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.

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...

Travel Itinerary

Thought that I'd post a rough itinerary of where I will be, and when.

If anyone reading will be in roughly the same places, at roughly the same times, we can see about maybe hooking up...

August 6th I fly to Cyprus. This is the only date that is set in stone at the moment.

I will be spending roughly 2 weeks in Cyprus (mostly in the Northern Turkish part). I plan to do lots of diving here. And lounging by the pool, and other such things...

Then I will fly over to Egypt (or possibly get a boat over), and spend 2 weeks in Egypt. In this time I will be visiting the Pyramids, possibly doing a bit of salsa, going to the Red Sea to do more scuba diving, and meeting up with some good friends I have over there...

After all of this excitement I will fly back to Cyprus, and do more diving,
and hanging by the pool, and whatnot, until the 12th of September when there is a Salsa convention starting (http://www.salsajamincyprus.com/).

Once the dancing has all finished I will be flying on to India. I'm not sure where I will be, but I plan to have a kind of flying visit of India, taking in a couple of towns for a couple of days and then moving pretty swiftly onto Nepal.

In Nepal I will be doing some trekking. I want to see the Himalayas from close up, and maybe I'll find a Buddhist Monastery or something and do some meditation on the top of the world. Nepal could take up to a month, and is one of the places I'm looking forwards to seeing the most...

After my calming time in Nepal I will be flying on to Thailand. Really there is too much I want to see in Thailand. I could probably spend 6 months just there, but among the locations I would like to get to are Chiang Mai, Pai, Bangkok (to visit some friends I made last time I was there. You know who you are ;^), Koh Tao, and a couple of other islands.

Somehow I have to fit all of this in before the 13th of November, when there is a salsa convention starting in Bangkok (http://www.salsabangkok.com/).

Once this is over I will be meeting a friend, and travelling with her to Cambodia. There I'm mostly interested in seeing Angkor Wat. But it will be interesting to see the culture and all that, and see how it contrasts to Thailand.

I'll probably pass back through Thailand after this, and on to Malaysia. Take in Kuala Lumpur and visit some good friends I have over there. Then check out some of their beaches (and maybe fit in a bit of salsa while I'm here).

Then on from Malaysia to Indonesia, where the plan is pretty much the same as in Malaysia. Visit some friends, see Jakarta, and then Bali, check out some beaches and just see what happens. It will be Christmas around this time, so I will either be spending Christmas and new year either in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia. I'm not sure where yet, I'll just have to play it by ear...

Anyway, I have to fit all of this in in time to get to Sydney in time for the 29th of January (in fact, probably the 28th in time for my birthday!), which is when and where the 3rd salsa convention of my travels kicks off (http://www.sydneysalsacongress.com.au/). I'm hoping a good Australian friend will join me for this.

I think Allan will be joining me sometime about here, and we will travel around Australia, possibly doing a bit of work here and there (i already have my work and travel visa, and an Aussie phone number!). My Australian Visa lasts for a year, so I will take full advantage of this, and then depending on funds, I will see what I want to do next....

(But if I do have lots of money still at this point New Zealand looks nice, then South America for Mardi Gras and finally South Africa for the world cup. But we'll have to see about that...)