kayevcee
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The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 10, 2010 11:21:15 GMT
Hey hey folks, I'm in Heathrow at one of the unnervingly bogging terminals here in terminal 3. The folks at KAUST have obviously travelled through heathrow before- I have a 5 hour gap between flights. This was whittled down to 3 hours by the time I got the inter-terminal bus, drank half a litre of Irn Bru faster than is medically recommended, passed through security again despite never having left the terminal buildings, set off the alarm, got felt up by a burly security man, got my bag swabbed and stood behind some dude who had issues with his ticket.
Gotta love it. Next stop Cairo, baby!
-Nick
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 10, 2010 11:49:06 GMT
I'm so glad I haven't had to fly with you, you have the worst luck.
Andy
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Post by legios on Jun 10, 2010 12:01:45 GMT
Have yourself a good trip Nick!
Karl
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Jun 10, 2010 14:02:08 GMT
Enjoy, Nick! Keep us posted.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 10, 2010 18:24:52 GMT
BRING BACK MANY FOREIGN WIVES.
-Ralph
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2010 15:20:32 GMT
Have a great trip Nick.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 11, 2010 15:25:15 GMT
Hope it's a good trip Nick and like Ralph says - Foreign Wives!!!
Andy
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Post by dinogrrl on Jun 12, 2010 1:16:09 GMT
Hope you have a good time over there!
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kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 12, 2010 13:24:37 GMT
I'm so glad I haven't had to fly with you, you have the worst luck. HAHAHAHAHA! Wait till you hear this one! I got shaken down by my "taxi driver" and his mates and ended up having to hand over all my money just to get to the airport hotel. I thought I was going to be sold to Ethiopian organ farmers. Full details when I get home. Some amazing stuff happened too. Difficult to say whether it all balances out. Anyway, I'm in Heathrow now with four hours till my flight so expect further news sometime tonight. -Nick |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 12, 2010 13:31:35 GMT
Fucking hell Nick.
You really, really need to write a book on your exploits in transit.
Andy
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 12, 2010 13:35:10 GMT
Glad to hear you are safe and sound though.
Andy
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kayevcee
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The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 13, 2010 12:11:27 GMT
I'm glad too, Andy. More than you know. I honestly thought I was going to get driven out of town, stripped and murdered. I didn't even care that I had to pay 8 times the going rate to be dropped a quarter-mile from the hotel (so as to avoid anyone who spoke English and might have been in a position to help me) and walk up the side of the road with mental Egyptian drivers hurtling past (there's no pavement) as I was just relieved to still have both kidneys.
The good news is that the Egyptian students who were there for orientation were so incensed that my introduction to their country had been a shake-down by local heavies that they stuck to me like glue for the rest of my visit. They took me out after the official events were over and we drove round Cairo seeing what sights we could. Nothing shuts at night- we went round a street market at 2 a.m. and all the stalls were open, with the local students providing a much-needed buffer against the plethora of beggers and stallholders who smelled tourist blood in the water and were stirred up into a frenzy. We even got out onto the Nile on a sail-boat. I let the locals negotiate the price for reasons that should be obvious.
One of them even drove me back to the airport on Saturday morning! We picked up a couple of airport staff who were hitchhiking at start of the road leading to the airport- I got the impression this was an everyday occurrence. At first I thought all the drivers in Egypt were just suicidal mentalists but there's actually a whole etiquette to driving that I would have completely missed if not for him. It's actually quite friendly and easy-going, and while everybody drives like a lunatic and having more passengers only seems to make them worse they seem to be a lot less aggressive than drivers in Britain. I suppose when it's 40 degrees and the air is thick with hot dust all day every day it takes a lot more to make you lose your temper than somebody cutting you off.
Cairo is a wonderful and bizarre city, but if you don't know someone that lives there or have someone in your group who speaks fluent Arabic, don't go. Most people are really friendly but there are also a lot of utter scumbags who eat tourists for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you're an eight stone milk bottle travelling alone like me then you're dead. For all my lost cash I consider myself lucky to have met such nice folks as the other students who kept me in one piece.
-Nick
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jun 13, 2010 12:21:49 GMT
 Cairo is a wonderful and bizarre city, but if you don't know someone that lives there or have someone in your group who speaks fluent Arabic, don't go. Most people are really friendly but there are also a lot of utter scumbags who eat tourists for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you're an eight stone milk bottle travelling alone like me then you're dead. Makes careful note for future reference. Martin
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 13, 2010 14:59:41 GMT
Sounds like the students are a friendly bunch, which is nice. So at least some good came of a dreadful situation. Now I don't mean to harp on but there appears to be a distinct lack of updates re: foreign wives...
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 13, 2010 18:14:56 GMT
Yeah, where are my foreign wives?
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Jun 13, 2010 18:19:32 GMT
Nick, sounds like that was a nasty situation and a half. I'm glad that you are still with us and intact.
Sounds like you met some nice Egyptian folk as well as the not-so nice ones though which I guess is good thing.
Karl
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kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 13, 2010 18:45:00 GMT
Now I don't mean to harp on but there appears to be a distinct lack of updates re: foreign wives... Yeah, where are my foreign wives? Cut me some slack, guys! I was only there a day! -Nick |
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Post by dinogrrl on Jun 14, 2010 2:07:14 GMT
Bloody hell! That was a rough introduction, jesus, talk about scary. I'm glad you came out in one piece and the other students took care of you. Man. Well, at least you have a heads up what it'll be like, I guess?
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Jun 14, 2010 10:51:12 GMT
Glad you're still in one piece chap!
I fear the lack of foreign wives for Andy and Ralph may change this though...
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kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 14, 2010 11:31:23 GMT
After what I've been through I'm not afraid of them. Also before.
-Nick
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