Day 184: chaotic Cairo?

To save money, we took the night train from Luxor to Cairo. Throughout the night, there was a baby crying in the back, and some people were playing loud music from their phones. So not much sleep.

We went to the Pyramids and the Old Cairo. The Pyramids were very touristy. Loads of tour buses and loads of touts about souvenirs, camels, donkeys and horses. On the way back to Cairo, we decided to take the local bus. Big mistake. There were about 200 other people waiting for the buses, which would not stop completely. So people were running and jumping on the moving buses, which were already packed like sardines. We ended up getting a taxi. An hour into our taxi ride, we moved only a few streets. Our driver decided to take the small lanes, which brought us to another traffic jam. Another 30 minutes passed, he told us that he would not take us into downtown Cairo, so we were dropped off at a metro station. Chaotic Cairo?


The Old Cairo was much more pleasant. The street was nice to walk on. There were many shops, but no touts like at the Pyramids. We went to a heritage house listed on the Lonely Planet. It was amazing to see how the house was before and after the restoration. Breezy, spacious courtyard. Beautiful wooden windows.


On our last night in Cairo, we met with my good friend, Tamer, from IMD. Tamer just got back from NY a few hours ago. He and his beautiful wife took us to the Four Seasons for a few drinks. My oh my, that place got class! It was one of the few places in Egypt where we did not have to swat flies while eating.

One funny side story. We and the four Malaysians stayed at the Canadian Hostel in Cairo. When we returned from the White Desert, they gave our reserved room to a big group. There was no room left. The manager was kind enough to offer us to stay at the lounge area for free for the night. So out came four mattresses, pillows and blankets. Six grown-ups having a pajama party. It was just like high school. BTW, the breakfast next day was free too.