Leisure fishing on the Nile
On our way to Cairo, I constantly hold my camera out of the bus window to take snap shots. As a metropolis with a population over 10 million people, traffic is certainly a major problem for Cairo. Indeed, I hardly saw a set of traffic lights in the city. Somehow the drivers on the road have their own way to maintain order. To be honest, we weren't sure where the bus was heading. We get off at Cairo's Opera, simply because we could somehow recognize the area and so could orient ourselves back to Madan Tahir. When we passed by the Nile, we saw a few locals fishing from a bridge. Back at Midar Tahir, we tried to find a pub called Ali Baba. A guy appeared from nowhere came over to "help" us out. He said Ali Baba no longer existed, and led us to his perfume shop. At the end AK and I each bought a tiny bottle of perfume for souvenir.
We walked back to Midar Tahir, trying to search for another pub. Another man approached us trying to give us a hand again. This guy was a swim trainer and a tourist guide (with a button of Canadian flag and a button of South Korean flag at his collar). He showed us a photo of him taken perhaps two decades ago, showing a somewhat masculine looking young man in a swimming suit. He called himself Egypt's Arnold Schwarzenegger. At that moment we were quite interested to speak to the locals. This guy was very talkative, and could speak good English. He looked very friendly, and even grabbed my arm when crossing the street. At last we arrived at a local cafe where local beer was served. Each of us three ordered a bottle, but he didn't order anything. At the cafe, we talked briefly about politics and Islam. He said he had been to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan. To him, it was very unfortunate that Arab countries never bridged the differences in order to become a unified nation. At the moment, some are pro-American while some are extremely anti-American. Talking about differences, our conversation also steered to the conflict between Sunni and Shia Islam in Iraq. After politics, he recited a few Islam stories to us, mainly about legends that involve miracles.
When we finished the drink, he left with us and led us back to our hotel. Upon arrival, he finally asked us for tips, saying that he wouldn't mind to have some tips so that he could go drinking with his friends. We refused to give him any tips. I said we considered him as a nice and welcoming friend in Egypt, not a cheater of tourists. He understandingly accepted my explanation, kissed our cheek and wished us good luck on our remaining journey, and finally left.
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