Day 1 (Cairo)
Saturday, December 30th, 2006
Everytime I go to places considered “far off exotic” I am always amazed how easy it is to get there. Sure, its a lot of time on an airplane, but the reality is, after one weirdly long day, most of which is spent in a sleepy plane coma, there you are in (fill in the blank) exotic place, dressed in the same clothes with the same headache you had when you left home.
Anyway, Bryan made it with the same ease I did, full of stories of his 2 hour tour of Frankfurt. He had a long layover and did not let the time go to waste.
Cairo, not only one of the oldest cities on earth, is also one of the most crowded and polluted. And surprisingly, after risking life and limb to travel with more than 3 ozs. of sunscreen (liquid), it is also apparently one of the most foggy/overcast cities on earth, or at least for today. I can’t see 10 feet in front of me. No pyramids today I guess.
Just as in Bolivia, we started our authentic Cairo experience off just right. I found Bryan in the crazy arrivals hall (the type where friends, family, long lost business associates, crime syndicates and a couple of donkeys pile up around the gates where people leave through customs). This was somewhat of a miracle.
We hopped in a cab I had waiting outside, and were off. Rolling along in traffic heading away from the airport, we are chatting about our journeys, and CRUNCH!!! Someone hit our cab! The cabbie, of course, stops in the middle of the highway to have it out with the guy. Bumper to bumper traffic around us, honking away.
Whats funny is, that Bryan and I, after noting briefly that we were in a car accident, pretty much kept on catching up, as if nothing had happened. Thats what limited sleep will do for you!
We are staying at the Shepeards Hotel in downtown Cairo. FOr those of you who have read any of the Elizabeth Peters series, this is the hotel her fictional Egyptologists frequent while in Cairo. However, it has been rebuilt/refurbished many times since the British colonialists set foot on the Nile, stealing mummies and such with Victorian fervor. Still, it is cool to be in an historic hotel. The hallways, of course, look like “The Shining”, and they have keyed entries…. and the key weighs at least 4 pounds.
jessicab