ATM where are you?

Our transition from Thailand to Egypt came as a shock to both of us. Our flight came to a rough and bumpy stop in Doha, Qatar for a three hour layover before continuing on to Alexandria. The landscape was so unbelievably different that we could have been on another planet. Sand as far as the eye could see and the sky was a blue that faded into a dusty brown as it got closer to the horizon. As we stepped out of the terminal to board our next flight we were heat by an intense wall of heat.

The flight to Alexandria was uneventful but the airport that awaited us as we left the plane was not what we were expecting. A large UN helicopter was sitting on the runway accompanied by a few fighter planes of various ages. The terminal was tiny and looked like it hadn't been repainted or cleaned up for decades. The scene inside was one of chaos since lining up in an orderly fashion is just not what Egyptians do. We waited patiently and made it to the official who took our passports and then directed us to a small kiosk across the airport to purchase our tourist visas. We brought the visa stickers back to the official who put them in our passport and then we headed to the one rickety luggage turn-style to see if Ryan's bag had arrived. Luckily it had and the only stop we had left before exiting the airport was to talk to customs. The customs area consisted of two tables, one with a group of Egyptian men arguing very loudly over a large piece of metal that one of them was trying to leave with. We were asked what we had in the bag to which we replied 'clothes' and then we headed out.

The air was hot and dry and we could hear the melodic and exotic call to prayer in the background. There was a row of Egyptians waiting outside the airport for friends and loved ones to arrive so we, being the only obvious foreigners on the plane, caused quite a few funny looks and blatent stares. After sitting down for a moment and trying to regroup we set out to try to get a taxi.

At this point we had spent most of our cash. Before we left Bangkok we didn't take any more out. We thought that the airport in Doha would have an ATM, unfortunately both the ATM's at the airport were out of service. Not knowing the state of the Alexandria airport we mistakenly thought that there would be an ATM there, but there was not. So as we tried to get a taxi to our hotel we had $10 US and $5 Canadian and a little bit of Thai baht. This was not looking good. We found a taxi and luckily for us he wanted $15 US to take us to our hotel. After talking to him for a bit we convinced him to take five of the amount in Canadian dollars. So much for that five that I had been saving to buy a timmies when we got back, but at least it came in handy.

The drive to our hotel was like something out of a movie. It was dusk and it is Ramadan which means that everyone can finally start to eat, drink and smoke after fasting all day. There were people all over the sides of the road but hardly any cars. Young men and boys were standing on the curbs passing juice in disposable cups to people in cars passing by and at one point our taxi driver stopped and grabbed one. We sped through the streets in a old car that was missing windows and door handles, quickly passing apartment blocks that were beyond run down, some with gapping holes in them. There were bonfires on the side of the road and we had brief moments where we wondered if we were actually going to make it to the hotel.

Finally the Mediterranean Sea came into view and we knew that we were on the right track. I have never been so happy to smell that salty air as we turned into the hotel parking lot. The bellboy came and got our bags and in true Egyptian fashion, ran them through the metal detector. Our turn through the metal detector came next. Once we checked in we headed up to our room and crashed for the night.

Alexandria didn't get much better as the days went by. The view of the sea from our balcony was amazing and the staff at the hotel were very friendly but we just didn't feel comfortable there. Our train ride to Cairo couldn't come soon enough for us. The concierge at the hotel helped us to book two first class tickets on the twelve o'clock train and also arranged a taxi to the station. Getting to the train station was easy, making sure that we got on the right train was the tricky part. The numbers on the train and the announcements are all in Arabic but thankfully a nice man made sure that we got on the correct train, although in true Egyptian style he asked for some baksheesh (a tip) in return.

Cairo has been amazing so far. We were picked up from the train station by a driver that worked for the hotel. He was very proud of his city and boasted that Barack Obama had been here to see the pyramids. The hotel is a five star with an amazing pool (I already have a sun-burned forehead), an excellent breakfast buffet, and a bedouin tent area where you can smoke flavoured sheesha (the apple flavour is very tasty). You can see the tip of one of the pyramids from our hotel room!

Yesterday we went to the amazing and overwhelming Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Unfortunately but understandably we were not allowed to take pictures inside and I don't think I will be able to adequately describe the treasures that they hold in that building but they will forever be etched in my memory. The section on King Tut was our favorite. They had his death mask which was 11kg of solid gold inlaid with lapis lazuli, cornelian, gems and colored glass. The 71" long solid gold sarcophagus was equally as impressive, the detail was astounding. Seeing the mummy room was also an intense experience. They have the recently identified Queen Hatsheput on display and because I have read to much about her I was really moved by being able to come face to face with one of, if not the, most successful female Pharaoh ever.

For more photos of Alexandria and Cairo click here...