Alexandria (Part 1)

After the competition, Steffen Gebhardt and I decided we should see something new. Both of us have been to Cairo a number of times and seen everything there is to see there. That’s not saying much because all there is to see in Cairo are the pyramids (very impressive), the sphinx (very unimpressive), the museum (very disorganized), and the Nile (very polluted). So we started asking our Egyptian friends what was within a half day trip of Cairo.

I’m not a history buff, but I’m kind of a nerd and watch a lot of History Channel. I knew Alexandria had a long and interesting history so we decided to check that out. To get there, we would need to take a train about 3 hours to the coast of the Mediterranean. From all my travel in Europe (and the fact that Steffen lives there), we figured trains would be simple and easy for us to understand. What we did not take into account was that these are Egyptian trains and they don’t follow any of the same rules. Take for instance schedules. European trains have them, Egyptian trains don’t. Working bathrooms, sanitary conditions, all things lacking on the trains there. We did figure out that there is a first class cabin and we happily paid the extra $1 (no kidding) to upgrade. The conditions in 1st class were what you might expect on an inner city buss or metro in the US, minus working bathrooms.

It’s a bit sobering traveling through the countryside in a place like Egypt. In America, we hear people complain about poverty and how bad the poor have it. A few months ago, I saw a TV special woman complaining that the government needed to give her better housing. In the background of her “poverty stricken” apartment she had a 60 inch flat screen. Poverty in the countryside of Egypt looked a little different. Women washing clothes in the muddy irrigation trenches, shanties built out of garbage, and small brick huts with dirt floors. It looked like the villages had electricity, but the outlying houses did not. Without trash service, locals made piles or refuse just outside the villages. The poorest of people were sorting through these piles before they were burned.

After three hours on the train, we arrived in Alexandria. We had no idea where to go, what to see, or where we would spend the night. I had checked on Expedia and only found very expensive western hotels. I prefer more of a local flavor (not to mention that all my friends say I am the cheapest person they know), so Steffen and I figured we would look for something other than a western chain. We were more or less dragged off the train by a guy who seemed quite helpful. Turned out that he was a cab driver and he pressured us into getting into his cab. We knew better than to get in without a pre-negotiated price, so we got a map, decided where we wanted to go, and then pointed it out. After agreeing on a price (that was almost certainly too high), we got into the cab. About 40 minutes later, we reached the area where we figured we would have the best shot of getting a cheap but safe motel.

Unlike inner city Europe, I never felt that I would get my pocket picked. It does not seem like the kind of place where someone will totally swindle you when you buy something at a street vendor. But they have their own form of dishonesty when it comes to dealing with tourists. We told the driver to let us out and started to pay him. He suddenly said we had to pay twice that much since there were two of us. This is somewhat common there. After negotiating a deal, they will try to add on other fees. For instance, I hired a camel at the pyramids and agreed on a price of around $10 for an hour tour. When I finished, the guide said it would be another $10 to get off the camel (which was met by my jumping off for free). My guess is that it often works on unsuspecting tourists which only reinforces the behavior. Steffen and I did not buy it so we gave the cabbie the agreed upon fair and jumped out of the cab. As we walked off, the cabbie yelled at us; but we had paid him a reasonable fair despite his attempted dishonesty.

For the next three hours, Steffen and I walked around Alexandria finding nothing of interest. No historical sites, no hotels, no local restaurants that looked safe to eat at. As the afternoon wore on, we took a turn down a street and found a security checkpoint. We asked what was going on and were informed that it was a private beach/resort area. The fee to enter was about $1 so we paid and went in. The beach was much cleaner and better kempt than the other beaches and the area felt safer. But all this still yielded no hotels or dinner possibilities. As we reached the end of the private beach, we were greeted by a woman and her daughter who asked if we needed help. It turns out that she, her husband, and her daughter who are Egyptians all spoke English and German. Lucky break for us. They lived about a half mile away and invited us to their flat. We talked for a while and they offered to find us a flat to rent for the night. For about $60, we secured a 3 bedroom place that would have registered below one star in the US, but was perfect for our budget and needs.

After getting the keys to the flat, our new Egyptian friends gave us some advice on where to go sightseeing that night and where to find dinner. It was really only after we left that Steffen and I started wondering if this was a particularly safe situation. We didn’t really know these people and we had no idea how safe the area was. Given my family background and association with the military, I am always trying to err on the side of caution. Steffen knows the security issues surrounding me also, so he said he would take the lead on any further discussions with our new friends. When we returned that night, the husband engaged Steffen in a long discussion about politics, something you are not supposed to do in a foreign culture if you are not in a secure area. But Steffen kept the conversation mostly in German and asked questions more than gave opinions. At one point, the wife looked at me and noted that I looked like I had security concerns about being there. Steffen gave me a quick glance knowing why I was worried, but we played if off on being in a foreign culture.

That night, we checked the apartment to make sure we could lock it securely from the inside. We took a couple extra steps for security, but it seemed like a legit and somewhat safe situation. With passports and credit cards by our beds for easy access, we actually slept well in our cheap accommodations.

The next morning, we met up with our host family again, returned the keys, and went on our way. Rather than trying to write everything about Alexandria, I thought I would try something new and do a video blog. Let me know what you think of it!