traffic – jenNYdreams

Cairo was tough for us. With 20 million people and a notoriously corrupt government, Cairo was quite the culture shock after perfect, civilized Amman. We could feel the pollution in our lungs as we attempted to explore the city. We were unable to cross a street without risking our lives because traffic laws barely exist, so we resorted to shamelessly walking alongside locals who happened to be going our way. And it felt like a third of the Cairenes we met were either trying to scam us or at least pressure us for tips, as if all of Cairo were Times Square. If Jordan gave us hope for the Middle East (and humanity in general), Egypt reminded us of why we need so much hope.

That’s not to say that I regret visiting. We could have flown straight to Aswan for the temples in southern Egypt and merely stopped by Cairo on a daytrip to see the pyramids, but that wouldn’t feel right — the same way that I don’t think it’s right to visit the Yucatán peninsula without exploring Mexico City as well, or to go on a safari in South Africa without also visiting Johannesburg.

The best thing we did in Cairo was take a food tour with the only food tour company in the city, Bellies En-Route. For nearly six hours, our guide Laila impressively led seven naive tourists through the crazy streets of downtown Cairo to eight different spots. She took us to places we never would have found on our own, and everything we tried was incredible. In fact, we returned to two of the restaurants later because we loved them so much (and it’s kind of a hassle trying new restaurants in Cairo on your own).

59436116_10218686174962077_7508651106075934720_n — Koshari is Egypt’s national dish, made of boiled macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, lentils, rice, hummus, and fried onions, topped with tomato sauce and a garlic/vinegar dressing

58722644_10218686175562092_7626052490923868160_n — Arabic coffee is made with very lightly roasted bean that almost stays green, with cardamom

59189042_10218686175802098_8439793882635436032_n — Molokhhia: stew made with okra leaves, garlic, and stock

59557734_10218686176402113_882275690932600832_n — Fresh sugar cane juice

59618096_10218686176762122_447460533394735104_n — Lentil soup, fried eggplants, and lots of fava bean dishes

59632952_10218686177002128_2764044731829714944_n — Kunafa, basbousa, and zalabya

We rode camels near the Giza Pyramids. The camel rides got us some great photos, especially since the herders knew exactly where to place us for the perfect shots, but I couldn’t help but compare them to the peaceful camel rides we took through the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Like everything in Egypt, the camel ride felt transactional, and our camel herder bluntly told us to give him a tip while we were still riding our camels.

59039581_10218685653229034_2200740125778903040_o — Look how proud Anthony’s camel looks!

58728060_10218695455474084_336121791237849088_n — Our camel herder told me to lift my arms over my head, but I couldn’t because my jumpsuit was too tight 😦

The Giza Pyramids were constructed roughly 4,500 years ago. They’re so old that the time period in which Cleopatra lived is closer to us than to the Pyramids. Pharaohs erected these massive pyramid tombs for themselves, filling them with everything one might need in the afterlife. The largest of the Giza Pyramids was dedicated to Pharaoh Khufu. Khufu’s son, Pharaoh Khafre, built the second one, as well as the Great Sphinx, a limestone monument with the body of a lion and Khafre’s own head. Sphinxes were guard dogs of the pyramids. The third of the Giza Pyramids is considerably smaller than the first two, built by Pharaoh Menkaure. The mere existence of these pyramids testifies to the resourcefulness and organization of ancient Egypt.

57048981_10218689494045052_4208472534468788224_o — We look like we’re on an engagement photo shoot

While I typically don’t have much interest in Egyptian artifacts, touring the colossal Egyptian Museum ended up being one of my favorite activities in Cairo. Seeing artifacts in the actual country instead of in England, France, and Germany is a sensational feeling. Commissioned in 1835 to stop widespread plundering and looting of the country’s many archaeological sites, the Egyptian Museum is home to 120,000 Egyptian artifacts. An entire section is dedicated to Tutankhamen, the most famous of all Egyptian pharaohs, as his tomb was relatively intact when it was discovered in 1922.

59388119_10218709397262620_7049836534576447488_n — Mummy

59654367_10218709398542652_3763107176315355136_n — Queen Nefertiti. Her more famous mask is in Berin

59492474_10218709398782658_2156340334420819968_n — Guard dog

My other favorite activity was sailing down the Nile on a felucca. These traditional sailboats are perfect for escaping the hustle and bustle of the city. It was the only time I felt calm in Cairo. Even with the invention of motorized boats, feluccas have remained the primary transportation of the Nile.

60016596_10218711588917410_7806204275679297536_n — Lots of space

59382234_10218711587877384_583797651661651968_n (1) — We’re so relaxed!

Those were the highlights of our time in Cairo; honestly, everything else was either underwhelming or tension-filled. The airport is dysfunctional, traffic lanes are meaningless (a two-lane road becomes a four-lane road in Cairo), Ubers don’t have seatbelts, and even the supposedly fancy part of Cairo (Zamalek) felt like a desolate place to live since people just seemed to stay in their mansions. I’m reluctant to blame all of this on Egypt itself because so many of its problems stem from colonialism. I’ve been to Manila a few times, so I’m familiar with what this can do to a society. It’s a real shame, especially for Egypt, because the citizens of this country seem detached from their impressive history. We left Cairo for Aswan and Luxor, where ancient history felt a little more immediate.

Tips for future travelers:

I struggled to get an e-Visa before our trip (surprise, surprise, the website was not functioning properly), so we resorted to getting our visas upon arrival. Fortunately, this was a simple process. Just go to a bank window by baggage claim and pay $25 for a visa sticker. Bring this to customs, and they’ll put the sticker on a blank page in your passport.

Ubers are not allowed at the airport, so you’re going to have to walk out to the parking lot and request one there. Be ready for no seat belts.

Stay at a hotel. I booked an Airbnb because I usually prefer apartment rentals while staying in big cities so I can feel like a local (it really worked for us in Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Berlin, and Mexico City!), but I would not recommend an Airbnb in Cairo. It was always difficult for drivers to find our apartment, and, while we did find a decent place in the center of town, it was definitely one of my least favorite Airbnbs we’ve ever stayed in.

For every tour except the food tour, we used Emo Tours, which seems to be the biggest company (and probably sponsored by the government) in Egypt. It worked pretty well. Most of our guides were entertaining and knowledgeable, and the company was good about communication, but we did notice that our one-hour felucca ride ended up being only 20 minutes, and our 30-minute camel ride ended up being only 15 minutes. Regardless, I definitely recommend having a guide at the Egyptian Museum, Giza Pyramids, and Khan El Khalili Bazaar because people will hassle you less when they see that you’re with a local, and it’s nice to have guides deal with purchasing tickets.

58373790_10218645239578718_3214753016414470144_o — Khan El Khalili Bazaar

Tip everyone.

Eat koshari, ful (mashed fava beans with pita bread), ta’ameya (falafel made of fava beans), molokhia (okra stew), and hamam mahshi (grilled pigeon).

Buy basbousa and kunafa at El Abd and Mandarine Koueider.

Manila was my least favorite part of our honeymoon, but instead of lambasting its horrendous traffic, stifling pollution, and blatant class stratification, I’ll focus on the positive aspects and hope that you do a better job than I did when planning a trip to this metropolis.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines and is situated on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. It is the most densely populated city in the world, and is one of sixteen cities that make up the region of Metro Manila. In 1571, Mexican conquistadors founded present-day Manila. The city thus became the center of Spanish trade in Asia, earning its nickname “Pearl of the Orient”. The city underwent Chinese revolts, pirate attacks, earthquakes, numerous invasion attempts, and British occupation. Most of Manila was flattened by aerial bombardment by the U.S. Air Force near the end of World War II, so very little remains of Manila’s prewar and colonial architecture, which is a shame.

For anyone interested in Filipino history, a visit to Intramuros is a must. Intramuros, or “within the walls,” is the oldest district in Manila and was walled to defend the city from foreign invasion. It is the only district of Manila where you can find old Spanish-era influences. A museum dedicated to national hero Jose Rizal is located in Intramuros, as the site is where he was actually detained during his final days. The museum showcases artifacts that prove how extraordinary Rizal was — he was a political leader, an author, an artist, a poet, and more.

13690814_10105504529440683_119250700400371476_n — The Japanese would imprison Filipinos in these dungeons, which would then flood with water from Manila Bay

13754610_10105504529665233_6533636724314662224_n — Fortunately, some prisoners escaped by swimming away under the cover of those floating plants

13692662_10105504530014533_7888557140172925369_n — Statue of Rizal in his final holding cell on the day of his execution

13769340_10105504616196823_6630443205654137532_n — You can follow Rizal’s last footsteps to his execution

Manila is extremely humid, especially in the summer, so we constantly took refuge in underground walkways, shopping malls, and museums. My favorite museum is the Ayala Museum, which is located in the district of Makati. The six-story museum houses contemporary art and archaeological exhibits, but the best part is the diorama exhibit, which narrates Philippine history through 60 beautifully handcrafted dioramas. We borrowed a pair of headphones and took a fascinating audio tour of the museum. This was easily my favorite few hours in Manila.

13770462_10105504616660893_8406294894024709262_n — These audio guides were worth every peso!

13692448_10105504617399413_8361572320451801439_n — Lapu Lapu resists the Spanish in the 16th century

13690829_10105504617633943_4286480650295573465_n — Revolutionary leader Bonifacio encourages Filipinos to tear up the papers that identified them as servants to the Spanish crown

13731459_10105504617853503_5337357013224647397_n — Rizal’s execution

It always saddens me when American tourists who visit the Philippines bypass places like Manila and Quezon City and go straight to Palawan and Boracay, reducing an entire country to snorkeling and postcard-perfect beaches. It’s similar to those who travel to Thailand just for Phuket or the Phi Phi Islands. I don’t blame them, as my preferred regions of the Philippines are also less built-up and quite touristy (e.g., Banaue and Davao). However, Manila is an interesting city that I hope will eventually gain the respect it deserves.

That’s it for the Philippines. Anyong haseyo, Seoul!

Tips for future travelers:

Avoid driving (and being driven) at all costs. You haven’t seen traffic until you’ve seen Manila traffic. Stay at a hotel within walking distance to most of your sites.
If you have time, take a day-trip to Tagaytay, just south of Manila. Per recommendation, my grandparents’ driver took us on a detour on our way to Manila so we could view Lake Taal from the city of Tagaytay. Lake Taal is a freshwater lake that fills a massive volcanic caldera formed after a series of eruptions. The lake was once part of the South China Sea, but the eruptions filled in the entrance, isolating it from the ocean. One very lucky Starbucks in Tagaytay just so happens to offer one of the best views of Lake Taal, so we ordered an ensamada and ube cheesecake and took in the scenery.
Travel with my parents. Back in 2011, they took me to Manila and we had a perfectly good time. We went to Intramuros, the Ayala Museum, and even the same shopping malls, so I’ll have to figure out what they did differently to make the experience so much more pleasant.