It’s my final full day in Egypt. I’ll admit my time in Cairo has been OK but not what I expected. In a few days I’ll be meeting my brother, Dave, for the first time and I feel like the anticipation of that has thrown my concentration off a little bit. I feel like I have to come back and see the Pyramids the way Chris Farrell does things and not the way someone else expects me to do it. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to ride a camel at the Pyramids unless people dramatically clean up their act in how they treat animals.
I’ve seen the mummy of Tutankhamun so now I wanted to see his gold mask and coffins (note the plural). The Egyptian Museum was on my radar for today. I was finally awake early today, as I’ve been sleeping in until noon for much of this journey. Getting to the museum would require taking a bus and then the Cairo Metro, and then I was at Tahrir Square.
Two guards shouted at me for snapping a photo but, oddly, they said I could take a photo with my phone but not with my camera. Tahrir Square was the heart of the 2011 protests that forced Hosni Mubarak to resign. The Egyptian Museum is one of the very few places where I wasn’t able to get the student discount. A CouchSurfer named Dina would join me at the museum and we'd have a nice stroll around. The CouchSurfing community in Egypt is one thing that gets very high praise as I’ve stayed with four really awesome hosts, and they’ve helped organize diving, hot air ballooning, and taxi rides, and have all acted as translators. Whilst I felt tempted to make a B-line for Tut’s mask I looked at a few other things first. Artefacts from as far back as 3000 BC are in the Egyptian Museum.
Dina and I then went to the museum’s piece de resistance. Tutankhuman was mummified and then place in not one but two coffins made out of solid gold. The smaller coffin, which held Tut’s mummy, was place inside of a larger coffin. The smaller coffin alone weighs 110 kg. Photos are strictly prohibited and the guards are firm about it; even offering a tip wouldn’t allow it. I had to settle for a photo at the entrance to the exhibit.
My flight is scheduled at 3:40 AM but I was told to get to the airport early to pick up Juliett (my drone), so Belal, Joel, and I left a bit before 8 PM to pick up some spices and snacks. Fresh nutmeg and cumin is a lot fresher and less expensive than in many other places, so I made sure to stock up well...and not just for myself. Dave, and Garrett & Nora all have a cartouche and some fresh spices heading their way. So I wouldn't have to exchange money, I did my age-old travel strategy of paying for someone's stuff with my credit card and then collecting the cash from them. Getting to the airport would be an adventure as I took two different minibuses and then a taxi driver tried to charge me 100 EGP to go a distance of only about 500 metres. At the airport I was led in all directions when asking about Juliett, and at the information desk I was told I had to see the staff at the checkin counter. When I showed them the paperwork I was given in Hurghada, I had to leave my passport with an official where I was given my Egypt exit stamp and then I was led to a room where I finally saw Juliett in her bag. They told me I had to pay "customs fees" for each day she was in storage, and when I explained that I had paid in Hurghada they didn't seem to understand. My only realistic option would be to pay with my credit card as I wasn't sure if I had enough money in either bank account. Egyptian customs would have kept Juliett if I couldn't pay. In the end, I ended up paying 600 EGP to get Juliett back, and then I had to be escorted back to the checkin counter. By this time, I had been officially stamped out of Egypt so they had to make sure I wasn't going to try to sneak back in illegally. I had to put Juliett in my checked bag and then, dressed in my gelabiya (a traditional Egyptian garment), I boarded the Saudia flight to LA with a brief layover in Jeddah.
If I was to give Egypt an overall grade as far as a destination and based on my personal experiences, I would give it about a C+. It’s a fantastic destination with thousands of years of history and culture, and a great place to experience activities like hot air ballooning, sailing, and diving for a fraction of what you’d pay most other places. The CouchSurfing community is also excellent. The downsides are corruption, being asked for money (baksheesh) for every little thing, being hassled mercilessly to go into this person’s shop or ride in that person’s taxi. Egypt has a lot of kinks that need to be smoothed out. The food isn’t the worst I’ve ever had but not the best either. When Egyptian customs officials rip you off both when you enter and leave the country, it doesn’t give you the best impression. I warn everyone sternly: don’t even think of bringing a drone to Egypt. Perhaps my expectations were higher than normal since I learned so much about Egypt growing up and because I have several good friends who are Egyptian. I would strongly recommend anyone visit Egypt but be sure to go with patience and nerves as thick as steel.
