al-Qāhirah (Cairo) aka: Cairo, القاهرة, le Caire

Late November 2008.

Visit any tourist trap here and you are a walking target; just ignore anyone getting up in your dish, they just want money and don’t even consider it rude if you don’t talk to them. It is normal. Ladies, cover up or suffer the annoying consequences.

but at first I was completely frightened. At the airport, we were bombarded by cab drivers who were offering different prices to take us to our hotel in Giza. I don’t speak Arabic, but my husband does. He was really tense, so it made me tense. Once we found a driver, I was terrified by the way people drive. It was nuts! I couldn’t believe the speed, the lane switching, the beeping, and the close calls with pedestrians. I was probably overly tired at the time since I had had a long day. It was past 3am when we arrived in Cairo. We had driven 5 hours early that morning to get to the airport in Tunis, we had flown to Italy where we had taken a train from the airport to the city center and had walked around Rome looking for the colosseum and visting Trevi fountain, then back to the airport to fly to Cairo. The worst part was, when we got to the hotel and they didn’t have our reservations listed! We got a room anyway and got it all sorted out.

After a good night of sleep, I was much calmer and was able to enjoy the sights. We went to Khan El Khalili bazaar and shopped around. We visited the coffee shops, smoked shisha, got a little henna done, and had dinner. It was fascinating in the bazaar. There was so much to take in. We had to be careful crossing roads because of the crazy traffic, but it made everything an adventure.

The people were really friendly. We were hustled, but we knew we were being hustled. Most people were very helpful. The second to the last day we had a Nile Dinner Cruise and it was fantastically romantic. The river was so deep, dark, and mysterious. The food was good and the on-board entertainment was fabulous. There were at least three different dance shows during the cruise. We were picked up and dropped off in a very nice car. The only problem was that I was very, very sick the next day. My husband was fine and we had the same food, so I am not sure what happened. Maybe it was the mango drink I had…Anyway, I would go back. I want to visit the Cairo museum, go up in the tower, and go inside of the pyramids.
Maybe next time…

In Cairo, you can live cheaply or live very cheaply.

The language is Arabic, the dialect is Egyptian. In Cairo, many people can manage a few English words, and few are fluent in English.

It’s not a pure Arab experience, it has had so many identities and influences in the past that it feels quite “hybrid” in Cairo. This is not surprising, since Cairo is one of Africa’s largest and most populated cities.

The people are incredibly beautiful, the energy palpable.
Tradition lives side by side aspiration.
Almost everybody smokes, I assume lung cancer is common.

Ah yes, the tourism. It’s good.

Cairo was one of my favorite places in the world.

As my taxi driver told me when I arrived, “Cairo is crazy!”

The traffic is crazy.

Many of the people are crazy (where aren’t they though?).

It’s a very dirty city (lots of trash), and it’s very poor.

But what an exciting place!

The people are nice… especially because they want your money. Everybody will treat you very graciously. Although I believe most are genuinely friendly people, you can tell that a lot of them just want money.

Any why not give it to them? After all, just a few bucks can really make somebody happy there.

My favorite place in Cairo was the Cairo Jazz club. It is a very ecclectic place with a wonderful ambience. The band that was playing was one of the most unique bands I’ve ever heard. The people there were welcoming and very interesting (mostly foreign exchange students from Europe on the night I wen there). I made some very nice friends and I wish I could have spent more time in Egpt to get to know them better.

Of course, the PYRAMIDS were amazing! What a magical feeling when I first saw them lit up at night. The only time I’ve felt something similar was when I saw Acropolis lit up at night for the first time. So magical, so familiar. The pyramids are the most amazing things on this planet, so you MUST see them at least once in your life.

Also, if you talk to the right people, you can climb up the smaller pyramids for $10-$20 or so. If you’re willing to pay $500 to $1000 you can even climb up the Great Pyramid first thing in the morning. But you have to: 1) talk to the right people (and don’t be so overt about it in case you dont find the right person the first time) and 2) be ready to negotiate.

Remember, the cost of living is very low there (so is the standard of living though LOL), so $20 goes a LONG way. I had a taxi driver for four days. He was waiting for me every day when I woke up. He waited for me everywhere we went. He showed me the best places. He tried to get me to spend money at his friend’s stores to get his kick-back (99% of Egyptians are natural-born hustlers). He showed me all the safe places to eat. He was an awesome host and almost like my personal butler for the trip. Anyhow, at the end of the trip, he asked for only $40!!! Of course, I was grateful for his help and gave him more, but it just shows that a little money can go a long way there.

Of course, the locals will sense you are a tourist and they’ll try to charge you “normal” prices. For example, when you get a taxi at the airport, never take the first price you get. Ask the first taxi driver for a price to your hotel. He’ll say, ”$100” very confidently. Say thanks and go to the next one. He’ll say ”$70”. By then the rest of the drivers will have spotted you like a pack of hyeenas and you’ll be crowded around with screams of offers as low as $10.

A taxi drive of 10 to 15 minutes shouln’t cost more than a few US dollars.

When you’re in the bazaars, be ready to negotiate even harder. Don’t give over your money unless you AT LEAST got 50% off!

If you want more travel stories, videos, pics and tips, my friend and I are going to be sailing around the world (starting with several months in the Caribbean)... check out our blog at www.2guys1boat.com/blog We are going to be creating video episodes at each location we go to, and we are going to be focusing on the people in those places. It’s just getting started but it’s going to be really cool