A tale of two cities (Egyptian nights & days)

This is more a tale of 2 days. Our first 2 days in Cairo to be exact.

The first day was our day as tourists (also known as marks, or possibly mugs). Everyone saw us coming, we were taken on a "tour" of the city (that we purchased in the airport). This tour basically consisted of taking us to various shops to try to get us to buy various overpriced items. They also took us to see a man about a camel ride around the Pyramids. We went on it, but it was hugely overpriced. We still had fun of course, it was an unforgettable experience, but ever since we have had to endure the laughs of any Egyptians that we told about how much we paid for it...

The other day was our second day in Cairo. I'm lucky enough to have friends in Egypt. We met up with one of them on the second day, and she brought some friends who are locals of Cairo. These guys showed us a local side of Cairo that most visitors don't get to see...

We had some local style fast food, a river cruise in the Nile, a visit to a ridiculously large and shiny mall, a trip up a nearbye mountain (it was well past midnight by this point), and then a visit in the early hours to a local style shisha cafe to try this local delicacy. We were eventually dropped back at our hotel at around 7am.

The other notable contrast of this as compared to the first day was that these guys insisted on paying for everything, i guess because we were their guests in the country. Even when they left us for an hour in a local internet cafe, they left some money with the owner to cover our bill...

There was something that both days had in common, which was the phrase "Welcome to Egypt". It seems like every egyptian that speaks even a little English knows this phrase. But it somehow felt like on the second day they really meant it...

Egypt is also Crazy

Psychotic.

And probably sociopathic.

The first car ride we took was a perfect example of this... All car rides really, but especially the first one...

It was the taxi ride from the airport to the Hotel, and the driver ws what in the UK would be called a boy-racer. This combined with the rules of the road in Egypt meant that it was a ride I'll never forget. Sharlene on the other hand had her eyes closed and one of my hands in a vice-like grip.

A brief note of the rules of the road, Egypt stylee. It basically seems to be a combination of the rules "Every man for himself", and "Who dares, wins". So effectively any cubic foot of free road space is instantly moved into by someone. Be it a bus, a truck, a car, a bike, or even a pedestrian. The rule for who gets into a space seems to be that if you can get into it first, and you thing everyone else trying to get into it can stop in time, then you go for it. They do have lines in the road, but most people seem to ignore them. And the horn is used as a kind of "look at me" so that all of the other people trying to get into your square foot of road space know that you are also trying.

Surprisingly this all seems to work with relatively little mis-hap. As long as everyone knows the rules it is kinda safe. I've not seen any accidents yet, and the only damage done was to my poor clamped hand...

So yea, the sociopathy thing. I guess I mean that everyone is out for themselves, regardless of the consequences.

Thoughts of Cyprus

It is a crazy place...

Schitzophrenic.

The Northern part of the island is like no-where else. This is because technically it doesn't exist. It is unrecognised by the international community (apart from Turkey), and yet through some creative interpretation of international law it is counted as part of the EU.Its renegade status means that there are NONE of the large international businesses there (1). It must be one of the only countries in the world without a Starbucks, a Macdonalds or a Wallmart (or whatever the local re-branding is).

On the other hand the south of the island is full of all of the conveniences of western civilization. All of the stores and resteraunts seem to be there (even Nandos!) It is a comforting feeling, but slightly sad that the center of the southern half of Nicosea is just like the center of any large European city.

I think Cyprus is possibly the only place in the world where you can step from the Middle East, to the middle of Europe in the space of 100 meters...



(1) Apart from coca-cola of course... I suspect that you could visit tribes of remote amazonians that haven't had contact with the outside world for hundreds of years, and there would be 2 constants. The first would be coca-cola, and the second would be that they all supported Man Utd...

Now I'm in Egypt...

Ok, I'm in Egypt now. I have much more to say on the subject, but first I will have to find a place where I can check the internet, and have my journal with me at the same time...

So, the brief version...

I've seen the Pyramids, and the Spynx, I've riden a camel, and endured a terrifying car ride. There is much more to tell, but like I say, It's all in my journal...

I'll be back...

A serious lack of time....

One thing that I seem to be finding is in spite of the fact that I do next to nothing most of the time, I still don't have enough time to do everything that I have to do!

I think the fact that the I have to move in order to do anything, and the temperature outside is so high that I don't really want to move far, is the main contributing factor.

For example, in order to write this blog I had to first of all have a shower, then get dressed, then apply sun block, then walk through 40 degree temperatures to the local hotel with the internet. After all this I will have to apply sun-block again, walk back through the searing temperatures, then when I return home I will have to shower, in order to remove the sticky combined feeling of sun block and sweat, and then put on new clothes...

So you see how a seemingly simple task turns into an ordeal.

If I want to do any shopping things are even more complicated. I have to get one of the fantastically erratic local busses, get off at the shop, then get back on the bus (probably after half an hours walk down the road waiting for the bus), and finally walk from the bus stop to the villa. If i want to get to a bank then i will have to get on another bus (for some reason the banks don't seem to be anywhere near the shops).

Not that I'm complaining about any of this. I don't want to appear negative. This is more in the way of being an excuse for not blogging more often.

I really love doing nothing...

;^)

In Da Lobby.... Will there be T.P.?

So here I am. In Cyprus. On the first stop on my world travels. I've given up my job and my life in the uk. I won't see any of my uk friends for over a year. Unless they come out to visit me of course. And now I have started on my life of luxury, my retirement...

I somehow feel like i should feel something more. A palapable sense of relief perhaps, that I've escaped from the rat-race. Or some measure of trepidation at the vast wide unknown that I have thrust myself into.

Somehow I'm not feeling any of that. In some ways I guess it is a good thing, it shows that I am confident that I can handle whatever life and the world can throw at me. Perhaps it is symptomatic of a void of imagination, without the ability to even think of all of the things that could possibly go wrong. I'm kinda wondering if my ability to take things in my stride, without allowing them to affect me too much, is somehow limiting my appreciation of life...

I guess in the meantime while I figure that out I'll just have to continue to enjoy myself, and the awesome sunshine, foood and hospitality that I continue to find myself surrounded by...

PS. The title is partly because I am typing this in the lobby of a near-by hotel, which has wireless internet, and partly because I watched the Beavis and Butthead movie the other day. If you haven't seen it, I can thoroughly reccomend it!