Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007
One night in Cairo......
Those of you who know me well will know that I have inordinate trouble
at airports....Only Rose and Betty can truly appreciate the joy of Rome
airport, holding hands, running full speed from one end to the other in
search of my lost boarding pass....with an irate airport official
berarting me as a "stupid woman". Only my mother will know what it
feels like to see her daughter taken away by security at Dempasar
airport because of lack of appropriate documentation. And only I know
what it feels like being interrogated as a suspected terrorist by the
police at Heathrow when I innocently strayed into a security
area....Well, unfortunately, Cairo was no different.
I was meeting Ahmed in Cairo for a week's R&R. It did not occur to me
to check if I needed the vaccination card for yellow fever to travel to
Egypt. So of course I didn't have it....They wouldn't let me through
and I was detained for 3 hours in total. There were 6 of us and of
course, running true to my form at airports, I was the only one detained
for longer than 10 minutes. I didn't have any money, they weren't
interested in Sudanese currency. I didn't have a visa, because I
planned to get one at the airport, but I didn't have the local currency
to get one. I didn't have a local sim card, so I could not call Ahmed.
They took my passport and took me round and round from official to
official. There was me and two escorts. [In the end we all became very
friendly, you sort of do when you spend so much time together. I even
tipped them at the very end - incredulous I know...]I demanded they call
the Embassy, or Ahmed, but they said they had no credit on their phones
(!). Really it was like midnight express or something - detained
without charge, no trial and no phone call....In the end they gave a
missed
called to Ahmed, he was outside, but at least he knew where I was....I
was getting agitated by the fact that everyone had their hands on my
passport but me and every time I tried to hold it, they just moved it a
bit further out of my reach...(Rachel you would have had a fit!)..
As I said, really we just seemed to walk around and around talking to
people. Of course I had no idea what was being said, all in arabic and
they just kept looking at me. They decided they were going to
quarantine me for 2 days, but I just said NO! I was getting quite upset
by this stage as it appeared they had no intention of letting me go, or
of calling the Embassy. I was just there...walking around with my 2
amigos. After a sobbing hissy fit, they decided to let me go, but only
by ambulance to the hospital where they would examine me and keep my
passport. Finally I got out - Ahmed gave me a big relieved hug and
said, "this is Egypt, welcome aboard"! So we set off together to the
hospital. In my wildest dreams I would not have imagined that on my
first night in Cairo we would be speeding through the streets of Cairo
in an ambulance going to the hospital for yellow fever observation, but
here we were..We arrived and more of the same, they wanted to detain me,
for sure they wanted my passport (one of my amigos had accompanied me,
to hold my passport and to ensure I did not escape) and in the end when
they were looking me up and down like a chook to be seized and cooked
for lunch, Ahmed said NO quite loudly and very quickly took my hand and
we
left, with one eye over his shoulder to make sure they were not
following. BUT they had my passport so we
had to go back the next day. More of the same, but a more reasoned sort
of staffing on the day shift for sure. Still they wanted to quarantine
me, this time for 6 days. Ahmed did his best Arabic schmoozing and after
an hour or so, I had my hands on my passport for the first time in 15
hours and we were free......
So my airport adventures continue. I think a book could be written
about what NOT to do at airports. I think I just get anxious, all
those surly looking, not highly intelligent men with machine guns has an
unnerving effect on me. So then I act a bit strange, agitated, I
suppose suspicious and I get flustered, drop things, lose things and all
in all have a bad time of it. Also it appears to me that airports are a
law unto themselves...they could detain me for 3 hours without calling
anyone and I was completely powerless. So maybe train travel is the
answer...
Anyway, the last week we have been in Hurghada - a beach paradise....it
took me a few days to relax, but snorkling in the red sea finally
relaxes anyone.....I have attached some photos... tomorrow we are going
to start our first diving course. I have wanted to do one all my life
and finally here I am doing it. I am a bit frightened of sharks and it
didn'thelp when the novel I was reading gave a graphic description of a
man being eaten by a white pointer, but there you have it, hopefully all
will be well - inchallah....
at airports....Only Rose and Betty can truly appreciate the joy of Rome
airport, holding hands, running full speed from one end to the other in
search of my lost boarding pass....with an irate airport official
berarting me as a "stupid woman". Only my mother will know what it
feels like to see her daughter taken away by security at Dempasar
airport because of lack of appropriate documentation. And only I know
what it feels like being interrogated as a suspected terrorist by the
police at Heathrow when I innocently strayed into a security
area....Well, unfortunately, Cairo was no different.
I was meeting Ahmed in Cairo for a week's R&R. It did not occur to me
to check if I needed the vaccination card for yellow fever to travel to
Egypt. So of course I didn't have it....They wouldn't let me through
and I was detained for 3 hours in total. There were 6 of us and of
course, running true to my form at airports, I was the only one detained
for longer than 10 minutes. I didn't have any money, they weren't
interested in Sudanese currency. I didn't have a visa, because I
planned to get one at the airport, but I didn't have the local currency
to get one. I didn't have a local sim card, so I could not call Ahmed.
They took my passport and took me round and round from official to
official. There was me and two escorts. [In the end we all became very
friendly, you sort of do when you spend so much time together. I even
tipped them at the very end - incredulous I know...]I demanded they call
the Embassy, or Ahmed, but they said they had no credit on their phones
(!). Really it was like midnight express or something - detained
without charge, no trial and no phone call....In the end they gave a
missed
called to Ahmed, he was outside, but at least he knew where I was....I
was getting agitated by the fact that everyone had their hands on my
passport but me and every time I tried to hold it, they just moved it a
bit further out of my reach...(Rachel you would have had a fit!)..
As I said, really we just seemed to walk around and around talking to
people. Of course I had no idea what was being said, all in arabic and
they just kept looking at me. They decided they were going to
quarantine me for 2 days, but I just said NO! I was getting quite upset
by this stage as it appeared they had no intention of letting me go, or
of calling the Embassy. I was just there...walking around with my 2
amigos. After a sobbing hissy fit, they decided to let me go, but only
by ambulance to the hospital where they would examine me and keep my
passport. Finally I got out - Ahmed gave me a big relieved hug and
said, "this is Egypt, welcome aboard"! So we set off together to the
hospital. In my wildest dreams I would not have imagined that on my
first night in Cairo we would be speeding through the streets of Cairo
in an ambulance going to the hospital for yellow fever observation, but
here we were..We arrived and more of the same, they wanted to detain me,
for sure they wanted my passport (one of my amigos had accompanied me,
to hold my passport and to ensure I did not escape) and in the end when
they were looking me up and down like a chook to be seized and cooked
for lunch, Ahmed said NO quite loudly and very quickly took my hand and
we
left, with one eye over his shoulder to make sure they were not
following. BUT they had my passport so we
had to go back the next day. More of the same, but a more reasoned sort
of staffing on the day shift for sure. Still they wanted to quarantine
me, this time for 6 days. Ahmed did his best Arabic schmoozing and after
an hour or so, I had my hands on my passport for the first time in 15
hours and we were free......
So my airport adventures continue. I think a book could be written
about what NOT to do at airports. I think I just get anxious, all
those surly looking, not highly intelligent men with machine guns has an
unnerving effect on me. So then I act a bit strange, agitated, I
suppose suspicious and I get flustered, drop things, lose things and all
in all have a bad time of it. Also it appears to me that airports are a
law unto themselves...they could detain me for 3 hours without calling
anyone and I was completely powerless. So maybe train travel is the
answer...
Anyway, the last week we have been in Hurghada - a beach paradise....it
took me a few days to relax, but snorkling in the red sea finally
relaxes anyone.....I have attached some photos... tomorrow we are going
to start our first diving course. I have wanted to do one all my life
and finally here I am doing it. I am a bit frightened of sharks and it
didn'thelp when the novel I was reading gave a graphic description of a
man being eaten by a white pointer, but there you have it, hopefully all
will be well - inchallah....
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