I stayed in bed for as long as I could before the breakfast buffet finished. Initially sat on my own eating my way through the dregs that people had left. An American lady and her partner walked in and said hello and got talking briefly and they invited me over to their table. A lovely couple, out here on their holiday, the man was Egyptian but they were living in Morocco. We had a good chat and they accepted the fact that I was a hungry hippo and my shuttle runs from the croissants didn't affect the flow of conversation. Not did the constant wiping of Beirdre which is starting to get on my nerves now, especially when sticky food like jam is involved!
I said goodbye to them and would probably have breakfast again with them tomorrow. I then headed back to my room to commence my daily plan. All I really wanted to tick off was the museum and seeing Tutankhamen. You can't go to Cairo and not see King Tut I thought, if I felt like it then I might have a walk through the market but I didn't really know where it was and I wasn't really that fussed.
Today was the first day of the Eid holiday. This is a four/five day if you include their weekend that ends on a Saturday holiday. It's a Muslim holiday but everybody has the time off and most shops and banks etc close. Family's tend to join for food which means there are less cars on the streets but more people walking around instead. This worked out perfect for me with my taxi ride to Cairo and my walk around the museum, less traffic and no crowds in the museum!
I asked the hotel taxi service how much it would be, £60 he said. This works out around 6 GBP. It's not much, but in Egypt it's well overpriced and I like a bargain and hate getting ripped off. I knew out on the street I could get one between 30 and 50 so I got out there and with the slightest of nods, a taxi pulled up. "The Egyptian museum please" he nodded and I decided to go on the meter. I thought this would be a good idea seeing as there was no traffic and it wasn't far so the meter would be the best. 2 minutes down the road we had to stop for petrol, I have him a look of disgust (similar to the one I received from a "pyramid Egyptian" when I told him I didn't like camels and I wasn't going to ride one.) the meter was stopped, he apologised a lot and I didn't mind, I think I had bagged myself a very rare find....an honest taxi man. A couple more minutes in and he said "where you want to go?" "The museum please." I thought we had gone over this but clearly we weren't on the same wavelength. He looked at me blankly, "you know Tutankhamen, the museum" "Tutankhamen?" He said. You're kidding, how do you not know Tutankhamen? You are Egyptian right? I then proceeded to act out with my hands behind my ears, Tutankhamen fancy headdress. He just stared at me, I burst out laughing, I think I looked more like an angry velociraptor but I was trying my best! Luckily there was a sign and he was back on the same page. This driver obviously bypassed school and got straight into driving! We arrived at the Army roadblock just outside the museum and it came to 18 Egyptian pounds, yeeeeaaaahh boooooyyy! Happy with that.
Like the mummies, the museum was dead. Everybody was outside making noise in one way or another and Cairo isn't really bringing in the tourists right now so I could walk around in blissful peace. I was very impressed, not really one for most history lessons but the wonders of ancient Egypt is a very interesting era and I even stopped to read what was written on most of the plaques.
Unfortunately my nice walk was interrupted by a bubbly belly. Yes it's back again and to be honest, it never really left. It just lay dormant during plane journeys from Turkey to Cairo. One thing that really annoys me is having to pay to go to toilet, ESPECIALLY in an establishment that you've had to pay to get into anyway. There were 3 ladies sat outside the men's with tissues asking for money. Jog on! unless these tissues last forever then I shouldn't be paying you for them, they should be on a roll of cardboard waiting for me when I sit down. Naturally they weren't, and the toilet was a state so what the ladies dressed like ghostbusters actually did the whole day I haven't a clue. Luckily someone left a bottle of water on the floor so yet again I found myself giving it the "wet hand" in a place I've had to pay to get into. If I paid ghostbusters every time I used the toilet then I would've doubled the ticket price.
Anyway, I dragged out the majority of the museum before getting to the main man, King Tut. I like to leave the best till lay in pretty much everything I do. For those of you that will never go to Egypt and therefore never see the Tutankhamen coffins and head dress then I can inform you, this is also hat my ride is all about. Tutankhamen had ridiculously small hands, I know he was only young when he died but the golden finger covers suggest to me he probably couldn't hold an average sized pineapple with one hand. His toes however looked pretty much perfect (and that's coming from a man who hates feet) but unfortunately he had huge ears. Luckily for him, he was a king because otherwise I'm pretty sure he would've got bullied at school and his only real chance to make it in life would've been foot modelling.
I felt very cultured and all in all was impressed with the museum. I learnt a lot and I look forward to cycling to more of the historical sites on my way to Aswan. I walked from the museum over the bike to Old Cairo. There were lots of kids and lots of people dancing and enjoying themselves. It was a good atmosphere but my legs were killing, I could've done with taking Nigel around the museum with me. I decided to head back, chill out, get some food, watch the footy and meet with the guys later.
I had to go through a few taxis that were wanting 50 for the trip back, good one money grabber! I knew I could win again against these boys. Found a guy who used the meter again and BAM! 22 Egyptian pounds because we got stuck in a little traffic. So for a return trip I spent 40 (not inc tip) when I was quoted 120 by my hotel taxi man. This may only be a saving of 8 GBP I hear you say but if you see a dress for a 1/3 of the price, don't tell me you're not going to be happy when you buy it! That comment was sexistly aimed at the women. Men, its a pound a pint!
I went for a wander around the back of t hotel where there are lots little cafes and large flats. A ritual that is included in the Eid festival is sacrificing an animal. This was going on in the streets at the butcher shops as I would guess its quite hard to get a cow in a lift/up the stairs if you live on a top floor and nobody wants blood on their carpet. It is tradition to dissect the animal into 3rds. 1 third for your family, 1 third for your neighbour ..;...............
It was an experience to see put it that way. I'm not to fussed about seeing things like that, i eat meat and i know it doesn't start off by being in bun covered in ketchup. I was just happy my sister wasn't with me, or any other vegetarians I know for that matter as the smell would probably of made them throw up. It made me quite hungry so I sat down at a restaurant and ate a mixed grill and watched the footy. Not England or Egypt, it was Yemen but Egypt was after that.
After the football Farouk called me, he was waiting at reception. We met Ahmed out and went for a Syrian style meal. I have been asked about the best country for food. It's hard to say because I haven't been lucky enough to have such great hosts in all the countries an so in some countries I have the odd national dish the. Gone back to my stove and pasta packets.
The food with Apostolis in Greece was lovely and the food in Cairo, especially the turkey leg last night has been the best so far. Both of which (excluding the turkey leg) have been based around meat and a spit but if the bread isn't good then it doesn't matter how well the meat is cooked or what flavours you put on it, the kebab or wrap is ruined! This was not the case tonight and we finished the meal off with a dessert of Haloumi topped with brown sugar. Cheese seems to play quite a lot in desserts in this part of the world, I know we have cheese cake but really cheese?.... It was quite nice actually so don't knock it until you try it as they say.
After a few drinks it was time to say my goodbyes to the lads. Both guy have been amazing and done more than what I could of dreamt for. The two of them as mates hav made me want to stay longer and they have even offered me the use of an empty apartment if I wanted to stay longer. I felt I had to make a quick leave purely because I could find myself getting very comfortable with the way of life, and I really enjoyed the evening meals to chat about the day. As friends, Farouk and Ahmed optimise what I've noticed on my walks around the housing estates. The passion that Egyptians have for their believes runs strongly also in their loyalty to friendship and protection of each other. The kids that I played football with showed that in a picture that I've taken and I've seen young lads walking arm in arm on a few occasions. Ahmed and Farouk have welcomed me in in that same brotherly way and we will keep in touch for sure.
Farouk walked me back to the hotel and I packed my things ready for tomorrow. I didn't really want to leave but I knew I had to. I also knew that just like the previous times, as soon as I jumped back on Nigel, I would be in cycling mode and embracing the challenge of a new country, new terrain and more sights to be seen!
Next stop, the desert!!!
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