Home » Egypt » Cycle to the Summit Part 8 - Cairo

Cairo is big, noisy and dirty but we leave it with many fond memories; the city where we met Owy, the forth member of our team, the fun times that we spent at the Dahab Hotel and the great people that we met there, the pyramids, the sights and smells of the Khan al-Khalili market, visits to the Sudanese consulate, the honking of horns, the vibrant market stalls beneath the flyovers and much much more.

Cycle to the Summit Part 8 - Cairo

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 19:06:04

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source: http://www.cycletothesummit.org.uk

Meeting Owy

With the help of Frank and Toby's dad, Lawrie, everything was in place for Owy to join us in Cairo. It is both exciting and a bit nervous to meet someone who you don't already know and with whom you are going to be spending the next seven months, but we left our hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning keen to be on time to meet our new team mate. At the bus station the night manager was keen to buy Owy's duty free alcohol allowance to resell on the black market and to encourage us to cooperate exempted us from the 25 piastre bus fare (about 4 pence). The bus trip took our minds off the reason for our journey, as we sailed through red lights and collided with a yellow Seat Ibiza. The driver must have known that we were anxious to be on time to meet Owy since he didn't even stop, despite the dent that his bus had made to the Seat's drivers side wing. After a trip to the wrong terminal, we sped into Terminal 2 (and paid 2 LE (30p) for the privilege of waiting in the dull arrivals hall) to find that the flight was delayed. However, when he arrived, we had no trouble in identifying Owy given that he was the only passenger laden with a bike. After some price negotiations we hopped into a taxi, headed back to Dahab Hotel and flopped into bed at 4.45am.

The visa 'process'

On consideration, perhaps 'process' is not the most appropriate word to describe how to obtain a Sudanese visa. We met numerous travellers, and heard many tales recalling the lengths that people have to go to in order to enter Sudan. The intricacies of the process make it difficult for someone unfamiliar with the system to understand exactly what is going on and even familiarity does not necessarily guarantee that your application will be swift. The consulate is closed on Fridays and Saturdays, you have to pay for the visas ...