I had two goals in Egypt: to see the Pyramids and to ride a camel.
Two days was the perfect amount of time. I saw the Pyramids. I rode a camel...I ate Egyptian food. I took a feluca boat ride down the Nile. I smoked the hooka. I saw about fifty cats and drank about six smoothies from the corner fruit stands. I walked a whole lot, and people-watched non-stop. The most startling event to watch in Cairo is the traffic...
One of our most memorable moments occurred right after we left the hostel...crossing the street for the first time. We stood on the curb, ready to cross. After a few seconds of watching, we realized we were severe novices. We stood baffled...flabbergasted...in awe of the circus of everyday traffic patterns unfolding in the lanes before us. Men hopping on and off moving buses. Cars wedging between taxis. Taxis zipping past people. Every vehicle honking to say, "Move it! I'm coming in!"...Only, doing it about two seconds too late, meanwhile barely clipping a neighboring vehicle or person. This didn't stop pedestrians around us from crossing. Men, women, and children step into moving traffic. After gawking for a full five minutes, at least, a skinny man on a bicycle came charging through the "center" lane, balancing a wooden plank the size of a twin bed, stacked high with pita bread, on top of his head. It was NUTS!
In the last two days, we have only escaped the sound of constant horn-honking three times: 1. crusing down the center of the Nile 2. looking over the city at the top of Cairo Tower (which is exactly what it sounds like--a look-out tower in the center of Cairo) and 3. riding our camel (Charlie Brown) around the Pyramids. Even in those quieter moments, we could still hear the honking as white noise muffled only by the distance. All in all, Egypt was a wild ride!
We're finishing up our breakfast at the hostel this morning, then off to Jordan. We'll probably grab one last smoothie on our way out. Can't wait to see Kari and Andrew!
I had two goals in Egypt: to see the Pyramids and to ride a camel.
Two days was the perfect amount of time. I saw the Pyramids. I rode a camel...I ate Egyptian food. I took a feluca boat ride down the Nile. I smoked the hooka. I saw about fifty cats and drank about six smoothies from the corner fruit stands. I walked a whole lot, and people-watched non-stop. The most startling event to watch in Cairo is the traffic...
One of our most memorable moments occurred right after we left the hostel...crossing the street for the first time. We stood on the curb, ready to cross. After a few seconds of watching, we realized we were severe novices. We stood baffled...flabbergasted...in awe of the circus of everyday traffic patterns unfolding in the lanes before us. Men hopping on and off moving buses. Cars wedging between taxis. Taxis zipping past people. Every vehicle honking to say, "Move it! I'm coming in!"...Only, doing it about two seconds too late, meanwhile barely clipping a neighboring vehicle or person. This didn't stop pedestrians around us from crossing. Men, women, and children step into moving traffic. After gawking for a full five minutes, at least, a skinny man on a bicycle came charging through the "center" lane, balancing a wooden plank the size of a twin bed, stacked high with pita bread, on top of his head. It was NUTS!
In the last two days, we have only escaped the sound of constant horn-honking three times: 1. crusing down the center of the Nile 2. looking over the city at the top of Cairo Tower (which is exactly what it sounds like--a look-out tower in the center of Cairo) and 3. riding our camel (Charlie Brown) around the Pyramids. Even in those quieter moments, we could still hear the honking as white noise muffled only by the distance. All in all, Egypt was a wild ride!
We're finishing up our breakfast at the hostel this morning, then off to Jordan. We'll probably grab one last smoothie on our way out. Can't wait to see Kari and Andrew!
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