First Impressions 3(Continued from previous page)My second fi rst impression happened on the way into Cairo
from the airport. Yes, we really did drive up the wrong side of a
divided street and no, we did not have lights on even in the darkest
stretches. My fi rst trip into the city was via a small tour bus. It was
night, so the lights remained on in the bus as we went into town.
The bus was fantastic, though I felt that I was a rolling exhibit. As
beautiful, comfortable and modern as the tour buses are, I truthfully
never grew to like them because I wanted to be on the ground or
pavement with real people. Of course, the other important thing
about that initiation was my fi rst experience with Egyptian driving.
Coming from a country where one doesn’t veer from one’s traffi c
line without signalling and where one never ‘creates’ a new traffi c
lane just because there is room to do so, I was more than amazed
by the bus’s manoeuverability.
My third fi rst impression was astonishment at how incredibly busy
the city was. Cairo is alive and teeming with excitement any time of
day or night. I was not prepared for the mass of people out-and-about,
the congested traffi c, nor the noise—the sheer vivacité that is Cairo.
I loved it, but it was defi nitely new for me.
Finally, the smog was overwhelming and gave the city a burned
diesel odour that permeated even the most inviting food or fl ower
smells. What I really didn’t like was blowing my nose and fi nding a
blackened tissue from the air particles. The good news is that, since
1988 when I fi rst travelled to Egypt, the air quality has improved
considerably. I personally believe that a lot of the improvement
resulted from switching from leaded to unleaded gasoline. However,
there are still times when the smoke or smog is so bad you cannot
see clearly across the river in Cairo.If you are not accustomed to travelling in the Middle East,
you may fi nd it surprising if your plane does not pull into a
gateway at the terminal. Some do and some do not. In many
cases, the aircraft will park and passengers will disembark
from a remote spot on the tarmac. Buses will arrive to shuttle
passengers to the terminal. Once you are in the terminal,
you are in a secured area and queue to go through customs.
Immediately upon arrival, you will be escorted to the
customs area where your passport and visa will be examined
and stamped.
After clearing customs, you will go to another secured
area for baggage claim. Before leaving the baggage claim
area, you must go through one other checkpoint prior to
admittance to Egypt. At this juncture, you will be asked about