On the surface Alexandria looks quite nice when you see the pictures of the esplanade and a new area called the Corniche but don’t be fooled. I arrived yesterday and wish I could leave today, Egypt has broken me. Well I think it was more Cairo, however the constant hassling you get on a daily basis takes away from what might be a great experience. There are more and more subtle ways they use to lull you into submission to take what they are offering.
If I do return it will only be to see Abu Simbel and maybe Luxor as there is so much to see there that you could spend weeks.
I’m staying not far from long crescent coast line which just happens to be the heart of the city and so the traffic can be intense and guess what at night time there are horns a plenty and the cries of people shouting at each other, absolutely no decorum. But the smell of exhaust fumes is by far the worst. I’ll need a new pair of lungs after I leave here.
When I arrived yesterday I went for a walk along the esplanade after grabbing a couple of kebabs, mind you this time they were not good and so I ended up giving most of it to my new furry friend that appeared after a few short minutes. At least he seemed to enjoy it.
On the breakwater side there are huge concrete blocks which are not interlocked and so there are alleyways between where rather large rats roam feeding on the detritus that the locals throw away and I think if one of the cats had a fight the rats look quite capable of winning. The trouble is that most of the rubbish is just that…..mostly plastic from takeaway and empty water bottles and meanwhile the local bin man who patrols this area has an empty cart because all the shit is elsewhere. Just as in China I’ve seen so many people throwing their rubbish on the ground without a second thought. I look forward to the day when I’m watching the news and I see these giant rats ripping the locals apart and casting their bones into the sea.
I found my earplugs and came back to the hotel to try and catch up on sleep, I’m dog tired. I got up at about 3:30 pm and thought I’d better eat so I went to a restaurant across the road and ordered this rather large chicken breast and then proceeded to remove all the skin but it was still tasty. I never eat the skin of a chicken. This cost around $10 Aud and was definitely better than the street food I had the other day.
Counting the hours till I’m on the plane, to get away from this mental part of the world.