21st Century Socks

Since Christmas I've been to Cairo for the first time. The stories of chaos at the airport were largely unfounded. A by product of all the extra security around airports is that there are far fewer people around. I was met by a "meet and greet" service. They put you in queue for passport control while they go off and buy the visa, £10 or USD/Euro 15. They jump the visa queue and get it in seconds instead of minutes. The only downside is you don't get the chance to break your notes into lower denominations. Everyone wants a tip!

Cairo is chaotic. I went on short notice so had to change hotels for the last night of my stay. The extra 10 miles took me an hour and a half. I realised on the way that it wasn't going to be straight forward. I looked across and noticed that all the traffic was heading the same way, wondering where the out bound road was I suddenly hit me! I was on it heading the wrong way. They have an unofficial tidal flow system.

Street vendors selling water and snacks are common in heavy traffic but seeing someone selling towels reinforced my suspicion that it was going to be a long wait.

It was worth with because the second hotel was right by the pyramids. It was dark by the time I got there so all I really saw was the outline. I'm back there next week so I'm hoping there will be more time for sightseeing.

George Bush was also in Egypt prompting colleagues to suggest he only felt safe if I was in the region.