Quote Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie View Post
Well I have a confession. After swanning around the backstreets of Cairo most of the day visiting the Coptic Christian area, several markets and a number of interesting mosques I returned to my digs to flake out for a couple of hours. Just as I seemed be be dropping off for a snooze I received an alert on my phone about the line-ups. Bugger, I thought, the game was that evening and not the following evening, as I had erroneously thought (and which has been my only cock-up in a very busy week).
I hastily left my gaff to flag down a taxi at what still seemed to be rush hour (which obviously goes on for hours). After flapping my arms for quite some time, I got a bite! The taxi driver seemed to understand that I wanted to see the Zamalek game. We slowly weaved our way through the cacophonous and jammed Street until he stopped outside a well-illuminated sports venue adorning the Zamalek badge. The taxi driver shoots off and as I try to enter the venue I am informed that the game is taking place not in the area of Zamalek (which is in western part of Cairo but in the eastern part of the city). It seemed that I was dropped of at their general sporting HQ and not the stadium. After several minutes being taught by the guy on the door how to pronounce the name of the actual venue, I flagged down another taxi and the driver seemed to understand what I said. However, whist being stuck in even more traffic crossing the city he asked me the location again but I had forgotten it. By the time I googled it, time was running out due to the sheer log-jam of traffic and I abandoned it. It was quite ironic that it took so much effort to obtain a ticket but the fault was really my responsibility. I have been scooting all over the place and my plans have otherwise gone perfectly even in the weirdest circumstances.
I'm now on a bus on the Sinai peninsula where security is hot and there are regular checkpoints. I know in recent years armed guards were required on these local buses.
Any apologies, I failed you!
P.S. I'm a wee bit saddle-sore after riding a horse around the Sphinx and the pyramids yesterday. Couldn't descend the steps into the pyramid itself as it involved bending over double and going backwards along a long tunnel. Far too claustrophobic for me!
Now that really is a cool story (no sarcasm). That's proper travel and it sounds like you're having quite an experience out there. Shame about the match but as someone who's very much given myself up to chaos theory and the randomness of the universe, it all sounds like a living Mandelbrot equation to to me which makes for great reading!

As someone who ended up taking 13 hours from Brussels to Amsterdam a few weeks ago instead of 2, I do empathise. Though, I did meet and chat to some great people and it all worked out to be a much better life experience. Go with the flow TBG. I look forward to the next instalment.