Hello everyone,
Well we arrived in Cairo at about 1830. It isn't as hot as I thought it would be, but we haven't been out in the "blazing desert sun" yet. The view as we flew in was exactly what I thought it would be, sand as far as you can see, and a thick brown sky filled with smog. The smog filters the light so that it appears that everything is yellow, or coated in a thick layer of dust. (it may actually be coated in dust). The air smells of exhaust and earth, and it is thick and heavy in your lungs.
We were supposed to have a driver pick us up at the airport so we waited and waited, but no one showed up. Like in many other countries we have visited, there were taxi touts everywhere trying to get us to go with them. We kept telling them we were expecting a ride, but after a while with still no person showing up, we decided we had better head into town before it got too dark. We went and spoke to one of the taxi touts who had excellent english, and he arranged a driver for us. (Well, he connected us to a different man who went outside and flagged a driver who we then had to pay). We had so many taxi touts trying to get our fare that they got into an arguement over us. Apparently it is part of the culture to have heated debates, but eventually it didn't matter, because we got into our cab with "Ali".
It was honestly the fastest and scariest cab ride of my life. Shawn says he wasn't scared, but I think that he was just too tired to really notice this guys driving (Shawn didn't sleep much on the plane). Ali drove like a mad man, and he wove in and out of traffic. There is no regard for the lines on the roads, so basically you just come up behind someone and honk your horn until they move aside ever so slightly, but enough to let you get by. It was like a crazy ride at the fair. I do think that the biggest danger in Cairo will be getting hit by a car. There were pedestrians crossing the road everywhere, and also a donkey driven cart.
Our hostel is right in the main area of cairo on the first floor of a building. It is clean, we have 3 beds in our room, and we get air conditioning. The hostel staff has a company called "Go Tour Egypt", and they think they can arrange a short trip to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings. It might be a whirlwind, but we are afraid to miss it.
Unlike on our Africa trip, the hostel isn't enclosed and really people could walk in off the street. It is supposed to be very safe here, and crime is supposed to be very very minimal.
Anyhow, these are some first thoughts and impressions of Egypt. Pretty much not like anything we have ever seen or experienced before (we are very excited).
Culture shock..here we come!