MONDAY, 18 MAY 2009

Departure from Egypt

Thank god, I’m going home!  After a week of being in this country, I’m sorely convinced that Egypt is the least deserving of the $28 billion in foreign aid that the US provides.  It is the largest package of foreign aid given to any country.  It baffles my mind why we would give so much money to a country with such a disgusting culture.

First off (after such a negative starting paragraph), our Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor was amazing.  We had a great guide and along the way, saw so many temples – the Philae Temple, Karnak, Kom Ombo, Luxor, and others I can't recall the name of right now.  The sites were amazing.  The views along the Nile were great – the green along the river, then stretches of desert behind.  I learned more than I imagined I would about ancient Egyptians, a bonus to having someone explain all the inscriptions along the way.

What baffles me is that each temple costs about $15 to 20 per ticket -- where does the money go??  That’s understandable if it’s actually put towards the restoration needed, maintenance and salary of the workers.  But then, you add on top of that, the EU and US provide tons of money for restoration purposes.  Then everyone, including all the workers at the temples, are constantly hounding you for money and tips.  So let’s get this straight – we give billions in foreign aid for their society, for their restoration, then we have to be hounded constantly for tips and treated like shit, lied to, constantly ripped off, and we’re supposed to be okay with that?

Then come the Men.  Good God, what a disgusting experience.  Of all the 8 countries that I’ve been to in the past couple months, I’ve never experienced anything as disturbing as this place.  Start with the persistent hounding at tourists to buy anything – they just don’t respond to the word No.  Imagine walking down the street and having 3-4 people at a time hounding you to buy stuff.  You keep saying No but they won’t leave you alone.  Now turn that into a mixture of tourist hounding then blend in the catcalls, disgusting remarks for females – now that’s gonna disgust and piss a girl off.  Even completely clothed in 100+ degree temperature, the harassment continues.  This is a barbaric society -- I don't buy the excuses posted online and in tour books that "Oh, it's just that Egyptian men have a perception of Western women as being loose."  That's no excuse.  I even had a 12 year old boy reach out and almost grope my breast.  I told one man to fuck off and was promptly told that he hopes ‘that [my] husband kicks me.’  In what world would any decent woman let her husband kick her?  Apparently, in the Egyptian world.

The most disturbing experience was as my Mom and I tried to take a walk down the pier from our docked cruise boat.  The hassling was normal.  But as we walked down the pier, I saw a dark man sitting on a bench, scratching his crotch.  Or so I thought.  As we approached, I realized he was stroking himself (read: he was masturbating) for a good 5-10 minutes and staring intensely at me.  This was one of the few times I was speechless and almost threw up.  What kind of barbaric society does shit like this happen?

You can’t even say that it’s because I’m in an Islamic country, because I just went through Jordan and had the most amazing time.  People there treat tourists a helluva lot better than this shit country.

From my experience here, I can say that I’ve never had to argue so hard to get decent prices, I’ve never had to deal with so many damn liars, and I’ve never been more disgusted with the men in a society.  Yes, the Pyramids and Temples are worthwhile to see, but frankly, I’d advise that everyone does the sites on a protected tour and avoid the locals as much as possible.  They are the most unpleasant people I’ve ever dealt with.

TUESDAY, 12 MAY 2009

The Pyramids

Visiting the Pyramids in Egypt has always been a dream for my mother.  A week before my arrival, she decided that it would worth the effort to get to Egypt to coincide with my trip.  It turned out to be great timing – just in time for a good Mother’s Day present.  I decided against dragging my Mom around Egypt budget style in hostels and taking overnight trains.  Instead, I booked a trip with Noga Tours.  It would include private transport (no big tour buses!) and ‘5 star hotels.’  Turns out that ‘5 stars’ in Egypt is more like 3.5 stars in the US.  Regardless, it’s a nice change from the $2 rooms in Nepal with cockroaches and disgusting bathrooms.

Today we were blessed to go to the Pyramids of Cairo.  It always feels a bit surreal to stand in front of monuments that are a dream for many travelers.  Our guide was an ‘expert photographer’ and we spent time posing in front of the Pyramids, pretending to be touching the top of each with our fingers.

After a camel ride out to the desert where we could see a view of all Pyramids together, we then entered the 2nd biggest Pyramid.  It was a long slanted walk down to the a plateau, during which we had to squat to fit.  After the plateau, we walked upwards until we reached the main site: a large room with a ‘tomb’ in it.  The tomb was empty, so we loitered a bit in the empty room before exiting.  Overall, there wasn’t much to see, however, it was cool to be allowed entry into such a an old site.

The sphinx was one of my favorite sites with the Pyramids in the background.  It’s the statue of a lion with a Pharaoh’s head; the nose is destroyed, supposedly the work of people wanting avenge against the Pharaoh.  It is said in ancient Eygyptian culture that a person’s soul would return back to his or her body after death, only if the face is recognizable.  By destroying the nose on the statue, the soul would never be able to rest again in the body.

After the Pyramids, we went to the Egyptian Museum, where many of the treasures of Egypt are held.  I was thankful to have the guide with us, as she led us through the many pieces in the museum.  Without her, we would have been lost.

After the museum, we stopped by the Al Azhar Park where we got a great view of the city.  Overview, it was a satisfying day of seeing the sites.

SUNDAY, 10 MAY 2009

Journey to Cairo

I arrived in Egypt via ferry from Aqaba, Jordan.  Like all things in traveling, the plans did not go as expected.  The ferry departure was to be at 1 PM; it was supposed to be an hour trip  Instead, we exited the boat in Egypt around 5 PM.  This made it impossible for me to catch my 6:45 PM flight from Sharm El Sheikh Airport, which is down the Sinai Peninsula.  The drive was 1.5 hours from Nuweiba to Sharm.  I didn’t make the plane.

That morning, our small group had breakfast together.  After saying goodbyes to our Italian friends, Nick dropped Lisa and me off at the port while he went about to return the rental car to the Aqaba airport.  It was a bit of a search to find the correct offices, but Lisa and I had our tickets and passports sorted out by 10 AM.  I waited by the luggage while Lisa went to wait for Nick at the entrance.

As it turned out, Lisa and Nick were gone for a long time.  A security guard approached me to find out where I was going; he soon told me to get on a bus that would take me to the boat.  I kept telling him that I was waiting for my friends but he insisted that I needed to get on the boat.  As Lisa and I discussed as a backup plan, I left their baggage at the Information desk and hoped that they would make the boat in time.

I was the first on the ferry, and thus, seemed to be provided with preferential treatment.  There was a huge seating area for the passengers, but the security guard asked me to follow him upstairs.  He seated me in the VIP area, a small area of select crew.  I told him again to look for my Aussie friends, Lisa and Nick, and ensure that the boat didn’t leave without them.

As it turned out, the boat didn’t leave until 2 PM.  Lisa and Nick eventually arrived just as I was taken outside to the deck with the crew with special views of the dock.  I waved to them with relief and ran downstairs to help them through the passport process.  Thankfully, I was able to bring them upstairs with me to the VIP area, something we would later much appreciate.

We enjoyed the journey over together, spending time eating ,drinking, and chatting about our lives.  Lisa and Nick are both lawyers from Australia, but until recently, had been working and living in Moscoe, Russia.  Quite a bit of change from their normal lives, I’d imagine.  They are now relocating to Geneva, Switzerland to take on Europe.  It’s a great way for the two to see the world while progressing with their careers.

We arrived at the Nuweiba, Egypt port around 4 PM.  It took a while for the boat to dock.  Once we thought the boat was set, we exited our upstairs small area and went downstairs.  It was then that I was hit with a wave of body odor.  I looked in disbelief to see that the area I had seen empty before was now filled to the T with many Egyptians and locals.  There were some foreigners mixed into the crowd, looking less refreshed after the long ride than my friends and I.  I was immediately grateful for the VIP area that we enjoyed; we had peace and waiters coming by often to check on our status.  Downstairs, it was a complete zoo.

Eventually, all the foreigners were rounded up and taken into a room where we were seated.  We got the impression that we were being set aside for a special process and we were right.  Each of us were called into a sideroom where our temperatures were taken to ensure that we didn’t have the Swine Flu.  I thought it was a bit stupid of a process, considering that the check was done at the end of the ferry trip.  By then, if we any of us really had the Flu, we would likely have contaminated the locals that were seated in the vicinity.  None of them were checked for temperatures.

I finally made it off the ferry at 4:40 PM, hugged Lisa and Nick goodbye, then hopped onto the bus that would take us to the Arrival Port.  After being lead astray by workers, having to wait for a man to finish prayer for 5 minutes behind the counter, I eventually made it to the Immigration office where, ironically, Lisa and Nick were already at.  They helped me get my passport taken care of, then I was out of there.  I was finally in Egypt!  And I had to get to the airport where I’d likely miss my flight.  

After having been in Jordan for a week, I was accustomed to a warm, inviting culture where the greed of tourism had not entirely taken over the people yet.  Egypt was the complete opposite.  As soon as I got out of the Arrival area, a large group of taxi drivers ran over to me and started shouting questions about where I wanted to go.  I put up my hands to tell them to calm down and speak softly, acting like a teacher in front of a class.  I announced my intent to go to Sharm El Sheikh Airport; they yelled out a price of 100 US Dollars.  I just laughed in disbelief and offered 200 Egyptian Pounds, around US$40 and the noted price in my travel book for the 150 km trip.  They rebounded with 400 pounds, which I rejected.  It went on and on with negotiations, until they suggested I wait for another tourist to share the taxi with.

I was rushed to get my flight but I refused to show my nervousness to these taxi drivers looking to take a foreigner for all her money.  Besides, I really only had the 200 pounds; my ATM card hadn’t worked at the bank at arrival, so I could only change the US$40 that I had.

Eventually, I found a couple that was going to Dahab, halfway between where we were and my destination.  The boyfriend spoke Arabic and went around in circles negotiating with the drivers.  I was getting quite frustrated.  He then looked at me and said, “You should not even be paying 200 pounds, it should just be 50.”  At that point, I looked at the crowd of greedy taxi drivers and said “FUCK YOU ALL.”  I was so mad that I decided at that point, I’d rather just pay US$10 and take the 8 hour bus to Cairo rather than subject myself to being ripped off beyond all means by the drivers.  It was the principle of the situation; I’d rather be uncomfortable on a long ride then deal with them.  They could all go screw themselves.  I then announced to them (uselessly, since they probably didn’t understand) --- “You’re all stupid – there are no more tourists and none of you will make profit now cuz you’re all being assholes.”  I then walked off to the bus station.  

At that point, a taxi driver said he’d take me for 200 pounds, which I knew to be a fair price.  I said yes and hopped into the taxi.   As we drove off, he keep trying to sell me a ride to Cairo for 500 pounds.  I kept saying I had a flight from Sharm El Sheikh, but the idiot didn’t seem to understand.  He then announced that the price would be 250 pounds to the airport.  At this point, I was at my limit and went on a rampage, lecturing him on his dishonesty and how the Islamic religion was one that encouraged good in people.  I also yelled at him that people in Jordan were such good welcoming people and my impression of Egypt was that they were such liars and very untrustworthy.  As any man does when encountered with an upset, irrational female, he immediately backed down and went to 200 pounds.  The whole exercise was completely draining!  

When I got to the Sharm airport, Egyptair quickly put me on the next flight leaving in 15 minutes.  It was relieving that there was no issue with the missed flight.  I could now get to Cairo.

At Cairo, at worker lent me his cell phone and I got ahold of my tour company.  Luckily, they were able to send out a car and I managed to get to my hotel safely to wait for my mom to arrive.  It was a long, exhausting day.