Egypt...

It seems like ages since my last entry..... I didn’t have any mood to update my blog recently. I have been travelling a lot.....The 25/01/09 marked a new facet of my travelling life.

It started off in Tehran on Sunday 25/01/09. Then on the morning of the 27^th I took an early Mahan Air flight to Dubai. But that’s not the end of my trip that week. After a lunch together with my wife and son (my daughters were in school), I rushed back to the airport to catch the afternoon flight to Cairo. I had a meeting to attend there and also to get more familiar with the people in there. From the airport to the hotel, I got to ride in a Mercedes Benz E200 Kompressor.....wow!!! ....helluva car.....I told the driver that it’s the first time for me riding in a luxury car.....

Arriving at the hotel, I was greeted by Mohammed the Bell Captain.... He recognized me from my previous visit.... He’s a big man (an average Egyptian is just about the same size of a typical Malaysian)

There you go......one week, two countries (make that three if we count UAE) and two continents. The first time for me...and I know it wouldn’t be the last. And not to forget the Kompressor ride.....hehehe

This week, I will be in Cairo again.....there are still a lot of works to do.

I arrived at Cairo Airport around 545pm and took the airport taxi to the hotel....which cost me USD20 + tips. I didn’t have dinner as I was still full.... the Emirates in-flight meals were quite nice....I ate every bit of them.

I don’t know why but almost every Egyptian that I came across would think that I am an Egyptian.... They would speak Arabic (Egyptian accent) with me..... then I would make a “puzzling” face and said “I am sorry, I don’t speak Arabic”.... They would say....”I thought you are an Egyptian....you look like an Egyptian”. What???? A “kampong” boy from the rural village in Rembau looks like an Arab? (My colleagues told me, it could be the hair....I thought that it could be the complexion and the nose.....) Hmm...I think I should learn to speak Arabic in the near future....

One good thing about staying at the 4-Star Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel in Heliopolis is that it’s really a 4-Star hotel.... with cable TV (I can finally watch Man Utd in action), wireless internet in the room and a really big shopping mall next door. The shopping mall has a lot of shops and I think at least 2 food courts. It also has a Spinneys store where I can buy some cookies, croissants and juice for dinner and breakfast ... (the breakfast buffet – not included in the room rate – costs me about EgP120.00)....Talking about daylight (or early morning) robbery.

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The usual lunch will be take-outs.....KFC or Pizza Hut or Mo’meen Sandwiches (Mo'meen is a sandwiches expert in Egypt...but couldn't find anything about it in the web). Since I’m already used to eating fried chicken and pizza, the sandwiches are so far my favourite...... Tea will be served almost 2-3 times a day.....

My visits to Cairo this month will end on the 18^th February..... I’m planning to return back to Tehran during the final week of February.....