Cairo

On my list of places to visit in my lifetime was Egypt. I have always been fascinated with the history of ancient Egypt and I wanted to see the Great Pyramids of Giza, the last remaining of the “7 Wonders of the Ancient World.”

After a long flight from Vancouver connecting to London, I finally arrived in Cairo International Airport. A bit smaller than expected, I found myself in a long queue to get an entry visa. My friend and I managed to get a personal driver for 2 days which is probably the best way of traveling around Cairo. Egypt is the only country in Africa to have its own metro station, but after reading traveler reviews it’s yet to be perfected and apparently really confusing and sketchy.

Egypt’s currency is EGP (Egyptian pound) and considering 1 EGP is about 16 cents Canadian, it’s actually really cheap to get around. The problem is tips. It seems like so many of Egyptians heavily depend of tips as they are extremely aggressive in receiving more. Many of them will offer a free ride to an ATM so you can withdraw more money out. Some will tell you sad stories about their families trying to guilt you into coughing up more. Though the exchange rate is crazy cheap, the aggressive pressure, almost begging is a bit off a turn off.

We arrived in Cairo at midnight and our driver showed us the Pyramids of Giza. Though it was dark and I couldn’t see much, I felt a chill down my spine because it’s a wonderful feeling seeing something you read and hear about all your life finally in person. A little beggar boy tried to sell us postcards for dirt cheap but our driver shooed him away without even seeing if we were interested.

I was in a culture shock during my stay in Cairo. It’s a majorly an Islam nation, so it is very conservative. Men and women are covered head to toe, so it was a bit challenging wearing long sleeves and jeans in the desert at first. The streets literally have no lanes, directions change and a lot of congestion. The streets are filled with scents of perfume and exotic spices. There are a lot of food stalls set up throughout the city and donkeys and camels more common than bicycles. All this contributed to Egypt’s individuality and charms.

Traveling through Cairo, you see a lot of unfinished apartments and litter. Pollution seems like a huge problem, especially in the Nile River which is pretty much a landfill. Egypt was a nice change for me. I’ve only traveled to countries that has a strong economy so being in Egypt made me appreciate Canada a lot more. To sum it up, I would say Egypt is an exotic getaway perfect for the traveler seeking historic and ancient sites with culture that transcends outside of one's comfort zone.

All photos taken by Kevin Kim