Salam from Cairo - again!

No excuses this time, just total carelessness.

After realising that the time i had written down in my diary/calendar was in fact 12:10 AM and not 12:10 PM, it was too late to make my flight on Wednesday. So here i am still in Cairo, but hey, it ain't such a bad place to spend a few days -even by default!

Luckily I was able to rebook with Singapore Airlines on the next outgoing flight to HK via Singapore leaving 12:10AM Sunday. "Make sure you check in Saturday night this time, mizzz" the agent on the phone tells me in a tsk-tsk tone. "Yessir," i reply sheepishly. I've learned my lesson.

In any case, yesterday was a fantastic day. I went off exploring in the small narrow alleys of Old Islamic Cairo, Khan-al-Khalili. Just for description purposes, it was as if i was dropped into the middle of an Aladdin or Ali Baba storybook.

Everything is sand-coloured and there is this aura of a desert paradise that you could tell was once the centre of trade and travel, the crosssroads of the world.

People say they come to Cairo for the madness and chaos, and i suppose it's true. Wherever you turn, the old bearded men harass and heckle you to "come look, it's free" and the old women flash their products in your face: wallets, tissues, lighters, semi-precious stones, examples of henna hand painting (which i succumbed to!), etc.

There are camels, donkeys, stray cats and dogs, mules and an incredible number of flies. The ground is uneven, unpaved and dust rises and kind of settles right at a convenient eye-level.

I lunched on a surprisingly delicious mushroom pizza near one of the most sacred Islamic sites in Egypt, the Mosque of Sayyidna al-Hussein. See pic.

Apparently it is the burial place of the head of Al-Hussein, grandson of the Prophet. Although non-Muslims are not allowed in, just admiring the intricate carvings on the outside walls is enough.

By late morning, i was already covered in sweat and dust, and utterly exhausted from walking wide-eyed and getting lost in the labyrinth of alleys while attempting not to trip over any rocks or step in any muddy puddle.

I sat down at Fishawai's Coffeehouse, one of the oldest ahwas in the city. Strategically placed for people-watching, thier mint shai and shisha pipes are an absolute must.

Unlike the previous night, i didn't feel uncomfortable whatsoever having a smoke and drink all to myself. I must've stayed for nearly two hours, waiting for the intense mid-day sun to pass. (FYI: it's been over 40 degrees Celcius every day, with high humidity)

What amazes me most about Egyptian people is the consistent humour that seems to permeate the thick dusty air. It's like they are on some sort of happy pill and are always laughing and joking with each other. Lots of joie de vivre here, and when the environment is so unbearably hot and dusty, it certainly adds a refreshing 'colour' to the air.

And true to what my Lonely Planet says about Khan al-Khalili market having "some of the greatest smooth talking merchants you will ever meet," i had one who came scurrying up to me to tell me in an urgent voice i had dropped something back along the way. My initial reaction was i had dropped my camera, wallet or worse - passport, so I quickly looked around on the ground and in my bag, which i was carrying in front of me for security reasons, and seeing that i had all of my valuables, decided he must have been mistaken and perhaps confused me with someone else.

I told the guy "I don't think so, i have everything here." He promptly replied without missing a beat, twinkle in his eye, "You dropped my heart, Mizzz. Could you come back and pick it up?"

You've got to be kidding me, i thought to myself. But i had to laugh out loud. I wondered how many times he gets to perform that trick daily! :) I told him i was very sorry but that i'm sure he was used to having his heart dropped every day and that i had to go now. He flashed a big grin and with a little wave and gracious nod, he skipped off.

On my way back to the hotel by taxi, i saw the sun set while crossing the bridge over the Nile River. Alongside our taxi was a father and his son weaving in and out of the traffic, see pics.

Today is my R&R day. I had to switch to another room last night because i didn't have a reservation, obviously, and someone had already reserved that room.

Unfortunately it didn't have, what i now consider a necessity here, an air-
conditioner and i spent the entire night tossing and turning in my own grime and sweat, gently rocked in and out of sleep by the relentless traffic symphony outside my window.

I thought i could suck it up and last one more night, but no. I'm checking out and moving to another hotel, closer to the airport, and with climate-controlled bedrooms.