May 2009

At the start of our 1.5 month in South America, our feelings were bittersweet. On one hand, it's a whole new continent to explore. On the other hand, it also meant the beginning of the end (of our trip). Culturally, I also felt that we were closer to home. In many ways, Latin America is, well, a Latin version of North America. Don't get me wrong, there is a very distinct Latin culture (which we love, by the way). But it's definitely a western culture and very different from where we had been for the last 6 months. The fact that we started off in Buenos Aires probably had something to do with it since it reminded us a lot of New York City (I think the city was planned based on a combination of New York and Paris).

There was definitely a culture shock after being in Asia, Middle East and Africa for so long. To name a few: once again we saw couples hugging and making out in public whereas it was a big deal for couples to even hold hands; there's no longer any haggling (even street vendors will only give a 5% discount) - a good and a bad thing; and after months of no pork and hardly any beef, it is now all beef all the time (not that I'm complaining).

One of our first (second, third, fourth.... meals in Buenos Aires):

It's near impossible to write about everything that happened over 1.5 months (nor do I think anyone would have the patience to read it), so I will keep this post to only the highlights on Argentina and follow up shortly with another one on Uruguay and Rio, Brazil:

By far our favorite in South America, and one of the top 3 on this trip, is the Glaciers of Patagonia (Perito Moreno and Upsala Glaciers, El Calafate, Argentina). It's simply breathtaking to see the Perito Moreno Glacier - whether it's the view of the jagged top sloping down the mountain to stop abruptly at the edge of Lago Argentina, or the view from the lake which makes one appreciate the grand scale of the glacier. We were even lucky enough to see a part of the face of the glacier crash into the lake (just like in those Discovery shows)!


And some of the icebergs floating around the Upsala glaciers were the bluest blue I've ever seen. I think the blue is because the ice absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except blue.

The people we met only added to our fond memories of El Calafate. Carolina, one of the owners of the Hotel Puerto San Julian where we stayed, is one of the nicest proprietors we've ever met. She made us feel like we were staying with friends instead of at a hotel, and one night we even went with her to watch her and her friends dance Tango, which Ashok loved for the photo opps.

Another afternoon we ran into Jim and Wendy, a couple from Canada whom we had met briefly in Buenos Aires a few days prior, and next thing you know we had chatted away the afternoon like we're old friends. I'm not sure how or why, but at some point in the afternoon, while we were still with Jim and Wendy, Ashok somehow decided to talk his way into this restaurant's smoking room to photograph the meat, at which point a random tourist stopped and took a picture. It's unexpected moments like these that make traveling so much fun.

Besides steak, El Calafate has another specialty - grilled lamb. Carolina sent us to a local restaurant nearby where we ordered one portion, and this is what we got!

We had to check twice with the waitress to make sure they didn't confuse our order (they didn't). Needless to say, we were very satisfied after this meal, and highly recommend the lamb!

After the overnight bus experience in Egypt I swore we were done with buses, so I was not happy when we realized we had to take buses in South America to stay within budget. My mom's friend tried to assuage our fears by telling us how great the buses were, that they were better than first class seats on planes, that they served food, etc. They were right! Argentinian buses are the BEST (so good that it is one of the highlights )! The seats are roomy and plush and recline 180 degrees to be completely flat. The bathroom is pretty much like airplane bathrooms (so much better than having to get off the bus in the middle of the night to use questionable toilets or the side of the road!). There's even someone on the bus to serve us dinner and wine, and champagne with breakfast. The best buses are the ones between Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, but other routes within Argentina are almost as good.

Iguazu Falls itself would be worthy of any type of bus rides. I love waterfalls in general, so I was very excited about going there. It is different from Niagra Falls in that it is made up of over 275 falls spread out over approximately 2 miles. Unfortunately, as it was late fall, the water level was at its lowest (about 1/3 of average daily water levels) so most of the 275+ falls were dry. On the other hand, there weren't too many tourists so it was nice to be able to wander around at our leisure. Even with the low water level, the biggest fall, Garganta del Diablo, was still impressive.

Normally, this whole side would have been covered with waterfalls

Another highlight was going to the Boca Juniors football (i.e., soccer) game in Buenos Aires. We had wanted to go on the day we got into Buenos Aires. However, the immediate neighborhood around La Boca, where the stadium is located, is pretty rough despite its increasing popularity with tourists. My mom's friend was so worried about our safety - even his friend who worked as a security guard at the stadium said it's too rough for foreigners - that we ended up not going. Later we were able to go via someone who organizes trips to Boca games for foreigners (apparently a thriving business - goes to show you that where there's an opportunity, someone will be there to take advantage of it). And of course once we got there, it was not nearly as scary as everyone makes it out to be (probably similar to going to an USC game in downtown LA, but not like going into South Central LA). It was Ashok's first football game outside of India and the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd was definitely different. We also got to witness Palermo, a well known player, kick his 200th career goal during the game, AND got these Boca jerseys for free!

Our last stops in South America were Cordoba and Mendoza. Mendoza is the Napa Valley of Argentina, so of course wine tasting was in order. We decided to join a slightly more expensive day tour (a sign of being on the road for too long as we were starting to get lazy about finding our own way). Then again, the spread we got at the end of the tour (lunch was included as was all-you-can-drink wine) made the tour completely worth it!

What you see were only the appetizers! Afterwards we went straight back to the hostel and took a 3 hour nap.

In Cordoba, though, was where we had the best steak! I don't know about the nicer restaurants in Buenos Aires (couldn't afford to go), but the Cordoban steak was superior to what I've had at some of the expensive steak joints in NY!

Throughout our trip, I was always joking with Ashok that he has some unexplained fascination with communism/ socialism that manifested itself in China, Vietnam, and Eastern Europe. When we realized that the Che Guevara House is in nearby Alta Gracia (in addition to the Jesuit Estancias), of course we had to make a stop. Ashok got very excited when he found out that he shares the same birthday as Che (hmmm... is that the connection?). Whether or not one agrees with Che, it was very inspiring to see the passion and dedication he had for his ideals. Of course it was all the more interesting to me because I loved the movie Motorcycle Diaries (and Gael Garcia Bernal).

Maybe because it was slow, or because Ashok and I were the most foreign looking of the tourists there, we got stopped by a TV crew from Buenos Aires there to do a piece on Che.... I think they wanted to interview us at first (difficult to tell with all that Spanish coming at us), but we ended up doing the promo for the station (you know, the "live from channel 4" type things), in Spanish. Except that we didn't know at first that the guy was telling us what to say (was he asking us a question that we were then supposed to answer? was he telling us to do something?), so I'm pretty sure we looked pretty stupid.... This was not the first time we got on foreign TV: in Istanbul we got interviewed because there was an upcoming election and they wanted to get the foreigners' perspective. I don't think I was all that brilliant either....

(Ashok with the TV producer guy in front of the Che Guevara House)

During our time in South America, we used Buenos Aires as our "base" and took trips from there. It was great since it allowed us to coordinate our "side trips" so that we could meet up with my mom & sister for a few days. It was also nice to be able to leave some of our stuff with my mom's friend and not have to lug everything everywhere. For one reason or another, we ended up spending most of our time in Argentina, leaving us only 1 week in Uruguay (turned out to be one of our favorite countries) and 1 week in Brazil. For more on that, stayed tuned for "South America Highlights, Part 2"!

Senegal - our first time in an African country. We didn't know what to expect, other than that French is spoken (it used to be a French colony), it's on the northwestern coast of the continent and it has good music. We arrived into Yoff, a fishing village between the airport and Dakar, late at night so we couldn't see much. All we experienced was a very strong salty smell as we got out in front of the hostel. The next morning we found the source of the smell – the hostel is literally right on the beach where the fish market is located.

It seemed that all activities happen on the beach – fish is unloaded and displayed right next to the pirogue (wooden fishing boats). They are also scaled and cleaned right there on the sand while other vendors walk around to sell coffee or tea. Horse-drawn carts act as taxis on the beach to take people who have finished their shopping or fish mongers that are done for the day. Without any trash cans, everything is left for the sand to absorb.



Next to the pirogues, boys run around the sand playing soccer barefooted. I'm surprised no one's hurt by the bottle caps and other sharp objects in the sand. Everyone is passionate about football (soccer) here. A nearby beach is crowded with men running or doing push-ups in the sand - all training for soccer. A local man started talking to us, and tried to invite us to eat with him and to watch him play soccer (which I was able to decline and hold a short conversation in my broken French). He told us his name was Diouf, which we later learned was the most popular football player in Senegal. Of course this guy that we met in the narrow alleyway of the village right off the beach could not possibly have been Diouf. We met a few other people, each with a different story (one guy tried to get us to watch a "Pelican Ceremony", and another just came right out and asked for money). I guess there are some similarities between the people of Senegal and Egypt. In fact, one tourist we met said the touts are like "flies - harmless but will not leave you alone", a very apt description.

Seeing the living conditions one can understand why people behave that way. Like Asia, there's a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. Unlike Asia where things were cheap as a result, everything was expensive in Senegal. As an example, for $45 a night, our room only had 2 twin beds and didn't even have hot water. I'm not sure how the locals manage since I'm sure their wages are not on par with the prices. Of course, Senegal also has a side with high end hotels & fancy restaurants for those with money. Makes me wonder if we weren't traveling on a budget whether or not we would see this side of Senegal. I'm glad we did.

As I mentioned before, Senegalese are known for their music and moves. So when one of the local guys at the hostel told us about his friend's concert that night we went along with him. His friend turned out to be one of the newest sensations of Senegal, Yoro - for real this time - and we even got to meet him. The concert was great and it was one of the highlights of our time in Senegal.

The next day, April 4th, was Senegal's Independence Day (Josh, it's the same birthday as you!) so we got up early and waited with the crowds for the parade. It was more of a military inspection by the President, who was almost 2 hours late (tells you something about how much they care about the people). We did get a glimpse of the famous dancing troupe although we didn't get to see the actual routine - that's reserved for the guests of honor sitting in the grand stand.

We finally got to see local dancing on Ile de Goree, a pretty, small island about 30 min from Dakar by ferry. It's such a small island that there are no cars and it takes less than an hour to walk around the whole island. It's a popular tourist destination and one can see why with the colorful, charming old colonial buildings, surrounded by the beautiful blue Atlantic Ocean.

The first afternoon as we explored the island we heard music being played and followed it to a local festival. It was great! Everyone was dressed in pure white, rich gold or sky blue outfits, and groups would take turns getting up and dancing spontaneously. And they sure can dance. One woman told me that dancing is in their blood, and even the little kids know the moves. Judging by what I saw, that is definitely true.

There's some controversy about the island's role as a major trading center for slavery during the 18th & 19th centuries. However, what is true is that huge numbers of slaves were shipped from the western coast of Africa to North and South America, and the Caribbeans. The history and the plight of the slaves are documented at the La Maison des Esclaves (Slave House). The exhibit is in French so I didn't understand most of it, but I did learn that more slaves were sent to the Caribbean Islands and Brazil (for the plantation work) than to North America, but most perished under the horrible working conditions since the plantation owners believed that it was cheaper to get new workers every 3-5 years than to keep the existing ones healthy.

This wouldn't be my blog if I didn't mention the food. Apparently Senegalese food is one of the best in Africa. There are a couple of popular dishes, but our two favorites are Tiebou dienne (herb stuffed fish steak with seasoned rice & vegetables) and Yassa (fish or chicken in lemon and onion sauce). We pretty much had one or both dishes every day during our week there, but never got sick of it.

Finally, just a picture of the local minivan bus - the Car Rapide - because I love how colorful it is:

The check-in process when we left Dakar was THE longest one I've ever experienced. It took a good two hours even though we were flying Delta. I think it's because they've never seen a RTW ticket, so the security guy asked us questions ranging from what we did and how we paid for the RTW ticket, to where we lived in Cairo and how we paid for the hotel (please tell me why that's relevant?!)! Not to mention the many forms of IDs he asked for! Even though we got to the airport way early, we were the last 2 people to board the plane.

We only had 6 days in Senegal due to scheduling limitations of our Delta RTW ticket, but we definitely want to see more of Africa in the future.

As I mentioned before, smoking sheesha (water pipe) became Ashok's favorite hobby, which he indulged in at least once a day. I thought it would be funny to show some of the more interesting places where he managed to get a sheesha in:

Where it all started - at El Fishawi Cafe in Cairo, Egypt:

At our hotel in Luxor, while working on his computer:

He even convinced the internet cafe owner to bring in the sheesha from next door while we used the internet:

Smoking after breakfast on the beach in Nuwiba before heading to the terminal for the ferry to Jordan... little did we know how much waiting we had ahead of us:

What better way to watch the sunset by the Dead Sea? (note he's sporting his new Jordanian shmagh mhadab (scarf)

Tea Garden in Istanbul, Turkey.... maybe we can make our living room look like this:

In Istanbul, smoking Nargile (Turkish name for water pipe) is always accompanied by backgammon playing. Too bad we never picked it up:

As all good things must come to an end, Ashok's sheesha days came to an end when we left Turkey. That is, until we get back to New York and he can set up his very own. Now he's got a new use for the charcoal at the end of our BBQs.

After the hot days in Egypt and Jordan, it was a shock to land in Istanbul where the average temperature was about 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit). Just our luck – Spring was late this year. No matter, there's so much to do and see in Istanbul that it did not deter us. Actually, to Ashok's delight, it just meant more reason to stop in the colorful tea gardens for Turkish tea and sheesha. Istanbul is a blend of the Middle East and Europe – you get the hustle and bustle of the western world, but the buildings and decor have the intricate details of those in the Middle East but more colorful.

The prices reflect the shift as well. Whereas tea and sheesha would be about 5 EGP ($1), it's around $5 here... (didn't think I'd say it but we started to miss Egypt. ha!). Even with the relatively higher prices it's still a shopper's paradise. The intricate and colorful patterns are everywhere and on everything from lights to housewares to carpets. It's hard to resist... we ended up buying a lot of stuff: bowls, coffee and tea cups, and a sheesha! Only after we walked out with the bags did I start to wonder how we're going to haul all these breakable stuff around for the rest of our trip. There are still more things to buy, and next time I'm going to bring 2 empty suitcases.

Istanbul is also a foodie's paradise. The most popular are the kebabs (some of the best we've had), and the meze (same idea as tapas or dim sum – small dishes),

or one can have a simple grilled fish sandwich by the ferry dock and watch the guys grill the fish and make the sandwich on the small boats despite all the serious rocking caused by the passing ferry boats:

There's also this piping hot milk and honey drink that is sold on the street that is so good and just hits the spot on a cold day.

Our favorite though, has to be Ciya Sofrasi. It's actually been written up a lot, but unlike other places, the fame has not gone to the owner's head and the food is still delicious and the prices fair. The chef makes different dishes everyday based on recipes from other regions in Turkey. We liked it so much we trekked out to the Asia side several times just to eat there.

And then there's the sweets - Turkish Delights, Baklava - that's everywhere. Here's some colorful stalls at the Spice Market:

It's also at the Spice Market (fish stalls outside) that I saw the ugliest fish I've evr seen:

It may sound like all we did was eat and smoke sheesha, but we did do a good amount of sightseeing as well. Istanbul has a lot of waterfront and it would have been even nicer to just sit by the water if the weather was warmer.

Cappadocia was one place recommended by many of our friends so it was definitely a place we wanted to visit. The region is famous for the rock formations that to me seem very fairytale like, like some place where gnomes live:

This time the low season worked in our favor and we got a cheap flight & rental car, and a good rate at a really nice cave hotel (Kelebek Pension). The town of Goreme is set right in the midst of the rock formations so it looks a bit unreal:

It felt free to have our own transportation once again, and it gave us a chance to really explore the area. We saw a volcanic crater lake (Nar Lake) for the first time in a town nearby:

In one of the towns we walked into a very traditional coffee shop. At first I thought they were not going to allow me to go in because there were only men inside, but they didn't object (just got a lot of stares). By the time we left, Ashok was invited to sit at one of the tables to chat with them (probably to satisfy their curiosity):

The other must-do in Turkey is the Turkish bath, even though most modern Turks actually don't go to the bathhouses any more and the few that are in business are more for tourists. The two historical ones have such bad reviews on the web that we hesitated going, and opted to try it out at the Kelebek Pension. It was the best experience! Basically you lay on this big stone slab that's warmed up and then the masseuse douses you first with buckets of warm water, then with soap bubbles, and then he/she scrubs you down with a loofah (skipping the private areas) and shows you the dirt that's scrubbed off you. Follow that with more soap and warm water, and then when it's all done you get wrapped up in layers of towels and sent to lay down on a lounge chair to “recover”. All baths should be like this! Granted this was not the traditional bath – my masseuse was a Thai girl! - but with this type of pampering I really didn't care.

Apparently while we were in Cappadocia, Turkey switched to daylight savings time but we had no idea. Not until the hotel staff came to get us for the Turkish bath appointment on our last day did we realize that we had been doing everything an hour late for a couple of days. Imagine if we didn't get the baths then we would've missed our flight back to Istanbul. As it is we cut it really close. We were doing fine until we asked someone for directions and followed signs for what we thought was the word for “airport” but what turned out to be the name of a neighboring town. Oh well something like this was bound to happen at some point. In the end we got back to Istanbul safely and enjoyed one last sunny day in Istanbul (and meal at Ciya). Turkey is definitely one of the countries where I will be visiting again.

Like most people, we originally planned Petra, Jordan as a side trip from Egypt, but it turned out to be one of our favorite countries. It's got incredible landscape, very traveler-friendly infrastructure, and the people are genuinely nice.

View of Jordan landscape from side of the road, near Petra:

On the other hand, going from Egypt to Jordan was not such a great experience. Due to cost and visa reasons, our only alternative was to take the “fast” ferry between Nuwiba, Egypt, and Aquaba, Jordan. The entire ferry experience was one of the most mismanaged and inefficient processes I've ever seen. There was such a huge delay that what should have taken 4 hours took over 10 hours so instead of getting to Petra and the comforts of the Marriott by 5pm, we arrived into Petra haggard and hungry at midnight at a hostel. The only good thing I can say about the experience is that we met some cool people to commiserate with:

Nevertheless, we still got up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds (definitely worth it to have the place to ourselves). Petra was even more incredible than in the pictures and movies – as in Egypt, it's hard to capture the scale of the place in a photo. For me, it's the combination of the natural landscape and man-made structures that makes it so memorable. The rock formations, the deep gorges and canyons themselves would've been a top attraction in itself, but add to that an ancient city cut into the rocks about 2000 years ago and no wonder it's one of the new 7 Wonders of the World.

Al Siq, the pathway which is the entrance to the city, and to the famous Treasury:

Here's the shot everyone has of the Treasury, made more famous by the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but of course I have to take one for myself:

The incredible rock-cut structures and the patterns of the rock formations:

We were so enthralled by Petra we walked through the site 3 times over 2 days (that's about 7 miles of walking each day!). On our last afternoon, we decided to ride mules up to the Monastery at the top of mountain (and with that, I think I'm done riding animals - horse, elephant, camel, mule....):

With all that walking and the ordeal to get to Jordan, it was a good thing we were staying at the Marriott (I cashed in some points). We've never been so happy to be in a Marriott... nice clean bathroom, and the oh so comfortable bed. There was even a theater where movies are shown every night. Not many people take advantage of it so Ashok and I had a private screening of Lawrence of Arabia (only the second half – part 1 was broken) to get us psyched for our day trip to Wadi Rum (the movie was shot there).

At first I thought Wadi Rum would be more of the same as Petra, but I was wrong. It was cool to ride through the open desert on the back of a "jeep" (Toyota Truck) and see the rock formations jutting out of nowhere:


The man on the camel in this picture gives a sense for how big they are:

It was while driving through Wadi Rum that it really hit me how glad I am we did this trip. If not I don't know when we'd ever get to see this.

We liked Jordan more because the people are so friendly and genuine. It was a refreshing change after Egypt, although initially we doubted everyone's sincerity. The Bedouins are known for their hospitality and we really experienced it. One guy offered for us to stay with them inside Petra for free (since the land belonged to the Bedouins, they are allowed to live inside the national park). Our driver at Wadi Rum stopped during the day to gather some sticks and we had a nice chat over tea at sunset:

Ashok was especially popular with the Bedouins. One girl actually stopped me as we were walking on a trail to tell me she “LOVED his coloring”. On the other hand, I was more popular in Egypt as Ashok was offered camels in exchange for me..... so I suppose he got the better end of this deal.

On our last day we drove past the Dead Sea on our way to Amman. Surprisingly, the Dead Sea is not that big – we drove from one end to the other in about 2 hours. It's weird to think that there's no aquatic life in all that water (due to the high saline content). One can, however, float on the water. On the northern end towards Amman, there are some nice resorts and public pools set up for people to enjoy a day on the beach. The idea of floating in the Dead Sea sounded good, but after putting my hands in and feeling the slimy water I decided it's one of those that sounds better in theory. Instead we just sat by the pool where Ashok enjoyed another sheesha and watched the sunset.



The surreal part is that the West Bank is right on the other side of the Dead Sea, basically the hills where the sun is setting in this picture.

Thus ended our 5 short days in Jordan, and on to Turkey.

As the plane prepared to land in Cairo, Egypt, I felt a tinge of excitement. After all, it's a new country, a new culture, and a new continent.

The culture of modern Egypt may be new to me, but its ancient sights are definitely not. It was really cool to actually see all the things I've seen/ heard about for so long. Our first stop was, of course, the pyramids at Giza. Some people say it's disappointing because it's not in the middle of an empty desert (you can, however, take a picture from a certain angle to make it look like it is).

For me, that didn't matter. It was still amazing. It's actually pretty cool to see the ancient pyramids tower over the modern apartment buildings (imagine saying “why yes, I have a view of the pyramids from my balcony”). What was more surprising and made the pyramids more difficult to appreciate were all the touts inside the entrance that won't leave you alone, especially since we didn't have a tour guide. At one point one of the camel drivers tried to pick up Ashok and put him on the camel (the trick is that once Ashok's on, the camel will take off and then the driver can demand payment even though we never wanted to ride it in the first place).

In fact, it seems like the modern Egyptians conspire to not let you enjoy the ancient sites. We've seen our share of touts – they can get pretty bad in Vietnam and India – but in Egypt it's a whole different league. Here it's more like a very friendly, long, and persistent sell. They think nothing of spending 15-20 minutes and walking several blocks with you to try to strike up a conversation (Ashok's new name is "Hey India!"). In fact, they get offended when you try to brush them off. It gets tiring after a while because they take up soooo much time, and it's the same conversation over and over again. It's the only country where we had our guard up everytime someone approached us because everyone's in on it - the cops, the security guards at the sites, the "friendly local" that's just practicing his English but somehow always has a friend who owns a shop or hotel or is a tour guide. I guess you can't really blame them since they've had several hundred years to hone their touting skills and perfect their scams.

Here's one where the baksheesh (tip) was worth it. At Sakkara there's a "peeping hole" where you can see the statue of the king inside the tomb which the security guard showed us (unsolicited) in exchange for some baksheesh. It's in the guidebook so it's not that secretive, but we wouldn't have found it without the guy:

Of all the places, we liked Aswan because it was relatively low key in terms of the touts, and is situated on a scenic part of the Nile. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon sailing on the Nile on a felluca (traditional wooden sailing boat):

Here are some other highlights, even though pictures really can't capture the grandness of the structures and need to be seen in person to be appreciated:

The Sakkara pyramid - this one really is in the middle of an empty desert:

The Hypostyle Hall at the Karnak Temple in Luxor:

Ashok at the Medina Habu Temple in Luxor (mortuary temple for Ramses III), where the wall reliefs are still clearly visible after thousands of years:

Abu Simbel. Judging by the graffiti we saw on the statues (from several hundred years ago), they were not as strict about not letting visitors climb all over the statues as they are today.

Philae Temple (in Aswan) at night - we decided to do a Sound & Light Show, and realized that we're really not Sound & Light show people. At least the view of the temple was nice:

We also biked around the west bank of Luxor one day. Since the sun sets in the west, the ancient Egyptians associated the West Bank with death so all the tombs and mortuary temples are on that side. These Egyptians were seriously obsessed with life after death. Just think about the amount of time and energy and money that went into the building of the pyramids and the tombs, the collection of the treasures that are buried with the dead, and the detailed rituals of the mummification and funerary process! Ironically, after all that, none of the tombs survived intact.

Despite the touts, Cairo is a fascinating city to explore: mosques with their domes and minarets dot the skyline instead of church steeples, mannequins in shops showcasing the latest fashion in black formfitting long dresses (all of the outfits come with matching head cover), men in traditional dress sitting in local coffee shops smoking sheeshas (water pipes), and boys cruising down the street on bikes in the middle of traffic with a rack of Egyptian bread on their heads.

Taking taxis around town was another interesting experience. Anyone who's traveled knows to negotiate the price beforehand if the cab does not have a meter. In Cairo, however, one does not talk price at all before getting into the taxi. One is supposed to just know the market rate and give that amount to the taxi driver at the end (we figured out the rate by asking our hotel staff). Basically the idea is that you're supposed to pay whatever you think is right. The magic number for us was 7 EGP - when we pay that, the drivers just take the money and leave (and we feel like such locals). We think it's because the local price is really 5 or 6 pounds so the extra pound makes it worthwhile for the driver not to argue.

Due to some mix up with the Moroccan visa application process which is a long story in itself, we ended up spending an extra week in Cairo. A couple of things helped to make it easier to cope with the touts - our hotel, and sheeshas (for Ashok anyway). Our hotel, the Paris Hotel (parishotel_2006@hotmail.com), was our sanctuary during our stay in Cairo. It was quiet, cozy, relaxing (a premium when traveling on a budget in Cairo), and it was the one place where no one tried to sell us anything. At the same time, the owners and staff were always there to help, or at least offer tea or coffee.

The one Egyptian habit that we liked was the coffee house culture. EVERYONE in Egypt smokes sheeshas... at any time, morning or night... and the coffee houses are everywhere. These are not hip Starbucks looking cafes, although some can be really nice, like Cafe Fishawi at the Khan el Khalili square. Most are just tiny store fronts with a few tables and chairs that spill out into the sidewalk, and offer only Egyptian coffee (similar to Turkish coffee), Egyptian tea, and sheesha. It's a great way to relax and while away a few hours in the evening. I tried the sheesha but stuck to the tea (with fresh mint and sugar) since the smoking was not helping me recover from the bronchitis I had in India.

Ashok, on the other hand, really took to sheesha and, like the Egyptians, was smoking it several times a day. Luckily for him sheesha-smoking is a part of Muslim culture so he got to enjoy it all the way through to Turkey. I may have to do a post just on all the different places where he smoked sheesha.