Pyra~pyra--->Egypt! 1st part

It's almost two months after my little stop at Egypt and only now I am writing this...malas sguh.
Anyhow,Egypt with Arabic as its main language is one of the country in the continent of Africa.Also known as Mesir in BM(and Ägypt in German), Egypt is famous for the last remaining world wonder.The Pyramids.

1st part.
A bit or less chronological order of my travel(or you could skip to the 2nd part:Watakwan!)
okay,this seems a bit hazy since it been a while.I mean to write this post sooner but somehow the internet was always down and my mouse got eaten and yada yada..Excuses.

Intro
Thus the journey begins with a takeoff from Dusseldorf Airport,Germany.
Wait.
Since my travel companions consisted of Azra(+kamil),there must be an adventure in it.
Starting with Azra canceling credit card.Which is needed for check-in...Nevermind,not a problem.
Next,we didn't have visas for Egypt...Still,not a problem.Visas only needed for staying longer than 2 weeks.
Then Kamil forgot to empty his water container,so he had to leave his bag to Azra,which contains a Kebab.Upon boarding entrance,the officer found the kebab...But still,not a problem.After a few jokes,we were let to board our plane.Egypt,here we came(come?)!

Arrival.
4 hours ++,we arrived there.Arounf 8 pm,local time.
At first it thought it was the plane.You know,when you step of the plane,and the jet engines are still cooling off,and you can feel the heat from them.
Well,I thought it was.
Since it was night and dark.
Apparently I was wrong.
The heat was from the surrounding,as the temperature was 30° celcius.8 pm.
From 10° in germany straight to 30° in Egypt.Erk!
Layu gak la.The few days that we spent there was like sunbathing.
I remember my aunt commented later in my hometown,
"X la putih sgt.slalu org dok sana lg putih"
"Hari tu singgah mesir sat"
"Owh.."

A week in Egypt can replenish a year vitamin D deficiency.

The Stay.
Later Kamil's friend pick us up from the airport before bringing us to Rumah Kedah.
You see,there are hundreds(thousands?) of Malaysian students in Egypt.And most of them are sponsored(partly) by Kerajaan Negeri.Thus the existence of Rumah(student's lodge) in accordance with states.Rumah Kedah itself have 3 buildings.
Of course there are students who doesn't live within these Rumahs,but most do.These Rumahs also act as a centre for students to gather,whether to eat(they sold bahulu there,watak!),meet for Ceramah,or also as a guesthouse.Like me. :)
"What if you're not a Kedahan?Can you stay there?"
Somebody did ask me this.I can't answer for sure,but certainly they would love to have people to come.The Rumahs are not to segregate,but I see more as a structured way to gather and manage students.
Back to the question:Just replace 'ko' with 'hang' and your good to go.I'm sure they won't throw you out,unless you pronounce 'tayar',tayaq..

The places:1. The Pyramids of course!
I think I've seen enough footage of pyramid,but somehow someway it did struck to me that the pyramid very,very big.Or in good English, mammoth/monumental/gargantuan.
It is very weird to see a big 'building' situated in the middle of the desert.
Kagum gak dow.
However our guide/friend said,what impressed the scientist was not the size,because the Americans have tried to build larger 'synthetic' pyramid.Larger ones.
Still they could not imitate the real one,as it said that if food was left in the Pyramid,it would last for weeks without going to rot..I could not claim proof to this.Wallahualam.
Then there is the Sphinx.
As I was a boy,I thought it was stupid to build a monument to guard a building.Wouldn't it be better to hire guards?So I thought.However after seeing the Sphinx itself,it does make sense.A glimpse of the cat can scare a potential thief away.Of course nowadays it doesn't,since we knew about it,but imagine thousands years ago and you see a cat greeting you.With the mirage and what-not,the cat my even appear to move.
MIAO!

The places: 2. Souk Khan el-Khalili and Azhar
Souk is arabic for Bazaar,and el-Khalili is a well known one.You can find anything there,or so they say...To me,it reminds me of Pekan rabu.Hmm..
Anyway,someone is well conversed in Arabic is a must in order to shop there.A MUST.
Situated adjacent to the Souk is Azhar's mosque.
And the University(except the medicine faculty,I think).
Malaysians can easily be seen there and study continues even to the evening.Classes are packed with people:tauhid,tajwid etc.Alhamdulillah.

The places:3. Alexandria/Iskandariah
The 2nd most population city in Egypt.A coastal city and people flocked there to enjoy the sea and sun.Not that they lack of the latter.haha.
In short the city is like a summer attraction and they even have quaint little house.'Summer house'.Alex (short for Alexandria) is also the monarch..I think.Since there's the old castle from the extinct monarchy.
The Alex Library is also one of the attraction.Containing books from long ago,it must be interesting attraction.I used must because we arrived past its opening time.
x masuk pon. -.-

The Transport
The trip from Cairo/Kaherah to Alex took around 3 hours by Tramco.
What?Tramco?
It's a van/coaster that is acts like a bus and a taxi.Meaning you can tell him to stop anywhere,as long as it is along the route it circles.A normal Tramco circling the city is one-man business,the driver cum conductor,driving the car as he searches change for the passenger.
The Tramco for inter-city are in better condition,air-conditioned,but they 'jump' all the same.A fun experience though!
Another alternative is the taxi.Naturally you can rent a car,but the hassle..So we did took the taxi,in which my friend advised to walk in the opposite direction of the traffic after leaving the cab.
Why?
So that the driver can't follow you,harassing you that you owe more fare.

The Food
Can't exactly say I tried local food,except the franchised kebab.The reason we didn't indulge the local cuisine at local restaurant was the fact that the food need 'high tolerant'.Before the trip,I have read and was cautioned of the hygiene.Even natives sometime have difficulty eating food sold all about.Let alone a foreigner,so we only tasted the franchised kebab.
Better safe than sorry.
Sorry my....Prolly the kebab or the water,I was down with diarrhea on the last day,leaving me limp,dragging myself to and from the toilet.

Outro
So I left Egypt with a stomach ache,wishing the plane would go faster.
FASTER2!
Altogether the experience was exciting,knowing multitude type of people.Thanks to those who was kind and helpful.
Terima kasih Rumah Kedah,Zulfahmi,Kamal ngn bdak2 lain yg aku x ingat nama.


"Camna mesir?Best?"
"Tak,tapi menarik!"