12 November

The last day!
Normally I would be rueing this and wishing that things could go on, but I am afraid that Egypt, the attitude more than anything, has made me feel that it is time to return home.
I look forward to going to a public toilet without having to pay (and have someone turn on the tap, squirt soap into my hands and offer me paper towelling and expect a tip), being able to shop without having to haggle (even in a corner shop or supermarket), to walk down the street without being hassled every minute, without suspecting everyone of having the motive of wanting to separate me from my money for the least effort, without the police expecting tips for doing their job and without the nagging feeling that everything I visit is having its life shortened by me visiting it. I also look forward to being able to drink water from a tap and knowing what the price of things are.
For me now, I look forward to getting behind the wheel of my cars and driving, instead of being at the mercy of others. It will be good to drive without having to worry about reindeer, moose, deer, camels (no, wait a minute, we have more of them at home than they do here) and pedestrians who have less rights than an ant.
Anyway, I woke at 0530 and got up just after 0600 and got ready, had breakfast (toast with Vegemite) and said goodbye to some who were at breakfast. As I left, for almost the first time away, a waiter looked at and smelt the Vegemite (he wasn’t impressed!). I enquired at the front desk about the shuttle and it runs every ten minutes. I will be down about 1100 and catch it to Terminal 2 for my flight and then settle down at the airport, once I know my luggage is checked in to go home to Melbourne, and either read or listen to the iPod (or if I can find power, continue to catch up on my blogs and photo naming).
Back in the room I packed everything – the suitcase should be under twenty kilograms, as there are few souvenirs in there and fewer things than I took away. The chocolate Teddy Bears and TimTams (one kilogram) have gone, most of the Vegemite (about eight hundred gram) has gone, one singlet has been discarded and the books are now in the backpack. The backpack has no extra tablets and only the computer gear, two Lonely Planet books, and T-shirts for the nephews, so it should be under eight kilograms. The computer bag has the laptop, a few guide books and tickets, etc. Then there is the bum bag (that’s well over a kilogram), the vest and the jacket (not that it’s cold, because it is quite warm, but it’s the easiest way to carry it) and finally the camera. Ready to roll and it’s 0930. I’m loading up on water as I can’t carry it, but of course as quickly as I’m putting it in one end it is coming out the other.
At 1010 I decided I couldn’t be bothered to wait in the hotel and would wait at the airport. I checked out, was walked out to the shuttle bus (with my luggage and no request for money, for the first time) and headed off to Terminal 2 at Cairo Airport.
I would like to say the day progressed smoothly, but …
After getting out at the airport, I found that my flight was checking in at Gates 1 to 5. I went to Entrance 1, which covered those gates. There an individual approached me to help me go through, but as soon as I said I had no money, I was directed to Entrance 3. There the guard looked at my documentation and directed me back to Entrance 1. Here I was told to go back to Entrance 3 – but no, I said, they directed me to here. Then there was another with me, who had also been given the same treatment and said it was par for the course. Eventually an officer came over and said it was the correct entrance, but would not open for another half hour. I sat and waited. The other person got up then and formed his own line, so I followed suit. Nothing happened. Then a couple of harried Americans turned up, only to be told they were at the wrong terminal with only 55 minutes till their plane left (taxi arrived late, then slow in traffic) but were able to catch the shuttle around. A tour group turned up and just pushed straight past us, and after their leader had an argument with the police at the scanning point, that group started to move through, so we went “with the flow” and got through.
I thought that I had managed to get the weight of the suitcase down, and so it was with relief I saw it was 20.8 kg. Somehow, however, on the luggage tag it made 22 kg – but I wasn’t charged extra, so I was okay. My hand luggage wasn’t weighed (phew!) as in total it would have been around 14 kg. I got my seat allocations for both sectors (Cairo to Singapore and Singapore to Melbourne) and then I wandered around the terminal. It was a lot smaller than I expected, but there is a new terminal being built.
It was then a matter of waiting for the flight. No powerpoints, so I couldn’t use the laptop. I read a little and listened to the iPod and watched as harried officials wondered where a passenger was for the flight next to mine.
Eventually we were called up and it was only a short time until I was on the plane. Then, to my relief, we were off and on our way to Singapore. Just before we boarded, the New Zealand contingent had arrived, after being seen through everything by Walid. However with the flight being full, there was no real chance to wander around, so I sat back and watched our takeoff, and then settled back to wait. Unfortunately for me, I dozed when I should have kept awake. This made the trip seem shorter, but ultimately meant I wasn’t tired. After the meal, I really did drop right off to sleep.