Maybe I should introduce myself now as Baby Spice? Shakira? Or a representative from Lonely Planet? The 3rd was a masked identity we created without the Egyptian’s opinion…
I met up with a dear friend Jade the day before I was to fly to the enchanted land of Egypt. It was inevitable that we would discover a brilliant plan for her to come with me...dah…
8:00, 9:00, 10:00pm only 5 more hours to endure and stay awake till we flew. Why do I always choose the horrid flight hours to save some mullah? I was looking forward to having some time away in general and to think etc, also time for hot water, gas, clean feet and stable electricity. Our taxi arrives African time and were on a tight schedule to make our flight. About 45 minutes into the hour drive to the airport the taxi is slowly drifting to the side of the road…’sorry ma’am looks like were out of petrol’. Times like these I do not appreciate the blaze tune to the comments. Out the driver jumps with a jerry can and sprints into the black of night. Jade and I sit. Starring at the time ticking, the petrol light shining and the random unsafe feeling of the boda driver starring in on the 2 Mzungu’s in the car as he goes by at 2am.
Were speechless and appreciate the bugs buzzing’s not allowing the silence to exaggerate our fears. What can you do. The driver reappears with the fuel and off we go….
Arriving in Cairo felt rather bizarre as I am greeted by an Uncle I can hardly remember and the tiredness taking over my motion. We drive to our home for our time in Cairo, the Dutch Ambassadors residency. We are welcomed by a huge perfectly floral yard and magnificent house. I am too tired all that is going on and cannot register the new shiny surroundings so I go to sleep. I awake to the informing of dinner soon and greet my Aunty, the Dutch Ambassador in Cairo. It is amazing and a privilege to spend time with family who you hardly know and get to know them and their achievements. An unforgettable, special time sharing stories of family, some gone, some now older.
We were equipped with maps of everywhere and priceless information on the city we were about to explore. Starting with the Cairo Museum we quickly realized that we were quite different to locals and wore far less clothing on our body, especially our heads…
Egypt is amazing, excitingly rich in culture and history that is unfathomable. We somehow tackled all that we set out to see and do.
I love going to a new country and spending time in the hidden richness of local ‘hang outs’ and discovering the quirkiness of people and their culture. Its funny that people seem the same all around the world. Smoke from Shisha pipes filing lanes, old men drinking tea and enjoying an endless game of Backgammon chuckling over their historical jokes. Traditional food always served with a dish of ‘what could this do to my body, specifically bowls if I eat you?’ Dark allies overflowing with coffee shops and locals calling you in. Children playing with cats and covered in jewelry. Driving rules and roads nonexistent. Markets cramped with new delights and junk that somehow presents the unfamiliar culture that makes me feel I would really want it…
We went to a mosque and upon arrival we realized that maybe our appropriate dress wear wasn’t so appropriate after all…I was soon to discover I have very sexy ankles that should really be covered in public, so I was given a beautiful gown shall we say to do the amazing job of covering me head to toe. Lurking around corners and dark prayer rooms I felt I should be in a sequel for Harry Potter. All humorous moments aside, you do stand in awe at the history, beliefs, respect and architecture of the mosques.
As if to be popped in between tall buildings, my eyes were popping out when there in front, was the Sphinx. We made our way closer and closer, pushing off the men bouncing up offering camel rides, proposals and tourist ‘must haves’. It felt as if I was watching my surroundings through the Discovery Channel.
We negotiate the camel trip and over my leg hops onto this quirky, camel. Camels are very humorous creatures and seem to resemble cartoon like facial expressions. You lean back and are surprised as they spring there back legs up and then forward allowing their front legs to straighten. The man whom we negotiated with motioned us to go while calling out ‘enjoy, pay me 80 000 when your back’.
There games never cease to amaze me and I argued back ‘no, we agreed 70 000’ as my camel is awkwardly walking away.
‘you pay 80 000 or you will not enjoy’ he firmly responded.
What can you do when you’re already mounted on this large animal? Of we embark, somewhat trotting over the unending, stretched desert hills in the blazing 45 degree heat. We reach the pyramids and have somehow convinced the tour guide that today he will let us climb one of the small pyramids, and allow that rule not to, slide by. It was incredible and breathtaking, standing on the pyramid it is hard soaking in the history and grandness of what you are on top of. We hurry back down as there the other Egyptian tour guides are fast approaching yelling in Arabic for us to get off. In true clumsy, un appropriate foot wear Brigitta style, I cut my foot and enjoy the next week cleaning out sand and dirt from every tourist site we enter into. A man comes to collect our ’80 000’ and after giving this he tries to argue that we need to pay 80 000 for the tour guide. We mockingly laugh this off. In anger and losing this battle he decides to drop jade and I in the middle of nowhere…Jade had mentioned she wanted to walk for a day in the desert (huh hmm) and this was going to be it…
We spent a day exploring Coptic Cairo, with unending temples, churches, grave yards and historical symbols.
The night life in Egypt is delightful. My Aunt and Uncle took us to a German Ballet which was so experimental and a wonderful experience. We had dinner on a small sailing boat on the Nile taking in all the lights and life off the sides of streets. Local market walks and Shisha sessions at night. But my favorite evening was going down town for a traditional Gypsy show that keeps the historical Egyptian music and rhythms alive. Room filled with antiques, tea cups snuggled into hands, tambourines being ‘tuned’ over a fire before the show and then vocals so unfamiliar and the beats adrenalin forcing you to join in on the movement.
We put on our backpackers badge and one of the house men set up the cheapest way to travel to Luxor for us. We know the plan but didn’t quite register the exhaustion of the unfolding of it…Our night train arrived at 2am instead of 12, and we were welcomed in Luxor by the 45 degree heat and men more annoying and persistence than one could have imagined. We started with the Temple of Luxor and Temple of Karnak then set off to find our hostel. The Bob Marley hostel, highly living up to the names expectations! We awoke at 5:30am and jumped on the fiery across the sea to the East side for our Hot Air balloon experience.
I felt like a 5 year old not being able to hold their excitement under their skin. The basket was dropped from the car and off the men went firing the air inside the balloon and then shooting the flames up. We were lifted and placed inside and up we went. Over the fields, houses, temples and Valley of the Kings and Queens. Surreal, unforgettable and looking positively at the situation amusing when trying to hold back the fear I asked ‘are we dropping at an alarmingly un-normal speed?’
‘landing positions’ the controller yelled and we were alerted he could not see into the distance and it would be very unsafe to continue forth so we must land right away. This meant some poor residents field below. Sure, a disappointment we weren’t up flying high for longer, yet every second we had was amazing and were happily surprised to receive a full refund! Damn, we just never got a tshirt ;)
We then spent the rest of the day conquering the sites of 8 different temples and tombs in the killing 50 degree heat. That night we boarded the local night train back to our loved and missed Palace. Due to corruption of ticket buying the day before, buying that night on the train was the best way around this. Tired, possible heat stroke and dehydration in goes the ear plugs, bag straps tightly around wrists we shut our eyes to sleep.
‘Move, you’re in our seats’ I open one eye and there is the lady poking me an hour later saying this over and over again. We are informed that we don’t have reserved seats….?...you buy tickets on the train you are not assured of a seat number. We stroll the carriages, moody, craving sleep and comfort in search for a place to rest our heads. We find one seat and Jade and I share this space. One and a half hours go by and dejavu….were up now storming the train, with no patience or calmness for the men and offices pestering us. Jade excitingly holds my hand and is thrilled to share her discovery of a patch of train floor she saw earlier on. At this stage I wasn’t fussy yet an area between a man’s seat and the door to the connection of the train carriages roughly 1m by half a meter isn’t impressive…we settle and maneuver our bodies to cramp into this area for the rest of the night. I didn’t think it was possible to sleep were I did, nor did I think I ever would but desperate time’s right? We laughed ourselves to sleep.
Next destination – Dahab, The Red Sea. After well rested and living it up in the Embassy we are refreshed and are ready for the cheap way of doing things outside the Embassy again. After never needing our passports previously when we had travelled we carelessly thought it would be better to keep them locked up at the Embassy instead of having to constantly carry on us in the Red Sea. I know what so many of you would be thinking right now and Shushh ha I’ve learnt…This time we took the 12 hour bus and soon after departure were stopped by officials and walked off the bus as oh my we didn’t have our passports. The time we don’t….So we argue, they yell at each other in Arabic my ears perking in every time I hear ‘Australia’. The passengers on the bus now on one side with their eyes goggling out to the situation now outside as if to have placed the bus on a slant. I spoke the only thing I thought that could save us and that was confident spill on my Aunty being the Ambassador and knowing of all we are doing. We were let back on the bus without another word hahahaha…. This repeated 6 more times and I had my speech perfected by the end.
Dahab is stunningly beautiful and charming. On one side you have mountains painted up the sky and on the other you have the Red Sea, sparkling with her blue rays. It is a very chilled place and I could stay there for at least a month! I love that everywhere you eat you are seated on the ground immersed in cushions. We spent a whole day snorkeling our way through the Red Sea coral reefs in an area called The Blue Hole which in parts is 110metres deep! Yet we could surface the water and still touch coral and the majestic underwater world. The wonder of the detailed exquisite world down there is awe inspiring.
That evening, dressed in beach pants and ‘flip flops’ (safe word to use I realize more and more) we jumped on horses and off we went through the dark night along the street market, sand and then through the water. Perfect end to a perfect day! Although, my hesitations awoke after my horse was cantering along the sand in the decision to create a faster path and hated being controlled. ‘No insurance, paper work, medical assurance if anything was to happen…’
We finished our newly loved lifestyle in The Red Sea with a bike ride along the shores and between the mountains and sea.
Our last few days back in Cairo were full of more markets, eating (too much at every inappropriate hour), special night chats with my newly known and loved family members, finishing the emotionally inspiring book my Uncle wrote during their time in Sri Lanka and soaking up the dream lifestyle on a silver platter.
In the taxi ride to the airport, a tear made of gratitude and sadness dropped onto my top. Egypt was unforgettably special yet I know there is a whole world waiting for me, full of surprises!
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