Made it (to the start)
By admin. Filed in Egypt |
Getting there is half the battle. Or so I’ve heard. I probably won’t be saying that at the end of the tour. Well I’m finally in Egypt, and am wandering the streets of Cairo with a handful of other riders I’ve just met.
Everyone has their own story of getting here. Here is mine:
My flight left from San Francisco, where–aside from trying to charge me more for carrying a bike–there were no problems. My connection in London was delayed a couple of hours, however, when our original plane broke down (they had to find a spare), two people didn’t show up (their luggage had to be removed), and the little truck that pushes the plane back from the gate caught fire (they had to extinguish the fire and find a spare truck).
Arriving in Cairo, I was surprised to find a taxi to the hotel waiting for me and another rider, Sunil. I had inquired about a ride to the hotel in advance, but hadn’t heard back from the hotel. It was a pleasant surprise, as the hotel is a bit out of town and taxis are expensive. The driver tried to charge me $160US for the trip though, and we’re still working out the details. The pre-arranged cost was supposed to be $28.
At the hotel, more confusion arose as I didn’t have a reservation until the next night and the staff couldn’t find Sunil’s reservation at all. As it was already 4:00AM at this point, I eventually broke down and paid $40 for a half-night in the room, including breakfast.
The following morning, at the hotel restaurant, the waiter waited until I got my first plate of food to inform me that half-night stays don’t qualify for free breakfast. Another 55 pounds. Ouch.
By noon I had met several other riders from the hotel. Eight of us piled into a small taxi to and headed downtown to see the museum and wander the streets. The Internet at the hotel is down (and 75 pounds per hour even if it was working), so my posts may be few and far between for the time being.