During my trip to Egypt, a friend of mine rented a car in advance and claimed he'd get us from Alexandria to Luxor through Cairo.
We arrived, he couldn't sleep on the plane so he went to the hostel and passed out. I went outside, looked around for a few hours (even went to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina), got back, told him "Cancel your car. I bought us train tickets instead, you're not driving here."
He protested at first but within moments of wandering around was like, "Good call dude."
Ha! Definitely the right call. The driving is actually pretty good here when you get out of the city and onto open highway…at least comparatively. I still wouldn’t recommend it to travelers. I’ve just recently started driving here myself. It’s terrifying but also kind of like playing Grand Theft Auto, so that’s fun.
There is a rhythm / flow to driving anywhere you can get into, the contained chaos. You just probably have to accept more standstills and fender benders while being thankful for less accidents and the ability to find your own creative routes. I don't say that glibly, my friends trip and mine was from the United Arab Emirates where, though not as bad as Egypt, still required you to think of traffic differently than in the US.
Very true—keep your head on a swivel, no sudden movements, follow the flow…as long as you don’t mind a few dings (“Cairo kisses,” as people call them here) you’ll be fine. Sounds like you and your friend had an awesome trip!
NYC can be similar. If it’s a biz meeting I add 50% to the expected travel time. If it’s social I’ll tell my friend at what time I’m heading over, not what time I’m arriving. Because who can say?
I have a Google-Maps-route-to-Real-Time-of-Transit conversion algorithm in my head that would probably take a lot to write down but is pretty dependable.
You turned frustration into a good story! I had heard that a driver's test is not required in Egypt after a friend of mine visited her son who was working there. Amazing! I'm not quite sure how I would handle the traffic situation.
I was shocked when I went to the Egyptian DMV equivalent and they basically just handed me a license!! It explains a lot of the driving you see here…initially I thought I’d never get used to it, but after awhile it starts to feel like business as usual. Hope all is well, Vicki 😊
This story had be riveted, Sam! I felt like I was in the car with you all! Glad you got there and that the guide was still there waiting :)
😊 Thanks, Jolene! It was a wild ride!!
During my trip to Egypt, a friend of mine rented a car in advance and claimed he'd get us from Alexandria to Luxor through Cairo.
We arrived, he couldn't sleep on the plane so he went to the hostel and passed out. I went outside, looked around for a few hours (even went to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina), got back, told him "Cancel your car. I bought us train tickets instead, you're not driving here."
He protested at first but within moments of wandering around was like, "Good call dude."
Ha! Definitely the right call. The driving is actually pretty good here when you get out of the city and onto open highway…at least comparatively. I still wouldn’t recommend it to travelers. I’ve just recently started driving here myself. It’s terrifying but also kind of like playing Grand Theft Auto, so that’s fun.
There is a rhythm / flow to driving anywhere you can get into, the contained chaos. You just probably have to accept more standstills and fender benders while being thankful for less accidents and the ability to find your own creative routes. I don't say that glibly, my friends trip and mine was from the United Arab Emirates where, though not as bad as Egypt, still required you to think of traffic differently than in the US.
Very true—keep your head on a swivel, no sudden movements, follow the flow…as long as you don’t mind a few dings (“Cairo kisses,” as people call them here) you’ll be fine. Sounds like you and your friend had an awesome trip!
NYC can be similar. If it’s a biz meeting I add 50% to the expected travel time. If it’s social I’ll tell my friend at what time I’m heading over, not what time I’m arriving. Because who can say?
Very true—I lived in NYC for a couple years (and miss it dearly!). If I didn’t plan to be early, I was late. There are just too many variables.
I have a Google-Maps-route-to-Real-Time-of-Transit conversion algorithm in my head that would probably take a lot to write down but is pretty dependable.
You turned frustration into a good story! I had heard that a driver's test is not required in Egypt after a friend of mine visited her son who was working there. Amazing! I'm not quite sure how I would handle the traffic situation.
I was shocked when I went to the Egyptian DMV equivalent and they basically just handed me a license!! It explains a lot of the driving you see here…initially I thought I’d never get used to it, but after awhile it starts to feel like business as usual. Hope all is well, Vicki 😊