Let's start at the beginning, and do this in installments. First off, we have Cairo, and the gloriously crappy two days we spent there. Cairo was not a good idea, and my pick of hostel was an even worse one. The rooms were hot as hell, and I got eleven mosquito bites the first night there. On the bright side, we only paid like, fifty Egyptian pounds each for the two nights, which amounts to ten USD or so. Not bad. And I'll admit, the room was cleaner than most hostels.
We hung around with some kids from our program who were there early, too, one of whom is an extraordinarily tall, skinny, white dude who attracted many stares from many people, including the airport police who took one look at him and went "enta taweel," which is Arabic for "You are tall." Thanks buddy, didn't notice before.
Our first meal was at a popular joint called Gad. It was freaking amazing, especially since we were all starving, but since we were sitting outside on the street (and I do mean literally, on the street, with tables and chairs and everything in the middle of traffic) we had to sit there and wait until sundown like everyone else to dig in. That was an excruciating 45 minutes. Our food was right in front of us, with delicious smells wafting up to our noses through the tinfoil and plastic, and the most we could do was watch the flies devour the meal we so longingly desired. As soon as one woman cracked a Coke, though, it was like an eating contest -- everyone managed to tuck away half a chicken in less than twenty minutes, maybe even fifteen. And us, the table of obviously not-Egyptians, made our poor waiter's life a bit difficult when we paid in very large bills (the bank only gives you big bills) and made him run around trying to find fakka for us.
The second day was when S and I overslept by an hour, and all four of us went out into the city to look around. We walked down the filthiest-smelling (and looking) street I have ever seen, and found our way into Islamic Cairo from Downtown. It was har neek, as they say, fucking hot, and we got lost in some back streets that led to some folks' houses. A group of gals was nice enough to show us the way to Khan el-Khalili market, though, which was exceedingly kind given that they were on their way to visit their father in the hospital. Khan el-Khalili is big, narrow, and full of touristy trinkets, although there is a wonderful little store which I want to revisit, that sells the most gorgeous tunics on the face of the planet. I want the red one, hanging from the ceiling on a mannequin -- I know exactly which one, surprise, surprise. All in all, that was pretty entertaining, what with S being mistaken for a Spaniard (she doesn't speak Spanish, and the advice on where to find the "salida" was pretty much a mystery to her) and C being complimented on being a pimp with three girlfriends. I also caught a very obvious pickpocket, who sidled up to me, looked pointedly down at my bag, into my amused gaze, then back down at my bag. He was not the world's craftiest thief, that's for sure.
We took a little trip to see the Nile that night, which was pretty but really not much to look at. Dinner was at the Hilton, which was swanky like usual, and as expensive as Anna Nichole Smith must have been, but it was amazingly wonderful to be able to eat the salad and not worry about whether that crunching was from the food or from the dirt or from something else you don't really want to know about. Also, they had fabulous desserts, which I of course devoured to the point of bursting. Note to future travellers: don't buy water at the Hilton -- buy it somewhere else for like, two guinean, and bring it with you. Ignore the offended garcon.
The second day was a half day -- we took the train up to Alexandria at two, which was great. Three others joined us, fresh off the plane from the States. A friend and I got dropped off at the rear entrance of the train station, though, and had a rather heart-stopping half hour or so while we tried to figure out a) where we were, b) how to get where we needed to go, and c) how to drag our elephantine suitcases with us up and down two flights of stairs. We made the train, sat in first class (another ten USD) and enjoyed the two hours or so it took to chug our pleasant, air-conditioned way up to Alex. Got picked up at the train station by Khalid and some of the Egyptian boys, dropped off at the dorms, and slept.
another truckstop on the way another game that I can play another word I learn to say
another blasted customs post another bloody foreign coast another set of scars to boast
WE ARE THE ROAD CREW
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