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I Got Conned into Riding a Camel, but the Bus was Great
There are taxis in Cairo, as well as buses and some trains, but the way most people get around is via microbus. I’m talkin’ fleets of ancient Volkswagon buses, brown from dust and dirt, running on pure willpower and falafel.
These micro-vans fly down dirt roads and main thoroughfares all over the city and into the suburbs. And they do it all with pretty much no traffic direction whatsoever. It’s insane. Cars fly by one another going fifty in opposite directions, pedestrians play flogger every time they want to cross the road and more often that not, theses vans have no mirrors (and sometimes no doors).
My driver hardly seemed to notice when other busses would come flying out of nowhere close enough to knock the cigarette out of his hand, but would curse until he was out of breath because another van pulled in front of him.
Wild.
But they got me from my hostel downtown to the pyramids In Giza. In one piece too (crosses chest and head*). But during my ride, I met a very nice man who assured me he could get me a good price to take a tour of the pyramids. I’ve been the victim of my fair share of scams, and also learned to avoid them. But this guy was so nice, I fell for it.
I ended up departing from my microbus earlier than I had planned and walking with this guy down some back alleys where I was promptly placed on a camel and shaken down for all I had.
I did see the pyramids, and I did ride the camel. I just didn’t eat after. Here’s proof.
