First Class

To get away from the dreadful heat of Cairo, we booked a couple of nights away in Alexandria, which was described to me as quieter, cleaner, and cooler than Cairo and a very pleasant place to spend a couple of days.

The train journey was very pleasant. LE50 (just over £5) gets you a first class ticket in the wide-seated air-conditioned cabin for the three-hour journey. Once out of the station, it was immediately apparent that it was not cooler than Cairo, and in actual fact, with the humidity factored in, felt quite a bit hotter. The sound of beeping horns meant the quieter bit was also a slight exaggeration, but it was definitely cleaner than Cairo, not that that's particularly difficult.

Next, into a taxi with no meter, predictably followed by the driver attempting to get LE50 for a LE5 journey. I hate it when taxi drivers do this. It's nothing more than dishonest thievery, albeit understandable dishonest thievery. I know enough Arabic now to nip situations like this in the bud, but that it has to be done every time you enter a vehicle is an utter pain in the arse.

An evening stroll along the corniche towards the Greek Club was very pleasant even if Larissa's shins were getting a bit too much attention. Ramadan meant it was pretty dead early evening, and so we sat in a cafe with a sheesha pipe and a coke before hitting the cinema for a masterclass in customer service incompetence.