Day 212 & 213 Egypt to Sudan 18/4/2011 - 19/4/2011, Aswan – Wadi Halfa. 10.75miles/17.71km, 1hr 6minutes, Av 9.7mph.

Leaving in good time, we rode the 17km to the ferry port and arrived just before 9am. With the gates supposed to open at that time, the crowds had already started to form. A seemingly helpful man told us, along with some other westerners, to go and wait on the right hand side where it was quieter. In typical fashion while we waited, they opened the barriers on the left and we spent the next 15 minutes arguing with some security guards about whether we could go. Eventually after the guards started making some money gestures, we pushed past on mass and went to join the queues. The process leading up to boarding is not geared up for people with bicycles. Everyone pushes in from all directions and the gates are quite narrow.

The earlier pushing was nothing compared to what we encountered when we got to the luggage scanner. People were shoving and shouting, huge boxes were passed overhead, the slightest gap was enough for someone to try and squeeze into and it was all we could do to hang onto the bikes. Fortunately for us they decided that we didn't have to take all the luggage off and we could just go through the very narrow looking person scanner. We just fitted and were extremely glad to be out of the crush.

Having cleared the scanner, it was onward to the scales. We didn't find out what the bikes weighed, as we were ushered to one side and a ticket for 50LE (£5ish) for each bike was made out. From then on apart from the ridiculous shoving, the process was made easier when a guy appointed himself as our helper. We didn't ask for one, but any help seemed stupid to turn down.

Following our helper, we were ushered round the queues at immigration and through a back way. Once through, aside from paying 2LE each (not sure what for) and having to fill in a departure card, everything was pretty straight forward.

From immigration we walked down towards the ferry, having our tickets checked on route. We had obviously got through quite quickly as the ferry wasn't yet moored to the side of the barge that we would be boarding across. A comedic moment passed when the ferry came along side the barge and tried to line its doors up with the walkway. Everybody waiting suddenly became back seat captains, shouting instructions up at the ship. The boat would gently float past as everyone shouted stop and then a member of the crew would peer over the top to check the alignment. This happened several times with the boat continually sliding past, much to the annoyance and increased animation of the watchers.

Eventually the boat moored in the correct position and the doors opened.

The scrum began immediately, people barged past, men with boxes shouted at each other and we struggled to push our bikes towards the doors. We had been told to put our bikes at the back of the ferry, which involved passing through two rooms, their floors already strewn with bags and boxes. To add a bit of difficulty, all the doorways had raised steps so we had to manhandle the bikes through them. All the while other passengers with improbably large loads were trying to push past. Our helper got us safely through to the back of the ship, shouting at anyone who got too pushy.

The back of the ferry was strangely empty and we soon had the bikes unloaded. We had planned to leave most of the luggage attached, but our helper didn't think it was safe. While I locked the bikes, he helped Debs with the bags and got us settled under one of the life-rafts, which would hopefully offer us plenty of shade from the blazing sun. We gave our helper a decent tip and thanked him for his trouble. I am not always keen on paying people to do something we could do ourselves, but he had gone out of his way to make sure we got on board safely.

Joining the other westerners under the life raft, we sat down and watched the amazing spectacle that is loading the ferry. From flat screen televisions to refrigerators, karaoke machines and stereos, all were slowly brought on board. When the ferry was full there was still the barge to load. Fights broke out, people shouted and shoved and at one point security arrived and stopped anyone boarding. As if it wasn't exciting enough, while the guys we had met in the ferry office were waiting to load their vehicles, a whirlwind whipped up and threw bits of thin sheet metal into the air. The guys quickly dived behind their vehicles as the metal sheets bashed into the cars. As quickly as it had started it was gone, fortunately no one was injured.

Having survived the whirlwind, the guys still had to load the vehicles on the barge, which looked pretty precarious. They did say later that the barge was nothing compared to the wind.

Despite the fact that we had spread out under the raft, defending our space became nigh on impossible when what seemed like more and more people tried to cram underneath. Seeing as they were all men and had obviously never seen a westerner by the way they were staring, didn't make Debs feel very comfortable. It had been my idea to stay on deck rather than pay for a cabin, a decision that with hindsight was a mistake.

Eventually after we had been on board for nearly 7 hours the ferry set sail. In approximately 16 hours we would be in Sudan.

Shortly after the boat began to move we were told that we had to go to immigration and get our passports stamped, which involved another shoving competition. Having had our visas stamped we then went to cash in our free meal ticket. The meal was not bad if you ignored the fact that the server was smoking a cigarette, picked all the food up with his hands and placed it on an almost clean tray. We survived, so the chicken, rice, vegetables, bread and orange was obviously safe to eat.

Back at the life raft we were pleased to see that the other westerners, who we had asked to keep our spot and mind our gear had taken to their job so diligently. We spent the next hour slowly taking our spot back from the encroaching locals! Clearly by the way that more locals moved in clutching blankets they were obviously of the opinion that they would be sleeping there. Despite the fact that we had been there since 10:30am.

Our salvation came during the call to prayer. While the locals got up to pray we moved their stuff and spread our kip mats and sleeping bags out. They made a few attempts on their return to squeeze into non existent gaps around us, but eventually gave up, with most of them going elsewhere. It wasn't the most restful night but we did at least get some sleep.

With morning came more people squeezing under the raft and we got a bit fed up with the constant staring and moving of our stuff. As we had been sitting on the wrong side of the boat we missed the Abu Simbel temple in the morning, but were told by people sitting the other side that it was so far away as to be very indistinct.

When people started to move their gear around I took the luggage back down to the bikes and reloaded them ready for our arrival. Getting them out through the piles of luggage was going to be a challenge. When we finally arrived, everybody was held on board until they had been immigration again. This time we had to fill in a form and were given our Sudanese travel permit. With the return of our passports we were told we could leave the ship as the doors were now open. Fearing the worse, we were surprised to find that we could get the bikes out fairly easily. The only difficult bit being getting up the steps from the ferry to the jetty. The porters had no choice but to help as until we moved no one was going anywhere.

The journey from the ferry to customs along a sand road was a little tricky, but despite having to take all our bags off for inspection we were soon heading for Wadi Halfa.

We had our first experience of the friendliness of the Sudanese people metres from the port, when a group of kids rushed over to say hello and pose for a photo.

With a good feeling about the country we headed onwards to the town to try and find a hotel. The idea of moving on today didn't appeal much.

When we got to hotel Kilopatra (they possibly meant Cleopatra) it looked like our luck was out as they were fully booked, as it turned out, by the overlanders who we had met before.

With the help of a Sudanese guy I had met on the ferry, who was also staying there, they eventually gave us a basic room on the ground floor that we could push our bikes straight into. It was a pretty rubbish room with terrible saggy beds, but at least we could get some rest so we would be fresh for tomorrow.

Also staying at the hotel and catching the ferry to Egypt tomorrow, were a lovely couple who had been living in Khartoum for the last three years. They were fascinating company as the man had been working for the British embassy, while his wife was a nurse. We joined them for a cup of tea, with milk, and a hobnob biscuit, while they told us and another British couple who are travelling in a Toyota Landcruiser about their time in Sudan.

In an exchange of goods we gave them our Egypt map and we were given, rather more generously, their Sudan guidebook. If they happen to read this, we can't thank them enough and wish them well on their journey home.

A wander into town later on found us some dinner and then it was back to the hotel for an early night. At least it would have been if the hotel hadn't decided to move 20 Libyan refugees into the downstairs rooms with us. Once again the guy who had helped earlier came to our rescue and helped sort out a room upstairs and then helped carry all our gear to the room. The upstairs room was definitely nicer, but also hotter. Fortunately we were so tired we fell asleep, ready to set off at first light tomorrow.

Day 211 Egypt 17/4/2011, Aswan. Bike maintenance, supplies shopping, a dip in the pool and a lot of packing.

Hooray our last full day in Egypt! We are sorry to anyone who likes the country, but it has to be our least favourite place in the world. We have met some nice people, but they have been so overwhelmingly outweighed by the hassling, money grabbing, thieving, lying rest of the population, that we will never return. For anyone planning a visit I would say book a five star hotel complete with tours, see the sites from the comfort of an air-con bus and never leave your hotel unless there is a fire and you have to! Better still, stay at the Luxor hotel in Vegas and visit the British Museum, all the best stuff is there anyway! Rant over, back to our day.

I finally got round to changing Debs' tyres for the wider Marathon extremes. Hopefully they won't slow her down too much, at least they won't sink so badly when we encounter sand.

With the tyres changed, I went to go and buy some petrol for our stove. I hope I have bought petrol, it was all a bit confusing. Every other country we have been to has had fairly well marked pumps. Egypt it seems is different. I wanted unleaded petrol but making the attendant understand was a bit of a struggle. I really must look up the word for unleaded in Arabic!

Mission completed, I went back to the hotel to get Debs so we could go supplies shopping.

Once again it was bit of a effort to find a stall that didn't quote ridiculous prices, but eventually we managed. Having a much better idea of what everything should cost certainly helps.

Back at the hotel I was greeted by a flat tyre on Debs' bike. It was better that we spotted it now than in the morning, but it was still pretty annoying. This time after fixing the puncture, I took her bike out for a ride to make sure it was ok. This served the useful purpose of checking our route out of Aswan for tomorrow morning. To prove that there are still some nice people around, I was invited in for tea by a shop keeper who had worked as a fisherman in Grimsby. He told me that it was his dream to return, which seemed like a strange thing to say about Grimsby!

In a cheerful mood, I cycled back to the hotel and went to meet Debs on the roof for a quick dip in the pool. It was lovely to escape the heat for a while, but our bags aren't going to pack themselves, so for me at least it was only a quick dip.

While I was happily spreading my gear all round the room, Debs was getting stuck in the lift! It was a slightly traumatised Debs that eventually made it back to the room. Fortunately despite no one coming to help when the alarm button was pressed, she eventually managed to get it to go down to the ground floor and then wisely walked back up. We hope it is working later as I don't fancy carrying all our gear downstairs tomorrow morning. I suspect Debs will be taking the stairs though.

It may be some time before we get to blog again so take care all. The next entries will be from Sudan.

Day 210 Egypt 16/4/2011, Aswan. To the ferry office and a felucca ride.

True to his word, Mohamed Aboda came to our hotel at 10:30am and we headed down to the 'Nile River Valley Transport' office. Along the way, Mohamed explained that despite the fact that it is a government ferry, the people at the office run the bookings like some kind of Mafia agency.

When we got to the office Mr Saleh was once again nowhere to be found. An argument then ensued between Mohamed and the staff. He explained afterwards that there was no reason why they couldn't have issued the tickets, but Mr Saleh had told them that only he was to issue tickets to westerners. This would have been fine if he hadn't been on holiday all week. It seemed that, along with Mohamed, we weren't the only people slightly disgruntled by the fact that Mr Saleh had gone on holiday leaving no one else in charge. Apparently at least one of the office staff can write and speak English, so there is really no excuse for the ludicrous way the office is being run. This still doesn't excuse the staff for lying and being exceptionally rude during our previous visits.

Eventually Mr Saleh arrived, quickly followed by Kurt and his friends who we had met previously. With a brief shake of our hands Mr Saleh took us through to the office and quickly issued the tickets. Nothing special happened, there were no top secret documents to sign, so the only reason there could be for only him issuing the tickets was in Mohamed's words so he could play commandant!

Tickets in hand, we said hi to Kurt and his friends and said that we would try and save them some space on the deck when we get there on Monday. We will be earlier than them as the ferry, from all the information we can gather, is a bit of a free for all. They meanwhile, have paperwork to do in the morning to allow transportation of their vehicles. Seeing as we are not having a cabin, we will be sleeping on the deck, so securing a bit of hopefully shady space is going to be a priority.

Thanking Mohamed for his help, we arranged a sunset felucca ride with him for later that day and then headed back towards the hotel. Now that we know we are leaving, the hassle from boat owners, taxi drivers, beggars and over zealous stall holders just washed over us. We even managed to find a stall to buy snacks from at a reasonable price without too much haggling.

After a rest and some blogging, it was time to head over to the Movenpick hotel to meet Mohamed for a felucca ride. When we got to the jetty, he asked us to pass his details on to anyone who may require assistance with the ferry. Predominantly he works with overlanders who need help sorting their vehicle paperwork out, but is clearly a useful person to know if you are having trouble with the ferry office. For anyone interested his details are: Mr Mohamed Aboda +20(0)125111968. He works from the jetty just outside the Movenpick hotel, which you can get to by taking the free hotel ferry.

The felucca ride was a relaxing way to spend an hour and a half. We saw lots of herons, egrets, gulls and kingfishers as we gently cruised along the Nile. The sunset turned out to be a bit of a non event, as there had been a sandstorm nearby which had made the sky hazy. Nevertheless it was a nice trip, plus it served the purpose of letting me know that I definitely wouldn't want to be on one for longer. I am glad that we didn't take a 3/4 day trip down the Nile, I would have been bored beyond belief! Complaining about a mode of transport taking a long time to get anywhere, seems a bit harsh coming from a cyclist, but at least I can get off my bike. Sailing boats are definitely not for me!

In a celebratory mood, I made a beer run after dinner to the Egypt free shop. The only place you can officially buy beer in Aswan. Tomorrow will be a day of packing and sorting, so cheers for now.

Day 209 Egypt 15/4/2011, Aswan – High Dam – Aswan. Directionally challenged in Aswan and the cheapest restaurant in town.

Deciding that Debs didn't really need to accompany me on the ferry port finding mission, I set off with the google map directions fixed to my bike. It must have taken me all of 5 minutes to realise that with no signposts and limited road names, that the directions were going to be of no use. After about 7km I ended up back at the hotel having had a nice tour of Aswan, some of which I would happily not see again. Especially the part where I was pursued by children demanding money!

Remembering from the map that the route seemed to run along the train lines, I headed to the station and then followed the lines south. The time I had spent directionally challenged, (being a man I am obviously never lost!) meant that my early start to avoid the heat of the day had gone slightly awry. What I really didn't need when I found myself on the correct road was to get a puncture. It was only fortunate that I had a puncture repair kit with me as I had neglected to take a spare inner tube. The puncture turned out to be another one of the old patches failing; I will have to keep an eye on them as it could be that they aren't coping with the tyre pressure and the high ambient temperature.

Having fixed the puncture I set off once again towards the port. When the road forked, a passer by flagged down a bus to ask directions for me and I was soon pointed the right way.

The route to the port was pretty desolate, but largely flat. Riding through the desert has given some indication of how tough it is going to be through Sudan. I needed to sip my water constantly just to keep some moisture in my mouth.

Eventually after about 16km I arrived in the small settlement of High Dam and was pointed once again in the direction of the port. Riding through the town would have been easier if I wasn't swamped by over exuberant children all keen to involve me in a game of chicken or to just hang from the back of my bike. With a quick check that my pannier was still attached, I sped up and headed to the port.

Even when I reached the port there was no sign advertising it as such. The security guard who I went to check with, looked slightly amused when I enquired as to whether the Sudan ferry left from there. He was probably more puzzled because the boat wasn't leaving today, I tried to explain that I had just come to check where the port was, but he didn't really understand.

Already filled with joy at the prospect of riding back through the High Dam terrors, I was slightly on my guard when two slightly older children rode alongside. They seemed quite friendly, asking my name etc before getting round to the 'can I have a pen?'. Not to be put off by me not having a pen to give them, even if I had wanted to, which I didn't. We then moved onto 'can I have your cycle computer?, phone?, compass? and finally bicycle pump?! Having said no to all these requests, I thought it prudent to also say no to the request to ride my bike. Eventually I sped up and soon left them behind, all I had to do now was get through the other group of kids in the main street.

If they were excitable before, it was nothing compared to when I rode back through the town. This time a few of them swung leather belts at me and the rest grabbed on hard to the bike as I passed. Still managing to keep moving, they eventually gave up when one of the local men started shouting at them. Aside from the belt swingers, none of them were particularly aggressive, but it was a shame as I was going to stop in the village for a drink!

The return journey went without more punctures or any further incidents. At least I now know largely where we are going, although I will have to try and find a better route out of Aswan.

Back at the hotel Debs had had a restful time and I was glad of a cool shower. It may be only spring time but the temperature is very high. Larry and Sharon had already forewarned us that we may see temperatures close to 50ºC/120ºF in the desert.

After a rest we headed back to the Movenpick jetty to check our arrangements with Mr Aboda for tomorrow. I know that he had said he would meet us in our hotel lobby on Saturday, but the phone line was very bad and after the trouble we have already had booking ferry tickets I wanted to make sure. Everything was still as we had arranged, so we left and went to the bazaar to buy some snacks.

Asking how much peanuts were at one stall, the shopkeeper said 25LE per kilo, to which Debs asked why the label said 16LE. Shopkeeper nil, Arabic numeral learning Debs 1! To be fair the shopkeeper was apologetic and a bit surprised that Debs had learned the numbers, also 25LE wasn't an overly excessive amount to ask.

Neither of us could face going out again that evening, so having bought some food we cooked in the room. Fully aware that over the horrendous traffic noise our stove wouldn't be remotely audible. Tonight room 302 was the cheapest restaurant in Aswan, although possibly not the best. It depends how you feel about noodles and tinned meat!

Entertainment was provided for us this evening, by a wedding party taking place on the street outside the Isis hotel oppposite. The singing, dancing and drumming made for a great spectacle even though it did go on for most of the night.

You would never be able to describe our hotel as quiet, even if we did close the windows, which we don't because of the heat, the traffic noise is quite incredible. Debs is glad of her earplugs and I have clearly just managed to blank it out.

Fingers crossed for the ferry tickets tomorrow, we really don't want to be here for another week!

Day 208 Egypt 14/4/2011, Aswan. Elephantine Island, Nubian villages and the Botanical Gardens.

Having done everything we could about booking the ferry to Sudan, we decided to have a day of sightseeing.

Leaving the hotel, we walked to the public ferry that would take us across to Elephantine island. The island is home to two Nubian villages, some ruins and the not particularly attractive Movenpick hotel.

After the noise of the East bank of Aswan, the island is an oasis of calm. Getting off the ferry we were greeted by mud brick houses, some colourfully painted, and narrow sand covered streets. Following the helpful signs, we headed first to Baba Dool, a traditional Nubian house, which has been opened up to the public by the owners. Inside, the painted walls are covered with traditional handicrafts, some of which are for sale. The house is charming and the owners very friendly.

After a look round, we had a cup of mint tea and were then taken by boat over to Kitchener's island, home of the botanical gardens; so called because the land was given to Lord Horatio Kitchener when he was commander of the Egyptian army. The gardens are a pleasant place to while away an hour and if it wasn't for the school children and the man who was convinced we wanted to hear the music from his mobile phone, a peaceful place as well.

From the gardens we got a boat back to Elephantine island where we wandered through the villages towards Animalia, another Nubian house, this time turned into a museum. Passing the village school one of the teachers, Mr Badry, greeted us and invited us to have a look round. The school was surprisingly modern and Mr Badry was an enthusiastic host. Debs mentioned that she had been an English language teacher and he was soon getting her to help with his pronunciation.

Eventually we waved goodbye and carried on the short distance to Animalia where we were met by Mohamed Sobhi, the owner, who took us on a fascinating tour of his house. He has collected lots of traditional Nubian implements, some interesting photos of the Nile prior to the Aswan Dam being completed and rather worryingly, if you are about to be camping in the desert, a collection of somewhat moth-eaten stuffed animals, among them vipers, jackals and scorpions!

Walking around the villages and the Nubian houses had been great and has hopefully given us an insight into what we are going to encounter along the Nile in Sudan. The people that we met were a lot friendlier, which has made us feel better about moving on.

Back on the mainland and it was straight into an argument with the public ferry staff about the fee for our trip. We knew it only cost 1LE per person, so why they thought we would be happy paying 4LE per person, we can't say. Looking at us with a 'it's nothing to you face' failed to impress. In the end begrudgingly I paid 3LE for the two of us, only because we would have been waiting all day for him to give us the change. Debs wasn't impressed at all that I had caved in, but sometimes it is just too much effort to keep arguing.

After the rushing round getting visas, catching trains and trying to buy ferry tickets, it was nice to have a largely relaxing day. A nice dinner at Aswan Moon restaurant finished the day off well. Tomorrow I plan to make a practice run to the ferry port in anticipation of us getting tickets.

Day 207 Egypt 13/4/2011, Aswan. Back to the ferry office.

In spite of the traffic noise and fact that we are too tight to pay for air-con, we slept really well.

After a simple breakfast we went back up to the room to avoid the heat until it was time to ring Mr Aboda. Once again the line was terrible, but I managed to hear the words that we should go to the ferry office.

At the office we received the same level of customer service and joy that we had got the first time. This time though we were told that Mr Saleh was sick and to come back tomorrow. Slightly frustratedly we said that that was what we had been told the last two times, which was greeted by laughter and more dismissive hand gestures. While trying to decide what to do next, I went to talk to two western guys who were filling in paperwork on a wall outside the office. It turned out that Kurt and his friend had been in Aswan since last week when there wasn't space on the ferry for their vehicles. Since their first meeting with Mr Saleh they had been told to come back to the office everyday to no joy. The whole situation seemed to be turning into some kind of farce.

Eventually Kurt managed to get hold of Mr Saleh who told him that he was on holiday, but would be back on Saturday when he would sort the tickets. With the boat leaving on Monday, this seemed to be cutting it a little fine. What was more annoying was the fact that the staff clearly knew he wasn't going to be in until Saturday, so were just taking the p**s when they told us to come back tomorrow! Chancing my arm I gave Mr Aboda another ring and explained that the office weren't helping at all. He asked me to pass the phone to one of the staff and a somewhat heated conversation seemed to ensue. Eventually getting the phone back, he told me that he would meet us in the hotel lobby on Saturday and he would go with us to get the tickets. The whole situation is not ideal but we have no choice but to hope that it all works out. There is clearly no point in going back to the ferry office on our own. The sooner we leave Egypt the better and when we do it will be for the last time.

Just before leaving the office we asked Kurt where the ferry port was, as we had heard that it was about 25km from the city centre which would mean an early start for us the morning of the ferry departure. He told us that it wasn't very easy to find and there were no signposts, but he thought it was under 20km from the city. While we are here we will ride out to try and find it before Monday. Waving goodbye to Kurt and his friend, we wished them good luck and said that we would see them on the boat, if not on Saturday at the office.

With nothing else to do for the rest of the day, we had tea in a nearby park and then wandered down through the bazaar. After the experiences of the ferry office we weren't really in the right frame of mind to be walking through the bazaar. Buying a meal at a snack bar ended in failure when the stall holder continually changed his mind about what he had for sale and then tried to sell us food we didn't want. We then had to fight to get a sensible price for snacks and water at another stall. In fact the only success was that I bought a pad to write my blog on for when I can't charge the laptop.

By the time we got back to the hotel through the taxi drivers, carriage drivers, felucca owners and touts, it was time for a rest. Sometimes you just feel like shutting the world outside and this was one of those days. It was just a shame that we had to go out for dinner!

Day 206 Egypt 12/4/2011, Luxor – Aswan. Bikes, trains, a consulate, ferry office and finally a hotel.

We woke on time and had the bikes loaded ready to ride to the station. Being early, the traffic was light and we soon arrived outside. All we had to do now was negotiate a way of getting two fully laden 60kg bikes down a flight of stairs and then back up the other side. The Aswan train couldn't possibly of left from platform 1! Wheeling them down the stairs was not too bad, although after having mine nearly get away from me, I had Debs wait until I could go back to help. Stage one was complete, there was nothing else to do but lift the bikes up the next set of steps. With a gap in the crowds I struggled up to the platform with Debs' bike and then went back for mine. The weight isn't really the problem, it's the bulk and the balance that makes it difficult to move them. What I really didn't need was the guy climbing the stairs in front of me to stop halfway up. By the time I got to the top with both bikes I was shattered and just hoping that we would be allowed to put them on the train. Even though Mr Rezeiky had told us to buy a ticket on the train, Debs went off to try and buy some for first class. That way at least, we would know what carriage to aim for, plus we reckoned that we may be more likely to get away with it in first class.

Debs returned with the tickets and we were soon joined on the platform by two station employees eager to help us load the bikes, for a fee of course. We had always known that getting them on board was going to cost us, but at least it looked like taking them wasn't going to be a problem.

When the train arrived the bikes were pushed into the carriage and with a certain amount of manoeuvring and the removal of my panniers they were safely loaded. With a wave that they would be taken care of we were shown to our first class compartment. Obviously 40LE (£4.10) doesn't buy you a lot of luxury, in fact it was dirtier than second class and the seats didn't recline; nevertheless it was quiet and we were only sharing with one Egyptian who slept most of the journey.

An example of Egyptians ripping off tourists and the shameless way they go about it was highlighted when we decided to order a tea each. When the drinks eventually arrived they were both coffee but before we had the chance to complain the waiter had gone. The coffee was nice enough, the bill wasn't. The conversation went: “How much for the drinks?” “20LE each”, queue slightly incredulous looks, as coffee and tea is normally 5 or 6LE at the most. Obviously aware he may have got carried away, he then said “oh sorry, I meant 20LE for the two, my English is not very good!”. Still too much money and there was nothing wrong with his English, we were fed up with arguing so we paid up, feeling suitably ripped off.

Arriving at Aswan station we were helped off with the bikes and we noticed that a bag was missing. Fortunately not anything serious, just my Crocs that had been placed under the cargo net on the back of one of the bikes. So much for the bikes being looked after, thank goodness it wasn't a pannier though. With so many people getting on and off the train at the stations and food vendors hopping on and off, it was obviously too tempting for someone. The only bonus was that when I said a bag was missing, all of the porters who had been waiting for a tip were suddenly nowhere to be found. I can only hope that the thief was left disappointed.

Perhaps it was because we had got to Aswan with the minimum of fuss, but I couldn't be bothered to get annoyed about the loss. The main thing was to get loaded and then head for the Sudanese consulate. Needless to say, we had two flights of stairs to negotiate again, but at least the taxi drivers left us alone.

Having heard some problems about people getting Sudanese visas, we have to say that the process in Aswan was ridiculously easy. All of the staff were very friendly and despite reading everywhere that the visa cost $100 each, we were only charged $50 each. We have no idea why this was, unless the cost to British nationals has dropped in the last few weeks, or the information we had found was incorrect. It pretty much made up for the loss of the Crocs!

Thirty day Sudanese visas in hand, we headed to the ferry office to buy our tickets. At least we would have if the person we needed to see, Mr Saleh, had been there. Asking what have to be the rudest staff we have encountered in Egypt when he would be in, we were told to come back at 1pm. We should have known by the dismissive hand gesture and snide attitude, made more surprising by the fact that they were women, that we were being fobbed off.

By 1pm we were back at the office and surprise, surprise Mr Saleh wasn't there. With another dismissive gesture we were told to come back tomorrow. After being worried about getting the visas, it seems we should have been more concerned about the ferry!

Before we left Rezeiky camp we had been given the number of a man who worked with Mr Saleh at the Ferry office. Elie Rezeiky had told us that he was a good man who could help us if we were having problems. A slightly difficult to understand phone call later and we were boarding the Movenpick hotel ferry to meet Mr Aboda, with the only instructions that he would be near the jetty. Arriving at the jetty we were beckoned over to a boat and were greeted by the very amiable Mr Aboda. He explained that with the Libyan crisis there were lots of refugees fleeing to Sudan and that there would possibly be more ferries running than normal. He told us that he would try and sort something out for us and to give him a ring at about 11am tomorrow. I can't say that we were filled with confidence, but we had got nowhere on our own so fingers crossed.

The day had been exhausting so we headed back to the hotel for a rest, only venturing out for a pleasant meal in the Nile side Aswan Moon restaurant. Hopefully we will have news of the ferry tickets tomorrow.

Day 205 Egypt 11/4/2011, Luxor – Aswan – Luxor. Trains, The Sudanese consulate and a closed ferry ticket office.

In typical fashion there were no taxis to be seen as we left the camp-site bound for the train station. One did eventually pass us and we were soon waiting on the platform for the train.

If somewhat long, the journey was pretty comfortable. The seats in 2^nd class were good, there was plenty of legroom and the air-con was also very welcome. At 25LE (just under £3) for a 120 mile journey, it was good value for money as well.

Arriving in Aswan we pushed through the hotel touts and taxi drivers and set off for the Sudanese consulate. With a quick check of the location at the tourist information office and with the help of a few locals, we soon found ourselves outside the consulate.

After the mayhem of the embassy in Cairo, the Aswan consulate was a very sleepy affair. We found our way up to the passport office, handed over our paperwork to the very helpful lady and were told that unfortunately the passport officer wasn't there but if we came back at 1pm he may be in.

Despite the knowledge that we couldn't get a ferry ticket without our visas, we headed to the 'Nile River Valley Transport corporation' to find out when the next ferry was running and the availability of tickets. Getting any information proved to be impossible when we found the office to be closed. A passer by told us that because the ferry leaves today the office wasn't open, but they would be open tomorrow. While not a disaster, the day wasn't going as well as we had hoped.

Unsure whether our visas would be done today and drawing a blank over the ferry, we stopped for a tea to discuss the best way to proceed. With our gear in Luxor and the Consulate and ferry office being in Aswan, the only sensible option seemed to be to try and get everything to Aswan tomorrow. This was going to involve getting everything on the train or the more expensive option of a taxi/minibus.

With these thoughts in mind we went to have a look at a hotel that had been recommended to us by Larry and Sharon. The hotel Hathor was not bad, so we booked a room for tomorrow and then headed back to the Sudanese Consulate to see if there had been any joy with our visas. The passport officer had still not returned so there was nothing we could do until tomorrow.

Back at the train station we queued for ages for a ticket, only to be told that we couldn't buy one and we would have to pay on the train. With the next train not for an hour and a half we had some lunch at a local restaurant. Even though I am known for being able to eat just about anything, the strange green sauce that accompanied the meal was a step too far. Although it looked like a mint sauce it had the consistency of snot/ectoplasm and just sort of hung from a fork when you tried to lift it! Having it dripped all over my trousers when a cat jumped on the table and then walked through it didn't help much either.

Back at the station we boarded the train and played musical chairs for a while, as because we had no ticket we had no allocated seat. When the ticket inspector came round we found out that the ticket was 6LE (70p) dearer because we didn't have a ticket. While this isn't very much, it's pretty galling when you tried to buy a ticket and were told you can't, but then that appears to be Egypt!

The journey passed at a leisurely pace and we arrived back in Luxor early evening. The taxi driver who eventually agreed to take us to the hotel for 10LE (£1.10) was left looking on incredulously when his demands for a tip were met by us walking away. Taxi drivers in Luxor nil, Matt & Debs 1!

Back at the camp-site we enquired about the cost of taxi/minibus to take all our gear to Aswan. Eventually the answer came back from Mr Rezeiky (the owner) that we would be better off taking the train and that it would be no problem with the bikes. We had been looking at the taxi option to avoid the train, but looking at the cost difference it had to be worth a go. With plans to catch the 7:30am train again tomorrow, we had an early night as we would need to be up just before 6am to get packed up in time. Let's hope it all goes ok!

Day 204 Egypt 10/4/2011, Dahab – Luxor. A very long bus journey, a camp-site, train tickets & some overlanders. 4.70miles/7.53km, 25mins, av 11.2mph

Using a travel agent to book our bus tickets turned out to be a waste of time. The seats he promised to get us didn't materialise, the lift to the bus station that we didn't really need was useless and we had to arrange the fee for our bikes (30LE each). We really may as well have gone and got them ourselves; anyone considering using 'Laurence of Egypt' would do well to look elsewhere.

The bus was a bit more dilapidated than the ones we had taken previously, but crucially it had more legroom. With the bikes stowed on board along with our luggage, we set off on what was to be a very long journey.

There were a lot less passport checks than before, but to compensate we made a lot more stops. For some reason while taking the bags off at Suez, two soldiers decided to question us continually about where we had come from. They seemed convinced we had come from Israel, despite us saying otherwise. Quite why this would have been relevant when Egypt and Israel are on reasonable terms we are not sure. Perhaps they just felt like justifying their wages or were bored, probably the latter!

Once again, between the loud movie, louder music and even louder shouting between the bus drivers, sleep was hard to come by. Somewhere along the way we must have though, as we arrived outside Luxor at 8:30am feeling alright, if not alert.

Rather sadly while we were unpacking the bikes, we discovered that Debs' bike had got a bit scratched by a wheel that had been unlovingly placed on it by the loader. We are not so precious as to think that the bikes weren't going to pick up scrapes, but is a bit annoying when you know that it could have been avoided. Maybe we will have 'Yellow Narna' resprayed when we get home and have the name changed to 'Purple Sumomo' (Japanese for plum)!

Loading the bikes, we left the bus station behind and rode the 7.5km into the city. Despite the lay off, it felt good to be back in the saddle, even though the weight took a few kilometres to get used to. Fortunately for us, 'Rezeiky camp' where we planned to stay, was just off the main road that we came in on. We were soon pitched and heading into the city to try and get train tickets to Aswan.

At the train station Debs discovered something good about being a woman in a Muslim country, you get to go to the front of the queue. While I was fighting it out, jostling for position and generally trying to hold back a group of Egyptians all hell bent on pushing in front of me, she was called to the front and asked where she wanted to go. We knew there had to be at least one compensation, she is now our official ticket purchaser! Tomorrow we will be heading off on the 7:30am train to Aswan, to get our Sudanese visa and our ferry tickets. With any luck we should then have nearly a week to amble our way to Aswan in time for next weeks ferry.

Having successfully got the train tickets, we bought some fruit and veg and then headed back to the camp-site. Liking to have a bit of adventure we took a slightly different route back, which to my delight and Debs' groans saw us ride past a Koshary restaurant. Lunch was taken care of! Debs is sticking with it, but she will not be sad to see the back of the pasta, rice, lentil, chickpea, tomato and oniony goodness!

Back at the camp-site we met a lovely South African couple who have ridden their motorbikes from South Africa to here and are now heading onwards to Europe. Thanks to Larry and Sharon we have been given loads of useful information about potential accommodation and some of what to expect over the coming months. We now have a slightly better idea about our route onwards from Ethiopia.

After an afternoon nap we joined Larry and Sharon for dinner by the Nile. The meal wasn't up to much but the company more than made up for it. Avoiding the touts we wandered back to the camp-site and sat chatting for a while before it was time for us to go to bed, we have an early train to catch tomorrow. We wish Larry and Sharon all the best with their continuing travels and hopefully we will see them in South Africa.

Day 200 – 203 Egypt 6/4/2011 – 9/4/2011, Cairo – Dahab. Buses, Restaurants, sunbathing and another bus hopefully!

Fortunately we were too early for another go at the hostel breakfast this morning. Instead we headed straight to the bus station to catch our 8am bus.

Aside from the fact that they had double sold our seats, we held our ground having secured 1 and 2 so that nobody could recline their seats onto our knees, the day bus was infinitely preferable to the night one. The constant security checks of course remained, but we were not delayed at Suez for anywhere like as long as we had been previously, Plus being daylight we had a chance to look at the scenery. The route to Suez along the Red Sea coast is desert, interspersed with building sites and seemingly abandoned resorts; not the most attractive area we have seen, but it was nice to be able to see it!

We arrived back in Dahab just before 5pm feeling pretty good. We were soon checked back into the hotel room and then dived in the pool to cool off. After the noise, pollution and general mayhem of Cairo it was good to be back in the peace and quiet.

The next day we asked at a travel agent about the possibility of taking our bikes on the bus to Luxor. He said that it would be no problem and has hopefully arranged our seats for us. He has promised to get us seats at the front of the bus, but Egyptians tend to be a little vague so we will keep our fingers crossed.

Nearly 20 hours on a bus is going to save us probably two weeks of cycling, which in any other country we would be glad to do, but we have really struggled to warm to Egypt. Dahab aside, which we would visit again if we just wanted to relax, the country seems like one big tourist trap. Very little is offered without request for payment, plus the tensions that remain have made it feel a little uncomfortable. We are sure others have had different experiences but we won't be sad to leave the country behind. There is of course a small bit of that us that feels guilty about not cycling, but we had never planned to cycle along the coast any further than Sharm el Sheikh anyway. Had the Ferry to Hurghada been running we would have taken that and then ridden across the desert to Luxor. As it is our visas are running out and we are keen to get on the ferry to Sudan.

The rest of our time has been spent resting, snorkelling, sunbathing, eating and having the odd beer. We are catching the 4pm bus today so the next blog should be from Luxor, Take care all, wish us luck with the bus and the bikes!

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.