Day 1: Goodbye London, Hello Egypt:

34 hours on a plane has the ability to be modern day time travel, at least when you start in a place like London and travel back to a more primative Egyptian culture. We landed at 1am, greeted by a scare of lost luggage and a burly Egyptain driver. The doors of Cairo International slid open to a brick wall of dusty heat. We weaved in and out of traffic, trying to keep pace with our driver. Our driver seemed unphased by the daunting task of navigating through Cairo without the use of lanes, ample traffic lights: headlights and signals are mere unnecessary accessories unlike neon tubing lining the windows which makes Xhibits Pimp My Ride look like a weak attempt. Mosques dominate the skyline with large intricate towers topping the massive domes. Even under the darkness of night, city buildings and living complexes look shaby. Our 30 minutes ride gave us glimpses of what was to come: Birqua boutiques, market stalls, Twinkie stands (yes thats right twinkies), and trash lined roads. We arrived at the Dahab rooftop hostel, stepping out of the cab it was clear that we were a far way from home. Men stopped talking only to stair at the women climbing the stairs. An old crank elevator took us to the 6th floor. we were greeted by 4 men, shown our crowded room, & shared bathroom. Wooden thatch covered sections of the walkway leading to the cozy tables and chairs. 30 odd cats (seemingly starving) purred and slept on wooden benches and doorways. With only a weak ceiling fan and shuttered windows, we debated joining the others in sleeping with the doors open but as untrusting travelers we settled for sleeping half naked and sweating the night out.

We followed tips and prepared by bringing necessities such as Toilet paper but we were not prepared for the fact that you can't flush it in Egypt. Used feminine products and toilet paper once again reminded us that we were in the 3rd world. Exhausted we tried to fall asleep to the sounds of Cairo. Sticky, we woke up at 4am to the chants and singing hymns of Islamic worship.