Egypt: Would you like fries with that?

So I'm in Egypt! I was just at the Egyptian Museum which was FANTASTIC. OK, so the labeling and exhibits suck technically speaking, but just to wander around and see and feel the vibe of everything - WONDERFUL!! Like everything I ever expected plus so much more. The statues, the tombs, the hieroglyphs, just everything!

And now here's a little internet cafe, so everything is good. I was supposed to meet the Iraqi boys at noon, but I think we all got confused somehow and I couldn't find them in the crowds.

Let's see, what else? OK, I arrived on Friday - after the friendliest encounter with Jordanian officers ever. At passport control as I left, they were just giddy with joy to meet me. I got in to Cairo late and had to wait long time at airport to get cleared. Met Tami and Ahmed and Becker from Louisiana (yes, Katrina has wrecked their lives) though Ahmed originally from Jordan, where they're staying a couple months. And met Omar, Farris, and Yehair - the Iraqi boys. Everybody very friendly and we have gotten along very nicely.

Saturday we went to the pyramids at Giza. YES! THE pyramids and THE Sphinx!!!! Took pics, crawled around a bit, etc. Excellent! Then we went to papyrus museum place and a flower essence shop to smell different concoctions. Tourist traps; we were not interested. The flower shop guy was a sexist pig and I pushed his buttons.

This is also when I began to notice that Sammy, our guide, was less than perfect. He didn't guide at all, didn't allow sufficient time, etc. Also told me things like there's no bus from my hotel into the city. I asked several times, he kept telling me that. Which I just sensed was BS. See, the problem is my hotel is WAY out of town - nearer to the pyramids than to Cairo - and a taxi to town is like $6 each way, which adds up! Plus, that's if you don't get screwed over. So, I didn't believe little Sammy so went for a walk that evening. There is NOTHING around our hotel - it's walled off and surrounded by no businesses like shops or anything. And internet there costs like $1/minute! Anyway, so I saw LOTS of buses - the ones like in Ghana, small vans. And I knew he was full of it.

OK, Monday we went to the Citadel, some cool old mosques and hung out just a little, then to Khan al-Khalili bazaar. This is when things with Sammy became more unpleasant. He wanted us to go to this tourist trap thing and most of us showed no interest to pay $20 for it. He got grumpier and grumpier, saying it was up to us which was clearly not really the case. He kept insisting we follow "the program" which meant 5 minutes when we needed much more, and he dropped us off places that weren't really open yet.

So, Ahmed, Tami, Becker (he's 4) and I spent most of the day hanging out and went some cool places - coffee shops and falafel and bargaining for deals. It was a good day once we ditched the program.

Yesterday was the Sammy clincher. We went to Alexandria - yes, THE Alexandria. It was BEYOND cool to walk where Cleopatra used to walk! We went to an old fort, some crappy aquarium thing, saw the new Alexandria library, etc. Then he took us to a restaurant where they wanted to charge us like $19/kilogram (almost $10/pound) to eat fish there! Everybody was like HELL NO, so we walked - plus it was all just sketchy with the Sammy-kickback and how they wouldn't give us a menu, kept changing prices, etc.

So Sammy, still pretending to be a nice guy, took us one other restaurant - clearly a tourist trap again. Then he started to show his frustration with us when we refused that one also. All we wanted was where the real people eat. And Tami and I are the only non-Arabs, and none of us is stupid. So he said how about the City Centre, and I looked in my Lonely Planet guidebook at City Centre and saw lots of different options, and we all agreed that was a good idea - to go downtown.

But no. "City Centre" is a mall outside town. When I pitched a mini-fit he said that Alexandria doesn't have a city center, that this is the only one. Which is when Omar got on board with the "That's bullshit," but as Ahmed said, we just wanted the day to be over. We went into the food court of the mall where the options were Pizza Hut, McDonald's, KFC, and the like. I kid you not. It was like I died and went to hell, except there was no country music soundtrack.

I don't eat that crap in the US, much less in the Middle East, where food is yummy and healthy and cheap! AND to add insult to injury, this is the last day before Ramadan, so it was my last chance to eat Egyptian food - Egyptians are all fasting during the day, and because my hotel is so far from town I won't be out that late alone in order to eat in the city (all restaurants are closed during the day), and I'll be only eating at the hotel now, which only really has western food.

If I hadn't been with the rest of the group, I would have been really pissed, but instead we laughed a lot and it just was realized as a crazy time. My peeps are cool. But Ahmed and Tami and Becker left this morning with some others, and I lost the Iraqi boys today, so I'm on my own for the next few days (or until Omar calls my hotel again tonight).

But it's all good. I was going to take the mini-buses to the subway to the Museum today, but I was running late so ended up with a taxi. The hotel folks tried to jack me around there too and I was refusing to be bullshitted into paying for their really expensive limousine service, so the head guy just led me out to a taxi to get rid of me and shut me up.

And this is how I met Mostafa, who is already great. We instantly clicked and when I told him about the Alexandria trip yesterday he laughed so hard and was so appreciative to laugh that he's my homeboy now. He brought me to town for a reasonable price and will pick me up if I call, and tomorrow we're going to Saqqara and Memphis for some real ruins and cool stuff. And he'll charge me less than half the limo rate.

I might try to do the subway-bus thing though today, just to see if I can. The only problem is then I have to leave town soon, because everybody will start rushing home early because it's Ramadan and everything close early.

But, that might be ok. I'm already kinda tired from the power tour of the museum I did, and it might be nice to have late afternoon-evening to chill at the hotel pool and read this stupid Ken Kesey book that I brought and will not take to one more country.

OK, so I'm off now to do some power touring of this area of town. And I'm having a great time alone - doing things at my pace instead of Sammy's - that is GREAT.

So, off for more adventures!! :-)