May 3rd, Cairo

I guess I had not fully recovered from my jet lag because I woke up suddenly at 5:30 in the morning and could not get back to sleep. This gave me some good time for scripture study after I had showered. I was pleased to learn that not only does the shower work but it has hot water as well. (A luxury that I was not really counting on) I found out that the water is heated from an old propane tank that is somehow connected to the different pipes in the bathroom. An interesting yet effective solution. Once I had gotten ready and read my scriptures I decided that I needed some breakfast.

I ventured out into the city to find a suitable place to eat only to learn that nothing is open in Cairo before 9:00. Finding that I had an hour to wait I decided to make my way across town to the Ramses Train Station to buy my ticket for Luxor. The main train station for Egypt's capitol city fits right in with the rest of the city. Dirty, overcrowded with broken railings and windows scattered all over the place the station was so run down that one could argue that it dated back to the time of the Pharos. I asked around and managed to find the booth that books the sleeping cars. The booth was empty so I motioned to one of the workers in the next booth and he told me that I would have to wait until 10:00 for someone to be there. Not only was I getting irritated but I was getting very hungry. So I left the station to look for food. Again, nothing was open except for some stands selling some sort of meat that did not look very appetizing. I did however manage to find a McDonalds. The last this I wanted to do was travel thousands of miles to eat a bad sausage egg mcmuffin, but it was the only thing open so I ordered one.

I returned to the train station at 10:30 only to find that nobody was there to help me book a ticket. I tried to talk to another ticket manager but he just ignored me. A police officer standing near by overheard me and took me by the shoulder. Great, what did I do now?! He turned me to my left and pointed to a large white sign with big blue letters written in English "Sleeping Train Reservations Here." I had walked by that very sign four different times but never noticed. Feeling a little bit sheepish but more relieved, I entered the office and met a very nice Arabic lady who spoke excellent English. I booked my ticket for Thursday and was out of there in a matter of minutes. Next stop, Giza.

To catch the bus to Giza, if you do not have a travel agency or tour bus, you basically have to go to one of the busiest freeway entrances in the Capitol, stand on a small island in the middle of the road and try to wave the correct bus down as it passes by. I had been standing there for about 15 minutes when a man behind me started speaking English. His name was Abdul and he was actually an English teacher at a school in Cairo. He actually lived in Giza right next to the pyramids and was on his way home from work. He got tired of waiting for the bus and suggested we take two other buses for just 1 pound more. I agreed and off we went. We talked about his family for almost the entire trip and I thought he was a very friendly guy. Once I got to Giza however, he pulled me into his friend's rent a camel shop and before I knew it I was riding a camel I paid too much for up to the pyramids. I could not believe it; this guy had sent his friend all the way to downtown Cairo in order to bait and switch. But I can't complain really, I got to ride a camel. I won't bore you all with the detail of the pyramids. "They are so awesome, they are so big, they are so old, etc..." You have all heard them all before, they are all true. I did get to go inside Cheops' pyramid. I thought that inside I would get a break from the heat...I was wrong. It was much hotter inside the pyramid than outside, probably from a complete lack of air circulation. The burial chamber inside the pyramid was completely empty except for the empty sarcophagus box and one small man who asked me if I spoke English. Unfortunately I said yes (I think I am going to start lying now) and he immediately started pointing to random empty holes saying "for candle of the light" or at the empty box "place of king" and other such useless phrases. This man had absolutely nothing of value to offer. Just a small, annoying, unemployed man waiting in the center of a huge mass of stone watching for unsuspecting foreigners. I think I will call him the pyramid goblin. After his pathetic "tour" of one empty square stone room he asked more for 15 pounds. I just left.

Getting back to Cairo proved to be much more challenging than leaving. After finding where to catch the bus and what number it was I waited on the side of the road for 45 minutes. The bus never came. I finally decided that although I had no idea were the other buses were going, I would take one anyway. I did not travel half way around the globe to waste time by the side of a road. So I hoped on the bus and asked, or tried to ask, the driver where we were headed. I learned that I was pretty much on my own and should just keep an eye out for any landmark or sign that I might recognize...it was not long before I had fallen asleep. I was woken up by the driver telling me that it was the end of his route and that I had to get off. I got off. Great, where in hell was I?

I tried to get a general bearing on my direction and hoped on another bus. I could have taken a taxi but they would have tried to charge me at least 20 pounds and the bus only cost 1 so I stayed on the bus. For a second I kept looking for signs or building or anything that I would recognize with not much luck. Then a cute Arab girl got on the bus next to me and asked in broke English where I was going. I told her the name of my destination and she laughed. I was nowhere near there and was also going the wrong way. She said something to the driver and then told me that I was being dropped off at the next metro station (yes, Cairo has a subway) and then I should take the metro into the Capitol center. What an excellent idea! It worked perfectly! When I got back home I looked at my map (which has metro routs on it) to try and find out why I could not figure out where I was. I discovered that my map is outdated and does not even include the section of the city which I was in! No wonder I couldn't find any of the street names that people were telling me. Another important lesson learned in my crash course of traveling through Egypt.

At this point I had a splitting headache. I took three aspirin and laid on my bed, just to rest my eyes until the headache got a little better. I was frustrated and was wondering if perhaps I had bitten off more than I could chew or if it just takes a little bit of time to get used to the whole backpacking thing? Ryan, Heather, is that true? I ended up sleeping for about an hour. When I got up I was starving and knew just one thing about dinner, I did not want McDonalds again. So I pulled out my "Lonelyplanet" travel guide and began looking for places to eat in my vicinity. I chose two restaurants to go check out. The first one did not look all that appetizing to me so I went to the second. The place seemed nice and decently clean. However, several people had told me so many horror stories about getting sick from Egyptian food that I was almost ready to live off of trailmix until I got to Israel. But the place looked clean, I was so hungry, and I did not want to waste my experience by refusing to eat Egyptian food, so I bought a bowl of some noodle beef dish. It was actually very good but I could tell that it was new to my stomach so I did not eat it all. I did not feel sick at all that night, not even heartburn, and I feel great today. I have won.

I then wandered around one of the market towns and bought me a sweet pair of cufflinks. Went home, did my laundry in the sink and collapsed into bed at midnight. Thus ended my first full day in Cairo.