Cairo...Traffic, People and Filth!!!

It was difficult to sit on the plane without feeling a little restless after what had just happened in Nairobi. I think at this point we were both upset and our only thoughts were of going home. Not only did we have to try and plan out the upcoming month of our trip, we had to quickly try and figure out how or where we were going to find another camera and how to adjust to a new set of customs and 'tricks' in Egypt (we had no idea how hard this was going to be).
After reading the Lonely Planet description of what customs to expect in Egypt I had been kind of curious about whether or not it would really be taboo to wear shorts. The steward I asked was extremely kind and said that it would not be a problem at all and if I were to look hard enough I would find almost anything in Egypt...even some topless babes.

I mentioned to him that I was going to have to buy a new camera and he kindly suggested that I head to Carre Four because the prices would be right. We spoke for a while and after explaining why I wanted to buy a camera in Egypt rather than at home he offered that if we could wait for an extra day or two he would be free and would gladly drive us there (seriously?? but just the beginning of Egyptian hospitality).

After landing we realized that our Lonely Planet Guide book was in the bag that had gone missing. So we did not have a clue as to what we should do. We asked the information desk if they could find the number of a hotel for us by the name of Pensione Roma (we figured that was close to the name and it was). Due to the difference in accent and the fact that here written English taken from Arabic is only a transliteration (essentially the best meaning from the Arabic language is attempted) we wound up with a number to a place we weren't sure we wanted to be. We wandered around the airport (back and forth), which gave gave the taxi drivers a good chuckle and attempted to take a luggage cart down the escalator. As we we neared the bottom we could tell that something was wrong as four security officers came heading toward the escalator. No...we were not in trouble but they had anticipated that the cart and the escalator trip were not going to end on a good note. Needles to say they were right and the cart tumbled as it hit the flat section at the bottom. They were courteous and just laughed at us but truthfully this is how you transported a luggage cart from floor to floor in South Africa. After endlessly and aimlessly wandering around the airport we decided to call home.

Katie was in tears within about two seconds of being on the phone. But after just having becoming an Auntie, so obviously feeling homesick, and getting our bag stolen who can blame her. After describing the horrific details to both our families and being reassured that everything would be ok, we decided it was time to leave the airport.

Just like the book had mentioned, we were going to have to really fight off the pressure for taxis in Cairo and not more than two feet out the door did we have three men fighting over who would take us to a hotel. After a painful forty five minutes through traffic we arrived at our quaint little hotel. After asking the hotel a million questions about where we should buy a computer or a laptop, we were convinced not to head to Carre Four because it was too far and to just look nearby in the down town core.

We headed out to the street and realized that there was a million shops to choose from. However, we had no idea how to even cross the street. Traffic was not only hectic it was chaotic. It was hard to determine which side of the road people were driving on. There were robots (traffic lights) all over the place but in all of our time here I have never once seen them operate. The traffic officers seem more like ornaments because we could never figure out what exactly they were doing. People just cross the street, pausing to wait for two vehicles to pass while they non nonchalantly sucked in their belly so as not to lose it. We temped to play chicken with the vehicles but decided that it was a perilous and probably suicidal task and would only cross the road when we had the locals to follow (aka protect us).

After asking many people as to where we could find a shop selling Canon, we were approached by a man carrying a weird plastic trophy who asked us if we could use any help. After reading the lonely planet we were both a little concerned if this was going to be a con or if we were just going to be expected to pay a big baksheesh (the word used for tip in Arabic but not sure about the correct spelling). Although, I was a little less worried than Katie, or maybe just a little more naïve, I asked him what his generosity was going to cost us because he was being so kind to us. He assured us that he was just doing his duty as a good Egyptian and helping out a lost tourist. Despite his reassurance it was somewhat strange to be led around to get documents photocopied, passport pictures taken (for our student card) and to look for a camera and oh ya not to mention the most typical request to take us for tea. We were still a little unused to this kind of hospitality (without a cost). After an hour of his undivided help, we had asked him to give us some 'alone' time. We said we were going to get a cab and head to Carre Four - we jumped into a cab and said goodbye...but after saying goodbye and telling the cabbie where we wanted to go, he jumped in the front seat and told the cabbie something we didn't understand. This shocked us a bit but about a block further he jumped out and said goodbye. It took us a long time to realize that this is just typical behaviour here.

The steward on the plane was right Carre Four was the place to go...it is essentially an Egyptian Super Walmart. After exploring millions of options and toying with hundreds of ideas we managed to replace our computer and some other things we had lost. The computer was actually the same price as back home, the internet usb stick was 20 US (much cheaper than we had paid anywhere else). The camera was a different story. For the same camera we had back home it was nearly double the price and was extremely hard to find. We had found our camera in downtown Cairo and decided that even though it was twice the price it was what we wanted. However, after speaking with the store they actually didn't have it???

In the mall I had befriended a nice boy (not really a boy as he is 21) named Mustafa, who had helped us with all of our other purchases. I had just purchased a pair of pants and was a little anxious at the cost of them because they were surely going to be wrecked after our stay in Egypt and Morocco. The reasoning for this was because I didn't feel all that comfortable wearing shorts when no one else but tourists did. I decided that pants for the next two weeks would be necessary. Only having one pair of hiking pants I had decided to buy more which is why I had looked for pants. I had quite liked his pants and inquired about where I could find them...low and behold in the store. Without a moments hesitation he herded me to the pants department where I picked out two nice pair of pants for a total of ~$24 US. I tried to tip him but he would not accept it and just laughed at me (guess the book doesn't always explain how this baksheesh thing is supposed to work).

After shopping for way too long we were tired and tried painstakingly to find a metered taxi. Unfortunately, the taxis were reluctant to use them on the way home from the mall and it was quite a fight to get a price similar to what we had paid on the way there...not possible.

That night we ransacked our room like we normally do and settled in to relax. After setting up the computer I went to the common room and met a nice older gentleman that reminded me of my grandfather Arnold, to a tee...well almost. We talked for quite a while in which I discovered that he was an Egyptian who had moved to Germany when he was quite young but still came back once in a while to visit. He was very nice but had an abrupt way to him that made me laugh. He informed me of a man at the hotel that would take us around to the pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, and Dashur for a fairly modest price and would spend the entire day with us as our driver. We still hadn't settled our camera issue and didn't want to head to the sights without one. So we decided that we would give it one more day to try and find one.

We decided that because we were still both sick (I was just finishing and Katie was starting) that we should sleep in and that we did. It wasn't exactly the restful sleep I had been hoping for and woke in the middle of the night in a dream like state thinking that I was being attacked by mosquitoes. I literally slept walked to my bag, applied After Bite to the top of my hands and sprayed myself with insect repellent. In the morning I asked Katie if she had been bothered and she said that I was on drugs because there were no mosquitoes. However, she was worried that we had been attacked by bed bugs because she and I both had little red bumps all over our faces and all over Katie's arms. I asked the front desk what could have been the issue and was told that my dreamlike fantasies had been correct. It had been mosquitoes and he confirmed it by pointing out all of the little bites on his head.

After having our room doused with some type of insecticide we headed out to buy a camera. We ran into an Egypt Air office and managed to book ourselves a flight to Luxor while trying to call every company in the lonely planet to arrange a Nile Cruise. After no luck with the Nile cruise we headed out to search for a duty free shop. On our way we went into a travel agency to see if they arranged Nile Cruises. Of course like everyone they did and after convincing them the prices they were seeking were out of our budget we finally haggled a price that we felt was within reason (still a little doubtful of prices).

After leaving the store we began to search again for the duty free shop and while on the way ran into another Egyptian man who offered to help us out. He was a Bedouin (or desert man) who had moved to the US but was back on holidays. Similar to the other man he just ditched his plans and starting leading us around. He was a little more curt than our first non paid guide and was at times a bit rude but was kind??? enough to tour us around to many shops. He finally convinced/forced us to have coffee with him at his expense which included a nice Sheesha (Egyptian bong like device to smoke flavoured tobacco or herbs) session. He was hard to get rid of because when we attempted to go on our way he almost seemed upset. He liked to interrupt us by saying 'excuse me, excuse me' about a hundred times until he had stopped us from talking. But finally we convinced him that it was getting late and we just needed to go to Carre Four and get a camera...we were getting very sick of walking from store to store and not finding what we were hoping for. Similar to everyone else he told us that after we should come to his 'families' coffee shop for Egyptian tea and Sheesha.

#20 (maybe 19 not sure any more) Everyone here has a 'cousin' who has a store that they can take us to 'if we would like to buy something'. They will take you there and just wait out front while you shop. Even though you get harassed by about a million other people on the way, they act as if they are on a mission and do not stop but rather signal to some of the more persistent shop (Souk or Bazaar) owners that you are taken care of. At these shops, like many others, we are offered a welcome drink which is the classic Egyptian yellow or El Arosa tea. It is very delicious and most days you may have to turn down numerous offers as you walk by any type of shop or meet someone on the street. Once you show what you are interested in they will more than likely try and make you a ridiculous offer despite telling you that they are close with the person that brought you and would not want to sell you something over priced. Even though you may be able to haggle down the price you are more than likely not going to get as good as a price as if you were Egyptian or get an Egyptian friend to buy it for you.



When we arrived in Carre Four our group of sellers/instant friends from the night before greeted us and helped us with a camera. While looking at one camera, out of the blue another retailer came up and interrupted the man trying to sell us a camera. He started trying to show us why his camera is better. At first we thought they were just having fun but soon we realized that the twenty people inside the booth did not work together but were all trying to sell us a camera from a different line. Our now good friend Mustafa helped to inform us that they were all trying to cut-throat each other and helped us to pick out a nice camera from our list of selections being all held by several different sellers. Mustafa asked for our number because he truly wanted to befriend us and we gladly exchanged with him. We ended up just buying a point and shoot Nikon that was on sale. We tried to buy a second battery which they said they had but after we had purchased the camera there was no battery around. After learning that the camera battery was not available Mustafa said that the next day he could go to the store near the airport and pick one up for us and drop it off (second are you serious???). We just agreed because it seemed like it would never happen as this was not exactly a Canadian custom.

After making it back to the hotel Katie headed to bed to get some rest as she was still reeling from her cold. I took up the offer of Ahmed (older man I met the day before) to join him for some Sheesha just below our hotel. I told Katie that I wouldn't be long and where I was going. Our time at the cafe lasted almost 1.5 hours and was really nice. I learnt a lot from talking with him and really enjoyed his company.

On our way back up to the hotel we seen a couple that had just gone up to check the availability and had no luck because here they were back on the street with all of their bags. Ahmed said that we should help them and went over to them. In his very abrupt manner he asked them if they had found a place. After they said no he offered that they stay in his room with him as there is four extra beds. They were a little taken back by his offer (I think the girl was a little scared even though I was there) and was trying to get us to leave I think. He just laughed and told her not to worry. I tried my best to reassure them that his intentions were good. Rather than offering he pretty much told them that we would take them to another hotel just around the corner. The girl again was trying to get him to forget it but I assured them that it would be ok and I would come with them. So we took them around to another hotel to find that it was also full. He asked if they wanted more help and I offered my phone but the girl was a little timid. Her boyfriend had finally realized that our intentions were good and finally convinced her to use my phone. After feeling safe that we had gotten them a head start for their journey, we headed back to our hotel. After stopping in the middle of the street several times Ahmed shouted that he was hungry. Without much thought to inform Katie of where I was going we headed down the block to get some food.

After we had finished eating Ahmed aimlessly led me through the streets near our place to inform me of the history of certain buildings while explaining his grievances as to what had happened to Cairo and how different the Islamic religion had become since he had last been here. We finally made it back to the hotel (at 1:30am) to find Katie awake and in panic mode as she feared that I was gone missing. Because she had known that I was supposed to be near the hotel she had went as far as going to look for me with another guest...I guess I shouldn't have been such an idiot and told her (as Homer Simpson would say doh).

The next morning we headed on our journey to visit the sights. Our driver, who was a 'relative' to one of the hotel staff, tried to take us to a friends place right in front of the Pyramids where we could rent a camel. We declined the offer and headed inside. When we arrived it was nice and quiet (Friday is a day off) and we ventured around. We were reconsidering our decision not to have a camel as it was quite a distance between the pyramids but soon enough we were approached by a camel driver who offered to take us around. His offer was much lower than outside but after a two minute camel ride we discovered why. He stopped and told us that he could take a picture there and that to continue the ride would be about 150 pounds for us both. After haggling from the top of the camel we agreed to continue. It was a really nice ride and the camel driver was a pro at taking pictures. While stopping to take one picture, an older man on a tiny donkey stopped us and asked us to buy a souvenir. I decided I wanted what he was selling and bought something and he headed on his way. It was hilarious to see this average sized man riding this tiny donkey. Funniest part was that he looked exactly like the man that makes pancakes in Popeye cartoons or maybe it is Tin Tin - ???? We had lucked out with a great camel driver and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. After our ride was over he informed us of all the tricks that people near the pyramids were going to try on us and wished us luck...but his was a trick too right?

Boy, was he ever right...it is amazing what illegals things you can do in a National/historical site for a little extra Baksheesh. For ten pounds they will open all sorts of gates that are not open to the public and let you climb up the pyramids. Ok well not that much. When we actually got right near the pyramids we were shocked to find hundreds or maybe thousands of Egyptians walking around and climbing the pyramids. The guards were shouting at them and waving their sticks but for ten pounds we could have done this...they just realized that the Egyptians were not going to give them ten pounds. What shocked us even more was how many kids wanted pictures of Katie and I. They would just run up to us and shout “English, English” and if we responded they would ask us our name. When we responded they would either ask us to take a picture with them or say good bye. It was obvious that they did not care to have themselves in the picture (well if they could they would) because sometimes they would just take a picture of us with someone else just so they had the picture.

While enjoying the pyramids another man toting a small donkey came over to us. The donkey was laden with all sorts of pop and he pushed us to buy one. I finally agreed, or thought that I had, on a good price and asked for one Fanta. He said ok and then opened a Coke??? I gave him the money but he said it was not enough...so he obviously didn't understand anything Í had said at all. I said I would not give him any more and then he began to plead to us and told Katie that he needed the money because his donkey was blind (I looked over at the donkey, and trust me, the donkey was not blind). Finally he gave up but then kept telling us to hurry and drink the soda because he needed his bottles back. Luckily another possible sale came up and he forgot about us. We finished and gave him an extra couple of pounds and turned his raving into a grin.

The Giza pyramids were amazing and mind blowing because it is even hard to imagine how today they would build something like that without using frames and concrete. And to think that they are still standing thousands of years later. Saqqara and Dashur were also nice and were not nearly as busy. We were actually able to enter the pyramid at Dashur and although it was extremely stuffy it was neat to see how incredibly in good shape the insides were and how perfect the layout was constructed.

After finishing the day we headed back to the hotel to meet Mustafa who had delivered on his offer to find us a battery. We were so overwhelmed that he took the day off from work to help us out. He would not accept any offer for payment for his time so we tried to take him out for a Sheesha and tea. He tricked us by paying for the Sheesha. We tried again for dinner and he again tricked us and paid way before we had time to sneak away and snag the bill. We didn't know how to repay him but were very touched by his hospitality towards us. We had to get rid of a ton of our dried goods and so we offered them to him and he accepted. It was pretty nice to not have to worry about carrying any more of it around so it was a load off of our shoulders. We exchanged all of our info with Mustafa whom was very interested in making it to Canada....we hope so.

Mohammed our driver for the day came back up that evening and took us to the airport for us to start our trek down the Nile. Although, Cairo was nice and we met so many interesting people it was nice to start something new as we were getting sick of the garbage that littered just about every square inch of the streets, building tops and waterways. Little did we know that we would never escape the trash!