A Day In The Life – Journey From Jerusalem To Cairo

 

 

I realize I am jumping ahead more than a week in my journey, but I wanted to get this story out while it was still fresh in my mind.

 

Don’t worry, there are blog posts coming soon from the rest of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

 

The following events take place in a 27 hour time period between 11:00PM Jerusalem time and 1:00AM Cairo time. (Note – Cairo and Jerusalem are in different time zones)

 

11:00PM – Common Room, The Citadel, Jerusalem. I say my final goodbye to Lisa, a girl from New York who is currently working at The Citadel Youth Hostel. She was on her own round-the-world journey when she stopped in Jerusalem roughly six months ago and decided to stay. We connected right off the bat – she became excited telling me places I should go and recounting her adventures in South America, while I admired her courage to stay in one place and not move on. We both shared an admiration for the city. I also wondered in the back of my head if this could happen to me somewhere along the way on my trip. Lisa now has a boyfriend from Jerusalem who I met briefly. During our exchange of small talk he mentioned how hard it is for him to get a visa to travel anywhere, especially America. Both he and Lisa expressed disappointment that he could not get one to travel there with her. I listened and in my head felt thankful that I was born in the US and had the freedom to travel almost anywhere in the world without any troubles. It is a stroke of fate that I was born in America and I am not standing in his shoes and vice-versa.

 

11:30PM – Rooftop, The Citadel, Jerusalem. I head up to the rooftop of the hostel, my current sleeping location. About 20 people are packed on the roof overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. I must say it is one of the coolest places I have ever slept. I make my goodbyes to the people I have met in Jerusalem, and especially to Alf and Gerrit, two Germans who I met in Cairo a week earlier and have traveled with to Alexandria, Jordan, and Israel. Tomorrow we go our separate ways. They are staying in Jerusalem for a few more days before heading to Tel Aviv while I make my way to Cairo for my flight to Thailand. Making friends for a day or a week before moving on is the life of an independent traveler. I feel somewhat like Rudolph parting ways with Hermie and Yukon.

 

11:45PM – Rooftop, The Citadel, Jerusalem. My body has adjusted to the 90-100 degree heat in the past month. I can tell. I feel cold up here on the rooftop where the temperature hovers around 65 degrees and the wind blows steadier tonight than previous nights. I cover up with my own sleep sack plus a small blanket that was provided by the hostel. Time for some sleep.

 

4:30AM – Rooftop, The Citadel, Jerusalem. The morning mosque prayers are announced through loudspeakers in the Old City. Every morning at 4:30 I have been awakened by the call to prayer. My earplugs are no use – the men’s singing/chanting carries right through. I also have to pee. I hold it.

 

4:45AM – Rooftop, The Citadel, Jerusalem. A fitful 15 minutes of sleep and I wake up. I still have to pee. I can’t hold it any longer. My alarm was set for 5:00 anyway so I decide I should just get up now. My bus leaves Jerusalem at 7:00AM for a five hour journey to Eilat. My bags are already packed. I take a pee, stuff my sleep sack in my bag, silently say goodbye to Alf and Gerrit, and head down from the rooftop and out of the hostel. It takes nearly 45 minutes to walk Jaffa Street from the hostel to the bus station. Loaded down with my bags, I swear that I will lighten my load.

 

6:00AM – Bus Station, Jerusalem. I bought my ticket yesterday so now I just have to wait for the bus. I haven’t showered since yesterday morning, it is hot in Jerusalem, and I took a five hour walking tour of the city (which was incredible) followed by another couple hours walking up to the Mount of Olives and then through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I am wearing the same clothes from yesterday. I smell myself. I stink. If I think I stink then I must really stink to everybody else. I decide to change my shirt and put on some deoderant. It helps, but only a little.

 

7:00AM – Bus Station, Jerusalem. The bus arrives, we pack in, and take off. Five uneventful hours later we arrive in Eilat, the border town between Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

 

11:45PM – Bus Station, Eilat. I need to get a taxi to the actual border. I have no money. There is an ATM machine right up the block that I used when I was here four days ago. I grab some cash and then hop in a taxi for the 10-15 minute ride to the border. The taxi driver chats in his best English to me. He wants to go to America. I am struck by how many people want to go there to live and work. I am also struck by how much Israel loves the USA. I should know this but my geo-political knowledge concerning America and Israel is not as good as it should be.

 

12:10PM – The border, Eilat. The border consists of multiple checkpoints. First a passport check to leave, then a departure tax, then a stamp of the passport, and finally customs. All these are at separate locations within the border complex. I go through the first checkpoint fine. However I fail to realize I needed a departure tax. I arrive at the station to get my passport stamped but the lady working there tells me I need a departure tax first. I am pleasantly surprised by how nice the border patrol in Israel has been. I have heard horror stories but it has been a breeze getting into and out of the country. I go back to the previous station and get my departure tax. 110 shekels. The lady there informs me that my first and middle names (Brian James) are the names of two of her best friends. Again, it is nice to see the pleasantness of the people here. I get my passport stamped, walk through customs, and walk down the 100 or so meters of no-man’s land between Israel and Egypt.

 

12:20PM – The border, Eilat. I meet a group of five people while walking to the Egypt border. They are headed to Cairo too and ask if I want to join in with them on a mini-bus. Yes, I immediately respond. The mini-buses cost the same as a regular bus, are much more convenient, and get to Cairo about two hours faster – five hours total instead of seven hours. This works great. We will arrange a bus once we get through the Egypt border control.

 

12:30PM – Border patrol, Egypt. I run my bags through the scanner and the guard stops me. He asks me to open my bag and begins searching all my contents. I have tons of electronic gear between my laptop, camera, and iPod. He opens each item and asks what it is. He pulls out one of my prized possessions, a round speaker for my iPod. He asks what it is, but in a more curious and interested tone than the previous items. Once he realizes it is a speaker, he becomes both excited and enamoured by it. He wants to try it out. I pull out my iPod but he says no, he wants to use his phone. He turns the speaker on, checks out all the buttons, and gets an Arabic song playing. He loves it. It is nice to share in the joy of an object such as this with a random stranger, no less a border patrol guard. He asks where it is made. China. He wants one. I think he roundabout asks me if I will give mine to him. I love this speaker so I don’t directly answer. We exchange names and then he pleasantly tells me what steps I need to take next. Fill out a card and continue on to the passport check and stamp.

 

12:45PM – Border patrol, Egypt. I get to the passport stamp station. The guard checks my passport and asks if I am part of a tour group. I say no, I am travelling independently. He says I can’t get into Egypt unless I am part of a tour group. I don’t understand. I start to panic slightly. Why can’t I get in? Why do I have to be part of a tour group? I didn’t have any trouble when I flew in. There is a man sitting in the room who the guard points me to. He is supposedly part of a tour group and he will stamp my card so that I am officially part of a group so I can get in. I am very confused but comply. I talk to the tour guy. He is there alone and apparently there for just this reason. I need to give him $15 US dollars and I will be ok. I feel like I am getting fleeced but have no choice. I also need another visa entry stamp. This I knew I probably needed but didn’t know where to get one. So $15 US dollars later I have the visa stamp and another $15 US dollars and I have the tour stamp. I go back to the guard. He asks “Do you understand now?”. I say yes, even though I really don’t. I tell him I’m sorry. He stamps my passport and lets me through. All in all not too bad. It could have been worse.

 

1:00PM – Border patrol, Egypt. Four out of the five people I met who I am going to take the mini bus to Cairo with have made it through passport control. The fifth did not. They inform me he was taken into a back room by guards for questioning. I have heard horror stories about this. Sometimes they hold a person in there for questioning for 5, 6, 9 hours. I ask how long they think it will take. Hours? Yes, most likely. They say I can wait with them or take the regular bus to Cairo. After 10 minutes of thinking about it I opt for the regular bus to Cairo. The regular bus doesn’t leave until 4:30PM.

 

1:30PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. I take a taxi for 5 Egyptian pounds from the border to the Delta bus station in Taba. Once there I buy a ticket for the 4:30PM bus to Cairo. I breathe a small sigh of relief. Ok, this step is finished. Now I just need to wait, hop on the bus, and get to Cairo.

 

1:50PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. The four other people arrive at the bus station in their mini-bus. The fifth one is still there for questioning. They say I could still go with them. I tell them I already have my ticket. I am informed that now we are an hour behind. Damn. I knew that there was a time zone change but I thought it was somewhere along the way to Cairo, not here in Taba. That means it is only 12:50PM and I have to wait until 4:30PM for the bus.

 

12:50PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. I reset my watch back an hour. Well this sucks.

 

12:55PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. One of the ladies in the group sits down next to me to chat. She is very friendly and from Palestine. We discuss the politics of the soon-to-be-announced UN vote regarding the request for the state of Palestine. She is a speaker and is heading to Cairo for a wedding but in a few months will be heading to Japan to give talks on the political situation and strife regarding this. She says the place where she lives just west of Jerusalem is a microcosm of the strife as a whole. I am intrigued but sadly tell her I am ignorant of what is going on there. She is disappointed. She says that is the problem because America has a big say in the course of action that will be taken but the American people do not know what is going on. A wave of guilt hits me. I usually try to stay informed of the history and politics of places I will be traveling to but Israel was not on my list of places. I traveled there on a whim with the German guys and am so glad I did. It has been the best part of my trip so far. Still, my ingorance has shown through. My guilt probably has too. I try to tell myself that America is big and there are so many things going on both internally and around the globe that it is hard to stay abreast of all the events. That is why we elect government officials who are experts in the situation. It does little to ease my guilt.

 

1:30PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. I am alone again. I pull out my Lonely Planet Thailand book. I haven’t even read anything in it yet and this is a perfect time to do some research.

 

2:00PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. A car pulls up with three Egyptian men in it. They appear to be in their twenties. They approach me to chat. This is one thing I have noticed being an independant traveller. Locals are more apt to approach and talk with you if you are alone versus if you are with a group of people. They ask where I am from, what I am doing, where I am heading, if I like Egypt, all the standard questions. It is a nice conversation. This however is one thing that has divided and confused me since arriving in Egypt. There is such a dichotomy here, a split of personalities, as if Egypt has bipolar disorder. I have been approached by touts, looked at strangely and rudely by locals, but yet have been warmly invited and have had wonderful conversations with other locals. I go between disliking Egypt to really enjoying it. It is a hard see-saw to ride, a roller coaster of both good and bad intentions and reactions. Just when I decide I do not like Egypt something good happens. After good things have happened an ugly incident seems to occur that swings the pendulum in a different direction.

 

2:30PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. After a great chat with the boys, I am alone again. I get back to reading my Lonely Planet Thailand book.

 

3:00PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. I should mention that the bus station is not what you think a bus station looks like. It is on a lonely gravel lot with four stores similar to a small rundown strip mall. The bus station is about 15 feet by 15 feet. There is one attendant. About 10 feet across from it is a phone store which is the same size. Located next door is a small grocery shop, like a convenience store. The seats consist of two sets of three plastic seats attached together. I opt to sit on the curb and rest my back against a pillar. There is a tree right in front of me that shades the sun. With a small breeze it is actually somewhat comfortable in this 90-plus degree weather.

 

3:05PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. The Cairo group returns, minus the fifth member. He didn’t make it. I think they take off for Cairo but I’m not entirely sure.

 

3:10PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. A family of five camels walks by the street. I take a mental picture. My camera is buried in my bag and I’m too lazy to get it out to take a real picture. I soak up the scene so that hopefully I can remember it in years to come. I am sitting on the curb. The street is about 50 yards away and the camels are slowly strolling by. Behind the street and in the distance are stark brown mountains of rock. It is the desert so everything is brown and these mountains are big enough to swallow 45 degrees of vertical view in the sky. I give myself a verbal reminder and pep talk. I am in Egypt. I am traveling the world solo. I am doing what I have always wanted to do. I engage in the moment. These are the scenes I have imagined when I was planning my trip. The dull hours of waiting for a bus at a small local station on the Egypt/Israel border with the stark landscape all around. The memory is etched. I hope I never forget it.

 

3:30PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. I go back to reading my Lonely Planet Thailand. I am getting very excited to go there. Plus now I finally have some information in my head regarding the country.

 

3:50PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. The boys are back! They ask me what I am still doing here. Have I missed my bus? No, I say. I have 40 minutes left until it arrives. They climb out of their tiny car to come chat with me again. One of them knows no English. I say that’s ok, the only language I know is English. He points to my shoe and says the Arabic name. I repeat it. He points to my watch and says the Arabic name. I repeat it. He says “dog” and then the Arabic name. I repeat it. The other two boys laugh. Dog?!? Why dog?!? The first two make sense because they were objects I had on. The third one came out of thin air. We all enjoy a laugh. Now I know three words in Arabic. They say goodbye and take off again.

 

4:00PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. Two white people arrive. A couple, they are clearly travelers. I ask if they are going to Cairo. Yes. Where are they from? Finland. The guy has a strangely high voice, like The High Talker in that Seinfeld episode. Seriously. I’m not kidding.

 

4:20PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. The bus pulls up. To Cairo. Yes, finally, after all this waiting I will be on my way. I put my luggage in the lower bus compartment and head onto the bus. The Finland couple sits behind me. The High Talker proceeds to inform me they had some troubles with their passport stamp and think they only got a stamp that allows them to travel the Sinai region. However, they are heading to Cairo and then back to Sinai due to busses being more frequent out of Cairo. In my head I secretly wonder if they will make it ok through all the checkpoints. Out loud I tell them it will be ok.

 

4:35PM – Delta Bus Station, Taba, Egypt. The bus heads off in the direction of Cairo.

 

4:40PM – First Checkpoint just outside Taba. A little more than one kilometer later the bus stops for its first checkpoint. An army guard enters and checks passports. Mine goes through ok. He then checks the Finland couple’s passport. He asks where they are going. Cairo, they respond. He says wait, walks out of the bus with the passports. A minute later he enters the bus and asks them to follow him. They exit the bus, and I see four more army guards appear and approach the bus. The Finland couple aren’t going to make it. We are only a kilometer into the journey and they are off the bus. I don’t see them again. I wonder what their fate will be as the bus moves on. I’m guessing they will need to get their passport restamped or they will need to stay in the Sinai region.

 

6:00PM – Somwhere in Egypt between Taba and Cairo. The bus makes one of its many rest stops. I don’t get out.

 

9:00PM – Somewhere in Egypt between Taba and Cairo. We are stopped for another checkpoint. A guard comes in and speaks Arabic. All the people get out. I am confused. I ask a guy what is going on. He says that we must get out and get our bags checked. I stay on the bus as a guard enters. He asks for my passport. He then starts to look at my bag. I ask if I need to go outside. He says yes. I go outside, and grab my other bag that is in the bus’s lower compartment. I am the only non-Egyptian on the bus. We stand in a line parallel to the bus. The guard walks down the line and then proceeds to open my bag, and mine alone. Some of the passengers get back on the bus while some others stand idly outside. The guard goes through each of my contents of my day bag, asking what they are. Camera, laptop, wires, iPod, etc. As he nears the end of my day bag the bus driver starts to say something in Arabic in anger towards the guard. I don’t know exactly what was said but I guessed by the tone. I was the only non-Egyptian on the bus, it was my bags that were getting searched, and clearly I am a traveller. The driver was not happy that the guard was going through and searching my bags. The guard finished my day bag and then started in on my regular big bag. The driver grew more agitated and said something else, clearly in my favor from the tone. The guard half-heartedly looked through my bag before at last conceding, leaving me to repack the contents. I was happy with myself that I was calm and compliant through the whole procedure. The bus driver then said something else to the passengers still outside and they rushed to grab my bags and helped me back inside the bus. I can’t say how grateful I was to see this generosity. It was incredible. I got back on board and one of the passengers, a man roughly in his late twenties, came back and asked if he could sit next to me. I said yes, and he apologized for what happened. I said that’s ok, it’s not your fault. I was struck again by his generosity and kindness and willingness to help out a foreigner. It spoke volumes. After a few minutes of small talk he returned to his seat. I replayed the scene a bit, and while I never lost my nerve, I was a tad rattled, but not too bad. I was more shaken with the fact that it was my bags and mine alone that were searched.

 

9:30PM – A small rest stop somewhere close to Cairo. We stopped at a small rest stop and some of the Egyptian passengers asked if I would like to get out and get something to eat with them. Touched again by this act of kindness I agreed. At the small open restaurant/convenience store/toilets I bought some cookies and sat down at a table, watching soccer on the television while eating my cookies. I realize I haven’t eaten all day.

 

10:45PM – Cairo. I picked up conversation with two Egyptian passengers, both men around my age, and we talked about the usual stuff. What our jobs were, where I was from, where I had been, where I was going. One of the guys asked if I had a place to stay tonight. I said no but I was planning on going to the hostel that I had stayed at the week before when I was in Cairo. He offered me to stay at his place. However, it was another one hour bus ride to outside of Cairo. I said I would think about it. We arrived in Cairo to a bus station that clearly was not the bus station I thought we were going to. I had no idea where we were. That meant instead of walking to my hostel I would need to grab a taxi. My new friend asked me again if I wanted to stay with him. I agree. We hopped in a small taxi and took off for somewhere, a bus station was my guess.

 

11:20PM – Cairo. We arrived at the bus station, and behold it was the bus station I was familiar with! Now I knew where I was at. I told my friend I think I was going to go to the hostel instead of accepting his offer. I was a bit torn because it was a very generous offer and invitation. However, I felt more comfortable going to a place I already knew in the city, even though I would have felt comfortable staying at this guy’s place. He said it was up to me, I said I’ll go to the hostel, and we parted ways after many thanks from me to him and him responding in kind. I was right by the Metro so I went into the station underground, purchased a ticket, and rode the Metro to Tahrir Square. From there I walked to the Wake UP! Cairo Hostel.

 

11:50PM – Wake UP! Cairo Hostel. I take what is in my mind the worst elevator in the world up to the 7th floor to the hostel. That elevator freaks me out. It fits four people, is rickety, had broken down twice when I was there last week, and looks to me like it is one snap away from falling to the ground when I am riding it. I enter the hostel and see familiar faces. I ask for a space for the night. Sorry, they are all booked up. You have got to be kidding me. However, there is a hostel about 100 meters down the street called the Isis Hotel that I could try. Well, I guess I’ll have to try it.

 

12:05AM – Isis Hotel, Cairo. I enter a similar elevator in the adjoing building and go up to the 15th floor. My goodness, doesn’t anybody know how terrified I am of these clanky things? I’m not walking up 15 flights of stairs though, I’ll tell you that. I enter the reception area and a very nice man informs me they have rooms available. I say I am only staying the night and want the cheapest room available. For 100 Egyptian pounds ($20 US dollars) I can take a room that has four beds but I only have to pay for one. Excellant. It is common in Egypt to have a welcome tea so one is prepared for me as I unload my heavy bags. I promise myself to do some purging of the bags tomorrow morning.

 

12:10AM – Isis Hotel, Cairo. I am offered the tea, and try to relax and drink it while replaying the many events that occurred today.

 

12:20AM – Isis Hotel, Cairo. I go to my room and settle in. The balcony window is open to let the air in as there is no air conditioner. I am roughly 150 feet up and terrified of heights. The balcony fence comes up to roughly my hips. I say roughly because there is no way I am getting within 5 feet of that balcony. I climb into my sleep sheet on the bed and realize I have to pee. Then I realize this is the only time I have peed today since this morning. I need to drink more water. I have been telling myself this for the last three weeks but no matter how much I drink it never seems to be enough.

 

12:50-ish AM – Isis Hotel, Cairo. I finally fade off to sleep after a day full of adventures.