Here we are in Alexandria after our first 3 days in Cairo. What a country so far. We were warned about the people, the ceaseless hassling for baksheesh, but it hasn’t been that bad at all. In Cairo most people were either friendly or too involved with living in Cairo to bother us. Our only scam, and it’s a laughable one, was of course at the Giza Pyramids, but nothing can detract from the sight, despite the now-famous Pizza Hut 100m from the Sphinx, or the throbbing saddlesores, or nearly getting dragged facefirst through the desert by a runaway horse named Michael Jackson, or the fact that we were at the Pyramids illegally… Anyway, more detail in the upcoming Michael Jackson and Giza Gong Show posts.

We still have Luxor to contend with: the fabled “hassle capital of Egypt”. But for now we’re in Alexandria, the hotel room has a view of the Med, the toilet seat doesn’t work, and we’re tired but pretty happy. We survived Giza, we’ve put our Saigon street-crossing skills to good use because the drivers are even crazier here, and hearing the 5-times-daily call to prayer rising from the mosques everywhere has become so comfortable it feels like home.