Great Expectations
Or the lack of them. When I traveled to Egypt a few weeks ago I didn’t have a lot of expectations since the main attraction was the safari in Kenya and the trip to Egypt was more of an afterthought. We’re going all the way to Kenya so what other country could we explore nearby?
Traveling for me brings about a sense of curiosity for the great unknown. It’s discovering how other people live in other towns outside of my own that I love most about the journey. In Cairo on our way to the unforgettable National Museum, May and I took the Metro and rode in a women only subway car at the back of the train. There was a couple waiting with us on the platform and when the train pulled in, the couple separated with the gentleman entering one of the front cars while the woman entered one of the last cars with May and me. I couldn’t even imagine the inequality of life such as that. But that is the Egyptian culture, although not rigidly enforced as the woman explained to us.
May and I both agreed that the locals that we came across in Aswan, Luxor, and Cairo were very welcoming. In each of these towns we walked around at night and felt safe. As inquisitive as we were about their lives in Egypt, they were genuinely curious to know about how life was in the United States. We were invited to chat over tea one night but we had to politely decline because we were on our way to meet friends for dinner.
In Aswan it’s a strict requirement that you travel to the temples in a police convoy, leaving at 4am. It was here that we met other tourists on our day trip which we arranged through our hotel at the Keylany.
We met good people on our mini bus which I’ll write about later.
I ended up liking Egypt more than expected. I could easily return for another week to explore the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, start where I left off checking out the artifacts in the National Museum again, and maybe next time Elephantine Island and Mt. Sinai.
