Well, after 12 hours on a plane and 5 hours of layover, I made it! The flight on Luftahnsa from Atlanta to Frankfurt is what I expected it to be: wonderful service, great food, and comfort. The flight from Frankfurt to Cairo was a new and unique experience. I had never flown Egyptair before, and what a surprising difference to what I was used to: first, an unknown rush to get everyone seated. The attendants actually encouraged you to crawl over people still putting their bags in the overhead bins. When I was barked at for kindly waiting on someone to move into the aisle, I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. The safety video was quite comical at best, and the food was a what's what of selection. The main act was the attendants blatent disregard for safety as they actually stood as the flight landed, and passengers walked up and down the plane while it touched down. Scary to say the least!
Upon landing, I entered the terminal not quite knowing what to expect. Surprisingly, the wait for my visa took maybe 30 seconds, and the same to go to customs. I was quite impressed to say the least! My bag arrived quickly as well, and upon exiting baggage claim, was greeted by my driver, and younger Egyptian man named Shariff. We went out to the van, and I was immediatly struck by how windy it was outside. It reminded me of a warm Florida night, which was quite nice. The trip to the hotel was another story...
For those of you that ever get to go to Cairo, you should just to witness thre traffic alone. My dealings with traffic in Atlanta and Los Angeles was mere childsplay compared to Cairo traffic. I would highly suggest a passenger either take Dramamine, or perhaps slide down in your seat and close your eyes. The following are the rules for driving in Cairo as I saw them:
1) However many lanes SEEM to appear on the highway may be subject to doubling at any given time
2) It is protocol to blow your horn every 3 seconds, no matter what the situation may be.
3) Any minivan on the road MUST be packed with 14 Egyptians at all times. If not, it is appropriate to stop and pick up people until that quota is reached.
3) Using your headlights is TOTALLY optional.
4) Covering your vehicle with flashing red and blue neon Christmas lights is also optional
5) You may not stand freely in the middle of the interstate / highway unless you are selling something. If you are NOT, well that's ok too!
6) Right of ways do not exist in Egypt
7) If you are merging into traffic, there is no need to look before you do so. If you made it without crashing, the coast was clear...
8) Money is saved in Cairo by not buying any silly traffic lights or highway signs. They only would make things easier...
9) If your car is the result of a fire or bombing, just leave it sitting in the middle of the highway, it will still be there when you come back for it later.
10) If you crash your vehicle, don't worry: there is no rubbernecking here, people will find away around you
11) When people are randonly walking into traffic, utilizing rule #2 is appropriate as they are hot by vehicles
Well, that's my perception of driving here. I couldn't even begin to believe how crazy it was, and everyone just dealt with it, no big deal!
After my 2 hour traffic ordeal and views of mosques and a crossing of the River Nile, I finally arrived at my hotel, the Zoser. In a busy part of downtown, the hotel is actually one of the nicer one's here. I didn't know how to take my being allowed to bypass the metal detector at the door as well as the armed guard, part of me thought it was cool, the other wondering how many other people get that treatment...But after checkin, I went to my room, which was adequate to US standards, maybe the beds a good bit smaller. It was kinda late, but I was starving, so I called room service, and after a 10 minute back and forth communication challenge, finally ordered a hamburger and fries. They couldnt understand why I didn't want the fried egg on it like they always came, but they obliged nonetheless.
After a decent night sleep, and some more communication 101 issues at breakfast, I am ready to start my day. The clinic starts at 5pm this afternoon, I can only imagine the challenges that await me as most people here can speak ok english, but really don't understand the meaning of what they are saying at all. I was asked this morning by the front desk clerk if he wrote daily notes in his dairy or his diary..oh well, it's something new, and helps me put things in oerspective while here...
That's it for now, until next time!
Ron
PS- The olives here are quite tasty for breakfast!
