A free hostel breakfast is often a somewhat disappointing affair and the one at Hola Hostel was no exception. Three stale rolls that have been microwaved back to freshness and beyond, served with a selection of jam and cheese sachets was rather sad. Especially when there is a bakery filled with fresh bread downstairs. That said, the tea and coffee was very welcome and the hostel itself is very nice.
Armed with the address of the Ethiopian embassy in Arabic, we left the hostel and went to hail a taxi. Stopping one of the metered white cabs, the first driver didn't know the address or didn't want to take us. The second driver seemed a lot more promising, plus he put the meter on. As we neared the right area the meter was reading 5LE (about 60p) which shows how much you are ripped off by the un-metered cabs. Being a tourist you are unlikely to find a cab to take you anywhere for less than 20LE.
Arriving at the road we had written down, it became apparent that the driver had no idea where he was going. We stopped to ask countless people, drove round the block, got stuck in traffic several times and he even stopped in the middle of a road to run off and use the toilet, all the while the meter was still running. Eventually, and slightly to the taxi driver's defence, we found out that the embassy had moved! The address given in the Lonely Planet and on the official Cairo embassies site is wrong, great!
Pressing on via more traffic and a few wrong turns we arrived outside the embassy, the driver had done his best and we were quite prepared to give him a tip for his trouble. However, he decided to take matters into his own hands by rapidly flicking the meter off, thinking I hadn't seen that it read 21LE, and then demanding 50LE (£5ish). Needless to say despite his protests he found himself disappointed when he got the exact fare and nothing more, except a slightly smug smile from me for getting one over on another thieving taxi driver! For anyone wanting to know, the correct address is: 21 Mohammed El Ghazali St, Off Mossadak St, Dokki, Cairo.
The application process at the Ethiopian embassy is hilarious. For a start you don't go into a building, everything is done through a hatch cut into the wooden gates. You fill in the forms sitting on a wooden bench outside and then hand everything back to the cheerful man behind the gates. If it wasn't for the dilapidated guards huts painted in the colours of the Ethiopian flag, you would think you were standing outside someone’s house. Forms, photos and fee handed over, we were told to come back tomorrow at 2pm.
Walking away from the embassy we stopped for a coffee at a local Costa branch. Treating ourselves to a large Latte each, we couldn't help but smile when two cups arrived that were so big they had a handle either side. While drinking our small reservoir of coffee, we found out that there was a metro station nearby (El Behoos), so it looked like we didn't have to take a taxi back.
Despite the limited lines the Cairo metro system is very good. A ticket to any station costs 1LE (10p) and the trains and stations are pretty clean and efficient. We soon found ourselves at Tahrir Square, scene of the January protests. Looking at the square which is really no more than a big roundabout, it is very difficult to visualise it as it looked on the TV during the demonstrations. The only reminder is some January 25th t-shirt sellers and a slightly increased army/police presence, although for all we know this could be usual.
The atmosphere in Cairo is interesting though, there is certainly a lot of optimism and pride that something momentous has been achieved, but there is also an undercurrent of tension. We encountered several areas where minor demonstrations were going on and there is a lot of placard waving and gathering of crowds; the police presence was quite high in these places. It by no means feels unsafe and generally people are walking round with smiling faces, but we feel the situation is going to take a while before it returns to a level of normality.
If the Ethiopian embassy had a somewhat laid back, slapdash look, then the area surrounding the American and British embassies was the complete opposite. Armed soldiers manned barriers and armoured personnel carriers were parked across the roads. Feeling like we shouldn't be there, we walked to the British embassy to try and get a letter of introduction, which is a requirement for the Sudanese visa. Obviously our passports were with the Ethiopian embassy, but we thought it worth a try as we had photocopies and it was only a generic letter. The man on the gate seemed to think that a photocopy would be fine and after a short security check we were inside and waiting to be seen. Ten minutes later, we were back outside having been told that we definitely needed our passports. With our passports not being ready to collect until tomorrow afternoon and the British embassy closing at 1pm, it looked like we would have to be in Cairo for at least another two days. Had we have planned a little better, we could have got the letter first and then gone to the Ethiopian embassy. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
From the regimented approach of the British embassy, we stopped at the crowded and more informal Sudanese embassy to get the visa application forms. We plan to apply for these in Aswan as they are valid for 30 days from the date of issue which would limit our time to get to the border, plus at $100 dollars each we would like to get some value for money!
Walking back to Tahrir square we decided to take the metro one stop to Nasser which is near our hostel. We hadn't allowed for the vast amount of people who would also be trying to board the train at this point. When the already brimming train pulled up it looked like we would be waiting for the next one, especially as the doors didn't open properly. The local Cairenes had other ideas though and with a great surge from behind and some pulling from inside, we found ourselves jammed in the train and being greeted with a “welcome to Cairo”. One stop later and we were deposited on the platform, glad to be free of the crush, but smiling at the experience.
As an interesting side note, while on the train we noticed that the station name Moubarak has been scrubbed off all of the maps. The population are doing their hardest to erase any mention of their long standing ex-president.
Rather surprisingly we exited the metro station into heavy rain and had to quickly take shelter under an underpass. As if to emphasise the level of pollution in the city, the rain falling from the sky was filthy. Splatters of dirt appeared on our clothing as we tried to shelter. Fortunately it wasn't far to the Hostel and as the rain lessened we headed back.
Later that evening with the rain still falling we went out for dinner at a branch of GAD, a chain of cheap kebab/BBQ restaurants, and had a pretty average meal.
It has been an eventful day, made more eventful by a flood of water coming in through our rooms window, who knows what tomorrow will bring...hopefully an Ethiopian visa!
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