My first two hours in Egypt went something like this: Ignore the new guy every ten feet asking where he could take me in his taxi... Locate the unmarked and dodgy looking airport shuttle bus... Board the airport shuttle bus with a mob of Egyptians cramming themselves in... Wait for an arbitrary amount of time for the bus driver to decide to drive when he deemed the bus (standing room only with people clinging to the doors) full and ready to proceed... Enjoy all the senses (sights, sounds, & smells) of standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a bus navigating through the trash filled dusty streets of Cairo... Be clearly aware that you do not yet know a lick of Arabic... Pull up to the bus station outside the airport... Exit the bus in the same manner as boarding with the added obstacle of just as crazy a mob of people trying to squeeze in to enter the bus as the mob of people exiting... Find Bus 111 without knowing a lick of Arabic... Board new bus in what you now realize to be 'the Egyptian way' as previously described above... Hope and pray you are on the right bus going in the right direction... Stare out the window at the sights & sounds of 17 million people trying to coexist in a tightly packed city... Somehow communicate that you want to go to the metro... get dropped off in the middle of the city with no signage guiding you to the supposed metro... Wander around wondering how you allowed this to happen to yourself AGAIN... Find the metro and risk life and limb crossing the street to get to the entrance... Decipher the secret codes required to read anything that in Egypt is remotely meant to aid none Arab speakers find their way... Board and exit metro in 'the Egyptian way'... Pop out onto the street in one of the busiest squares in the city... Ignore the new guy every ten feet (Instead of offering taxis, touts are now shop owners) on the sidewalk offering you a tea to come and look in their shop... And, at last, find your accommodation in the poorly marked building with the strange entrance at street level!!! Though well into my travels now and, having had my fair share of uncomfortable situations, it is still touching down in Cairo that is without a doubt been the biggest culture shock to date!
Tired, sweaty, and hungry, I was now smack dabb in the real Middle East and in yet another, albeit extremely, foreign place. Finally arriving to my hostel I was greeted by the familiar face of my German friend Danica (whom I had originally met while in Positano, Italy, crossed paths with again in Greece, and had planned to meet up with when discovering we'd both be traveling in and around Egypt at the same time) and happy to shower and grab a bite to eat.
Upon arriving in a new place its best to take your first day or so to simply get your bearings and recover from the fatigue of traveling. After spending my first new day in Egypt regaining some sanity in the confines of our hostel and, after "talking story" (discussing for you non Hawaiians) with Danica, her Canadian friend Rob, and an American dude named Dominic, Danica and I sketched out a rough plan and route to travel around Egypt. Our first goal was to get out of Cairo and head west - into the middle of the desert for a jeep safari and camping adventure in the picturesque White and Black deserts surrounding the Baharyia Oasis. And, Dominic had 'just the guy' to help us sort out how to get there...
Dominic had traveled Egypt quite extensively several years before and iterated to us what we heard from other travelers and were quickly learning ourselves... Everyone in Egypt wants, can, and will try to sell you something! Though traveling independently, Egypt is also quite large and getting places takes traveling long distances and coordination. Because there are no set itineraries or prices in Egypt (anything you want can be arranged) and, because of the vast network of security (armed police and check points throughout and along the roads), traveling independently in this case meant first negotiating where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do. The trick was finding an Egyptian we could trust and whom could arrange for us a desert safari at a fair price (fair being the key word here!)...
I first met Aladin inside his papyrus shop opposite a shisha bar down a narrow city street. With Dominic's recommendation and, after Rob & Danica enjoyed a successfully arranged and reasonably priced day trip/camel ride to the pyramids, we turned to Aladin for help. Over Egyptian tea we got acquainted with one another and came to an agreement on the cost/plan for a three day/two night excursion into the desert wilderness. And, to enhance our adventure even more Aladin told us he'd like to join us! It sounded great... A trusted Egyptian along for the ride sharing with us the REAL Egypt.
Setting off we left the craziness of Cairo behind and bussed out to the Oasis. A few hours later we were greeted in Baharyia by Wagdi (our local driver), invited to an authentic meal in his mudbrick house, and geared up the jeep for our drive into the desertscape. Well, long story short, suffice it to say that everything about the safari was amazing except for our "pal" Aladin! Starting out friendly enough Aladin throughout the few days became excessively abusive towards Wagdi, strange in his questioning of our future travel plans in Egypt, controlling in our discussions around the campfire, and pushy about trying to "help" us arrange the next leg of our trip while we were yet trying to enjoy the present. His presence aside, the desertscape was impressive: the outerworldy shapes in the White desert, mountains of the Black desert, shooting star filled night sky, visitation by a fox in the night, simple but tasty traditional foods, and watching camel trains go by!
Back towards Cairo it was my turn to see the pyramids of Giza and The Great Sphinx before Danica and I hoped to board a train towards The Nile Valley. In Egyptian fashion Aladin brought me to his friends teahouse just outside the gate before accompanying Danica back to the city. Immediately after Aladin and Danica left it was apparent Aladin had something up his sleeve and the shop owner slowly but firmly attempted to help me arrange a couple hour tour/camel ride in and around the pyramids... All I wanted was to walk through the gate and walk around on my own. After getting really fed up with all the tricks and touts I fought my way to the ticket counter and inside just in time to enjoy the last hour of daylight and sunset over these colossal structures!
A taxi back to Cairo revealed Aladin had one more trick up his sleeve... But by now we were onto him and aware of what it was going to take to navigate through Egypt...
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