Drive at your Own Risk!!!!!

Cairo is a very dense city. It is full of people and the streets are always jammed packed with cars. If you think the traffic in Toronto is bad, traffic in Cairo is 10 times worse. There are no rules on the road. The cars go wherever they want to go. Let’s just say that the trip from the airport to the hotel was quite scary. Lanes, traffic lights and road signs do not exist in Cairo. The cars don’t follow lane structure. They drive in packs. Where there is a space that they can fit their car into, they will seep in and then cut off a truck or a motorcycle and move ahead to cut off other cars.

(Above picture: the view from our room)

When they change lanes, they don’t use the lane change lights, they just honk and move into the empty space. The guide told us that in Cairo to survive driving, you need only two things: 1) a strong heart, and 2) a strong horn. The amount of horn noise that you hear in Cairo is unbearable. Everyone is honking. If the car is not moving, you are guaranteed that you will get honked by the whole city until you start moving.

In addition to all of this traffic, there are also people crossing the roads. There are no crossroads for the people. The people just cross at their own risk. On our first night at the hotel, Kenny and I decided to venture outside. The first time we tried to cross the road, it took us almost 15-20 minutes. We just stood at the side of the road waiting for just one clear moment to cross, but there was always either cars, bicycles, motorcycles, and even donkeys coming our way. It got to the point where we just put our foot onto the road hoping that someone will stop and let us cross. We crossed the road, but I think I almost got ran over by a couple of motorcycles. I swear I didn’t want to experience that again.

We actually stayed in the suburbs of Cairo called Giza. I didn’t realize that we were not located in the downtown area since the hotel accommodations were included in our tour package. Giza is the area where the infamous pyramids are located. On a clear day, you can actually see the tip of the pyramids. The pyramids were really breathtaking. With the sand desert and the scorching heat surrounding the pyramids, it made the whole experience very worthwhile. Kenny and I also had camel rides in the desert. I was definitely scared because I was so high off the ground. But man, do camels STINK. They smell like a mixture of poo and rotten milk. It was bad. I swear I was going to throw up. Kenny’s camel kept farting and I was unfortunate to be walking behind his camel. Maybe that was why it smelled even more for me. Hee heee =) In any case, the camel ride was fun. They are very timid and cute animals.

Tipping in Cairo is a MUST. It is everywhere. Even going to the washrooms, they expect a tip. You see, I don’t mind tipping, but what I don’t like is when they ask for more. You hand them a tip, and if they think it’s not enough, they ask for more. For example, on our camel ride, there was a boy that led the camels through the deserts. After the ride, we tipped him and he was asking Kenny for more and asked if he had US dollars instead. Another incident was on our second day of the tour, the guide told Kenny how much he should be tipping him everyday. I got pretty upset at how greedy these people were.
Kenny and I noticed that the other tourists never tipped for the washroom people, nor did they tip the waiters. So we did the same. We didn’t care anymore. If they asked for a tip, we just said “no money”. It got too ridiculous.

Cairo is a very male-dominated city. You would hardly see any women on the streets. All you see are men, men and more men. The only gender you see working in the hotels, restaurants, on the streets are men. Even when the tour guide is talking to us, he talks to Kenny only. It seemed as if women here in Cairo are very insignificant figures. They are to only remain at home. Well, having done my research, I knew that women are to remain as covered up as possible. So most of the time I was there, I wore long Capri pants and t-shirts to avoid being stared or yelled at by the Cairo men. Unfortunately, that didn’t help. Wherever I was or went, I was stared at all the time. I felt like I was some sort of prehistoric animal that just came back alive. I noticed the staring existed for all foreign women. It definitely made me feel uncomfortable and unbearable. There was one day where I didn’t want to leave the hotel because I couldn’t take the staring. It just felt so gross. I mean every minute of the day, even when I was in the car, you would get mean stares from the men. It was pretty bad. I was kind of glad that we didn’t stay too long in Cairo.

Our Camel Ride...I was actually really scared, plus the camels stink!!!

A taste of what the streets in Cairo are like

A typical day on the streets of Cairo

15km Trek across Aegina Island

Kenny and I took a side trip to one of the Saronic Islands called the Aegina Island. We bought our ferry tickets, jumped on the ferry and in an hour, we were at the Aegina Port. Along the port, there were numerous tourists’ restaurants, small fishing boats and a fish market. Unfortunately, we got to the island a little too late and the fish market was closed. But boy, did we smell fish everywhere. Some of the fishing boats were selling fruits on board, and of course, Pistachio nuts. (Athens is known for its olives and pistachio nuts).
Well our plan was to go to Aegina Marina. It was a small town on the other side of the island, where all of the resorts and beaches were located. It didn’t look too far on the map, so we decided to walk it. Plus, we didn’t see any other alternatives. It was either walking or taking a taxi.
So we started to walk towards the direction of the town. Along the way it was getting really hot and I was getting a little worried. We didn’t see anyone walk on the roads besides us. So we were wondering if we were even going in the right direction. We stopped a couple of times to ask the local people to ensure we were going in the right direction. They ensured us that we just had to keep going straight. Along 3km of the way, we realized that the town could be farther than we thought it was. So we stopped and asked a local how much further distance we had to cover to reach the town. He told us about 11-12km. I responded with “WHAT?? Are you serious??” So I asked him if there was a bus service and he told me to wait in the corner and to wave the bus down if we see one. So Kenny and I waited at the corner for about 20 minutes and we saw no bus. The sky was getting dark and it looked like it was going to pour. We then made an executive decision to start walking again so that we can cover some ground and look for shelter and hopefully see a bus on the way. We walked and walked and continued to walk up the mountain and we never saw a bus. So we decided to hail the next free taxi that passed by us. But we had no such luck. By the 5-7th kilometer, it really started to rain and so we frantically waved our hands for any car willing to stop and take us. Luckily there was one taxi passing by in the opposite direction and was willing to turn around for us. We hopped on and were on our way. It was the best 7 Euros we have ever spent and it was sure a long way to go from where we were. We told the taxi driver that we were planning on walking there, and all he did was chuckled at us. I don’t think we would have made it before nightfall if we never hailed the taxi cab. Thanks Cabbie =)

These are some of our chicken friends we saw on our hike!!

We finally made it to the Island...Phew!!

Zenith Hotel – What goes on behind its closed doors

We booked our hotel for Athens through STA Travel and let me tell you that this is the most ghetto hotel I have ever stayed in. We arrived in Athens at 12:00 midnight, so we had to cab it to the hotel. When the cab dropped us off in front of this small alleyway, we were shocked. I was actually more scared as our hotel was located in this small and dingy alleyway with very limited lights. So we checked into the hotel and got our room. We opened the door to our room and the bathroom was just plain nasty. There were rust stains on the shower curtains, the toilet had stains and the floor of where the shower was felt slimy. Our room had two single beds. One of the bed had springs coming out of it. So Kenny and I had to share one single bed together the four nights we were there. Trust me, it wasn’t comfortable at all.
But the weird thing about this hotel was that it seemed to be more than just a hotel. Every night we returned back to the hotel to pick up our room key (we had to drop off our room key before we left the hotel), we would always see these couples throw down a couple of dollars to the reception desk, and the reception would give them a room key and the couple would scatter off looking for their room. This has happened quite a few times each night. What is also weird about this was that, these couples had no luggage, purse or a fanny pack with them. For the four nights we were there, we did not see one other tourist. It seemed like all the guests there were locals. Every night, there would be some sort of noise going on, either people running up and down the stairs, or men yelling and laughing loudly. We also saw lots of other rooms on our floor with double sized beds, that were never occupied. Every morning as we pass these rooms, they would always be ready made and the doors were always wide opened. Hmmmmm
Is Zenith hotel a hotel or does it function more than a hotel? In our opinion, we definitely think that it was more than a hotel. You put it together, each night, different couples coming in and out of the hotel for only a few Euro dollars along with lots of suspicious noises coming from the rooms. I need to tell STA that this is not a suitable hotel for any kind of tourist.
Here are some pics of the hotel:

Venice

Ok everyone has been questioning me on how much we bought those stinkin paper cartoons for, well we bought it for 3 Euros for 2. I know its a big rip off...well glad that most of you are getting a good laugh out of it..haa haa

Now ontoVenice, it was a beautiful city. With its canals going through its roads, it really was an escape from the busy city parts that we have been experiencing in Europe. We really enjoyed Venice. Everything here in terms of food and attractions was slightly more costly than the other parts of Europe. In Venice, they specialize in glass and lace, and boy were there a lot of them. Almost all street vendors were selling handmade glass items and lots and lots of masks. Apparently, there was a carnival going on in Venice and they were selling these face masks. In my opinion, I find them scary, but it seemed like all other tourists enjoyed them.

Carnival Masks sold in Venice

More Carnival Masks
This was Kenny's dinner. Can anyone guess what it is??? (It was yummy though)

This is what you will see throughout Venice....all of these small canals dividing their streets.

Scammed in Florence

Florence is not much different than Rome, except that there are a lot more shops and a lot more Piazza’s to visit. Our favorite spot in Florence was definitely the statue of David. It was a truly magnificent sight. If anyone plans on going to Florence, don’t be fooled into only seeing the copy version of it. Go see the real thing in the museum. It is definitely worth the 6 Euros admission fee. The statue was so detailed you would think that David was going to walk off the podium. Too bad we weren’t allowed to take pictures of it.

For Kenny, the best part about Florence was that it had Hawaiian Pizza for him. It wasn’t anything compared to the ones at Pizza Hut, but it was sure better than eating cold sandwiches again…=)





The only difference between Rome and Florence is that it is much smaller in size. It seemed like we were able to walk through the whole city within a day. There are a lot more shops here and a lot of yummy desserts to try. We tried their 3 scoops gelato (flavors were coffee, tiramisu, and mango), it was delicious!!! I really liked the Tiramisu flavor. Kenny’s favorite was of course the Mango!! I would have loved to shop here in Florence if we weren’t traveling anymore afterwards. But I don’t think I would be allowed into the gates with a luggage full of new shoes. I loved their shoes in Italy. They have great styles here. Joannie, you would have gone nuts here.

Ok in terms of being scammed, it wasn’t as bad as the stolen incident in Barcelona. But I definitely think we were fooled. We were exploring the streets of Florence one night and, of course, they always have the street people selling purses, sunglasses, all targeted at the tourists. Well, there was one vendor that sold these dancing cartoons of Bart Simpson, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck. How it worked was the cartoon would dance on its own when music is being played. I asked the vendor how it worked, and he told me through the vibrations of the music, the cartoon would dance on its own. We thought that this was different and decided to buy it to bring it back home. Ok, so we got back to our hotel room and decided to test it out. As I opened the package, there were instructions on how to do it. The first line of the instructions was “tie a string through the tongue on the back of the cartoon and move the string forward to see the cartoon dance”. I was like “tie a string??”, why would I need to tie a string if it was supposed to move on its own. In any case, we turned on our laptop, blasted the music and hoped for the cartoon to dance on its own. Nope, it didn’t move. So we tried a different song, and again it didn’t dance. So at this point, we realized we got scammed. We looked over the cartoon closely again and realized that the whole thing was just a paper cut out. There were no magnets or any chip to read the vibrations of the music. When we first saw it at the vendor, we thought that the foot of the cartoon were magnets, but they are only square paper cut outs stapled onto the string of the cartoon. Haa haa, the joke is on us now…..