The Dream Destination | Egypt - Part 1
The Dream Destination | Egypt - Part 1
"Who doesn't want to come to Egypt?"
I bet no one would raise the hand up! Long and rich chronicle of almost 7000 years, i was looking forward to explore and witness the impressive history and culture of ancient Egypt. However, i had my first sigh right after getting my passport from the immigration officer. Several touts approached me and kept asking what's my plan in Cairo while i was waiting for the baggage. (Imagine how easy the touts can get in and out the airport as they want.)
"Konnichiwa my friend, where are you from?" - If you wanna start the sentence in Japanese, please continue with "are you from Japan?", not "where are you from?"!
"Oh, good country! Good people." - You don't even know where is Malaysia located.
"I am teaching history. I like history. The museum is closed now, why not you come to my father's gallery?" - First, you don't look like a teacher apparently. Second, the opening hour of museum is until 6pm. Third, you are 100% one annoying tout.
Touts are standing at every corner of streets, waiting to bait fish from all over the world. Strongly advise you to ignore those who trying to approach you. They have hundreds of different patterns of ways to start a conversation with you. Keep walking or indirectly you are giving the tout a chance to waste your time.
I was told that Egyptians concern for social ethics that is evident by the soul of "I don't steal", "I don't rob". On the other hand, the touts have their own way to get your money. Dishonesty. They will never tell you the real story. Tourism is the most important sector in Egypt's economy. Cheating tourists is the common way to have the cash flowing into their pockets from you without any dispute. (You won't see them again after the trip) Since the tourism in the country has no proper system, and you will need to take the tour package to visit some attractions (it's also difficult for the Egyptians to travel around). You can't do anything after the tour but to complain to your friends and wish the situation will be improved sooner.
There's both bad and good people everywhere in this planet. You may feel uneasy being stared, flirted, honked and etc. Honestly speaking, Egyptians are nice and friendly. They are happy to have foreigners visiting their country. Proud to be Egyptians, they surely want you to bring good memory back home and visit the country again. I was greeted "Hallo, welcome to Egypt.", "Enjoy, my friend.", "Have a nice day., etc by the passers-by in Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor and a village near white desert. Egyptians are willing to help anyone, anytime and anywhere. But after all these unrosy moments happened in Egypt, you will start to ignore until don't trust everyone (policemen included), except your travel companion and other backpackers. Also, eventually, you will know who is reliable to lean on or how to seek help from the correct local around you.
The naive smiles from the kids had somehow mystically brought me back to pH-7 (the neutral level). After seeing their sincere and funny reactions, there's hope for the country actually. The point is whether the recent revolution could afford to properly offer appropriate education to the young generation for better Egypt in the future.
Cairo, Egypt, 16/10/2011
一個歷史豐富的國度
誰都嚮往到達的埃及
心情興奮及充滿期待
抵達後竟然嘆一口氣
滿街都是旅遊拐帶佬
專門打遊客的壞主意
搞不清誰隱有一把刀
會把自己砍得滿頭血
完全迷失自我判斷力
還有幾次好人當賊看
不知道誰才是真誠懇
心酸因爲不會再信任
不偷不搶也不擒不侵
笑容背後藏著不軌心
口是心非只會向錢看
滑稽狡猾欺騙不誠實
經常被驚訝眼神強暴
日本人韓國人中國人
我是從馬來西亞來的
之後竟然跟我說日語
其實埃及人非常友善
必把你問題妥當解決
只不過那麽一小黑點
污染了整片蔚藍天空
懷念小孩的天真無瑕
純潔的笑容令人樂透
希望會有恰當的教育
好讓他們把埃及搞好
