side of the road. I miss turning on the telly or radio and hearing what's happening. I could go on but I won't. The places I'm skipping will still be there in years to come if I choose to go again.
Thank you to anyone who has read these blogs. I write them to both have a record for myself and also to let people know about the places I have been to. You may think it's fun and exciting to travel (which it often is) but for many reasons there really is no place like home.
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Joy Evans
non-member comment
Wow
Wow! You are so good at writing blogs. You bring the reader with you. Congratulations. I am so proud.