a (figurative) train wreck in Cairo
So this past week has been a wild ride. I'll take you back a bit to explain.
I spent the last week in Cairo, the Egyptian city of pandemonium. I usually don't stay in cities for very long, but for whatever reason, this city captured my heart in a plethora of different ways that I have yet to be able to put my finger on.
I stayed at a hostel in the center of downtown Cairo, where I met my ride or die, Nikki. I had bought my ticket to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at the Pyramids of Giza back in January. Although the concert was out of budget for me ($130), I felt it was compulsory to go (when the heck will the opportunity ever present itself again?!).
The morning of the concert, I woke up and slowly ordered breakfast at my hostel. I sat next to a table full of other travelers staying in my dorm, but those of you who know me know that I need at least 30 minutes after my coffee to speak to anyone in the morning.
I was compelled to speak with the only other girl staying in my dorm. We chatted for a bit and the conversation was easy; she had a beautifully raspy voice and her laugh was equally as big as mine. I could tell she was American but didn't yet know her name (often this is the last thing that comes up when you are traveling). I mentioned I was attending the concert and asked her if she wanted to go. When she said, "Oh hell yea!" I thought to myself: I love this chick!
It's not often that I find another traveler as flexible as I am. Some folks are so stuck to their budget, their itinerary, and their timeline. But Nikki is an easygoing companion. Her positive attitude and passion for adventure had me thinking our friendship would last longer than a concert in Cairo.
Naturally, the concert was somewhat of a train wreck. Without getting into the details, the directions to the concert were unclear, we had to take 2 taxis, 1 shuttle, walk about two miles and pass 3 checkpoints to get there. We were an hour late to the concert, but it didn't matter, we were elated to be there. In the presence of the pyramids, glowing with lights and the moonlight, we continuously looked at each other with huge smiles and shouted: "I can't believe we are here!!"
We spent the next few days with each other and decided we would go South together.
A thing you should know about me when I travel: I trust people...A lot. I almost always hold everything with me, money, card, passport etc. This is not very smart folks. So when we decided to go to the pyramids in the daytime, I thought I would be savvy to separate my valuables. I put my passport, most of my cash, and my credit card inside a book I bought in Cairo. The book was a novel about love (of course) and I bought it thinking it would be an artifact of study for this blog. I placed the book inside the front pocket of my backpack. I still to this day do not remember what the book was called...I think you know where I'm going with this.
When we returned from the pyramids we had an hour to kill before our train departed from Cairo. My friend Mostafa was waiting for me to interview him for the blog (you'll meet him in more detail later). I quickly interviewed him at a local coffee shop and the conversation was so captivating I lost track of time. When I finally looked at my phone I had a missed call from Nikki, we had fifteen minutes to get to the train station.
That's the thing about being relaxed travelers, we are so easy going that we often have to run vigorously to train stations.
Turns out the station doesn't sell tickets 5 minutes before the train departs. Still, this is Egypt, and when the guy collecting tickets at the station saw us sweating with heavy backpacks he waved us through and yelled: "Station 11!"
We ran frantically up the stairs and plopped onto the train. We were smiling, laughing and joking about the situation. I thought: Well we might have to sleep on the floor but at least we are here.
Luckily, we got a ticket in economy class. We were on our way to Al Minya, a city that is usually skipped by travelers and therefore has a very limited number of hotels, especially budget hotels.
Around 12 am I received a message from the hotel staff informing us that the hotel we booked didn't have any room for us that night. The owner's daughter, Sally, said that instead, we could stay in her apartment. Ugh...I thought. Nikki and I didn't know what to do. We both decided to take the chance and get off in Al Minya.
Turns out that Sally is 19 years old and is the sweetest girl. She made us feel so comfortable in her apartment. We slept soundly in large beds in an apartment with scattered images of Jesus and old fashioned embroidered chairs.
The next day we checked in to the hotel. I was asked for my passport but it was gone...along with around $60 in cash, my credit card, and my lovely book.
Maybe it is still in the overhead compartment on the train, or in the taxi we took to get there, or it fell out as we were running. Wherever it is, it's lost in Egypt, somewhere among the millions of people.
Don't worry folks, I will adapt, we always adapt.
Nikki and I are here in Al Minya, we've seen some truly amazing sites where we were the only other people present. As I mentioned, foreigners don't really venture here. We have been in Al Minya for 4 days and have yet to see one other tourist. And because of this, and our nationality, we have been followed, everywhere, by the Egyptian police. They are watching over us :). Three officers followed us to dinner last night, and two police cars, at one point. Sometimes they stop traffic for us, sometimes they order food for us, an officer visited the archeological sites with us, we don't leave the hotel without them. Currently, Nikki and I are sitting at a coffee shop and Officer Muhammad is drinking tea next to us. He went on a run with us this morning.
I guess losing my passport isn't all that bad. It's all part of the process of letting go, right? I have to go back up to Cairo, but I was already planning to revisit the city to meet friends. So what did I really lose? Maybe some time and some energy but I have gained some life experience. And, hopefully, I have become a little wiser: Don't leave all of your valuables in one unread book about love. My passport isn't the most valuable thing one could lose in life. It's actually pretty insignificant if you really think about it. At least I get to take a new picture, I really didn't like my passport photo.
So Cairo, thank you for pulling me back in. I'll will visit you again to apply for a new passport. I will explore you more. Thank you, for showing me humility.
I spent the last week in Cairo, the Egyptian city of pandemonium. I usually don't stay in cities for very long, but for whatever reason, this city captured my heart in a plethora of different ways that I have yet to be able to put my finger on.
I stayed at a hostel in the center of downtown Cairo, where I met my ride or die, Nikki. I had bought my ticket to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at the Pyramids of Giza back in January. Although the concert was out of budget for me ($130), I felt it was compulsory to go (when the heck will the opportunity ever present itself again?!).
I was compelled to speak with the only other girl staying in my dorm. We chatted for a bit and the conversation was easy; she had a beautifully raspy voice and her laugh was equally as big as mine. I could tell she was American but didn't yet know her name (often this is the last thing that comes up when you are traveling). I mentioned I was attending the concert and asked her if she wanted to go. When she said, "Oh hell yea!" I thought to myself: I love this chick!
It's not often that I find another traveler as flexible as I am. Some folks are so stuck to their budget, their itinerary, and their timeline. But Nikki is an easygoing companion. Her positive attitude and passion for adventure had me thinking our friendship would last longer than a concert in Cairo.
Naturally, the concert was somewhat of a train wreck. Without getting into the details, the directions to the concert were unclear, we had to take 2 taxis, 1 shuttle, walk about two miles and pass 3 checkpoints to get there. We were an hour late to the concert, but it didn't matter, we were elated to be there. In the presence of the pyramids, glowing with lights and the moonlight, we continuously looked at each other with huge smiles and shouted: "I can't believe we are here!!"
We spent the next few days with each other and decided we would go South together.
A thing you should know about me when I travel: I trust people...A lot. I almost always hold everything with me, money, card, passport etc. This is not very smart folks. So when we decided to go to the pyramids in the daytime, I thought I would be savvy to separate my valuables. I put my passport, most of my cash, and my credit card inside a book I bought in Cairo. The book was a novel about love (of course) and I bought it thinking it would be an artifact of study for this blog. I placed the book inside the front pocket of my backpack. I still to this day do not remember what the book was called...I think you know where I'm going with this.
When we returned from the pyramids we had an hour to kill before our train departed from Cairo. My friend Mostafa was waiting for me to interview him for the blog (you'll meet him in more detail later). I quickly interviewed him at a local coffee shop and the conversation was so captivating I lost track of time. When I finally looked at my phone I had a missed call from Nikki, we had fifteen minutes to get to the train station.
That's the thing about being relaxed travelers, we are so easy going that we often have to run vigorously to train stations.
 |
| On top of a Mosque in Cairo for sunset...I think it's love |
Turns out the station doesn't sell tickets 5 minutes before the train departs. Still, this is Egypt, and when the guy collecting tickets at the station saw us sweating with heavy backpacks he waved us through and yelled: "Station 11!"
We ran frantically up the stairs and plopped onto the train. We were smiling, laughing and joking about the situation. I thought: Well we might have to sleep on the floor but at least we are here.
Luckily, we got a ticket in economy class. We were on our way to Al Minya, a city that is usually skipped by travelers and therefore has a very limited number of hotels, especially budget hotels.
Around 12 am I received a message from the hotel staff informing us that the hotel we booked didn't have any room for us that night. The owner's daughter, Sally, said that instead, we could stay in her apartment. Ugh...I thought. Nikki and I didn't know what to do. We both decided to take the chance and get off in Al Minya.
Turns out that Sally is 19 years old and is the sweetest girl. She made us feel so comfortable in her apartment. We slept soundly in large beds in an apartment with scattered images of Jesus and old fashioned embroidered chairs.
The next day we checked in to the hotel. I was asked for my passport but it was gone...along with around $60 in cash, my credit card, and my lovely book.
Maybe it is still in the overhead compartment on the train, or in the taxi we took to get there, or it fell out as we were running. Wherever it is, it's lost in Egypt, somewhere among the millions of people.
Don't worry folks, I will adapt, we always adapt.
Nikki and I are here in Al Minya, we've seen some truly amazing sites where we were the only other people present. As I mentioned, foreigners don't really venture here. We have been in Al Minya for 4 days and have yet to see one other tourist. And because of this, and our nationality, we have been followed, everywhere, by the Egyptian police. They are watching over us :). Three officers followed us to dinner last night, and two police cars, at one point. Sometimes they stop traffic for us, sometimes they order food for us, an officer visited the archeological sites with us, we don't leave the hotel without them. Currently, Nikki and I are sitting at a coffee shop and Officer Muhammad is drinking tea next to us. He went on a run with us this morning.
 |
| Nikki and I in Al Minya (note cop car behind following us) |
I guess losing my passport isn't all that bad. It's all part of the process of letting go, right? I have to go back up to Cairo, but I was already planning to revisit the city to meet friends. So what did I really lose? Maybe some time and some energy but I have gained some life experience. And, hopefully, I have become a little wiser: Don't leave all of your valuables in one unread book about love. My passport isn't the most valuable thing one could lose in life. It's actually pretty insignificant if you really think about it. At least I get to take a new picture, I really didn't like my passport photo.
So Cairo, thank you for pulling me back in. I'll will visit you again to apply for a new passport. I will explore you more. Thank you, for showing me humility.
 |
| Stay tuned everybody |
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