Travel can play some dirty tricks with time, expanding and compressing hours and days seemingly at random. Yesterday marked exactly one week since leaving Morocco but it seems like its been months since I said goodbye to Rabat and my friends there. On the other hand the two months that I spent in Morocco flew by in what seemed like a few days. At this point thinking back on Oxford seems like a distant memory.
I left Cairo on Friday to escape the crowds and congestion for a weekend in Alexandria on the coast. The train ride from Cairo was straight forward and only cost three bucks!! I was the only foreigner on the train. Usually foreigners ride in the first class cars which are triple the price but have air-conditioning and are supposedly more comfortable. I got a few weird looks but in the end it was a pleasant ride. It really is a testament to how cheaply one can travel if you just learn to live like the locals. If you can live on fuul (Fava beans in pita bread), taamiya (Egyptian Falafel) and shay (tea), you can eat for about LE 20 a day (about 3 bucks). Like with the train its also important to learn how the locals get around. In Morocco and in my first few days in Cairo I relied on private taxis for all my transportation; that and walking. I've learned, since then that taking taxis is hit or miss for foreigners. When I went to the Pyramids for example I took a taxi from the Giza metro and it cost me about LE 10 by the meter. On my return trip, however, the driver drove all over Giza until the meter reached LE 20. We still hadn't reached the metro so I just turned to him and said ala fikra ana haedf'a 'shra ganeh ashan 'aarif a tmn (By the way I'm only paying LE 10because I know the price. We were conveniently right around the corner. Since then I've learned to use the Metro (LE 1) and Service taxis. Service taxis are small buses that follow specific routes. The trick is you have to know which ones to take. Of course Cairenes use a complicated system of hand signals to communicate where they are going. I just ask anyone I see waiting and on average people are pretty helpful, its also a good opportunity to practice my Arabic. The service taxis cost below LE 2 anywhere in the city. The final major cost of travel is of course accomodation. Up till now I have been staying in what I thought was relatively cheap places. That's because whenever I would go to get a room I would ask for the cheapest room and would be given a private single with shared bathroom, usually for around 10-15 dollars. I've learned that what you have to do is ask for the cheapest bed. While a private room for 10 bucks sounds cheap you can get a bed in a dorm or on the roof (actually quite nice considering the weather and lack of AC) for around 2-3 dollars.
In order to test out my newly acquired information (and because my funds are pretty low) I've laid out a challenge for my last week in Egypt. I'm going to try to survive on LE 300 (approx. $50) for the week. This shouldn't be too hard if I stay away from touristy areas and activities. Overall this will be an important learning experience as well because I need to learn how to survive cheaply if I'm going to make it through my semester in Jordan where things more expensive. So the challenge is set I'll let you guys know how it goes in about a week.
I left Cairo on Friday to escape the crowds and congestion for a weekend in Alexandria on the coast. The train ride from Cairo was straight forward and only cost three bucks!! I was the only foreigner on the train. Usually foreigners ride in the first class cars which are triple the price but have air-conditioning and are supposedly more comfortable. I got a few weird looks but in the end it was a pleasant ride. It really is a testament to how cheaply one can travel if you just learn to live like the locals. If you can live on fuul (Fava beans in pita bread), taamiya (Egyptian Falafel) and shay (tea), you can eat for about LE 20 a day (about 3 bucks). Like with the train its also important to learn how the locals get around. In Morocco and in my first few days in Cairo I relied on private taxis for all my transportation; that and walking. I've learned, since then that taking taxis is hit or miss for foreigners. When I went to the Pyramids for example I took a taxi from the Giza metro and it cost me about LE 10 by the meter. On my return trip, however, the driver drove all over Giza until the meter reached LE 20. We still hadn't reached the metro so I just turned to him and said ala fikra ana haedf'a 'shra ganeh ashan 'aarif a tmn (By the way I'm only paying LE 10because I know the price. We were conveniently right around the corner. Since then I've learned to use the Metro (LE 1) and Service taxis. Service taxis are small buses that follow specific routes. The trick is you have to know which ones to take. Of course Cairenes use a complicated system of hand signals to communicate where they are going. I just ask anyone I see waiting and on average people are pretty helpful, its also a good opportunity to practice my Arabic. The service taxis cost below LE 2 anywhere in the city. The final major cost of travel is of course accomodation. Up till now I have been staying in what I thought was relatively cheap places. That's because whenever I would go to get a room I would ask for the cheapest room and would be given a private single with shared bathroom, usually for around 10-15 dollars. I've learned that what you have to do is ask for the cheapest bed. While a private room for 10 bucks sounds cheap you can get a bed in a dorm or on the roof (actually quite nice considering the weather and lack of AC) for around 2-3 dollars.
In order to test out my newly acquired information (and because my funds are pretty low) I've laid out a challenge for my last week in Egypt. I'm going to try to survive on LE 300 (approx. $50) for the week. This shouldn't be too hard if I stay away from touristy areas and activities. Overall this will be an important learning experience as well because I need to learn how to survive cheaply if I'm going to make it through my semester in Jordan where things more expensive. So the challenge is set I'll let you guys know how it goes in about a week.
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