We arrived in Cairo around 2 am. I wish we would have had a day flight because it would have been cool to see Giza from the air. Unfortunately I couldn’t make out any pyramids in the darkness. We had to purchase our visa with Egyptian pounds which we did not have so we were running back in forth in airport trying to get cash for our visas. They cost us 85 Egyptian Pounds (EP). We were supposed to be staying with a guy named Khalid whom Ramsey had spoken with via couch surfing and reside with him at his parents place for a few days. We waited till 4am with the airport manager but he never showed. It was our own fault that we never wrote down his mobile number so we could call once we got in. He said he would pick us up at 2am on September 12th. We realized he probably got confused with the time and date and thought that we meant the night of the 13th.
The airport manager told us that he would provide us a concierge from the airport to a hostel he recommended that was cheap at in the city center. He charged us 85EP for the ride and when we got to the Nubian hostel they charged us 250EP. We were skeptical but were too dumb to realize we were getting worked over big time. The ride should have only cost us 30EP and when we decided to stay another night the hostel manager said that the rates for 3 people was only 90EP. I was furious. I didn’t want to stay at the Nubian after that but Lindsey and Ramsey insisted that we did stay. They thought it was entirely the airport manager’s fault but The Nubian was in on the deal as well.
The room we had was decent. It had three beds and its own bathroom. Checkout was at 10am but considering we didn’t even get there till 5am they made an exception for us. We rolled out of bed around 12pm and had a free breakfast consisting bread, cheese, jam and tea. We weren’t sure if we were going to stay at the hostel another night so we had them hold onto our bags while we went for a walk around the city.
We made our way through several side streets and found the Cairo University. We sat on a patch of grass in the road median for a while to rest and discuss our plans for the next few days. We decided to contact the other couch surfers we were supposed to stay with and see if we could stay with them. We had used the wireless at the Nubian to call Mohammad who said he would meet up with us this night around 8pm. It was Ramadan so everybody was fasting and nobody was active until the sun went down. We agreed to meet him at the hostel and then left to walk again to watch the sun go down.
We made our way to the river past the Cairo museum to where the river boats were docked up. We were surprised by all the huge hotels in the area. We even went in one just to see how much it cost and to hang out in the lobby for a bit. While we were watching the sunset by the river one of the riverboat captains came up to try and offer us a cheap boat ride. We had no trust in Egyptian people at this point so we declined, but it was past 6pm at this point and he had to eat anyway. He invited us to come join him and the other captains for some traditional Egyptian Ramadan food consisting of khubz (bread), foul, mixed cooked vegetables, and tabbouleh. It was our first dinner in Egypt and definitely one of the best. He even offered us a boat ride for 6EP a piece after that. He told us that to get a motor boat for an hour cost us 120EP and a felucca was 90EP/hour. We thought that it was well worth it so we gave him the 6EP each and got on the boat.
After the boat ride we went back to the Nubian to wait for Mohammad and his friends. Luckily they were right on time. He brought his brother and his best friend Mahmud. They asked what we wanted to do but we didn’t really know because we had never been to Cairo. He suggested going back to the river for a boat ride and then maybe going to Old Cairo to see where the guys lived. We didn’t really care for going back to the river but they insisted it was way better at night with all of the light s and music. This is where our naivety really set in.
Mohammad managed to get a boat for 150EP, He told us that it was more expensive at night and that we had to each pay 30EP per person. We didn’t even put the two and two together that we already knew the boat was 120EP total and that 30EP*6 people does not add up to 150. However, we kept smiles on our face and air in our heads and walked onto the boat. The ride lasted about an hour. It brought us up and down the Nile river where we all stupidly danced for each other. It was one of the most awkward hours of my life.
Afterward, we agreed to go with the guys to Old Cairo to hang out with their friends and see the mosque and hanging church. He informed us that there were going to be hundreds of thousands of people there on the 13th to pray for the Ramadan holy day. Next, we went to a little cafe near his home to meet more of his friends an smoke sheesha (hookah). His friends were pretty funny people and got a kick out of talking in English with them. Mahmud left to go get his car that had been getting fixed at the shop. After a couple rounds of sheesha, it was time for their which they invited us to attend. Keep in mind that it is Ramadan. This dinner took place at 4am. We were so tired but didn’t want to be rude so we ate with them. The food was very good. We had falafel, tabbouleh, and foul. This was the second time we had eaten foul which is basically a combination of pinto beans, garlic, olive oil, and some tomato. Mahmud warned us that it was so good that it would make you forget your name. Lastly, we sat and had some Pepsi and tried a round at dominoes until the call-to-prayer announced that the sun was coming up and it was time to begin fasting again.
Mohammad and his friend Hassan went with us back to our hostel in a minibus since we did not know exactly where we were. It was a kind gesture on their part. Mohammad had asked us earlier if we had seen the pyramids which we had not. He offered to takes there tomorrow so we could get “a very good deal on camel rides” and also have a little guidance. That sounded perfect to us! He said he would return at 10am to share a taxi with us to Giza. It was now 5am and we had very little time to sleep so we went straight to bed.
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