arrival in Cairo

I decided to try the bus option from the airport instead of a cab.  There is a shuttle bus that takes you to a bus station not far from the airport (this was changed from the guidebook, but there always seems to be someone who speaks english and is willing to help).  When I got to the bus station, I was looking for Bus 356, which goes to the city center.  Turns out, the numbers are in arabic, so I was lost.  I started asking people and one guy pointed me to a bus that looked like all the others.  But he seemed sure, so I went.  I had another guardian angel then in the form of a young woman who was also riding the bus and spoke a little english.  She confirmed with the driver where he was going and then showed me where to get off.  She even asked someone else for directions to a street name I had.  Lesson:  be nice to tourists when they are lost and confused in your home town.  Then I started walking.  It was around 2 pm and beastly hot, so I decided pretty quickly to take a cab, which got me out of the sun-and into a non air conditioned car that went about 2 mph due to traffic.  When we moved I got a breeze, and when we didn't I just dripped.  The hotel I guess is more of a hostel.  I have a sink in my room and a shared shower/toilet.  It seems ok, although very basic.  It's 73 Egyptian Pounds per night, which is...let me see.  When I changed money at the airport, I gave him $80 US and got 455 EP or so back.  That makes the room pretty cheap. Its on the fourth floor of a large building with a cage elevator-sort of like a construction elevator you might see in an action movie where they are fighting their way up or down, except it's smaller. I'll try to remember to get a photo of it.  I have a fan and a balcony with a view of the alley and an old building.



All the women I have seen have on scarves and either a burka style outer garment or long sleeves and pants/skirt.  However, the shop windows have lots of pretty dresses and lingerie on offer, so I guess ony their family and close friends get to see those. Some of the men wear robes (kaftans?) and some are dressed in western style clothes.  I am staying near the city center/downtown.  Right now I am about 5-10 minutes from the Nile River, I think.  I am going to stroll over there after I am done here.  I'm hiding out doing internet during the hottest part of the afternoon.  Hoping to go see some pyramids tomorrow or Friday.  The parts of the city I have seen remind me of Bangkok, Mexico City and other large dirty cities with a lot of everyday life going on.  Its funny, when I ride the bus or Metro, everyone has on their impervious faces, just like on the bus in the US, pretending not to notice anyone else around them.  I guess the unwritten rules of mass public behaviour are pretty similar in most large cities.  Masses of people moving in all directions, pollution, traffic jams, honking, cars cutting each other off routinely (no offence meant and none taken), but little common courtesies and kindness to strangers like me.


I went to a tourist information office around the corner from my hotel and the first thing she told me (after saying I was her first customer all day) was that she does not have a map of Cairo...hmmm.  Oh well, she had air conditioning.