Friday, May 14, 2010

Going To Egypt, or Day 6 of the Epic May Adventure


Today was the big move from Asia (where I've been for the last 4 months, believe it or not) to Africa (where I've never been!)

We attempted to see the sunrise this morning, but a large mountain was kinda in the way, so there was a lot of sitting and waiting, then giving up when we had to go back and pack and eat breakfast. Breakfast was bread (pita) with jam, or halawa tihineya (a sweet, chalky substance made from sesame and pistachios), or processed cheese, or all of the above. The four kittens were still around to entertain us.

It took a bit of work (and Arabic) to get out of Rum Village. We were supposed to take a bus with our driver, but then he disappeared when we were trying to find someone to pay. Then, we decided to just get on the main highway, and, with the Dutch couple, paid a taxi to get us there. Then a minibus and an hour later, we were in Aqaba.

We found the weirdest cab driver to take us around. He was nice, taking us to get our ferry ticket, then taking us to a Wifi-enabled coffee shop. When that wasn't going to open for another 30 minutes, he took us to the Aqaba Castle. So I did manage to convince Abdalla to do a wee bit of sightseeing.

Internet and a sour lemon juice, and we were on the ferry. There were a couple random lines which we had to pass through, but thankfully no exit tax (which is good because I wanted to keep the rest of the Jordanian dinars for keepsakes).

The "fast" ferry was scheduled to arrive at 2:00, an hour after it left. I think we finally got off it around 4:00, then a crazy congested luggage scanner in the arrival port, and we hopped right on a bus headed to Cairo.

I saw my first Egyptian sunset over the desert. There were a few more colors than at Wadi Rum last night, but there is also a bit more pollution. I napped for the final two hours of our six-hour journey, and, bleary-eyed, I followed Abdalla from taxi to taxi to find one whose meter worked.

It was an argument with the taxi drivers, then an argument with the hotel management (again, Arabs not being able to stay in dorm-style), then a hawawshi (a almost-fried, meat-filled bread pocket) and I was ready to hit the sack in my dorm-style room with Abdalla in his large single. Though mine doesn't face the main road so, insh'allah, I'll get a good night's rest.

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