Hello, everyone.
This is Enta.
Since it was close to Kenya, I took a weekend trip to Egypt on Saturday and Sunday.
Have you ever been to Egypt?
This is what it looks like from the air.
It's pretty much brown, isn't it...
It's mostly desert.
Well, I guess it can’t be helped since about 90–95% of the country’s land area is arid desert—
There's a lot of sand and dust, so the climate is pretty tough for Japanese people, lol.
Well, in a way, Japan has a pretty rough climate, lol. Summer is absolute hell, after all.
It took about 40 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel. I thought I’d called an Uber, but the driver said something totally confusing and just drove right past me lol.
Next, I got into a car driven by a driver who said it was an Uber, but once I was inside, I realized it wasn't an Uber—what a surprise lol
The going rate is 300 E£ (Egyptian pounds), which is just under 900 yen.
He started saying it was 800 E£, and at first I laughed and said, “It’s 200 E£!” but then he got angry, so I figured, “Well, I guess it’s 400 E£, then.”
That's what he said.
And after all that back-and-forth—it was all about money the whole time (well, it was a rip-off taxi, after all)—we finally settled on 500 E£.
It is said that the monthly income for the lowest socioeconomic class in Egypt is less than 1,000 E£ (just under 3,000 yen).
Even among people who own cars, the cost is said to be between 3,000 and 4,000 E£, so it comes to less than 15,000 yen.
When you think about it that way, a 400 E£ taxi fare is actually quite expensive, but,
Whether you see this as a rip-off or just think, "Oh well, it's fine," will determine how you feel about the rest of your trip.
Naturally, I come from a developed country and have a fair amount of money.
In the photo above, I exchanged about 30,000 yen at the airport, so that’s enough money to live in Egypt for two months.
I swatted it away with a *smack* lol
If you're planning to visit Egypt, please be aware that,
1. First of all, don't trust anyone who approaches you!
2. Assume that rides from Uber or taxis are almost always suspicious.
3. I have a hard time understanding English spoken with an Egyptian accent (including the words).
4. Watch out for dog poop (watch your step)
5. It's best not to go down the alley.
By the way, even though I wrote above that I seem to understand English, I can’t speak it at all, and I can’t understand it either lol.
Though, I can only make out words at the middle school English level, lol.
Even when I'm abroad, I just ramble on in Japanese—complaining, saying "thank you," and whatever else comes to mind lol
And just like that, my two days in Egypt began!
Stay tuned for the Egypt episode!
See you later.
