The World in 100 Words or Less

Drink down the coffee, get on the plane. Recap: You’ve been in Thailand, India and are now heading to Egypt. You spent ten hours the day before yesterday getting this damn ticket. Never trust Indian travel agents. You’re at the airport, you get your boarding pass, walk to the gate, read your book and fall asleep. “Last Boarding Call!!”, a voice blares over the loudspeakers, jostling you from your peaceful slumber, reminding you that it’s time to run to the gate and get on the plane. Go GO GOOO!! On the plane now, go to sleep. Wake up, you’re no longer in India.

And so it went. I finished up my Indian experience with a few days in Delhi trying to get to know the place better. Mostly, I just played chess with the Hotel manager and went out to a new restuarant every meal. But to me, it seems that this is getting to know a place. On the first few days of this trip, I blazed through palaces, temples, beaches, bazaars, but what did I see? Indeed I saw these things, but I didn’t take the time to stop and absorb. Travelling is not about sightseeing, it’s about absorbing. Dropping yourself in a pool of information and culture and turning into a sponge; however, without fail, someone or something is always their to squish you, and thus the knowledge is lost. But travelling about absorbing just a taste. Remembering that in Khao Sok National Forest Preserve in Thailand that there’s a a spot to swim in a river and watch monkeys play on a cliff. Its about sitting on a rooftop conversing with the people of Jaisalmer as you fly a kite above. Hold on to one image and forget everything else or risk forgetting everything. Words on paper no pictures digitized and categorized will bring back the moment. Little snapshots that will come back to you throughout life are all the things in the world I can hope for.

So, I’m back on the plane. It’s a nice big jumbo jet and I’m flying Qatar Airways (one of only 3 five-star airlines in the world, and it’s oh so nice). I’ve been told they’re serving the meal soon, I sit back and look at the Persian Gulf below. I am not in India anymore, but my travel guide to Egypt is. The sudden flight to the plane, the rush to get up and go left my poor straggling, brand new, gorgeous “Lonely Planet: Egypt” behind. Oh well, how different could Egypt be?

I finish both flights to Cairo smoothly enough. First the one to Doha, a mix of slumber and eating induced by a night of chess instead of rest. Then, a flight from Doha, Qatar to Cairo, Egypt. I get off the plane, somewhat confused about where I am, and begin looking for the exit. Cairo Airport is a bustling environment of touts, passengers and friends and family. Pushing through the masses at the exit is an experience. I keep my hands in my pockets the whole time, terrified that in my lack of consciousness I’ll be an easy target for a pick-pocket. I get in a taxi and ask him to take me to Talaat Harb street, the only thing I remember from the travel guide. However, I have no idea which place to stay is good and in which I’m going to get fleas. Boom! You are not in India anymore. Arabic words flood into my eyes, Arabic language into my ears, the smell of cow shit and curry replaced by smog and shwarma. I find myself completely lost and no one speaks english, or if they do, wants to speak to me. I’m a backpacker in tie-dyed pants (Indian Color Festival), a weary look, and a rather unpleasant odor. After two hours of searching I finally find a hostel, grab a bed, take a nap, and wake up ready to take on the city.

At the hostel I met John, a young American kid from North Carolina, whose nice enough to show me around the city a little bit. We go get some Shwarma, my introduction to Egyptian food (however poor it may be) and take a look around the neighborhood. Egypt is very different than India. The downtown district is bustling with people, nice shops, relatively clean streets and an air of disapproval when I walk by. I stick out like a sore thumb: my skin, my clothes, my confused and dumbfounded look. But all is fine. Tomorrow, I remind myself I must wake up early and head to the only event I planned for my trip, the Solar Eclipse on March 29th, far away on the Egyptian coast near the border with Libya. I hardly sleep due to so much excitement. I end up staying awake almost the whole night reading Catch-22, which I picked up in Delhi, and looking out on the sleeping streets of Cairo.

I awake to the sounds of the first Muslim prayer of the day, the deep sound of an Arabic man praying to god. Then another voice, then another, the city ringing with the voices of the many. Time to go check out Egypt… Insha Allah.

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 2nd, 2006 at 9:50 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.