Tired traveller: THIS IS MY HOSTEL? HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN HERE?

Back to Athens day 2, Cairo, Egypt day 1

I got up and packed up my things and left my backpack down at the lobby. I was going to head to the post office before taking the train to the airport. Luckily the girl working at the front desk gave me some pretty good directions to the post office, except it was a lot further away then I expected. It was impossible to miss though, keeping that it was right next to Starbucks.

When I got in the place was full and there was seating everywhere, I was a bit confused as to how the system worked, but then I figured out that you simply had to take a number and wait your turn. However, it got even more complicated as there were two different kinds of tickets for different mail delivery and it was in Greek. After asking around and getting my confusion sorted out I sat on the ground and packaged my things up while I waited my turn. It seemed to take ages, and I was watching the time slipping away. I needed to send this stuff back to Australia as my backpack was becoming impossibly heavy. After some more shuffling around I finally made it out of the post office, I got some quick food on the way to the hostel and then got on the train towards the airport. The only problem was the train ended early (this seems to be a frequent problem in Athens!) so I had to wait about half an hour for the next train connecting to the airport. I was getting really worried about missing my flight, but I managed to check in. Then when I was going through security they everyone seemed to be giving me different directions as to the quickest way to get to my gate and saying "if I made it". Finally one of the girls got a hold of me, told me to ignore them and pointed me in the right direction. The annoying thing was, I had to go through passport control ahead of time and the lineup was moving excruciatingly slow. In the end I made it to my gate, and on my flight to Cairo!

I was getting nervous, going to Cairo on my own, most would say I was crazy, but I had done my research and I felt I was prepared. When I got off the plane in Cairo I lined up at the customs , but when I finally got to the front I was told I needed to go to the office to buy a visa to enter the country. Luckily with the conversion free, it only ended up costing me $15. After I got my visa, I went back in line and got through without a problem. I was expecting things to be hectic as I had read so much about the craziness of Cairo airport, but things seemed pretty calm and in order. I was impressed with the airport, it was stunning, but I didn't expect any less either. Now I had to figure out how I was going to get out of there, I knew choosing the right cab and not getting scammed was essential. After some wandering around, asking questions and being shuffled for what seemed like ages, I finally found a "limo taxi" (which is just a regular car and not a shitbox) for 80 Egyptian pounds. I knew it was still probably a bit more then I should pay, but it wasn't a rip off. Unfortunately my taxi driver didn't speak English, but he knew where he was going. As we exited the airport, I was asked to sign some sort of guest book, it was strange, but cool! The sun was setting and I was taking in Cairo and some of it's huge statues that lined the highway. My taxi driver was trying to ask me questions and communicate with me. He was pointing out some statues, and trying to tell me when to take pictures. Then we stopped by a food shop along the way and he brought me some food, unexpected but nice! As we were pulling up to my hostel, suddenly I felt overwhelmed and scared everything was crazy, loud and chaotic! There were people everywhere, I felt instantly lost in the chaos.

I got out of the taxi and found my way towards my hostel entrance. I knew it would be sketchy from what I'd previously read, but it was much worse then I expected. The 'elevator' didn't work so I started to make my way up by foot. I kept going up and up, the building looked disgusting, trash everywhere, broken windows, cats walking around and screeching! When I finally made it to the hostel I was relieved, it was like an oasis compared to the rest of the place. The 'Guest relations manager' apologized for the faulty elevator and asked me to sit down. He and the other man working the front desk chatted to me and were quite friendly. I was a bit down about the place though, wishing I had picked another hostel, it seemed quiet there, and a little boring.

I had booked a dorm room, but I guess it was full that night so I got my own private room. I dumped my bag and sprawled out on the bed. I cursed myself for picking his hostel, was anybody fun actually staying there? I thought of checking out the next day and going elsewhere.

Not long after I had made myself a bit more comfortable, I was summoned to the lobby by the manager to join this German couple because he would be telling us about Cairo and the tours they had to offer at the hostel. I had my guard up instantly, I knew this was all a sales tactic and I didn't like being pressured. The manager didn't like that I knew a bit too much about this and and his attitude with me got more and more annoying. In the end I had agreed to do the City tour with the German couple the next day. As it turns out the more people that go, the cheaper it is. After the negotiations were done, The German couple Lars and Stephanie decided to go out to eat and invited me along. We went to GAD around the corner, which is a really famous restaurant in Cairo that sells every North American / Middle Eastern junk food you can imagine. We got our food and walked around Cairo as we ate. I was relieved to be with them, especially when it came to crossing the street, it's definitely an acquired skill there. The honking and the traffic was insane, I'd never seen anything like it before.

I got back to the hostel and went to bed, surprisingly the honking didn't keep me from falling asleep.