Day 199 Egypt 5/4/2011, Cairo. An expensive letter, more tea and shishas and some sight seeing.

The hostel managed to outdo themselves with breakfast this morning. Today the rolls had been microwaved to such a degree that they could be used as weapons! Giving up we went back to the room, fed ourselves up on bananas and set off for the British embassy to get our letters of invitation for Sudan.

Obtaining the letters took about an hour and cost £30 each! There is a possibility that we could have got away with one letter between us, but we didn't want to risk having to come back. There are no names on the letter and we can see no reason why they couldn't have issued them two days ago when we only had a photocopy of our passports. The letter basically states that the British passport should be good enough for us to travel anywhere and that the UK government does not issue letters of invitation. If it wasn't for the comedy value you would probably cry at the expense, still you can't get a Sudanese visa without one!

From the embassy we walked back to Tahrir square and caught the metro two stops to Ataba. From there we walked back to Khan El Khalili bazaar to have a better look round.

Khan El Khalili Bazaar is filled with tourist trap stalls, all selling almost entirely the same things. It didn't take us very long to tire of wandering through the narrow streets and we soon found ourselves once again having a tea and shisha at Fishawi's coffee shop. We would have tried one of the other coffee shops, but it appeared that we had to haggle for the price of tea in them. At one shop the guy showed us a menu that said 15LE (£1.60), which we laughed at and began walking away, only to hear the price drop to 10LE and then 5LE as we left. The attempts to part tourists with stupid amounts of money for what should be cheap goods and services is crazy. We can understand that they are getting desperate with the lack of tourists, but if they had been sensible before, perhaps their livelihoods would be more sustainable.

Leaving the tourist bazaar behind we had a walk along one of the outer streets and found ourselves entering a more genuine bazaar area. Here Egyptians buy and sell clothes, household goods, fabrics and all manner of useful items.

Once again the press of people was staggering and by the time we made it to the end of the street it was nice to be able to get some free space.

Any chance of remaining there ended when what seemed to be a serious fire broke out in one of the buildings. Smoke billowed through the narrow streets and people ran shouting from all directions. Fire engines soon arrived with people running in front leading the way to the fire. We took it as a sign to retreat back to our hostel. We are sure that Cairo has many sights to offer, but we have both lacked a certain amount of enthusiasm for sightseeing. We have visited the pyramids and the museum on a previous trip so the purpose of our visit this time has always been about getting visas.

Our time in Cairo has certainly been eventful, but we will be glad to get back to Dahab. Hopefully the day bus will prove to be a better way of travelling than its night time counterpart.

Day 198 Egypt 4/4/2011, Cairo. A stroll, collecting our passports, tea, shishas, koshary and a few beers.

This morning was spent killing time until we could pick our passports up from the Ethiopian embassy. Leaving the hostel via Champollion street we wandered down to Tahrir square and people watched for a while.

We then wandered along Mohamed Mahmoud street until we reached Abdeen palace, occasional home of ex-president Moubarak. We are not sure if the museum is currently open, as the whole area seemed to be cordoned off to traffic and there were several armoured personnel carriers roaming the streets. Things have clearly still not returned to normal on the streets of Cairo.

By the time we had wandered back to a metro station, it was time to go and pick up our passports. Knowing where we were going, we arrived outside the embassy just before 2pm. At almost 2pm exactly, the hatch in the gates was opened, we were beckoned over and handed our passports. We have been issued with 90 day tourist visas, which start from the day of issue. The 90 day visa is only $10 dearer than the 30 day one and actually allows us time to get to Ethiopia before it expires. Dealing with the Ethiopian embassy, despite the comical application process, has been a pleasure.

Taking the metro back to Tahrir square, we decided to walk back to the hostel. Walking along Talaat harb street we had another reminder of the unrest that seems to remain in the city, when what appeared to be a violent altercation broke out on a side street. Passers by and police rushed towards the sounds of shouting and screaming and we were quickly ushered past the disturbance and away from any potential harm. It is a strange atmosphere in the city, the mass demonstration has ended and now people seem to be just waiting to see what happens. As if they got what they wanted, but now have no real idea where to go from there. The situation probably feels stranger as there are almost no tourists, in a city that is normally filled with them.

Arriving back at 26th July Street we returned to the hostel and then went to buy our bus tickets for the return journey to Dahab. Mohamed at the hostel wrote down the name of the bus station we had arrived at in Arabic and then suggested that we should try the main bus station instead.

The main bus station, Cairo Gateway, was within walking distance which looked like a much better option than an unnecessary two way taxi ride, especially bearing in mind our feelings about taxis! The bus station may have been close, but crossing the main road to it was slightly nerve racking. We can't think of another country that we have visited where the car drivers will actually swerve towards you and look like they are quite willing to run over anyone who crosses a fraction too slowly. The safest way to cross appears to be to use a local as a barrier between you and the oncoming traffic, failing that, Debs uses me!

Getting to the bus station, we found the right ticket kiosk and purchased our return tickets. It was a good job we came to the main station first as the bus leaves from there and a trip out to where we were dropped off would have been a wasted journey. We will be taking the day bus this time and we have seats 1 and 2 so nobody will be reclining their seats onto our legs. Hopefully we will arrive back in a better state than we got to Cairo!

Back near the hostel we bought some more fruit from the market and then had tea and a shisha in an old looking coffee shop. They clearly didn't get many tourists, as we had to have a bit of an extended photo session with one of the staff.

While in the shop we were approached by a female beggar, who when I refused to give her money went through an elaborate series of gestures to me. Not since India have I been so blatantly singled out for being a westerner. She made no such gesture to any other occupant of the coffee shop, despite them all refusing to give her money. Obviously as I have no idea what the gestures meant and have no belief in being cursed, it all rather fell flat. Nonetheless it didn't make for what should have been a pleasant relaxing experience.

For dinner we walked back down Champollion street and had Koshary in the well known Abu Tarek restaurant. There is no need for a menu as all they sell is Koshary, in fact all you really need to decide is whether to take away or eat in. For a cheap food food I think it is great, but Debs is really on the fence. She is looking forward to getting back to Dahab and its myriad of restaurants catering more to her tastes!

After a busy day, we bought a few beers few beers from an off licence and then returned to the hostel for the night.

Day 197 Egypt 3/4/2011, Cairo. Embassies, the metro and a typically useless taxi driver.

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 25^th 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!

Day 196 Egypt 02/04/2011, Cairo. Buses, taxis and a very busy city.

To say that the night bus from Dahab was a less than restful experience would be something of an understatement. In fact the best thing you could say about it was that at least it left on time. I cannot remember ever being on a bus with less leg room, compounded by the fact that everyone who boarded immediately reclined their seats trapping the person's legs behind them. It was a case of one recline all recline. Fortunately after a stop in Sharm el Sheikh we managed to move and get a double seat each.

Any ideas of dropping off to sleep were quickly shattered by multiple police checks, the driver shouting at passengers for smoking, the lights being constantly turned on and off, a loud movie blaring at 1am that no one was watching (probably because they were trying to sleep) and our tickets being inspected for the third time, even though no one had got on! The final straw was having to get off at the Suez canal tunnel, remove our luggage for a no more than cursory inspection, watched on by armed guards, and then reload the bus before setting off.

By the time we arrived in Cairo the last thing we wanted to do was haggle with the taxi driver about the fare to the hostel. Perhaps he saw the look on our faces and decided to not push it, as we soon came to an agreeable sum without too much fuss.

Arriving in the vicinity of Hola hostel we spent far too much time wandering round the block looking for the entrance. Eventually logic prevailed and we phoned them up and someone came down and met us. Despite the fact that it was only 8am, we felt like we had had a full day already. It was a relief that we were allowed to check in early and get some sleep.

Waking shortly before lunch we decided we should make the effort to do something with our time. On reflection the long walk to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar, through Cairo's crazy traffic and people thronged streets was probably a step too far.

Central Cairo succeeded in making all of the other cities we have been in so far look quiet. Progress along the streets can only be made through a series of manoeuvres around street stalls, barrow pushing traders, constantly stopping shoppers and the occasional detour into the traffic to avoid a pavement blocking vehicle. When we stopped for our first try of Koshari (a carb laden dish of rice, pasta, chick peas, lentils and tangy tomato sauce) finding somewhere peaceful to eat it was nearly impossible. A traffic island under a flyover provided a small sheltered area of calm, provided you blocked out the constant engine noise and car horns of course!

While checking our map to make sure we were going the right way, Cairo's streets are quite confusing, we were assisted by a lovely Egyptian couple. They told us that they were heading towards the Bazaar and said that they would take us if we liked. The couple were great company and we ended up joining them for mint tea and shishas at Fishawi's coffee house, which claims to have been open continuously since 1773 (Ramadan excepted). Sitting on the street drinking tea and having a shisha, whilst street hawkers constantly try to tempt you with ornate cigarette lighters, colourful scarves, tissues, silver jewellery and disturbing realistic crying dolls, is a must do experience. It was so enjoyable and the company so good that we managed to while away a couple of hours.

Eventually leaving the coffee house, our new found friends pointed us in the direction of Cairo's last tarboosh (fez) maker and then said goodbye. Heading towards the Fez maker we were accosted by an Egyptian guy who had previously worked as a bouncer in Newcastle. He showed us where the fez maker plied his trade and then rather predictably led us to his families handicraft stall. The family make beautiful, mother of pearl inlaid, boxes and backgammon sets. With some very hard haggling we eventually bought a very small box. It is our first real souvenir of the trip and bearing in mind the space we have and the weight we are already carrying very probably our last.

The prospect of a walk back to the hostel didn't seem very appealing so we took the sensible option of a taxi, which once again required some haggling. Via a trip to the nearby fruit and veg market we made our way back to the hostel where we pretty much collapsed for the rest of the day. We managed to drag ourselves out to buy some falafel and chips, but any idea of experiencing Cairo's night life will have to wait. We contented ourselves with the constant cheers from the crowds of people watching Egyptian football matches on the restaurant and café bars below.

Tomorrow we head to the Ethiopian embassy.