Well and truly stuck in...Egypt

[gbb]

Not the resort areas unfortunately, but a town near Alexandria.....and i'm bored rigid.
Container of machinery was supposed to arrive today...no chance, so i've got the day to myself'ish....a room in the factory, no TV, no-one (or hardly anyone) speaks English...thank god theres a 56K internet connection.

Can't venture into town..it looks like Iraq. Can't speak the language, no-one can speak English, limited access to a phone....magic

Very very basic facilities and room, a fridge full of gawld only knows what food , and no milk.

They say 'when in Rome'....
I'll be eating whatever they eat...authentic Egyptian food, some looks gross, some's actually quite nice. I'm game....

Anyone driven (or been driven) in Cairo two hours of insanity, and that was just to get out of the city. The motorway to Alexandria wasnt much better. Beep beep beep and constant flashing lights, cars coming from every direction I had a mother of a headache last night.

Looks like a book and plenty of sleep.

 

[philipbh]

Thats Egypt for you

If you like fish - then there is an excellent fish restaurant (in the fish market on the quay) at Alexandria

Incidentally, that horn thing will drive you nuts

We were visiting some friends in Cairo and was in a taxi back to our hotel in Giza about 3 in the morning

Driving down a completey deserted side street to get on to the main drag - our man starts hooting his horn at regular intervals

We asked why as there was no traffic - he just shrugged and said "thats what we do"

 

[threebikesmcginty]

...thank god theres a 56K internet connection...and no milk...

 

[ChrisKH]

My father spent two years in Egypt during about the time of the Suez Crisis. Said it was two of the best years of his life. Never had a stomach problem after eating and drinking there for two years! He must have built up some form of immunity as he never suffered when he went back either.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

err ChrisKH, Christmas is over. Can't you get your kids to redo your avatar? - I'm assuming it's too advanced for you!

Apologies if wear a Santa hat all year anyway!

 

[ChrisKH]

err ChrisKH, Christmas is over. Can't you get your kids to redo your avatar? - I'm assuming it's too advanced for you!

Apologies if wear a Santa hat all year anyway!

Aaargghhh! I will be damned for life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Globalti]

gbb I sympathise, I spent a day in Egypt last year and hated it; admittedly I landed, went to the airport Novotel, drove out to Port Said then back and never got into Cairo but I found it a filthy, noisy chaotic place. The bloody Egyptians are even noisier than the Spanish; they were partying in the hotel lobby at 03:00 when I got up to fly home and there was a restaurant next to the car park with loud music coming out so even outside wasn't peaceful. The only good thing I can think of was that I was treated to a superb meal in Port Said, some of the best Arabic food I've ever tasted.

Give me Lagos any day, at least fear of crime sends everybody home to bed early.

 

[gbb]

Its just got worse...my phones died

The communication problems just nosedived Spent all morning trying to get one of them to go into town and buy a charger...it's like banging your head against a brick wall.

Re the driving, i explained to the taxi driver...if we drive like this in England...it's a trip to the police station.
3 lanes of road....5 lanes of traffic, all at 40 or 50 mph, wingmirror to wingmirror, horns blaring, lights flashing yet no anger or fist shaking . Overtake, undertake..i guess because everyones doing the same....it works somehow .

Just got back from town I cant even pronounce it but its midway between Cairo and Alexandria. I thought South America was bad...it beggers belief.
Dusty, scrappy roads interescted by bumpy railway crossings, potholes, tuk tuks by the thousand, all jostling for position. Shops down dirty grimy streets, puddles of god knows what you have to walk through, food and rubbish in the streets, noise...i can go on and on. No wonder they prefer you to stay on the factory.

To be fair, communication aside, they've been as helpful as possible considering the language difficulties.

On the plus side, despite the fact it's their sabbath day, i've got a charger of sorts for the mobile....hopefully i can get back in touch with the real world.

 

[philipbh]

Sabbath? Find yourself a Coptic Christian!

 

[gbb]

Just goes to show how quickly everything can unravel...
Phone died yesterday, flat battery. I'd taken a usb lead and a 2 pin charger i'd got off ebay for this trip. The 2 pin charger's got the wrong usb connector on it (should have checked it first) and the phone wouldnt charge via the PC usb. I later realised the usb ports have dissapeared on hardware devices
Downloaded some Blackberry usb drivers....it worked, although i was just stabbing in the dark. Plugging and unplugging usb devices can cause problems apparently....it obviously did.

Woken up at 5am here by the mosque chanting right outside the factory...and i can already hear mountains of traffic tooting and roaring nearby.

Hopefully (but i'm not holding my breath) the machinery will arrive today....
Here's looking forward to breakfast....whatever that may be ?

 

[PBancroft]

Good luck!

I went to Cairo a few years ago. I actually found it quite fun, but I was only passing through and was lucky enough to be staying in a fairly decent hotel, so English was spoken throughout the stay.

My overriding memory is of the young military men with guns stood on every street corner. Invariably they were all pointing their weapons at head height for all the passing motorists. The one I wish I got a photograph of was the one under a big green sign which read in Arabic and English:

Egypt: World Leader of Peace

 

[Globalti]

How well I know those feelings of desperation when you're stuck in a foreign hotel with nobody for company and nothing to do; there's nothing worse. You don't want to go out and look around because you're there to work - all you want to do is get the job done and get home. It's at times like this that you realise what a great country Britain is really.

My solution is usually to get lost in a really good book.

What kind of factory is it, by the way?

 

[gbb]

How well I know those feelings of desperation when you're stuck in a foreign hotel with nobody for company and nothing to do; there's nothing worse. You don't want to go out and look around because you're there to work - all you want to do is get the job done and get home. It's at times like this that you realise what a great country Britain is really.

My solution is usually to get lost in a really good book.

What kind of factory is it, by the way?

Its a citrus fruit packing and exporting farcility Actually, the plants not that bad, i've worked in much worse facilities in Cyprus, and ironically much better facilities in Uruguay considering the poor infrastructure there.

Hotel...hotel ? i should be so lucky. I'm in accomodation on the complex, eating what they eat...some of the food looks inedible... and unfathomable Some is ok though.

More bad news, the machinery is stuck at port and cant be released pending paperwork. Not going to get it till maybe Monday. I was supposed to be coming home Tuesday...fat chance. It'll be the weekend if i'm really really lucky. Now i've got to tell the wife

 

[gbb]

As always, i was going for 4 or 5 days, ended up staying for 9 .

Back now. That was one of (if not the ) most friendly and enjoyable work trips ive done. The Egyptians were friendly beyond belief, a bit chaotic perhaps, but willing.

You learn things when you work with people, as opposed to holidaying there.
Early on, one said they have a saying...when you get a chance in life, you hold on to it with all your might...even hold on with your teeth.

As time went on, talking to the few that spoke english...it became apparent they've very few opportunities. They have so much to offer, several of the guys were really quite clever, but couldnt progress. They were stuck. You sensed a kind of desperation, that hopes would never be realised.

They're very philosophical people, they try to be good people...i guess thats their religion.

For all that, they love to have fun, to talk, to understand other cultures and incredibly welcoming. Everyone wanted you to sit with them and have a ciggie and a chat, however little english they spoke. Its a scream sometimes

Then i spoiled it....by becoming a tourist
On the last day, i went to see the pyramids near Cairo (Giza ?) What a difference...they drove me nuts. Freekin people

 

[Fab Foodie]

Good reading gbb.
I feel your pain, much like RR I guess, we seem to travel a bit to odd places often in difficult circumstances. I'm in K'grad again, it's only -10 tonight, I've been watching people walking down the river...
Those kind of trips are a real mix of pleasure and pain, hours of boredom, of time wasted, friends, beers and bike rides missed interspersed with moments of pure joy, a laugh, an undertsanding, a new sight or insight. For me that's the drug that keeps me travelling, the people you meet, the circumstances you find, the country the tourist never sees. On the surface K'grad's a concrete hole, but the people are fabulous and I'm welcomed here with open arms, it's very special to me... I've also been given an account in Egypt and one in Turkey that I'll have to visit at some stage and I'm sure that will contain many new experiences both good and bad!
Glad you're home safe and sound.
FF.