Cairo and Out

Once Bubbles arrangements were sorted it was time for me to head through to Cairo for a day of sight-seeing before jet-setting back home to South Africa. At this point, I finalized a decision I had been toying with for a while. I would meet up with Bubbles in RSA and complete the European half of my journey in a year or two, after giving my bank balance a bit of time to recover. The traces of Kinmont heritage in Scotland weren’t going anywhere soon, and the prospect of a bit of time back with with April was all too tempting. I followed in Shea’s wake, heading through to Cairo by train. He was already in Germany at this stage, having left a few days earlier to catch Oktoberfest in Munich. It’s a good idea to book your train ticket ahead of time in Egypt. However, the uncertainty surrounding the shipping issues had made this difficult. I was forced to opt for the “sneak aboard and pay en-route” ticket option. We’d done this a couple of times already. The penalty fee is less than a dollar and the trains always have a handful of spare seats you can nab. Well those were my thoughts when I boarded. After changing seats a dozen times and responding to more than my fair share of angry Arabic ranting, I eventually gave up. The 3hr journey was spent standing in the lavatory hallway with a handful of fellow stow-away miscreants. It was a good opportunity to practice being positive. At least I caught the right train.

Admittedly, despite the many cultural distractions of Cairo, I did miss my traveling companions (both Bubbles and Shea). As much as it was my trip, it wouldn’t have been half the experience without Shea’s company. After a night or two of ultra low-cost hotels, cheese and jam breakfasts, a museum, a sphinx and two pyramids it was time to head home. It has been one hell of a ride but the time has come to say goodbye, for now…

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